The Darkness Within
by tracefan
Summary: A sarcastic Dragonair's carefree life is shattered and he learns that the battle between good and evil affects us all in ways we cannot imagine. Evil lurks in the darkest recesses of our hearts, waiting to be brought out. BEING REBOOTED!
1. The Beginning

**This is my first Pokemon fic, so comments and friendly advice are welcome.**

I opened my eyes and blinked, looking around briefly. It took me perhaps two seconds to figure out that I was inside my Pokeball. I can tell because as advanced as the Pokeball's environment simulation is, it is still very obviously a fake, and not the real environment. Seriously, how can most Pokemon live in these things for long without going insane? I dismissed the thought for a moment and glanced at the simulated lake next to where I had slept. I really should be asking myself how I even managed to fall asleep in this environment. It reminded me of my home before getting caught years ago, but that knowledge was more disturbing than comforting. This environment was more like a picture of the place, since there were no sweet smells of the flowers, or comforting breeze.

I turned my attention to the water, gazing a few moments at the blue serpent reflected in the water. However, the reflection of myself merely reminded me of how the Pokeball environment was a fake, just as the reflection was not actually me. I paused my line of thought. I definitely had been in here too long, it was starting to mess up my thinking. I focused my energy and the environment shimmered before a friendly, tugging feeling pulled me from that environment into the real world. It may not have been an outside environment I emerged into, but it sure was a hell of a lot better than the fake environment.

I took a quick look around the new area. It was a human office, where humans seem to amuse themselves for hours by doing useless, tedious work that they all seem to hate. I'm seriously worried about the human race's idea of boring work. The office was empty, except for a desk piled with papers, and a lone human at the desk, glancing at me with slight annoyance.

"Dragonair, why do you always break out of the Pokeball?" the man asked me with a slight smile, despite his previous irritation. I smirked at him, but didn't reply. Not like he can understand me anyways. I floated over to the desk and studied the papers that he was working with. I immediately noticed a line of intelligent sounding words, all of which were used in the wrong context, which Ethan probably added to the report to sound more competent. I'm sure his boss has no clue what half those words meant. Considering the sheer tediousness of the report, I doubt his boss would bother to look them up either. Probably for the better, I usually steal the dictionaries. I'd have thought someone would have found them by now.

Next, I came across a different report where literally every other word was misspelled. I wonder which sorry grunt turned in that report. Just then, the office door opened and a young man wearing a black uniform entered the room, looking pleased, but nervous. Ethan glanced up briefly, nodding to the arrival, who was looking at me strangely. I'm guessing he never saw a Dragonair before. Or he has lazy eye. Actually, the second one seemed pretty likely, as Team Rocket always did have a strange taste in employees.

I stared at the youth, mostly because I think it's funny how creeped out the grunts get if you stare at them menacingly for no reason other than that they're there. It adds to their nervousness when they're talking to an executive, especially if they fear that executive, and then they sound even less competent because they're stuttering and stumbling over 'complex' words like 'sir', 'here', and 'report'. Come to think of it, that's usually all the grunts manage to say anyway.

"S-sir..." the youth began, watching me anxiously as I stared unceasingly at him. Ethan glanced up again, a slight scowl on his face. "H-here...r-r-report..." he stammered, dropping a short stack of papers on the desk. "It's d-done." he stammered. Wow, this grunt has above average intelligence, possessing a vocabulary of 5 words, one of which he said without stuttering. Almost impressive.

"Is it? Have it sent up then," Ethan said seriously. The grunt nodded and half-ran to the door. I was tempted to throw a thunderbolt at him, but decided against it. A few minutes later, the youth returned, holding a small box, which he placed on the desk, saluted for some strange reason, and left briskly. Ethan stopped writing his 'attempting-to-sound-competent' report and opened the box, examining what appeared to be a strange collar.

He gestured for me to come over, which I did, glaring at the collar suspiciously. They tried putting some weird restraining collar on me once before, but I broke it and then proceeded to destroy half of the offices with a Hyper Beam in protest. Why they bother trying to control me when I already obey is unknown. Ethan calmly placed the collar on me, but I immediately noticed that nothing seemed to change, unlike the restraining collar which tries to zap you with some weird charge. Resistance to electricity has its uses.

"What the hell is this thing?" I muttered, and was alarmed when Ethan responded.

"I guess it does work. It's a collar that translates a Pokemon's language so humans can understand you. It's just a prototype, we're still perfecting the technology," Ethan said. I was a bit surprised, and also glad I hadn't said anything actually offensive, although his reaction would have been amusing. "By the way, there's an operation soon that we want you to assist with," Ethan said, returning to his report.

"What is it this time?" I asked curiously. When I willingly assist with operations, it also enables me to get some more freedom, as well as possibly fight some Pokemon or destroy things. Usually both. Ethan flipped through some papers and pushed them towards me. I studied them quickly and found nothing worth protesting to, other than the destruction of a small police harbor. "Any need for injuring humans?" I asked challengingly. Ethan shrugged.

"Only if necessary," he said dismissively.

"And if I refuse?" I challenged. I actually have refused operations in the past, either because I didn't feel like it, or some moral issue. I don't expect the Rockets to always avoid attacking the innocent, but I'm not usually going to help them do it.

"We'd have Ed lead, and Dragonair would go," he replied, tapping the second Pokeball at his waist. "The one that actually stays in Pokeballs," he said, smirking. I still have no clue how he managed to get more than one Dragonair. They aren't exactly common species.

"I hope he dies in one of those things," I muttered. "And the operation would be led by Ed? Rhyming joke aside, he's going anyway, but he'd be the leader if I don't?" I clarified. Ethan nodded. Ed was one of the most annoying Rockets because he was very brutal and his Pokemon are just as twisted. If I went, I could actually order that stupid human and his Pokemon around. I had the collar, and the privilege of being an executive's Pokemon. I smirked to myself. This was going to be fun.


	2. The Operation

There are several advantages to leading Rocket operations. One is that I can order the irritating Rockets that I don't like and they'd actually have to obey because I basically have the rank of an executive, despite being a Pokemon. Also, I don't actually have to do the work at all, because I can order others to do it for me. After the grunts finished preparing the boats, which were being used for the transportation of the humans and the Pokemon that can't fly or swim, we headed for the operation site. The plan, according to the details Ethan had shown me, was to attack from sea, destroy or incapacitate a police harbor and secure the area. I wasn't sure what other purposes the Rockets had for the area, and really didn't care.

The boat ride was going to be maybe an hour long, so I was coiled up on the deck, relaxing. Most of the Rockets were below deck, which was fine with me. I'm sure most were annoyed that a Pokemon was ordering them around. I had surprised a great number of them by being able to talk so they could understand me. I smirked slightly at the thought, and then frowned at the water, noticing the rippling not caused by the boat's wake.

"What is it, Venom?" I asked, just before a large, blue snake creature emerged from the water. It was even larger than me, thicker, and admittedly had a far more intimidating appearance than I did. However, it also was uglier, always looked angrier, and it had the rude habit of always having its mouth open, revealing the sharp fangs.

"Surprised to see me, Dragonair?" the Gyarados asked sarcastically.

"Obviously not, as I started talking to you before I could see you," I replied. Venom chuckled.

"So, you're in charge of this little operation, eh?" Venom said rhetorically. "I would have expected Master Ed to lead it, since it seems more his style. I wouldn't think you'd want to risk your morality," he continued. Ooh, low blow. Which is a phrase that really doesn't apply to a snake Pokemon.

"You actually call a human your master? That's quite a blow to your tough guy reputation, Venom," I retorted. Venom scowled furiously.

"You are weak next to me!" Venom snarled. There he goes with his enraged arrogance.

"Laughable, coming from a Magikarp," I replied. Venom growled in rage.

"I'm a Gyarados now!" Venom snapped.

"Congratulations. It explains my recent urge to look away from you all the time," I replied. I think at this point, Venom was about to blow a blood vessel. If he did, I'd probably laugh.

"You damned snake!" Venom hissed, struggling to control his temper. The downside of being a Gyarados, in my opinion, is that self-control is significantly more difficult.

"Wow, being called a snake is so offensive when said by a 21 foot long sea serpent," I replied sarcastically. Venom scowled and sank under the water again. I chuckled and looked ahead, pleased to know that we were almost to the target. Within a few minutes, most of the humans had come up from below deck, dressed in their black uniforms, all which had a red 'R' on the chest. Considering the fact that Team Rocket are criminals, why do they insist on wearing a very conspicuous uniform? Why do they wear a uniform at all? It's not exactly wise to announce your criminal association, but Rockets had the tendency for overconfidence. Ed came over, and I glared at him.

"Well? What do we do?" he asked with a touch of sarcasm, obviously irritated that he was reporting to a Pokemon, rather than actually being in charge. I already disliked him, and him being Venom's "master" didn't help.

"Are you telling me that despite you were originally going to be the leader of the operation, that you have no idea what the hell you're supposed to do?" I asked him loudly. Other Rockets behind Ed snickered behind their hands. Ed turned towards the offenders with a fierce glare, silencing them almost immediately. He slowly turned back to me and replied with an air of forced calm.

"Since you are the...leader...it would be...appropriate for me to...make certain of our objectives," Ed said, carefully wording his sentences to avoid further mockery. I nodded dismissively.

"Well, you should know we're trying to capture the area, with as little attention as possible, so we need to first knock out their communications so they can't call for backup. After that, it all depends on how quickly we can secure the area," I explained coldly. Ed scowled.

* * *

Several minutes later, the Rockets had moved into position. The boat had docked at the harbor and the Rockets were dispersing themselves throughout the area, just in case some police patrols were nearby. Venom was still in the water, probably because he was near-useless on land. I was in the small forest a few hundred yards away from the police harbor, mainly because I felt like stretching out and doing nothing and, as the leader, I could get away with that. My relaxation didn't last long before there was a small explosion from the direction of the harbor.

"Figures," I muttered, floating back towards the harbor. I'm guessing they managed to blow up the communication systems, but failed to consider the fact that the police might hear an explosion and come running. So much for subtlety. When I arrived at the shore, there were several uniformed police officers swarming the area, throwing Pokeballs and releasing various Pokemon to try to capture the grunts, who were also throwing Pokeballs. I noticed most of the grunts had Pokemon such as Koffing or Spinarak. I never did understand the logic of using the same types of Pokemon for everyone. The police officers mostly had Pokemon like Growlithe and Poochyena, the latter I only recognized due to my brief visits to Hoenn.

"Take them down!" an officer yelled to her Growlithe, which lunged forward, striking a Koffing with great force, knocking it backwards into the small army of Rocket Pokemon before it self-destructed. I would have laughed, except the event made the job more difficult. Also, Ed had just thrown one of his Pokeballs, and I was going to ensure that idiot didn't overstep his bounds.

"Machamp!" Ed said with the annoying drawl in his voice that he uses whenever he's overconfident. A flash of light and Ed's second favorite Pokemon, a large gray humanoid Pokemon with 4 muscular arms, appeared. It posed dramatically for a moment, as Ed shouted, "Take these dogs down with Karate Chop!" The Machamp grinned wickedly before lunging forward through the small army of police Pokemon, striking at every Pokemon it passed. Each Pokemon flew a great distance away and collapsed, knocked unconscious or having a broken bone.

"Don't you think that's a little much?" I asked Ed in annoyance, as the officers began recalling their injured Pokemon. I was secretly a bit annoyed that I didn't get the chance to fight any Pokemon. Most of the Rockets grinned and recalled their own Pokemon, even the uninjured ones. Ed ignored me. I scowled, but let it go. Then I heard a strange wailing sound, and turned towards the harbor, where Venom was stationed. There was some sort of commotion there, so I flew over to investigate. Ed and the other Rockets stayed by the police base, where they would probably ensure there was no continued resistance.

* * *

I reached the area where the sound had originated from, and saw a strange yellow creature. It looked like a mouse with a short black tail, and it has large ears with black edges. Interestingly, it had pink cheeks, and sparks were coming from the cheeks. What bothered me was that Venom was watching it with amusement, and seemed to be trying to scare the creature by glaring at it fiercely. The smaller Pokemon would then let out a wail, and sparks would fly from its body.

"What the hell are you doing, Venom?" I demanded angrily. Venom turned to me with disdain.

"What do you care, Dragonair?" Venom jeered. I scowled.

"Leave it alone. It's a kit," I said coldly. Venom chuckled.

"I know. Now observe..." Venom said, and a Hyper Beam formed from his mouth. He was going to attack it! I focused quickly, charging a massive electrical shock, and released the Thunderbolt, which caught Venom off guard. The Gyarados shrieked in pain, the electricity easily conducted by the water on his scales. When the charge faded, he writhed in agony, eyes filled with rage.

"Never try that again!" I snarled at him. He scowled furiously, sinking beneath the surface of the water again, while I floated over to the frightened mouse Pokemon. It stared at me with wide, black eyes which shimmered with tears. I looked at it curiously. "Hm...where would your parents be?" I muttered to it. It's very rare for kits to be unaccompanied by their parents. So, unless something happened recently, the parents should be nearby. I looked around the area anxiously. "Do you have a name?" I asked the young Pichu.

"S-s-spark..." the Pichu stammered, still looking scared, sparks flying from its body.

"Where is your mom or dad?" I asked gently. Spark began to whimper. I tilted my head curiously. "Go on, you can tell me," I said gently. The Pichu sniffled and began to tell me the story.


	3. Spark's Tale

"All right, so tell me what happened," I prompted. The Pichu whimpered a bit and then smiled slightly.

"Well...me with Mommy and Daddy, and me having fun. Mommy watching me playing..." Spark began. As cute as this Pichu was, his speaking pattern was already driving me nuts, and he had only been talking for a few seconds. "Then me see Daddy run to get food so me can eat cuz me hungwy. Mommy watching how fast me can run. Me run and twip on stick and Mommy run to me," Spark continued.

"Ok, got it so far," I said, still confused on where this story was going. So far, there was always one parent with the kit.

"Mommy hug me cuz me cwying cuz of mean stick," Spark continued. "Me sparkin' and me want to kick mean stick. Me did and me foot hurt. Me cwying more. Daddy come running and yells. Mommy scared and tell me to run fast. Me say me foot hurt, but she run with Daddy. Me run fast with them. Me see mean thing and yell. Mommy tell me to run away and Daddy and Mommy sparkin' at mean thing. Me scared and hide," Spark said, sniffling again.

"What did the 'mean thing' look like?" I asked, somewhat concerned.

"Mean thing big. Look like you, but big. Mommy and Daddy sparkin's no hurt it. Mean thing is meanie and hit Daddy. Daddy hurt. Me cwying cuz Daddy hurt. Mommy run to Daddy and mean thing hit Mommy. Mommy hurt. Then mean thing go bye bye and mean people grab Mommy and Daddy and run. Me run for Mommy and Daddy, but me twip over mean rock and me lost now," Spark finished, crying slightly.

"What did the mean people look like?" I said suspiciously. Spark looked confused. "The ones who took your parents?" I clarified.

"Me no know," Spark wailed, sparks flying from his cheeks in his distress. "Mean people too fast. Me no see mean people long. Me want Mommy and Daddy!" I felt genuinely sorry for the poor little guy. He was a very young Pokemon, and both his parents had been captured. I was unfamilar with the area, so I didn't know whether there were any humans around. From what I gathered, the 'mean thing' sounded like an Onix, since electricity didnt work on it, and it was like me but bigger.

"I'll help you find them again," I said after a few moments of thinking. Spark looked worried.

"Mommy and Daddy say me stay away strangers," Spark said, cringing. "Unless they know special word," Spark added proudly. I'm guessing he wasn't supposed to tell people that. I stared in disbelief. What phrase would be used for this Pichu?

"I'm going to assume the phrase isn't something that someone would use to entice you to come with them..." I mused thoughtfully. Ok, the scary thing is that Spark started bouncing on his feet, as if he was about to win a guessing game. Why did I get the feeling he was going to blurt it out? "I give up," I said, following my hunch.

"YAY! Me win!" Spark said happily, sparks shooting suddenly from his cheeks and hitting him. He immediately started crying. I gaped at the Pichu. Weren't electric types supposed to be resistant to electricity, especially their own? How strong are his shocks?

"So what was the word?" I asked, as I attempted to comfort him. He stopped crying and grinned proudly.

"It 'Sour'," Spark said happily, no longer crying. What a weird word. Why would someone use that as a security phrase? Actually, that's sort of obvious. A kit would want sweet food, not sour. Therefore, no one would probably use it in a sentence to try to trick him to go with them.

"Ok...I'm going to hate myself for this now. I can help you find your parents. You can trust me. Sour," I said to the Pichu, who apparently hadn't noticed that he had given the word away. His eyes shimmered with happiness.

"Special word!" he said cheerfully. Then he ran over and hugged my coils. I blinked. Why was he doing that? He rubbed his face playfully against my body and small sparks shot from his cheeks and caused me to wince slightly. For a kit, his shocks were powerful, even though I had a resistance to electricity.

"Ok...anyway, where were you when this happened?" I asked. Spark released my coils and ran towards the forest, bouncing around hyperactively. The abrupt mood change worried me slightly. He was going to be a handful if he was so hyperactive. I followed the young Pichu, which thankfully would actually wait for me to catch up, but he was constantly running around. I didn't have that much trouble keeping up, but Spark is rather small and difficult to keep track of, especially around bushes and trees.

"Me here!" Spark said suddenly, running around a small bush. The bush was positioned near a small clearing where there were some berry bushes located. This was probably where Spark's father had gone to get food. I noticed the signs of a small fight, confirming my opinion that an Onix was here, based on the imprints on the ground. Definitely some form of heavy snake creature. There were also a few human footprints and I stared at one of them in surprise. I recognized the imprint pattern. Just another reason that the Rockets shouldn't wear uniforms, although this time I wasn't complaining. All Team Rocket grunts wore the exact same custom boot.

"The Rockets? Couldn't have been any from my group. None of them have Onix. Plus, this happened before we arrived," I muttered to myself. Spark was running around the clearing anxiously. I narrowed my eyes at the print. I would need more information about Rocket activity in this area. To my understanding, the Rockets who had done this were not normally stationed in the area, so they probably had left by now. I was typically indifferent to most Rocket activities, unless I found them particularly detestable. However, I see no reason why two Pokemon were captured randomly. I'd figure this out when I got back to the Rocket base. Then I'd be able to examine the reports and determine who was here, and where Spark's parents were.

"Me want Mommy and Daddy," Spark said sadly. I floated over to him.

"Come with me, I'll figure out where they are and help you find them," I promised. Spark smiled slightly. I led the way back to the harbor area, where the other Rockets were. Ed was looking smug, so I'm assuming the mission was mostly completed.

"We've taken down the resistance, 'Boss'," Ed said sarcastically. A few grunts were looking at the Pichu in confusion. I ignored the stares and Ed appeared to be ignoring the Pichu altogether.

"That's good. Then I suppose you can handle the details, while I go back to the base?" I replied seriously. Ed looked suspicious, but nodded. "Good. I'm heading back with a few of the grunts. You're in charge of the grunts that remain until you're relieved," I said. As much as I hated Ed, the only way for me to leave is to pass the responsibility. Ed grinned, but didn't reply. I headed to one of the boats, Spark following me excitedly. "Oh, don't forget to write the report," I added, chuckling at Ed's slight horrified expression. I sometimes wondered how literate he was.

"Anyone who wants to return to the base, here's your chance," Ed called to the grunts, and only a few followed me and Spark onto the boat. Most seemed eager to remain at the site. I was indifferent, since all I really was concerned about was helping Spark find his parents. It might involve some work and effort, but I always liked kits, and I wasn't going to abandon the Pichu, even if he did drive me crazy. Maybe he might learn good grammar.


	4. Return to the Base

I learned something very quickly during the boat ride back to the base. Spark is almost constantly hyperactive. Within 5 minutes of leaving the operation site, the Pichu had run all over the deck, and then noticed the door leading below deck and ran down there. I followed him, just so that he wouldn't get hopelessly lost. Spark then decided to play hide and seek, a game which was only difficult because he could hide almost anywhere, but he often gave his hiding spots away with his happy giggling or random noises as he moved around. It took me almost a half hour to actually catch him and I wrapped myself around him to prevent his escape, and went back on deck with him trapped in my coils.

"You can't seem to stay still, can you?" I asked the struggling Pichu. Spark smiled happily.

"Me run fast!" he said proudly. I nodded. That much was definitely true.

"Stay near me, I don't want you to get lost," I told him and Spark nodded as I released him. He almost immediately started climbing up me, the only reason he hadn't successfully done it yet was because most of my body was almost completely vertical, and my neck is smooth, preventing an easy grip. It was so cute to see him trying to climb that it wasn't that annoying. Plus, he was staying near me, so I couldn't complain.

"Me like climb!" Spark said happily, slipping a bit as he determinedly attempted to scale my neck. I considered moving a bit so he could do it easier, but it was keeping him occupied and he seemed to enjoy attempting. A Rocket grunt walked past, staring at the Pichu's attempts before moving on to wherever he was going, I rarely concern myself with the habits of humans. I glanced towards the water and saw the Rocket harbor in the distance.

"We're almost there, Spark," I told the Pichu, who had taken advantage of the tilt of my neck when I turned and was now clinging desperately to the aura orb on my neck. "And try not to mess with that," I added, and Spark reluctantly let go.

"Why?" he asked curiously, now staring at it, abandoning his mission to climb me.

"It stores energy, and some might get released by accident," I replied after thinking a moment. The orb does store energy, often utilized for the weather control abilities Dragonairs have.

"Why?" Spark asked. I stared at him.

"Why what?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Why it store?" Spark asked. I sighed.

"I can channel energy from my body into it, allowing me to control some aspects of the weather." I explained, as the boat pulled into the harbor. Spark followed me off the boat.

"Why?" Spark asked. I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

--

We returned to the base, and I headed towards the offices. I reached Ethan's office and pushed the door open with my head. One thing I noticed was that he wasn't there, but that didn't bother me. For one, I was about to study the recent reports for clues about Spark's parents, assuming the Rockets who had done the capturing actually turned reports in. Secondly, he's an executive, and often has to leave for a while to do operations anyway. Spark followed me excitedly. "Spark, don't touch anything," I told the Pichu.

"Why?" Spark asked. Great, I had just got him to stop asking questions earlier.

"So you don't make a mess and I can help you sooner," I replied, floating over to the desk.

"Oh..." Spark said, running around the room, but staying away from the desk.

"Let's see...reports..." I muttered, studying the box on the desk marked 'New reports'. There wasn't anything in that box, so I moved to the second box, marked 'Old reports'. I scowled. Nothing that could benefit my search.

"What are you doing, Dragonair?" a voice called from the doorway. Spark let out a surprised wail and sparks shot from his cheeks, hitting him. He dropped to the floor, crying slightly. I stared at the kit in disbelief. I get the feeling he can't control his electricity. I turned to the speaker, a female Charmander who was leaning against the wall casually. She stared at Spark, who was whimpering.

"Does it matter what I'm doing?" I asked with a slight challenging tone to my voice. She laughed.

"Can't I ask a simple question about why you're snooping through your trainer's files?" she replied, examining her claws casually. "And what's with the baby Pikachu?" she added, pointing at Spark, who was recovering from zapping himself.

"It's a Pichu, his name's Spark," I replied flatly.

"And you mock all the uncreative names and didn't jump on that one?" the Charmander said with a smirk.

"So I assume you are still annoyed I insulted your name?" I asked with a small smile.

"Stop dodging the question, Dragonair," she said seriously. I sighed.

"One, it's a kit that Venom was terrorizing. I'm not going after his name while trying to calm him down. You know I like kits. Two, I usually mock names that humans came up with. I mean seriously, the names they give Pokemon are humiliating to the Pokemon and the human, although the latter don't have much going for them anyway," I retorted, slightly annoyed.

"Still dodged the question about what you're doing," the Charmander said with a grin.

"Holy Mother of Celebi! Why do you care?" I demanded. The Charmander raised an eyescale.

"That's a phrase I don't hear that often," she said.

"It's preference. I'm heard most Pokemon use Mew, but that could be because they are from Kanto and Mew is the popular one there. Who's dodging the question now?" I retorted.

"You dodged my question by asking me one. So I dodged yours," she said promptly.

"Fine you got me there, Ember. I'm looking for a report that has details about two captured Pokemon. Spark's parents were captured by Rockets, and I'm trying to find them," I said.

"What species?" Ember asked promptly. I stared at her and she rolled her eyes. "What species are the parents?" she clarified.

"I think Pikachus or Raichus. Spark mentioned they had electric attacks," I said slowly, floating back over to Spark. "Spark, what do your parents look like?" I asked. Spark looked completely confused.

"Mommy and Daddy same! Me Pichu! Me no know them," Spark replied, sparking nervously.

"Spark, is it? Long tail or shorter?" Ember asked.

"Good question, but if they're the same, he wouldn't know whether they have longer tails, if Raichus, or shorter if Pikachus. His tail is rather short," I pointed out, then smiled. "Hey Spark, do your parents have a longer tail than Ember's?" I asked, using my own tail to point at the Charmander's tail. Spark thought for a second, then nodded.

"They're probably Raichus then," Ember said thoughtfully.

"My question now. Why do you care what I'm doing?" I asked, surprising her slightly.

"No particular reason. Just curious. When people dodge an innocent question, they might be up to something," Ember replied, smiling.

"You're still mad about me making fun of your name, aren't you?" I asked. Ember chuckled.

"No, I noticed you make fun of everyone's name. Didn't you comment on that other Charmander's name once and she tried to kill you?" Ember asked.

"Thank Celebi I can dodge," I said as Ember laughed. Spark was staring at us blankly.

"Though, I thought you disliked your own name..." Ember said thoughtfully.

"Look, anyone who captures a Dratini and, while knowing it's a Dratini, names it 'Dragonair' is a freaking idiot," I said seriously. "I'm happy with the name now that I evolved," I added. Ember nodded. "Besides, your name was begging for a joke. Hey Ember, use Ember attack!"

"I hate you sometimes," Ember sighed.

"Eh, I'm used to hostility. I'm probably the only one who can make a hobby out of annoying Pokemon. Fire types are the most fun, of course. Anyway, are you going to help us out with this search?" I asked her and she shrugged.

"If I feel like it," she said almost tauntingly, probably trying to pay me back for the re-use of the name pun. Ever since I mocked her name, anyone who dared use her name and that attack in the same sentence found themselves on fire and scratched. She seems to swap trainers a lot for some reason.

"Me want Mommy and Daddy!" Spark wailed. Ember glanced at him guiltily.

"I abruptly feel like it. Come with me," she said and Spark and I followed her out of the office. I briefly wondered what clues she might have...


	5. Searching for Clues

Ember led me and Spark down a corridor, passing various Rockets, all of whom paid us little notice. I mentally debated whether to ignore them or glare at them, opting for the latter. Several grunts shuddered. Ember smirked when she noticed what I was doing. Like myself, she wasn't very fond of the Rockets, although she also obeyed, although a bit more rebelliously.

"Ember, where are we going?" I asked after a few minutes. Ember sighed in minor irritation.

"To find the data you're looking for. Captured Pokemon reports don't go to executives, unless it was a particularly rare specie," she said. Spark was running down the hallways, then would run back, then would repeat this until Ember and I reached the end of the corridor. It soon became obvious to me that Ember was finding Spark's antics frustrating to witness.

"Then where do the reports go?" I asked, confused. I rarely paid much attention to how the Rockets filed their reports. Most were too annoying to read too much of due to grammatical and spelling errors, as well as the content being boring. You'd think humans would be more fluent in the human language than they are.

"I'm not positive, but they seem to go to a scientist who then examines the Pokemon," Ember said, leading me down another corridor as Spark raced around gleefully. "Does he ever calm down?" she asked and I shook my head.

"Not really. Not that I noticed, and I've been around him for the last hour or two. All the more reason to hurry up and help him get his parents back. He can be annoying, but he's also sort of cute," I replied.

"Your kit obsession is creepy, but probably going to pay off in the future, once you get a girlfriend," Ember said dismissively. I felt a strange pang of sadness and annoyance. Ember noted my reaction and frowned. "My mistake, I forgot. You already have one," she amended.

"How can you forget that?" I asked somewhat waspishly. Ember sighed.

"Sorry, forgot it was a sore topic. So, when was the last time you saw her?" Ember asked mischieviously. I rolled my eyes. "Ah, you're a tough one, Dragonair," Ember noted.

"Your material needs work, Ember. You got to learn which buttons to push. Mine aren't quite as well known as yours," I said sagely. Ember snorted with laughter for a moment before grinning at me.

"No really, when was the last time you saw her? Last week? A month? You made her up?" Ember pressured.

"Last I checked, Charmanders like their tail flame burning. Shut up if you want to keep yours like that," I warned. Ember knew it was an empty threat, but got the hint.

"At least tell me her name. It's one detail you always skim over," she said a few minutes later.

"You aren't going to let this drop, will you?" I demanded, as we turned a corner. Spark was still gleefully running down corridors. I do not want to know what sugar would do to that thing.

"It's too much fun teasing you to drop it. I see why this is your hobby, except you're a bit more malicious. I believe she exists, but at least give me some details. She's hot, isnt she?" Ember said.

"The term 'attractive' will do, Ember," I said, trying to ignore her.

"Got it. Is she fire hot or magma hot?" Ember asked. I smacked the back of her head with my tail and she stumbled, rubbing the spot I hit. "She's ugly, isnt she?" she said abruptly. Those words stopped me cold. I very slowly turned towards the Charmander, who seemed to realize she hit a nerve. She actually looked worried. "Uh...sorry?" she said hopefully. I took a deep breath, trying to relax, without great success.

"Say that again about my mate, and I will Hyper Beam your face. That's a promise," I said with absolute seriousness. Ember nodded quickly and I took another deep breath, trying to calm down. After a few deep breaths, I was back to my normal carefree demeanor. The Charmander continued walking in silence until we reached a staircase. Spark, who hadn't noticed our verbal exchange earlier, came running over.

"Me like climb!" the Pichu said cheerfully, happily hopping down the stairs, one at a time. Ember started walking down the stairs while I just floated down. Being a Dragonair has its perks. As a Dratini, I'd actually have to slither along. Stairs were not fun then. Dratini are swimmers, not so well adapted for land travel. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Spark whimpered. "Me no like dark!" he said, cringing. The corridor ahead wasn't very well lit, making it appear foreboding.

"Just follow me," Ember said, flaring her tail flame up a bit, lighting the corridor a few feet ahead. I followed them both, indifferent to the lack of lighting, or the special lighting from the Charmander's tail.

"Why are we down here, anyway?" I asked after a moment. Ember sighed.

"The labs are in the basement. Scientists are in the labs. Report is with the scientists. Do you see a pattern here?" she asked.

"Me see door!" Spark said excitedly, hopping around Ember, who raised an eye scale at him.

"At least keep away from my tail. I don't want to burn you," she warned, although the Pichu pretty much ignored the warning. He almost jumped in the fire 3 times before we reached the door.

"One problem. It's locked," I pointed out. Ember scratched the back of her head a moment.

"You think we would have thought of that beforehand," she muttered. Spark was still bouncing around excitedly.

"Stand back. I'll blow it open," I said. Ember stared at me incredulously.

"Do you know what they'll do to you for blowing a security door down?" she demanded, then paused. "They wouldn't do anything to you, would they?" she asked. I smirked at her and readied the Hyper Beam. The powerful beam of energy struck the door, easily blowing a massive hole in it before it broke apart.

"That...takes...a lot of energy...out of me...though..." I panted. Ember stared through the hole and she and Spark crawled through while I followed, recovering from the Hyper Beam. I blinked in confusion upon entering. Even Ember looked baffled.

"It's empty," she murmured, looking around the deserted room. I floated over to a table near the demolished doorway.

"Oh look, this note says that they moved the experiments to a different base. It's about a day's travel from here," I said, reading a notepad left behind.

"For you, maybe. It'd take all of us maybe three days, assuming we sleep and dont get sidetracked," Ember said. I glanced at her, puzzled.

"All of us? You're coming, too?" I asked her. Ember nodded and winked.

"You still need to tell me about your girlfriend," she said with a smirk.

"At least refer to her as my mate," I said in annoyance. For some reason, I hate the human terms to describe a relationship. Boyfriend and girlfriend is vague and confusing. Husband and wife sounds so formal, and there's a ceremony involved and humans are idiots for ceremonies. They make up occasions just so they can act like fools in public, and then blame it on an intoxicating food or drink that they willingly consumed. Does anyone see a problem with that logic?

"Er...have you two...?" Ember asked, a bit uncomfortably.

"No," I said forcefully. "Drop it," I warned, as she opened her mouth to say something. "There's a kit nearby. You're not that old either," I said.

"I'm 8. Aren't I older than you?" Ember countered.

"I'm a dragon. We mature faster," I replied.

"You weren't talking about my maturity. You mentioned my age. I can be literal, too," Ember said, grinning. I knew it was a mistake to share my secrets on how to annoy people with her.

"Stop stealing my methods!" I said, smiling regardless. "Come on, Spark. We have traveling to do!" I called to the Pichu kit, who had run across the long room. He ran back, almost a blur of yellow.

"Me fast!" Spark said happily.

"Yes, you are," I agreed, leading the way through the destroyed doorway.

"YAY!" Spark said happily, sparks flying from his cheeks in his excitement, narrowly missing Ember, most of the shock hitting himself. He immediately started crying. I sighed. How many times is he going to do that?


	6. The Journey Begins

When we finally returned from the basement to the main floor, Ember stopped. "Wouldn't someone notice we're missing?" she asked, sounding slightly worried.

"So what if they do?" I asked, still heading towards the main entrance, Spark following happily. It doesn't take long to calm him after he shocks himself, but it's a little annoying considering the frequency of those incidents.

"Well, wouldn't they go searching for us, thinking we ran away?" Ember explained.

"I must be missing the problem here. Since we didn't run away, we intend to return. If they notice us gone, oh well. I'm not too concerned, considering that I am allowed to come and go whenever I like, and I've always returned," I said, staring at the Charmander.

"I don't have that level of freedom, though. I could get in trouble," she pointed out nervously. I'm still not quite sure what she was so worried about.

"What kind of trouble are we talking about?" I asked as Ember reluctantly continued walking towards the entrance. "You sound more like you're worrying than knowing from personal experience,"

"I don't know. I just heard that there are really cruel punishments," Ember said. I thought about that for a second.

"I never heard of that. I've gotten into some trouble before, but nothing's ever happened to me," I said.

"Dragonair, you're an executive's Pokemon, you're extremely powerful, and you obey. Punishing you would be a mistake on so many levels. Suppose they whipped you or something. What would you do?" Ember asked.

"Whipped? Can you give a suggestion that's likely? Ed might whip Pokemon, but I doubt too many other Rockets would," I said with a small laugh. Ember gave me a strange look, but didn't argue.

"Just suppose you got whipped," Ember persisted. I considered it for a half second.

"Since we're talking about something unrealistic, I'll say I'd blow their base apart, abandon them, and target several more Rocket facilities," I said with slight sarcasm, especially since the question seemed ludicrous to me. Ember was silent for a few minutes and finally spoke again after we had left through the gate in front of the base. Spark was running around gleefully.

"Going back to the original conversation, what if I do get in trouble?" she asked and I sighed.

"If there's a problem, I'll say I told you to come with me. I take blame, you're fine. Nothing happens to me anyway. Now can you change the subject? You're acting like we're betraying the Rockets," I said. Ember brightened.

"You'd do that?" she asked hopefully.

"No, I make a habit of telling people comforting things and abandon them at the moment of truth and find it incredibly amusing," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Then I added without sarcasm, "Of course I'd do that. I'd do that for almost anyone. Just not Ed and his Pokemon. Or that jerk of a Slugma."

"Thank you," Ember whispered softly. I stared at her. She was now acting like I saved her life or something.

"Hey Spark, don't run ahead. You could get lost!" I called to the Pichu, who looked disappointed, but came over to us. Ember stared at the excited Pichu, who was now running in circles around her.

"So, where is the base we're going to?" Ember asked me.

"Well, it's a smaller, less known base between Cerulean and Vermillion. Not much activity from it, which may explain why they moved the labs there. Less chance of it getting disturbed, so the scientists can do their research," I said.

"Do you know what they study?" Ember asked, sounding interested.

"Nope. I barely even knew the Rockets had labs. Shouldn't have surprised me, of course. Every organization has a department for research. Even criminal ones," I replied. Ember shrugged.

"I only knew where the labs were, and not much more," she said. I nodded, just as Spark let out a small wail. Both of us turned to look at him.

"Me hungwy...me need food!" Spark said.

"Yeah, I'm hungry, too," Ember said sheepishly as her stomach growled noisily.

"Well...maybe there's some berries around here, or some other fruit," I said, looking around critically. "Let's take a look around, but stick together," I said. Spark and Ember nodded. After about 5 minutes of fruitless (no pun intended) searching, we finally came across a few berry bushes. Spark ran over eagerly and began picking an armful of berries, so maybe 3 berries total.

"Wait, let Dragonair take a look to make sure those are safe to eat," Ember called to the Pichu. Spark wailed again, but waited for me to inspect them. I'm no expert, but as a Dratini, I grew up by a special clearing that had just about every edible specie of berry. Somehow, Ember remembered this fact, even though I rarely mentioned it.

"Those are fine. Quite tasty, too," I said after a moment before inspecting other bushes. "Hey Ember, stay away from these red ones. I heard they're dangerous around fire-types. Not sure why. They're just a bit spicy," I said with a shrug. Ember shuddered.

"I hate spicy food," she said, helping herself to a few berries from Spark's bush. I call it Spark's bush because the Pichu got upset.

"Me bush!" he complained, trying to stop Ember from eating the berries.

"Share, Spark," I said, without looking over.

"Me no share. Me bush!" Spark said stubbornly.

"If you don't share, you dont get dessert," I warned. Spark's eyes lit up.

"Me share!" he said happily. Kits are a little too easy to bribe. Ember smiled at me and the two polished off the berries. I have a liking for almost all berries, so I was eating the spicy berries and a few sweet ones until I was satisfied. Strangely, I was full before Spark and Ember were. "Me want dessert!" Spark said abruptly and Ember looked at me expectantly.

"Alright. One second," I said, floating over to a tree nearby and used my tail to knock an apple off it. Spark's eyes widened.

"Me like apple!" he said. Ember raised an eye scale at me.

"There were apples?" she said seriously.

"Just one. That's why I'm using it for dessert," I explained. Ember nodded and used her claws to cut the apple in two parts and gave one to Spark, who greedily gobbled it, smiling happily. Ember, on the other hand, ate her half slowly.

"I've always loved apples," she said after a few minutes, when she had finished. Spark nodded in agreement.

"Ready to go?" I asked, and both nodded, getting to their feet and they followed me back towards our destination. After about an hour of silence, Spark's hyperactiveness faded a bit.

"Me sleepy...Me want nap," he said, yawning. I glanced at the sun. It wasn't even late afternoon yet. Ember looked thoughtful.

"Can you carry him in your coils, Dragonair? It doesn't slow you down much, does it?" she asked me. I nodded and wrapped around Spark gently, and almost immediately Spark was snoring softly. "That was cute," Ember said with a laugh.

"Let's keep moving. We'll rest either at another clearing, or at night. Whichever comes first," I said. Ember nodded, but after another hour or so, she was starting to tire.

"I normally don't travel this far," she said when I noticed her slowing down.

"Just your luck then. There's a stream with a few apple trees to the left," I said, pointing it out with my tail. We moved to the side and settled in, Spark waking up shortly afterwards.

"Ooh! Apples!" He said excitedly, sparks flying from his cheeks in his excitement. Fortunately, he didn't release a shock. After stopping him from trying to climb the apple tree, and getting him an apple the safer way, we rested.

"We'll continue traveling tomorrow. It'll be a tougher trip, because there's more wild Pokemon in the area ahead," I told them. Ember nodded and Spark yawned.

"Me sleepy. Me go sleep," he murmured, curling into a ball next to the tree and falling asleep. "I smiled at the cute sight. Ember walked over to where Spark was sleeping and curled up next to him.

"This way, my tail can keep him warmer. Are you going to be alright?" she asked me.

"Yeah. Besides, I have a Flamethrower attack, so if I get cold, I can warm up quickly. Good night," I said, coiling up on the opposite end of the clearing. Within a few minutes, I heard Ember's breathing become more rhythmic. I smiled and allowed myself to relax, slowly allowing my mind to drift into a peaceful sleep. I normally meditate, allowing me to be aware of my surroundings and detect danger, but doing so too frequently makes me short tempered, and it had been a few days since I last slept. Tomorrow was going to be another long day of traveling, and who knows what other issues could turn up?


	7. Encounter with Snakes

I awoke early in the morning and blinked a few times, trying to figure out a few basic details. For starters, where was I? Considering the realism of the environment, it wasn't a Pokeball. Besides, I only once fell asleep in a Pokeball, and that was a day or two ago. For some reason, sleeping in a Pokeball actually makes me more tired later. I glanced around the area and saw a sleeping Charmander, immediately reminding me of the events of yesterday. Now where was Spark? I looked behind me and saw the Pichu hiding behind my coils. "Hey, Spark. Why are you up?" I asked him. He squealed happily.

"You find me! You good at game. Me turn to find!" he said. He turned around and covered his eyes with his paws. "One...two...me no know...me no know...five...me no know...seven...eight...me no know...ten! Me look now!" he said. He turned around excitedly and stared in confusion. "Ooh, you good! Me look!" he said happily, running around the clearing, looking behind bushes, under rocks, behind trees and in the stream. The last one would have been a good hiding spot if it was deep enough. He ran over to the still-sleeping Ember and tried to pick her up, determined to see if I was hiding there. Unsurprisingly, Ember woke up, and was not pleased with being awakened.

"What are you doing?" she asked Spark grumpily.

"Me playing with dragon. Me look!" Spark replied. Ember stared at him tiredly.

"Huh?" she said finally. Spark sat down.

"Me playing with dragon. Me look. Dragon under you?" he asked her. Ember yawned.

"Huh?" she repeated. Spark was completely unfazed by her inability to understand what he was saying.

"Me playing with dragon. Me look for dragon under you. Me no find," Spark repeated cheerfully. His happiness seemed to be annoying Ember.

"Oh...okay then," she said, clearly still confused, but she rolled over and went back to sleep. Spark stood up, looking around again. He ran around, once again checking behind bushes, behind trees, and under rocks.

"Dragon good at game. Me give up," Spark said after a few minutes.

"You forgot I can float," I said and Spark looked up and waved happily. I was hovering about 20 feet above the ground, partially obscured from view by tree leaves.

"Dragon good hide. Me no find. Dragon win," Spark said happily as I came down. I nodded before going over to the apple tree and knocking a few down. One apple hit Ember, who shot upright and glared at me.

"WHAT?" she said angrily.

"Accident," I said, as Spark grabbed the apples and began eating. Ember seized the apple that had hit her and took a bite, still glaring at me. After a few bites, her anger faded and I smirked to myself as I ate an apple of my own. After everyone had eaten their fill, I gathered a few more apples for the trip and we started out again. Ember was still tired, but seemed to have resigned herself to traveling.

"Me see Mommy and Daddy?" Spark asked me and I winced.

"I don't know. We're going to try to find out if they have the report that says where your parents are. Maybe we'll be lucky and your parents are there. Wonder what the Rockets are studying. Probably some boring science thing most people don't care about," I said optimistically.

"They take their research seriously," Ember said tiredly. I glanced at her.

"That was random," I said when she didn't elaborate.

"I'm tired, snakey. The labs are locked, so they must be doing something important," she muttered, yawning.

"Snakey?" I repeated, incredulous at how poor of an insult that was. She must be really tired. "It's probably so they don't get interrupted or Team Magma or Aqua dont infiltrate the labs and steal the technology," I suggested.

"Those teams dont have much presence in Kanto," Ember mumbled. I was about to reply when Spark interrupted with a nervous whimper. I turned to him in alarm.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and he pointed, whimpering. Ember glanced back to see what he was pointing at.

"That's just a Pidgey. Mostly harmless," she said dismissively. Then she let out a small scream as an Ekans emerged from hiding, swallowing the Pidgey. Spark let out a terrified wail, sparks shooting from his cheeks, striking himself and me. I shook off the shock quickly, once more pleased I had resistance to electricity. Spark was crying in terror and I glared at the Ekans, who was staring at Spark with an expression I didn't like one bit.

"Fressssh..." the Ekans hissed, slithering closer. Ember sent a fireball at the purple snake, who paused its approach. "Yesssss?" it hissed with a small chuckle.

"Get away from us," Ember snarled. The Ekans considered her for a moment.

"And if I dont?" it challenged.

"I'll blow you apart," I replied with a scowl. The purple snake Pokemon smirked at me.

"A Dragonair...how rare to sssee around these partsss. Sssince you are ssssnake-like, I won't attack you. Leave our territory now!" the Ekans sneered, before turning back and disappearing into the woods.

"Isn't this a public path?" Ember asked me as we cautiously moved on, Spark still crying and clinging to my neck. I had decided it was safer for him to travel on my back then on foot.

"Some species of Pokemon are territorial to the extreme. They claim an area and then attack anything within the boundaries. This path must be within the boundaries," I explained. Ember shuddered.

"I hate snakes," she said. I looked at her strangely. She noticed my expression and hastily added, "You don't count."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically. Ember looked agitated now.

"That's not what I meant! I mean, I don't think of you as a snake!" she said quickly. I looked at myself for a second.

"I think I look like a snake. No limbs, long body. Wraps things. Sometimes certain Charmanders call me snakey," I said with a smirk. Ember groaned in frustration. "Relax, Ember. I know what you mean," I said.

"Me scared!" Spark said, once again interrupting our argument. Ember stared up at him. "Me no like mean snake," he said with a whimper. I nodded slightly, careful not to make him lose his grip on my neck.

"You're safe with us," I told the worried Pichu. Ember nodded in agreement. "If anyone tries something, they'll have to get past me and maybe Ember, assuming she doesn't faint from fear. I'm kidding!" I said quickly to the Charmander, who was about to object.

"I hate you," Ember muttered. I smirked.

"Here, have an apple," I said, releasing one apple from my coils, and Ember caught it, eating it slowly.

"Me want apple!" Spark said excitedly.

"Maybe wait until we get out of the Ekans territory," I said, glancing towards the woods.

"But me want apple!" Spark whined.

"And I want you to survive the trip, so I'm not taking risks," I replied. Spark starting pouting, but since I couldn't see him, his guilting method wasnt working on me. Ember seemed to find this amusing somehow.

"Mean snake!" Spark suddenly screamed, clutching my neck tightly. I looked towards the woods and flinched. It was an entire group of the damn things, and they were all slithering towards us. Ember tensed, ready for a fight. "Me scared!" Spark cried, and I could feel sparks flying from his cheeks with great intensity.

"Intrudersss!" an Ekans hissed. Several other of the snakes hissed in agreement.

"Get losssst..." I replied, mocking their hiss. The Ekans near the front, who I assume is the leader, hissed in rage.

"You will die for that!" it hissed.

"We'll ssssee..." I mocked.

"Sssmart move, Dragonair," Ember said. Then she paled, realizing she just hissed her words. "Aw damn," she muttered.

"Kit nearby. Don't ssswear," I chided her. She rolled her eyes.

"Let's get them then!" she said, baring her claws excitedly. For someone who's typically calm, she seems to enjoy fights. All the better for us, I suppose. The snake Pokemon hissed their bizarre battle cries.

"Kill them!" the leader Ekans snarled and the snakes slithered towards us.


	8. Battle with Snakes

I watched as the Ekans slithered towards us, and felt Spark's grip on my neck tighten in his terror. Ember waited, claws bared, a strange gleam in her eye as the snakes approached. One Ekans managed to launch itself at Ember, fangs poised to attack. Ember crouched slightly and thrust her paw upwards, striking the snake's underbelly with her claws. The snake hissed in pain, and Ember whipped her paw downwards, the semi-impaled snake flying free of her paw and hitting the ground, blood seeping from the wound. It twitched before going still. The other snakes hesitated, seeing their comrade's demise, but the leader hissed in rage.

"Kill them! Avenge the fallen!" it snarled. Ember looked at her bloody paw with momentary disgust before readying herself for a second attack. I focused carefully, allowing an electrical charge to build up before releasing it in a wave of energy, which hit several snakes, momentarily paralyzing them. I knew that snakes recovered from such ailments rather quickly, due to being able to shed the skin aflicted. I myself had that ability. Another Ekans launched its body at me, and I was unable to dodge due to the risk of Spark falling off me if I moved too quickly, and the Ekans sank its fangs into me. Or, it tried to, but my scales are particularly tough, and the Ekans fangs weren't powerful enough to break through.

"Nice try," I smirked before sending a Flamethrower at the startled Ekans, causing it to hiss in agony before dropping off of me, writhing in pain and trying to slither away from us, but Ember stabbed it with her claws, effectively killing it. Funny, I never saw her as much of a killer, but she must really hate snakes. The other snakes were even more wary about attacking, but the leader hissed threats and orders at them, forcing them to engage us in battle.

"Fight together, you idiotssss!" the leader hissed and two Ekans lunged at Ember, who sidestepped the fangs and stabbed with both paws, skewering both, but with non-fatal wounds. She flung them away from her and they slammed into a tree before slithering away into the woods. Ember gagged slightly.

"Ugh, I hate doing that," she muttered under her breath as I sent another Thunder Wave into the group of snakes, preventing them from attacking while we picked off the snakes that weren't immobilized. "I'm going to have to wash my paws after this," Ember added, slashing another Ekans that launched itself at her, unintentionally slitting the snake's throat, almost immediately killing it.

"Whatever works, I guess," I said, using another Flamethrower to hit a snake sneaking up on the Charmander. She nodded in thanks and kicked a snake that was trying to bite her. She then sent a few fireballs to hit snakes that were still advancing, but weren't within range to strike. Another Ekans managed to lunge at me and bite me, doing no more than the last five that tried that. "I feel merciful, so go to sleep," I told the Ekans, who stared at me in confusion until I sent a well-aimed Ice beam into its face, freezing it solid. It dropped off me and hit the ground, the ice block landing on about three other snakes.

"Me scared," Spark whimpered again, to which I didn't reply, instead focusing on the leader, who was looking miffed by the defeat of the majority of his little army.

"Give up and get lossst," I hissed to the Ekans, who glared at me.

"Thisss isssn't over, Dragonair!" the Ekans sneered, slithering forward. I charged a thunderbolt and sent it at the Ekans, who twisted its body, the bolt missing altogether. "You underessstimate usss!" it hissed with a cruel chuckle.

"I hate Pokemon like this," I muttered and Ember laughed nervously, stabbing another Ekans that lunged at her. The leader smirked as it slithered within striking distance of us.

"You're dead!" it chuckled. I couldn't resist a comment.

"I'd have thought we'd have stopped moving. Of course, if you meant your Ekans troops, I'll agree. They're dead, and therefore unlikely to continue a conversation. Here, I'll prove it," I turned towards the nearest killed Ekans. "Hello, how is the weather lately?"

Obviously, the Ekans didn't say a thing, so I turned back to the leader and smirked. The leader's eye was twitching, a feat I rarely see with snakes. "I'll end your missserable exissstence, Dragonair!" the leader hissed angrily.

"I was really enjoying my existence, so by all means, make my life better by ending the miserable existence. You can start by getting the hell away from us. That's make the miserable aspect much better. Can you do that?" I replied. The Ekans scowled in rage.

"You dare mock me, the great Fang?" the Ekans snarled.

"Fang, huh? Did you come up with that by yourself, or did a human walk by?" I asked. Fang blinked, momentarily confused.

"I came up with it," he growled. I started laughing.

"To think, I thought only humans gave Pokemon pathetic names! I know a Gyarados named Venom. Venom would be a good name for a poison snake, not a Gyarados. Fang would be a better name for the Gyarados. Nice try!" I said, the Ekans having lunged at me. I swung my tail, striking it aside almost dismissively.

"You will die for thisss! No one insultsss the great Fang!" Fang hissed furiously.

"I just did, Viper-boy," I retorted. Ember sent a fireball at the Ekans, who dodged with unusual ease. Spark slid down my back and landed next to Ember. I glanced at him worriedly.

"Wheee! Me have fun. Me scared now," he said, mood changing from delight to worry in less than two seconds and he cowered next to Ember, who patted his head gently. My momentary distraction allowed Fang to lunge at me, biting my neck, narrowly missing my aura orb. Unfortunately, this bite actually hurt, but thankfully didn't break through, so there was no lasting harm, such as poison or a fang lodged in my throat.

"Damn it!" I snarled, swinging my head, forcing the Ekans off me. Ember slashed at him as he landed, but the Ekans smacked her paw away with his tail and lunged, fangs bared to strike. Ember blocked the fangs with her other paw, but the momentum of Fang knocked her off her feet, and she struggled to get the snake off her. Spark was crying, scared out of his wits. Fang slithered off Ember, grinning wickedly.

"You lossse, Dragonair!" he sneered and lunged at Spark, who froze in terror.

"NO! SPARK!" I yelled in horror as the Ekans' fangs struck Spark, the Pichu letting out a pitiful wail before collapsing, blood quickly staining his short fur, the red mixing with the yellow. Fang slithered off, chuckling evilly.

"Ssseee you around, Dragonair! No one messes with the great Fang!" the Ekans chuckled, disappearing from view into the woods.


	9. Emergency!

Ember ran over to the fallen Pichu, kneeling at his side and examining the wound, tears falling from her eyes. I stared at the spot where Fang had vanished and for a moment considered following him, continuing the battle, and killing him. The moment was brief, but it continued to stick in my mind. Each second could be crucial if I were to follow, but at the same time, I needed to help Spark before he died. "Dragonair, he's alive!" Ember called, but her tone was grim.

"How bad is it?" I asked desperately, floating over, looking for myself. The wound was deep, and blood was still seeping from it. Spark's breathing was ragged, and I hoped he would keep fighting for life. "Ah...that bad," I said grimly. I looked around.

"We need to get help for him, fast," Ember said, trying to stop the bleeding by applying pressure. I mentally scolded myself for neglecting to study emergency life-saving procedures. At the moment, I hated myself for what happened. If I hadn't thrown Fang towards them, the damn Ekans wouldn't have been able to strike Spark.

"There's nowhere close! The closest human area is Cerulean, and we're about a day's journey from there, even if we move faster than normal!" I argued furiously, but Ember seemed to overlook my tone, most likely knowing my current mindset. "We can't go to Vermillion either, because that's too damn far also. We're stuck in the middle!" I said, glaring at the area where Fang had vanished. The urge to follow had never been stronger, I felt no sadness or regret, just pure anger and hatred aimed at that accursed snake.

"We have to try to get to Cerulean. It's the only chance," Ember said, lifting Spark up and running down the path. I followed, sensing the urgency of the task.

"You're too slow. Only I can get there fast enough," I said darkly. Ember glared at me briefly, but relented.

"Then you take him. I'll be fine. Meet you in Cerulean, then," she said, handing the bloody Pichu to my coils, as I released the apples I had been carrying. "There's not much time. Get to the Cerulean Pokemon Center. Then stay there until I catch up," she said urgently and I nodded, wrapping myself around the Pichu and floating quickly overhead. I looked back and saw Ember staring at the fallen apples, sorrowfully picking them up.

I focused completely on my objective of reaching the city, no longer concerned with the environment or other distractions, but my mind was working overtime, concentrating on getting Spark to the Pokemon Center safely. At the same time, I also had a strong, aching desire to bash Fang into the ground, slit his throat and watch him struggle to breathe, to make the damn snake see that justice came full circle in the end. I smiled at the fantasy, of watching the Ekans writhe, begging for mercy, and to ignore his pleas. I was distracted from this dark fantasy by a small moan from my coils, a small piteous moan. I glanced back at Spark, and my anger faded for a moment.

"You'll be alright, Spark. I promise," I whispered, knowing the kit couldn't hear me. I glanced forward once more, seeing the city ahead. "We're almost there. Keep fighting, kid," I said. That Ekans may have gotten away this time, but if he crossed my path again, I'd destroy him. Spark didn't deserve the pain he was suffering from now. I closed my eyes for a moment, knowing it was better to calm myself a little bit, but everytime I closed my eyes, images of Spark being attacked flashed before my vision, causing me to scowl angrily.

I reached the city and circled, searching for the Pokemon center. It wasn't that difficult to find, it sticks out a fair bit. I flew down and entered the center. Almost as soon as I entered, I started to receive incredulous looks, mostly from idiotic humans who had probably never seen a Dragonair. Again, we aren't exactly common species. I ignored most of the stares, shooting dark looks at several gawkers, and went to the front desk area where a human nurse stood, looking puzzled.

"Look, this Pichu was bitten by a damn Ekans and I need it looked at," I snarled, placing Spark on the counter. The nurse gasped, either from the fact the collar translated my words, or because of Spark's injuries, I didn't give a damn which. Whichever it was, she recovered quickly and put Spark on a mobile table an hurrying him into a backroom. I followed, not wishing to be stared at in the lobby area. The nurse was wasting no time in examining the wound, or in stemming the blood flow. This made me feel a bit better that Spark was being cared for. "Will he be alright?" I asked, still scowling.

"I'm not sure. The bite is serious, but fortunately there was no poison. If there had, he's be dead already," she said solemnly. She also seemed to realize it wasn't the best time to ask how the hell she could understand me. "He's lost a lot of blood, and at his age, that's dangerous. I'll need to replenish some immediately. After that, he'll most likely recover," she said, making a few notes on a clipboard.

"He better," I muttered darkly, staring down at the injured Pichu before turning and leaving the room. I didn't want to return to the lobby, however. That would only add to my frustration, having idiot humans stare at me, or listening to whispered conversations. Unfortunately, there really wasn't too many other places to go while I waited. So I ended up in the blasted lobby, enduring the 'secretive' stares of the various morons there. I sighed, my thoughts constantly returned to the thoughts of the battle with the Ekans. If Spark died, I didn't know what I'd do.

"He'll be fine. He has to be..." I muttered to myself, too quietly for humans to hear, although some gave me confused glances, to which I replied with an angry glare, almost immediately causing the idiots to look away. But what if he wasn't okay? Then what would I do? It amazed me how the little guy seemed to impact me so much. What started out as a task to help a kit find his parents seemed to be affecting me incredibly. Why couldn't I just return to life as it was before I met him?

"What's the news?" Ember asked from beside me, startling me.

"When did you get here?" I asked her. She seemed a bit out of breath, so I suppose she ran, but I hadn't been gone that long, had I?

"Dragonair, it's been about 8 hours. Have you slept at all?" she asked, looking concerned.

"I couldn't sleep, nor would I try," I said coldly. Ember nodded thoughtfully. I noticed she seemed to have washed since the battle with the Ekans, was that really 8 hours ago? I glanced at the clock and blinked in shock. It was indeed several hours since I had arrived at the Center.

"You should rest, Dragonair. I know you get snappish when you haven't slept. Stress doesn't help, either," Ember said gently and I flinched, a slight pang of both sadness and guilt hit him unexpectedly. Ember looked confused, but knew better than to ask.

"I know. I've heard that advice before," I said, lost in my thoughts. Ember gave me a curious look, but I ignored it, feeling sleepiness descend upon me.

"I'll wake you if something comes up. You need to sleep." she suggested and I nodded thankfully before allowing sleep to catch up with me.

--

Too soon, I felt someone shake me slightly and opened one eye to look at the offender. It was Ember, who now looked exhausted, but happier than before. "Spark's going to be okay," she told me and I perked up slightly at that.

"Good. How long was I asleep?" I asked.

"Only about two hours. It's the middle of the night, so you can go back to sleep. I just thought you'd like to know," Ember said yawning.

"I'll be fine. I'm going to check on Spark. You, on the other paw, need to get some sleep," I said. Ember nodded, but followed me to the backroom where Spark was. The nurse glanced at us as we entered the room, and smiled slightly.

"He should rest tomorrow, but he'll be back to normal after that," she said before leaving us alone with the sleeping Pichu. Spark had large bandages covering his stomache and chest, with extra padding in the area the fangs had struck.

"You didn't have too much trouble getting here, did you?" Ember asked tiredly. I shook my head.

"No, other than the annoying stares when I arrived," I said, coiling up next to Spark's bed. Ember nodded with a slight smile before yawning and falling asleep next to Spark, her tail flame dimming slightly. I think the sheets were fireproof, so I wasnt concerned about her rolling in her sleep. Even despite the small triumph, I still felt the burning hatred towards the Ekans that caused it all. No matter what it took, I was going to find him and pay him back for his attack on Spark.


	10. Recovery

I awoke the next morning to Ember massaging my neck. I know it was her because the paws were too small to be a human's, too big to be Spark's, and my mate is a Dragonair and last I checked, I was in Kanto while she's in Hoenn. To my knowledge, no one is dumb enough to massage a sleeping Dragonair unless acquainted with it. "Ember, what are you doing?" I finally asked.

"Oh, you're awake now. I'm just trying to get rid of the tension in your neck. I figured it might help you relax a bit," she replied casually.

"So you did it while I was sleeping?" I asked, slightly disgruntled that she woke me up.

"Better than if you're awake and possibly grumpy. You'd go nuts if I touched you," she said.

"So you did it while I was sleeping, ignoring the hazard of me waking up and going nuts because you touched me while I was sleeping," I said, yawning slightly.

"Better you waking up and more relaxed then waking up and being moody," Ember said, stepping away from me as I stretched.

"How's Spark doing?" I asked her and she glanced at the sleeping Pichu.

"Me fine," Spark said in his sleep. I stared at him.

"Does that answer your question?" Ember asked, laughing. I nodded slightly, privately noting that her unauthorized massage had made me feel better, but I sure hell wasn't going to tell her that. "So, how was the massage?" Ember asked abruptly.

"I slept through it and woke up at the end. Don't do it again while I'm sleeping," I said, feigning annoyance. While I was irritated about it, I was willing to let the subject drop without Hyper Beaming her. I think Ember saw through that, but decided not to pursue the subject. The door opened and the human nurse walked in, carrying a tray which had a bowl full of berries and also a needle, most likely for an injection of some sort. I stared at it inquisitively.

"It's to prevent infection of the wounds, and also to help him heal," the nurse said almost immediately. "And food for when he wakes up," she added, gesturing to the bowl. Ember reached over and grabbed a few berries and ate them. I rolled my eyes at her while she shrugged innocently.

"Hey, I'm hungry," she said, but didn't go back for more berries. I glanced away when the nurse administered the injection. I don't hate needles, I just don't like watching people get injected. Spark was lucky he was asleep, or he'd probably have freaked out. Not long after the nurse left the room, Spark stirred and Ember took the opportunity to steal more berries while I was distracted. I only know she took some because I caught her eating them.

"Where me at?" Spark asked, yawning. Then he noticed the bed and bandages. "Huh? Where me at? Why me here? Ooh, food!" he said, noticing the berries. I hit Ember's wrist with my tail as she tried to sneak more berries.

"Ow," she muttered, rubbing her wrist.

"Those are Spark's berries," I told her and Spark's eyes lit up.

"Me food!" he said happily, hopping up before suddenly falling down. "Me no feel good," he said, whimpering. "Me hungwy, but me no walk," he said, confused.

"You need to rest today. You'll probably be fine tomorrow. Least you got your fur cleaned," I said in reply, patting his head gently with my tail, while Ember carried the bowl over to him. He grabbed some berries and began eating quickly.

"Slow down. What's the hurry?" Ember said with a small laugh. Spark looked confused again.

"What you mean? Me hungwy, so me eat fast. Food good. Me like food," he said, gobbling two more berries quickly. It took him another minute to finish off the rest of the berries. "Me want more," he said hopefully.

"I'll see if I can get more, then." Ember said, grabbing the bowl and hopping off the bed and walking towards the door and exitting. I turned to the Pichu.

"You feeling alright?" I asked him quietly. He nodded a bit, then shrugged.

"Me no know. Me feel sleepy, and me hurt," he said, pointing to the bandaged area. "What happen?" he asked.

"The Ekans we were fighting bit you and I hurried you here and the human took care of you. You need to rest, but you should be fine tomorrow," I told him, the memories flashing through my mind once more, the previously dormant hatred and anger rising up again. Spark whimpered.

"Why you mad? Me sorry." Spark said worriedly. I looked at him in confusion.

"I'm not mad," I told him, but he still looked worried.

"You no happy. Me think you mad. Me sorry," Spark said.

"Oh...no, I'm not mad at you. I'm glad you're okay," I told him reassuringly. He nodded, looking only half-convinced. Ember chose this moment to come back with a full bowl of berries. she looked at Spark in confusion.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, setting the berries next to him. He grabbed a few and ate them.

"Dragon mad. You mad? Me sorry!" he said, whining at the end. Ember gave me a strange look.

"We aren't mad at you," she said calmly, patting his head gently. He still didn't look convinced, but I couldn't think of anything to say at the moment to help convince him. I sighed, and floated back towards the corner where I had slept.

"Why Dragon mad?" Spark asked Ember, who looked at me uncertainly. I ignored them, my mind returning to the scene where Spark was bitten, and I pictured myself following Fang and finishing him off, eliminating the evil snake once and for all. I smiled to myself, but then froze. If I had followed Fang, Spark would be dead, instead of alive. While this wasn't going to stop me the next time I encountered the snake, it halted my daydreams that involved following the Ekans instead of rushing Spark to the Pokemon Center. I looked at Spark and Ember, both of which were eating the berries in the bowl and sighed. These fantasies weren't helping me, but making it worse.

"I'm just upset you got hurt, Spark. I'm not mad at you. Not for this," I told the Pichu, who smiled happily and threw a berry to me, which hit me in the face, juice trickling down my cheek. He giggled happily before rolling over on the bed and falling asleep again, Ember laughing at my facial expression before getting me a cloth to wipe the juice off.

--

A few hours later, Spark was allowed to leave the Center, but warned to take it easy for the remainder of the day, and definitely to avoid any fighting of any kind. Spark was still too tired to run around as much as he normally did, but he was still very excited for some unknown reason.

"Why me no run fast?" Spark asked after noticing that he wasn't able to run nearly as fast as he normally did. Ember tried, unsuccessfully I might add, to explain it to him for the third time.

"You're still recovering from being bitten. You won't be able to run fast until you get your energy back. Try not to run at all," she said. The Pichu looked at me hopefully, his ears drooping sadly.

"Do whatever Ember said," I told him, looking around the city.

"Ember mean. She no let me run. Me like run," Spark muttered under his breath, causing Ember to growl in annoyance.

"Just let it go. Sometimes kits get upset like that and say things they don't mean," I said. Ember glared at me, but didn't reply. "Hey Spark, calm down. You can run tomorrow," I told the Pichu.

"But me want to run now!" Spark whined.

"You might get hurt more if you run too much today. You should be fine tomorrow," I told him. We had been preparing to leave Cerulean because I was uncomfortable in cities. Eventually, the news of a Dragonair would attract annoying humans who would love nothing more than to have their weak Pokemon battle me. The sooner we left, the less likely anyone would notice us. I had noticed another small clearing on the outskirts of the city, so thats where I planned to spend the night. It was secluded enough to avoid humans walking by, and far enough from the Ekans territory.

"What's the plan?" Ember asked when we reached the clearing. "Where are we going tomorrow?" she explained when I gave her a curious glance. Spark had reluctantly agreed not to run, and was grumpily walking around the clearing, ripping leaves in half to vent his frustration.

"To the Rocket labs. That's why we came here. The only reason we haven't found the clues yet is because of the Ekans," I said emotionlessly. The Ekans was going to pay for what he did to Spark. I'd make sure of it. Spark yawned and stumbled over to me and Ember, climbing over my coils before curling up and falling asleep. I stared at the sleeping kit for a moment before shrugging.

"I'm guessing he's sleeping there, then," Ember said, chuckling before she stretched out next to my coils and she also fell asleep. I didn't try to sleep, instead choosing to meditate. I hadn't exerted too much effort today, so I didn't need to sleep, but the meditation would allow me to relax and still detect danger in the vicinity. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, I could feel it.


	11. The Labs

Altogether, it was unsurprising to be awakened the next morning by a mostly recovered Pichu whose hyperactivity was back in full force. Ember was still asleep, but Spark was awake and running around happily. I say mostly recovered only because he admitted that the wounds still hurt a little, but it didn't seem to impede his excessive happiness, or his running.

"Calm down a bit, kid. You don't want to hurt yourself," I told the Pichu as I floated to a nearby tree to get some apples down from the branches. I noted how these particular apples were especially ripe and I tossed one down to the ravenous kit. Ember awoke shortly after Spark threw his apple core at her and I watched her chase him around the clearing, trying to tackle him in retaliation. The chasing ended when she noticed I had gotten her an apple and she ate it quickly, but still slower than Spark did. After eating our fill, we decided to continue back towards the Rocket Labs. Spark was hopeful that we would find his parents, and proceeded to drive us all crazy.

"Are we there yet?" Spark asked about two minutes after we left the clearing.

"No, we have a bit of a walk ahead of us still," I replied simply. "Stay close, we don't want you to get hurt again," I told him and Spark nodded happily, bouncing around us with excessive glee.

"How about now?" Spark asked, less than thirty seconds later.

"No, that was only 20 seconds since the last time you asked. It'll be a while," Ember replied, stifling a small yawn.

"Oh, ok." Spark said. Less than two minutes later, "Now?"

"Nope. Much longer than now," I replied, smiling slightly. It was annoying, but it was cute.

"Now?" Spark asked hopefully, maybe three minutes later. We still weren't even close, but I started picking the pace up. The sooner we got there, the less times he can ask the same question.

"No. Stop asking," Ember said, slightly irritated. Spark smiled and hugged Ember, startling the Charmander. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Me hug you. Me like you," Spark explained cutely. "You like me?" he asked, his eyes shimmering hopefully.

"Of course I like you," Ember said awkwardly. I smirked at her expression, and she turned her attention to me. "So, how's your mate been doing?" she called over to me, almost immediately wiping my smirk off.

"That's not really your business, is it?" I said coldly. Ember smirked, but our discussion was broken by the Pichu who was hopping along.

"How about now?" he asked. "Me want Mommy and Daddy!" he said cheerfully.

"No, we're not there yet. We'll tell you when," Ember replied. She turned to me and muttered, "How far away are we?" she whispered desperately. I laughed to myself.

"It's not that much farther. Maybe ten minutes or so," I replied. She sighed in relief. Spark was completely oblivious to our exchange, now interested in a rock on the ground.

"Me like rock. No mean rock like mean rock at home," he said, picking up the small stone and looking at it carefully. He also didn't notice Ember staring at him incredulously.

"Um...nice rock, Spark," she said, trying to break the weird silence that had fallen following Spark's announcement. The attempt failed, and it distracted Spark from the rock.

"Now?" he asked hopefully. Ember groaned. Serves her right for talking to him.

"Not yet. Wait a few more minutes. We're almost there," I told the Pichu. "Just study your rock," I said. Spark nodded and hugged the stone. We managed to travel a few more minutes in silence before Spark's cheeks started sparking.

"Me scared." he said nervously. I tilted my head at him curiously. "Mean snake is scary." he said, hugging Ember tightly, to the Charmander's slight annoyance. I knew how strong that Pichu could grip when frightened, so I didn't envy her position.

"The snake's not here. Luckily for it," I said harshly.

"Me sparkin' cuz me scared," Spark said, almost to himself, while Ember tried to comfort him, undoubtedly in the hopes he'd loosen his vicegrip on her waist.

"We're here at last!" I announced a few tense minutes later.

"YAY!" Spark cried out happily, electricity flying from his cheeks, hitting both himself and Ember, who he was still hugging tightly. Both Pokemon fell to the ground, Ember wincing in pain, and Spark crying slightly. "Me sorry. Me bad for sparkin'," he muttered, getting up and looking sad.

"I'm okay," Ember insisted, getting back up. "It didn't hurt that much...I'm not mad," she assured the upset Pichu. I wanted to laugh, but decided it wasn't the best time. We headed towards the small building, which was as inconspicuous as any building in the middle of nowhere. There weren't any paths nearby, so the odds of stumbling upon it was very unlikely. It was small enough to be ignored, but large enough for something to be going on. I noticed several secretive security systems in place, but headed for the main door, where there was a computerized keypad was placed.

"Ember, type in 9-8-9-1-2-2-2-0," I said. Ember, whose claws are small enough to accurately press the keys, followed the instructions and the door slid open, allowing us entry. The door slid shut behind us.

"How'd you know the entry code?" she asked curiously.

"I think it'd be rather weird if I didn't, the whole Pokemon of an executive thing," I said, my eyes quickly adjusting to the gloom of the main room.

"Me no like dark!" Spark whimpered, hugging Ember again. It didn't take me too long to get adjusted to the dim light. The room was rather plain. A deserted security desk was the only thing in the entire room, with a computerized door straight ahead. The rest of the room was empty, the pale white walls bare of any sign of this room ever being in use.

"Is it strange to be so empty?" Ember asked thoughtfully.

"Secrecy is a great asset. Helps defend the technology they're working on, I suppose," I suggested, floating across the room to the door and examining it for a few moments. "Hm, you'd think they'd have better security, though." I added. "Ember, type 0-1-2-1-2-0-0-8," I said, gesturing to the panel next to the door. Ember hurried over, Spark on her tail. By that I mean literally, Spark was sitting on her tail, leaning against her back, staring at her tail flame. Ember quickly typed the numbers I told her and the door slid open, revealing a small room.

"An elevator. Better than stairs, I suppose," she said, glancing back at the Pichu as she walked through the doors. I followed, glad that the elevator was large enough for me. There was a panel inside the elevator, and Ember pressed a button marked 'B', for basement. The doors closed and the elevator descended. I never really was fond of elevators, excluding when I was a Dratini because stairs were very difficult when you can't float and you don't have legs. The doors slid open a few moments later and we exitted, emerging in a long corridor. Spark was hugging Ember's waist, shivering despite being inches away from her tail flame.

"Where are we?" I muttered. I never pictured a laboratory to be so dark and sinister. Even human movies aren't this creepy. We moved down the corridor to the end, and entered the door at the end. The new room was equally empty of life, and just as dark. Ember carefully flared her tail flame a bit more, enabling more light.

"This is where they put old reports. It's record storage area," Ember mused, opening a small cabinet and examining the contents. "There's a door over there that should lead to a more occupied area," she added, pointing to the other side of the room. I floated over to it and opened the door with my tail.

"This room is just as empty. Except it's been occupied recently," I said, noticing a few dust-free files on the desk inside. I narrowed my eyes and examined the top report. It was impressively well-written, devoid of spelling errors, but the content was almost exactly what I was looking for.

"Find anything, Dragonair?" Ember called, walking over to me, blinking in the brighter light of the second room. She glanced at the file as well and blinked in surprise. "Two Raichus were captured from that area and brought here," she whispered. "The lab is on the second basement floor," she said, after reading the report. I nodded and we turned back to return to the elevator. When we reached the elevator, Ember pressed a different button and it descended, depositing us in a different corridor.

"Holy Mother of Celebi..." I breathed, stopping short. Ember gasped when she saw what I was looking at.

"I concur...except Mew's mother," she said. Huh, so she uses Mew as a deity legend. I find the idea of a pink cat to be very unimpressive. Spark whimpered. The corridor was lined with cages, and in these cages were Pokemon, all of whom were looking weak and poorly cared for.

"What have they been doing here?" I asked with a scowl, going to the closest cage and looking at the inhabitants, a Pidgey and a Rattata, both of which looked incredibly injured and beaten, dried blood caking the Pidgey's feathers. "This better not be what it looks like," I said quietly. Ember looked in another cage.

"Same sort of thing here, also," she announced. I felt a surge of anger aimed towards the scientists.

"What the hell do they do here?" I demanded to thin air.


	12. Revelation

"Me no like this!" Spark whimpered from where he was sitting on Ember's tail. Ember turned towards me, concern on her face.

"I never knew they did this to Pokemon they captured," she said softly.

"I didn't either. But more importantly is what did they do?" I said angrily. I hate seeing mistreatment of Pokemon, even Pokemon deserving of such treatment. "I want to know what they've been doing and why," I said with a snarl. I turned and hurried down the corridor, glancing in each cage as I passed, my anger growing stronger with each sight I saw. When I reached the end of the corridor, I entered the room, emerging in a laboratory. A scientist's aide wearing a white lab coat glanced at me and flinched.

"What the...?" the idiot human said in shock. I glared fiercely at him, causing him to cringe slightly. He was the only human in the room, but there were probably others elsewhere. It was a large room, with various machines and computers, and several doors leading elsewhere.

"What the hell is the purpose of this lab?" I demanded, once more pleased about the collar I wore. The aide stammered nervously. "No reply? Then here's a taste of what I'll do should I continue to receive no reply," I said, smirking as I unleashed a low powered thunderbolt, striking the idiot in the chest. He yelled, clutching his chest, wincing in pain. I felt a thrill of satisfaction. "Care to answer now?" I said coldly.

"It's a study of how Pokemon react when given a specific stimulus," the aide whimpered.

"And what kind of stimulus would that be?" I asked, still glaring hatefully at the man.

"A chemical that increases speed abilities," the aide said, cringing.

"So you're using them as test subjects for ability modifiers?" I replied with another surge of fury. How despicable could the Rockets sink? How all this evaded my knowledge, I have no idea, nor do I care.

"In effect, yes," a second voice said as a scientist entered the room from a different door. Unlike the aide, he appeared strong and confident. "Then after injecting them with the modifier, we have them battle to examine the effects of the modifier. Later, we rebuild the formula to fix any defects in the original. I hope you followed that, because I don't feel like repeating myself, even to an executive Pokemon," the scientist said arrogantly.

"I understood it all. So tell me, how is the formula doing?" I asked him. Ember made a strange choking sound from behind me, perhaps horrified by my change in attitude towards the project. The scientist seemed unbothered by this shift.

"It is going well. Our current..." the scientist began, but I cut him off.

"Oh yes, where are you collecting the Pokemon for these tests?" I asked sharply.

"We get them from some of the grunts which are sent to get them. I believe a few you captured personally are in other labs," the scientist replied indifferently. I ignored the comment.

"Have you received two Raichus?" I said coldly. The scientist looked momentarily surprised. "Answer me, Doctor Gravel!" I said forcefully. I don't know too many scientists by name, but Gravel is one of the few I'm unlucky enough to know. Now that humans can understand me, I might be able to mock his unfortunate surname. Of course, now wasn't the time. I needed answers.

"We have indeed received two Raichus. Both injured, but nevertheless powerful additions. They both have impressive speed abilities before the modifier was tested on them," the scientist said.

"Have you tested it yet?" I asked dangerously. The scientist seemed to take note of my tone.

"We were just about to," he said and smiled slightly. "Perhaps you'd like to see it in action," he said, turning towards a computer console, but I slammed my tail against his head, knocking the scientist to the ground. He grunted in pain and got back to his feet.

"Release the Raichus to me," I hissed darkly. The aide chuckled nervously, while the scientist's calm demeanor evaporated.

"Excuse me?" Gravel said, trying to smile again, but it was more of a scowl, showing his true emotion.

"You heard me, gravel-for-brains," I snarled. I guess I did get the chance to mock his name after all. "Release the Raichus to me, and shut down the lab permanently. Got a problem with that?"

"As a matter of fact...I do," Doctor Gravel said solemnly. "My orders are from the Boss himself, so unless you abruptly override him, you have no authority here. Good day," he said smugly.

"Alright then, a counteroffer. Release all the Pokemon, or I blow this place apart and hopefully kill you," I replied without missing a beat. The aide paled slightly, but Gravel merely chuckled.

"A counteroffer to your counteroffer, then. You try anything, and you'll be kicked from Team Rocket, thereby losing your authority. Plus, you'll be marked as a traitor and hunted by all the Rockets and the Hunters that our delightful organization hires, and they won't stop until you're dead. How's that for an offer?" he sneered.

"That's not an offer, you idiot. That's a simple chain of events, and it counts more as a threat than a proposal. So, here's the deal. You shut up, release the Pokemon and pray I don't kill you OR you don't shut up, I release the Pokemon, blow this place apart, and make every effort to kill you. Take your pick, but one of those is going to happen," I said, smirking. Ember got the hint and backed out of the room with Spark still on her tail.

"How about not?" Gravel asked.

"Ah, you didn't shut up, so that's option 2. Enjoy," I said, charging my Hyper Beam before releasing it at point-blank range, catching Dr. Gravel off guard, the force of the beam throwing him into the wall, where he collapsed limply. The aide fled, running through one of the other doors leading elsewhere to the lab. I glanced dismissively at the semi-conscious scientist. "Where are the Raichus, bastard?" I snarled at him. Gravel smirked, the expression enraging me further.

"You'll never find them before they're transported to a different base. You lose, Dragonair!" he said. I seized him with my tail and flung him into the wall again, chuckling at the satisfying thud as he hit the wall, knocking him unconscious. He'll live for now.

"We'll see, won't we?" I hissed before using a Flamethrower attack on the computer console nearby, which exploded, pieces of metal littering the area. I glanced around the room, scowling with rage. This lab was an abomination, using innocent Pokemon as test subjects for ability enhancers. I saw new meaning in Ember's earlier question about whipping, although she may not have known the meaning when she asked. I'd be sure to ask her later. I floated to another computer and studied the display.

"Hm, the Raichus are in the testing room. They do anything to them and they'll regret it," I muttered darkly, shattering the computer with a Thunderbolt. I entered the room behind the newly destroyed computer, and was only slightly surprised to see several Rocket enforcers inside the room, wearing the black uniform I now despised. There were more cages here, one that contained a pair of worried looking Raichus. "Release them!" I ordered, gesturing to the Raichus, both of which looked at me in confusion.

"You have no authorization unless given by the Boss himself," replied a voice from the back of the room, whose identity I could not determine due to the darkness of the room.

"I don't need authorization," I growled in reply. Several enforcers laughed, which fueled my anger. They were all going to pay for that irritation. "I'm taking this lab over, and the only way you survive is if you obey," I continued coldly.

"Are we to assume you've betrayed us?" the same voice asked from the rear of the room. His tone, as well as his obnoxious voice was really pissing me off.

"You can assume whatever the hell you want. I'm resigning from Team Rocket, and as my resignation notice, I'm freeing all your damn prisoners and taking this lab down," I snarled angrily. My self-control was breaking, and there would be one hell of a mess if it broke.

"We don't think so, Dragonair. I think we'll capture you and then beat you into submission. Then we'll see how cocky you are after that," the speaker said with a laugh. Several enforcers pulled out Pokeballs and threw them on the ground. There were a few flashes of light and several Pokemon appeared. I chuckled sarcastically.

"Bring it on, then," I mocked.


	13. Lab Battle

I smirked confidently as I studied my adversaries, if you can call them that. They are Rocket Pokémon after all, and if they're anything like the Pokémon the grunts are usually equipped with, they don't stand a chance against me. And I'm being modest. Seriously. There were three Pokémon total, which were an Onix, a Bulbasaur, and a Koffing. I glanced at each one dismissively. "That's all?" I asked the unseen man in the back of the room. The three Rocket enforcers stepped to the side.

"Alright! Bulbasaur, get him with a Body Slam!" one yelled. I snickered to myself. Not only would the Bulbasaur do almost nothing to me even if it hit, by shouting commands, I can counter them all the more easily. The blue-green Pokémon leapt towards me, and I calmly sent a Flamethrower into its face, causing it to shriek in pain, flames engulfing its body. I swatted the still burning Pokémon aside in mid-leap using my tail, and it slammed against the wall, the flames dying down. However, in my moment of distraction, the Onix slammed into me, knocking me into the doorway with enough force to destroy a portion of the entranceway.

"Damn, that hurt," I muttered angrily as the giant rock snake smashed a larger hole into the doorway, enabling it to fit into the laboratory. The Koffing floated along dumbly and I sent a Flamethrower at it, just to put it out of its misery. It self destructed, which didn't surprise me. Koffing are almost pure poison gases, so fire hurts them a lot. The enforcers pulled out more Pokeballs and threw them, the flashes of light revealing two new Pokémon to assist the Onix. A Machop and a Geodude, the latter looking like a moving boulder with arms. The Onix roared at me, but I wasn't intimidated.

"Tear him apart!" the enforcers yelled. I smirked. They learned not to shout orders already. A bit faster than I expected the humans to learn, but no matter. The small, muscular Machop ran forward, jumping towards me head, fist glowing white. I moved my neck to the side, sending a powerful Thunderbolt into its body. The electricity surged through it, causing it to yell in pain, falling limply to the ground. It wasn't getting up for a while. The Onix once again tried to slam into me, but I floated backwards, the rock body still striking me, but with reduced momentum. The attack was less painful, but I was still knocked backwards into the wall, creating several large cracks in the concrete. The pain triggered my anger once more, shattering most of my remaining self control.

"Ok, now you bastards really pissed me off," I snarled as the Geodude launched itself towards me. I watched its progress until it was less than ten feet away and then sent an ice beam, the pale blue beam striking the Geodude, freezing it into an icy boulder. I twisted my coils to avoid the frozen ball of rock, the Geodude slamming into the wall, unable to control its path or momentum. The ice shattered and the Geodude collapsed, definitely unconscious. I chuckled as a beam of red hit the Geodude, withdrawing it back to the enforcer's Pokeball. I noticed the same had been done for the Machop. I turned my attention back to the Onix, which seemed to be watching me carefully, perhaps slightly wary of my ice beam. In all honesty, that's the only attack I have that could harm a rock Pokémon like itself.

"Break him!" an enforcer sneered and the Onix lunged forward, preparing to slam its weight against me. If it hit with full force, I would definitely be down. I gazed around me for a second before smirking. The large rocky Pokémon swung its tail, but I ducked underneath it, sending another ice beam directly at it. Unlike me, it was too heavy to dodge as nimbly and the beam struck it, causing it to roar in protest, but didn't freeze solid.

"Don't like the cold? Can't blame you there," I said mockingly before readying a full powered Hyper Beam. It would drain me of a great deal of energy, but I knew my time to beat this thing before the Rockets fled or got backup was running out. After a few moments of charging I released the massive beam, hitting the Onix precisely where my ice beam had struck before, the Onix roaring in pain, the force of the beam launching it several feet backwards, smashing into plenty of expensive looking equipment. The enforcers were looking shocked, as whichever enforcer owned the Onix withdrew it into the Pokeball. I scowled, my anger from the damn thing hitting me nowhere near diminished. I panted from the effort of the Hyper Beam as the enforcers backed away worriedly.

"Impressive display, Dragonair. However, we don't take kindly to traitors," the unseen speaker sneered, stepping through the destroyed doorway. He was a middle aged man wearing a black business suit. His short brown hair combed neatly, and he was clean shaven. He was probably one of the highest ranking Rocket members.

"Last chance. Release the prisoners or I'll demolish anyone who gets in my way!" I snarled furiously. The man chuckled, a slightly sinister tone to the laugh.

"A pity your power is no longer being used to serve our cause. You had so much potential," the man said, smiling, the expression fueling my rage.

"Shut the hell up or I'll kill you!" I snapped, what was left of my self control snapping.

"It's always more satisfying to break a Pokémon with spirit. However, I doubt you can be tamed again, so I therefore have the authority to kill you instead. What a waste," the man said, throwing a Pokeball on the ground in front of him. There was a flash of light and a large Pokémon appeared. It was orange in color with large wings, and its tail was alight with a huge flame, reminiscent of Ember's.

"A Charizard? That's your best shot?" I sneered, hiding my slight nervousness. My resistance to fire wouldn't guarantee the Charizard couldn't harm me, and Charizards are also very strong physically, with powerful claws and jaws. Plus, I didn't have water attacks, so I didn't have an advantage. My Flamethrower was all but useless and my Hyper Beam, although powerful enough to possibly harm it, the risk of tiring me out was too great. My ice beam would be shrugged off by the fire type, so my best bet was Thunderbolt.

"You want my best shot? Well, you'll have to settle with second best. Charizard, burn him to ashes!" the man shouted. He chuckled sinisterly and I glared at him with hatred, even as the Charizard opened his jaws and sent a large stream of fire in my direction.

"Bring it on!" I sneered, sending my own stream of fire. The streams met in midair and exploded, knocking me sprawling to the ground, having been just within the blast radius. I managed to float back up, only moderately dazed, and stared towards the direction of the Charizard, which was concealed by the smoke from the explosion.

"Metal Claw!" the man's voice called and the Charizard lunged forward from the smoke, his lethal claws shimmering with a silver gleam, slashing them towards me. I twisted my body in time to dodge the swipe, but the Charizard slammed its head into me, the force knocking me back to the ground again. "You can't beat him, Dragonair. A Pokémon of your abilities should at least have been able to put up a slight challenge. Oh well, Charizard, do what you wish with him," the man said dismissively.

The Charizard slammed its foot onto my body, pinning me easily to the floor. I winced, unable to wriggle free. The Charizard roared mockingly at me before raising its paw, the claws gleaming before it thrust them down towards me. I twisted my neck, the intended killing blow missing by a centimeter, creating small holes in the tiled floor. "I'm not done yet!" I said, sending a Thunderbolt into the Charizard's face. It growled in pain, but didn't lose its balance, as I hoped. Instead, I did little more than infuriate it.

"You're dead, snake!" the Charizard growled in fury. "Any last words?" it mocked. It was definitely a male.

"Last words...hmm...that's a tough one. I always pictured my last words to be a long winded speech, most likely with the intention of distracting the one about to kill me long enough for me to figure out a plan to get free and turn the tides of battle into my favor, thus sparing my life and enabling me to re-use the tactic against a different idiot dumb enough to ask me if I have any last words. But who knows? Maybe the exact same idiot will continue allowing me to rattle off sentences that hint at what I'm doing, but that idiot is so idiotic that even though I'm insulting him almost nonstop he doesn't notice what the hell I'm doing, nor does he interrupt my talking, thus enabling me to continue prattling on aimlessly. Oh yes, I was talking about my last words. Alright here they are. Are you ready for this, because as soon as I finish talking, I want you to reflect on what I said for perhaps 3 seconds. Ok? Ok. You're a freaking idiot," I replied.

"Huh?" the Charizard said blankly.

"Thank you," I said and sent the Hyper Beam I had been charging the entire time during my monologue directly into the Charizard's face. The Charizard, still puzzling over my 'last words', was completely off-guard and knocked backwards into the wall across the room, the collision knocking him unconscious. "Well, that was fun," I said with a smirk.


	14. Reunion

I scowled as I looked around the room. The Rocket enforcers had all fled, leaving only the Charizard's trainer, who was looking mildly impressed, even as he withdrew the Charizard into the Pokeball. "Impressive display, but futile. You're fighting a losing battle," the man said with a smirk.

"Maybe so, but I am serious when I say that I will free the prisoners and take this place down!" I snarled in reply. The man laughed, and my anger rose quickly to the surface again. "I'll take you down first!" I shouted, sending a powerful thunderbolt attack at the man, who leapt to the side, sprawling on the ground to avoid the bolt. His suit now has a few traces of chalk-like dust upon it, and he scowled at me with anger rivaling my own, but by no means stronger.

"You will regret that, Dragonair!" the man spat furiously, seizing his second Pokeball. I tensed, unsure of what his Pokémon would be. However, before he could throw it, a burst of fire flew from behind me, striking the sleeve of his suit, setting it on fire. The reaction was actually rather amusing, as the surprised trainer yelled in shock, and pulled the jacket off, nearly tearing it apart in his haste to remove it. Then he flung it to the ground and positively fled back towards the room where the battle had started. This reminded me of the trapped Pokémon in that room. I followed, feeling a sense of urgency.

"Be careful, Dragonair!" Ember shouted from behind me. I nodded, not turning towards her. I knew it had been her who sent the fire at the trainer, and I'd be sure to thank her later. I entered the room where the trainer had fled into and glanced around hurriedly. I didn't see the human in the room, but I did notice the stairs that led to a likely escape route. There wasn't much chance of me catching up, but I didn't intend to follow anyway. My goal was to rescue the Pokémon that were imprisoned in this damned laboratory. I turned towards the cage that the Raichus were in, examining the lock.

"Just checking...do you two happen to have a Pichu kit?" I asked them. The female nodded, and they stared at me in confusion. "Is his name Spark?" I asked, still studying the lock. The male nodded, and their expressions changed to one of hope, but also worry. "He's fine. I've been taking care of him," I told them, using a small flame stream to melt the lock, the cage door opening and the Raichus raced out.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Spark yelled from the lab area and a blur of yellow raced into the room, tackling the Raichus in a hug. The Raichus laughed joyfully and Ember walked into the room, a strange smile on her face. In all honesty, the reunion was rather cute, especially since Spark was talking at speeds surpassing what I had believed possible, but the Raichus seemed able to follow every word.

"How can they understand him?" Ember whispered to me a few seconds later. I shook my head, smiling. The smile was almost immediately extinguished when I saw a flash of light behind me. Ember and I whirled around to face the source of the light. Dr. Gravel had awoken, and he was flanked by two Rocket enforcers. The light had been caused by the release of two Pokémon. Dr. Gravel was smirking smugly as Ember glared at the two Pokémon. One was a strange water type, which I barely recognized as Mudkip, a specie native to Hoenn. The other was a Pidgeotto. Neither of these Pokémon posed much of a threat to me, although Ember seemed wary of both.

"Me help?" Spark asked hopefully, but the mother blocked his attempt to run forward. "But me wanna help!" Spark wailed.

"We'll be fine," I told him, eyeing the two opponents. Both were vulnerable to my Thunderbolt, but Ember was vulnerable to the Mudkip's water attacks. The Pidgeotto's aerial attacks would be a problem for her as well, but not an issue to me, thanks to my ability to float. "Which should we take down first?" I asked Ember casually. The Charmander replied with a small smirk. "Got it," I said, sending my Thunderbolt at the Pidgeotto. The bird Pokémon swerved to the side to avoid it, but Ember spat a large fireball, striking the Pidgeotto's wings, causing it to tumble from the air.

"Got it!" the mother Raichu shouted, sending a Thunderbolt of her own, striking the stunned Pidgeotto, the bird squawking in pain before being withdrawn into the enforcer's Pokeball. Dr. Gravel flung a Pokeball as Ember punched the Mudkip. The father Raichu sent a Thunderbolt, hitting the surprised Mudkip, which was also withdrawn into the other enforcer's Pokeball. Gravel's Pokeball burst open and I immediately started laughing.

"A Graveler? How appropriate," I laughed. Ember snickered, although she knew she couldn't help much in this fight. Dr. Gravel scowled slightly. The large rocky Pokémon smashed its four rocky arms together aggressively. The two Raichus stepped back. "It's just you and me, rock boy!" I sneered, watching the creature for a sign of an attack. I didn't have to wait long before the creature launched itself at me. I instinctively tried to block the assault with my tail, the result being a very sharp pain in my tail and me getting knocked back several feet.

"Graveler, use Rollout!" Dr. Gravel sneered and the Graveler rolled into a ball and rolled towards me at a high speed. I was slightly dazed from the last attack and failed to move out of the way in time, the powerful rolling attack throwing me against the wall, breaking a great hole in the wall.

"Dragonair, are you okay?" Ember yelled in panic, but probably couldn't think of some way to help out. I groaned in pain as I pulled myself from the crater, shaking my head to clear it. I saw, out of the corner of my eye, several Rocket enforcers emerge from the other doors in the lab. Spark let out a scared and hopeless wail. I turned towards the Pichu and gasped slightly. Two scientists had managed to trap the Raichus back into a small, portable cage and were running from the room. Spark had been the only one who had noticed.

"Let them go, bastards!" I yelled furiously, floating after the scientists, but the Graveler intercepted me, plowing me against the wall again. Ember growled in fury, but she was too far away to stop the Rockets from escaping down the corridor. I glared at the Graveler with intense hatred, felt my anger threatening to overwhelm me. "You'll be the first to pay!" I snarled and sent a powerful Ice Beam into the rocky Pokémon's ugly face, freezing it completely. Dr. Gravel withdrew the Pokémon and fled through a different door. I was after him anyway. I wanted to find those bastards who took Spark's parents...again.

"Me want Mommy and Daddy!" Spark said, crying miserably, pounding the floor with his fists. Ember hugged him close, trying to comfort him. I closed my eyes, trying to contain my anger enough to figure out a plan. We had come so close, only to be back at the beginning not long afterwards.


	15. Destruction

"We're leaving," I said finally. "We'll find out where they're taking the Raichus and we'll set them free as well. I assume you freed the ones in the corridor?" I asked Ember, who nodded, still comforting the crying Spark.

"They all left. I think they're all safe. The lab is still new, so there shouldn't be any others," Ember said seriously. I nodded slightly.

"Get Spark out of here as well. I'll catch up to you two later," I said and Ember opened her mouth to protest. "Just do it! I'll explain later!" I said sharply. The Charmander nodded before lifting the sobbing Pichu and hurrying towards the door that we had first arrived through. I entered one of the other doors, still shaking from the anger I felt. It was wrong to force all this torment on a young kit. The Rockets were going to pay, and the first step was to destroy the lab, eliminating all traces of the experiments they had performed here. I traveled down a few blank corridors, alert for footsteps, or other signs of other living creatures nearby.

I reached my destination with no resistance. Apparently, the Rockets were notorious cowards and had all fled. I studied the room I had arrived in. Why did the Rockets fill a room with flammable objects that were stored next to gunpowder? Made my task easier, so I wasn't about to complain about their idiocy. I knew it would be foolish to just use a Flamethrower and have the room explode. That would be dangerous to me and maybe Ember and Spark, who might not have gotten out yet. Instead, I carefully studied the room, looking for something to delay the explosion for a short time.

"This might do it..." I murmured, noticing a long rope conveniently tied by one of the more flammable objects, a can of gasoline. The gasoline was convenient placed by a barrel of gunpowder. Wait, why the hell do they have freaking gasoline and gunpowder in a laboratory where sparks could fly at any moment? I'd think some of these genius Rocket scientists would have seen the risk of that. I smirked and used my tail to grab one end of the rope and floated out of the room, the rope uncoiling until I was the maximum distance from the dangerous room, but I continued to pull, hearing the can of gasoline hit the floor as the tug on the rope pulled it from the shelf. No doubt the floor was now drenched with the flammable liquid.

"Fools..." I sneered as I then sent a small stream of flames on my end of the rope, watching as it ignited, the fire slowly traveling down the rope towards the idiotically stocked room. "Enjoy," I sneered, before heading quickly for the exit. I had perhaps a minute, if I got lucky, to get the hell out before the inevitable explosion. Knowing the Rockets as I did, the storage room was probably going to cause another chain reaction due to materials the Rockets probably had nearby. This would, in turn, destroy the majority of the laboratory.

I managed to find my way back to the lab area and scowled. "Celebi damn it! The elevator would be too close to the explosion. I need to take a different route out!" I said angrily. I glanced around quickly before remembering the escape area that the trainer had taken earlier. It was my best bet, after all. I hurried through the demolished doorway, noting that that the devastation about to occur would be far worse. I turned quickly, knowing the time remaining until the lit rope reached the storage room was almost gone, and hurried up the staircase I had noticed earlier. I was almost to the end when I heard an explosion and the building shook slightly. Then a second, louder explosion took place as I reached the end of the stairs, bursting through a small door into the sunlight.

"Dragonair!" Ember shouted, and I turned towards her, surprised that she was so close. Spark was clinging to her tightly, which seemed to be annoying the Charmander. "What the heck did you do?" Ember demanded, gesturing to the building. It had almost completely collapsed, and I began to suspect the reason for the dangerous storage room was in case they needed to destroy the lab in a short time. Some reports I had noticed in the past mentioned destroying bases when they abandoned them, but I never really paid much attention to such reports. Criminals need to cover their tracks, so it's logical to eliminate the evidence.

"I said I'd take the lab down, and I did," I replied curtly. Ember scowled at me, but I ignored her, turning my attention to the worried Pichu. "We'll get your parents back, Spark. It might take a while, but we'll find them," I told him consolingly. Spark nodded miserably. "Stay strong. It's hard, but you need to stay strong for them," I added, watching the lab burn and crumble. It was a very satisfying sight to watch.

"Now can we talk about the new problem? Like the fact we can never go back to the Rockets? Now what do we do?" Ember asked anxiously.

"You'd want to go back?" I asked her seriously. Ember blinked.

"No, but it would have been nice to have a plan, especially since we didn't originally plan to leave the Rockets, but now we're marked at traitors," Ember said, slightly annoyed.

"Better a traitor than a loyal follower of that trash," I said coldly.

"You seem to have suddenly changed your entire attitude towards them now. What happened to your loyalty?" Ember asked.

"I could leave whenever I wished. Now that I know what kind of work they do, they disgust me," I said angrily.

"No fight!" Spark wailed and both of us stared at him in surprise. "Me want nap. Me no nap cuz you fight. Me nap!" he said, pouting slightly.

"Ok, sorry. You can sleep," Ember said, trying to calm the aggravated kit. Spark smiled at her before climbing onto her tail, leaning against her back. Spark yawned and then fell asleep. I stared at him in shock.

"Now how did he figure out he can do that?" I asked the Charmander, who shrugged.

"I have no idea. Somehow he figured out that he can sit on my tail and sleep without falling. He's small enough that he can, as long as I don't move around too much," Ember replied. "When he's awake, he usually hugs my waist," she continued.

"Aww, that's so cute," I said with a slightly obnoxious drawl to my words. Ember narrowed her eyes at me, which was not intimidating at all.

"So, how's your mate been doing?" she asked me, smirking when I hesitated. "Sore subject?"

"Not at all," I replied coldly.

"Ok then. Let's talk about it," Ember said cheerfully.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Why? If it's not a sore subject, you should be able to answer a few simple questions," Ember said, grinning. I glared at her briefly.

"Fine. What?" I said, deciding that she'd probably stop asking if she got the information she wanted.

"What specie?" Ember asked, looking smug.

"She's also a Dragonair," I replied. Ember nodded.

"Where is she now?" Ember asked.

"Last I checked, she was in Hoenn. She travels a lot, but visits me every few weeks," I replied. Ember raised an eye scale at me.

"What's her name? And does she know you supported Team Rocket?" Ember asked. I sighed.

"Her name's Sapphire. Yes, she knows," I said, but didn't elaborate. The rest was a personal issue. Ember noticed this hesitation, but didn't ask about it.

"That'll do. Now where will we go?" Ember asked, looking around. I paused, considering the issue.

"In all honesty...I have no clue. Not back to Vermillion, I think an operation is being planned there, and we would get overwhelmed if we returned," I said seriously.

"That's nice. So we betrayed Team Rocket and chose to not attempt to stop their next scheme?" Ember replied sarcastically.

"Fine. Let's go to Vermillion and go fight some Rockets. Besides, Ethan's more favored Dragonair might be there and I can go beat the hell out him," I said, more to myself. Ember rolled her eyes.

"Glad to know you're doing it for the right reasons," Ember said. "I could use a fight or two, also."

"Well, let's rest up for tomorrow. Today really took its toll," I continued with a smirk, heading towards a small clearing away from the demolished Rocket lab. "We should be safe today, and I'll keep an eye out just in case," I told Ember, who smiled and lay down under a tree, Spark still on her tail. I stared at the sky for a few seconds. "We'll have a long day ahead," I muttered.


	16. Unpleasant Meeting

**Few notes: First, a point of view (POV) change. Secondly, Narcissus is a character from Blaze Ocean Dragon's ****Until Dawn****. Therefore, he is not mine.**

--

It was mid morning when I awoke, blinking in the morning sun. I went over to the stream nearby and drank briefly before turning towards the bush nearby which had ripe berries growing upon it. I ate a few, savoring the sweet flavor before stretching my long, serpentine body in the warm sun. Admittedly, the weather is always nice because of my weather controlling abilities, but I did have to practice to be able to maintain it so well.

I floated back to the water, studying my reflection for a few moments; most of my attention focused more on my aura orb, which is by far my most unique feature. Unlike other Dragonairs, whose orbs are blue, mine is silver. I'm not sure why I have a unique coloration, but I'm rather fond of it regardless.

I am a wild Pokémon, so I tend to move around a lot, but I've found that I really like this particular location. There's food and water within a short distance, and there's a few trees that provide shade should I desire shading. Also, the water is deep enough for swimming, which is one of my preferred pastimes.

It is also sort of isolated, enabling a quiet atmosphere which I find ideal for relaxation due to the infrequency of other Pokémon and humans, the latter a species my mate finds to be an irritant. I find this attitude to be somewhat amusing since he is allied with a human organization, known as Team Rocket, of which I know of only by reputation. It is a criminal organization, but Dragonair never seems bothered by it and I see no point in pestering him about it, for I prefer that he is comfortable around me, rather than upset or defensive.

I had just taken another drink when I heard a sudden voice nearby. "Are...are you a mirage?" In all honesty, that is the strangest question I've ever been asked. I was slightly startled both by the unusual question, and that I hadn't noticed any other individuals around.

"Hm?" I said, lifting my head to look towards the speaker. It was a fairly short, four legged Pokémon, covered with dirt and scratches. It also had flames burning from its head and near its backend. I have visited Johto before, and I recognized the specie as a Quilava, and definitely male. I glanced at him for a moment, taking mental note that he looked like he had been wandering around for a while. I haven't seen any Quilavas in the area before. "Hello. No, I'm not a mirage," I said in a calm, moderately soothing voice. I also noticed that he seemed to be picking up the calm aura that surrounds me, which seemed to reduce the agitation he seemed to be experiencing.

"Oh. Hello then," The Quilava said before pausing a moment. "I'm, er, Narcissus," he said, seeming awkward for some reason, probably relating to referring to me as a mirage. I was partially surprised he didn't seem to have a shortened version of that name, although I would probably refer to him as 'Narcissus' even if he did. Dragonair says I tend to be too formal when I meet people. The Quilava walked towards the water and drank. I noticed that he had kept eye contact during this entire time, which is unusual for most individuals. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about that.

"So, do you live in this forest?" I asked, trying to figure out where this strange being had come from. The Quilava blinked for a moment, almost as if the question were odd in some way.

"No. I'm just passing through. So, do you?" he asked, then a strange glint appeared in his eyes. "Although, I can't imagine a pretty thing like you living in a place like this," he continued. I blinked in mild surprise at the abrupt comment, which was innocent enough to overlook the slight flirting, but I decided to establish there that I was uninterested.

"No, I'm just visiting Hoenn for a while. My mate and I live in Kanto," I said, emphasizing the word 'mate'. It was a semi-truth. Dragonair lives in Kanto, but I travel a lot, so I visit various areas. For a moment I saw a strange look in the Quilava's eyes. One instant, he appeared disappointed, the other instant, he was unbothered, almost pleased. My theory was confirmed the next time he spoke.

"Ah, mate schmate. You are in Hoenn now, you should have a bit of fun," he said, chuckling as he took some berries from the bush nearby. I felt a twinge of annoyance at his implication, further increased by the fact he was now staring at me. Narcissus smiled slightly before continuing, "So, how many ways can you use that body of yours? Because I can think of a few..." I recoiled, now thoroughly angered by this blatant sexual remark. It was taking most of my self control to resist from attacking him.

"Narcissus! I have a loving mate, which I am perfectly happy with. I would never..." I stopped in mid rant, noticing the Quilava had moved dangerously close to me, practically rubbing against me. I stared at him silently for a few seconds, unsure whether he was really so dense as not to get the message, or didn't care. He looked up at me and winked, confirming the second possibility.

"I know other tricks, too," he said with a smirk. I wasn't going to bother trying to figure out what he meant by that. I could only guess, and my current guess was not one I was pleased with.

"Narcissus, I will not tell you again. I am not interested," I said dangerously. If he didn't stop now, he would regret it later. I had my methods for getting rid of irritants. All friendliness towards the Quilava had long since gone.

"I don't see why, I'm definitely physically appealing enough. Besides, haven't you wondered what it's like with something that has limbs...err, what was your name again?" Narcissus asked. This new comment was the last straw. I narrowed my eyes at the Quilava, focusing my energy into my aura orb, which gleamed slightly as I conjured up a small raincloud over the fire-type. It was just large enough to cover his body.

"Sapphire," I said simply, watching with slight amusement as drops of water began to fall from the cloud, causing his back flames to sputter. Narcissus stared upwards, looking startled at the proximity of the cloud, as well as its position directly over him. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but seemed unable to find the words. I smirked slightly. It took a lot of practice to master the conjuring of personal rainclouds.

"I suppose I'll see you around then. Bye!" the Quilava said with a small shrug before taking off quickly. I smirked again, watching the cloud follow him close behind. My smirk faded as soon as he was out of sight, knowing the cloud would only follow him for a short while. I merely wanted to get rid of him. My record for the longest continuous cloud was about 17 hours.

I coiled up near a tree before meditating, allowing myself to relax after the irritation I had just gone through. It took me much longer to relax than normal, which hinted to me that the memory of this incident was going to annoy me in the future. I sighed, resigning myself to the knowledge I'd have to talk to Dragonair about the encounter when I see him again. He can tell if something's bothering me, and talking always helps. He will most likely have two almost simultaneous reactions. One would be to get upset, the other is to try to comfort me, but he'd be so upset I'd have to calm him down first. I was not looking forward to that conversation.


	17. Rematch

**Back to Dragonair's POV.**

I opened my eyes and stared around. It wasn't yet morning, but I felt a strange twinge of dread. I glanced over to where Spark and Ember were sleeping, but they weren't there. "Hm, that's odd..." I muttered to myself. "Where would they have gone?" At that moment, I heard a strange shout from about 50 feet away, towards the woods bordering the clearing. It was still dark, so I couldn't see that far. I floated over to the trees, squinting in the gloom, trying to see either Ember or Spark. It struck me momentarily as odd that I didn't see the flickering of the Charmander's tail flame.

I reached the trees that bordered the clearing and peered through. "Where are you two?" I called, but there was no answer. I felt a twinge of annoyance. What reason did they have for wandering around in the middle of the night? I scowled and entered the woods, twisting carefully to avoid the branches from scratching me. After several minutes, I reached a small den-like area, where I saw a shocking sight. Ember and Spark were in the center of the clearing, a pair of Ekans surrounding them. They appeared uninjured, but terrified.

"Sssooo, you've come at lassst..." a familar voice hissed from the shadows across the clearing. I glared at the shadows as a third Ekans appeared, smirking at me. "Sssooo good to see you alive and well," the snake mocked quietly, slithering closer to the trapped Pokémon.

"Fang," I replied coldly, feeling the familiar surge of anger rising up as I remembered his attack on Spark. The Pichu was whimpering, his paws pressed against the bandages on his chest. Fang smirked at the Pichu, exposing his fangs, causing Spark to wail with terror. "Leave him alone!" I snarled at the Ekans, who laughed cruelly before turning towards me once more.

"I had enough of a tassste last time. How about a different flavor?" he sneered, approaching Ember. I noticed vines bound her arms and mouth shut, preventing retaliation of any kind. How did an Ekans get vines on a Charmander?

"Leave her alone, bastard snake!" I shouted. Fang chuckled, the same chuckle he had done after biting Spark.

"Got a larger reaction from that threat, sssoo I think I'll enjoy thisss!" Fang sneered, lunging forward, fangs bared, striking Ember's neck. I yelled in horror as blood poured from the wound in the Charmander's neck. Ember was trying to scream, but the vines prevented her mouth opening, and she was unable to try to stem the blood flow. "And now the second..." Fang continued, grinning at the horrified Pichu, exposing his bloody fangs. Ember was twitching weakly, and my body didn't seem to want to move.

"Me scared!" Spark yelled and the Ekans struck.

--

I awoke, shaking violently, looking around in panic until I saw Spark and Ember sleeping peacefully nearby, completely uninjured. I stared around, trying to calm myself down before I woke them up. I had mixed emotions about that dream, that horrible nightmare. One was relief it had been a dream, and not real. However, I also still felt the terror and horror associated with the dream. Lastly, I felt anger and hatred. That damn Ekans still needed to pay for his attack in reality, and I was ready to tear him to pieces for his attack in the dream. The only way to prevent the dream from being real was to kill that snake.

I got up, watching the two sleeping Pokémon for a few minutes before heading down the path towards Vermillion. I still remembered where the snake territory was, and that was my destination. I couldn't risk Ember or Spark getting hurt this time. It was my battle to fight. It didn't take long to reach the snake territory and I entered the woods at that point, wary of other snakes around. The gloom of the forest was almost impenetrable, but I couldn't risk using a Flamethrower to light the area up. I scowled to myself, the dual memory of the attacks at the front of my mind. I may not have been able to follow Fang last time, but this time I would find him and make him pay.

Several minutes later, I reached a clearing similar to the one in my dream, but much larger. There were sleeping snakes scattered throughout the clearing. There were other Ekans that were awake, but none that had noticed me yet. On the other end of the clearing was a small island of land surrounded by shallow water. An Ekans lay here, but unlike the other Ekans around, this one was alert and watching me.

"Dragonair, a pleasssure to sssee you again. I expected you sssooner, but no matter," the snake hissed and I scowled with fury. "Sssooo, how isss the Pichu?" he sneered.

"Shut your Celebi damned mouth!" I raged. The snake looked amused.

"Sshall I assssume he died?" it hissed with a smirk.

"He lived. You won't," I replied coldly. "I'm here to settle the score. This time, you won't slither away."

"You are no match for me, the great Fang!" Fang sneered, exposing his fangs, "And thisss time, I'll actually ussse my venom. It'll ensure the demissse of the victim!" he added, chuckling cruelly.

"I guess we'll see," I retorted, readying a Thunderbolt. If he touched the water around his island, he'd be finished off quickly. Fang grinned and slithered closer to the water, just as I fired my thunderbolt.

"Nice try, Dragonair!" Fang hissed, launching his body over the water, landing on dry land. The Thunderbolt hit the water, briefly electrifying it. The Ekans slithered closer, but I held my ground, glaring at the snake. I took note that the other Ekans were watching their leader closely, almost reverently. "You can do better," Fang mocked.

"You can just go and die!" I snarled furiously, sending a Hyper Beam in Fang's direction, the powerful beam creating a line of destruction as it moved over the ground towards the Ekans. Fang's eyes widened in surprise as the beam hit him, the force sending him flying, slamming forcefully into a tree. The other snakes all hissed in shock as their leader slid limply to the ground. I smirked, panting slightly. My smirk vanished as Fang's laugh filled the air a moment, the Ekans glowing white. "Oh hell no," I muttered. The light expanded and then faded.

"Excellent!" Fang hissed. In place of the previous Ekans was a larger snake, which strange markings on its chest. I cursed again. The damn Ekans had evolved into a freaking Arbok. The other snakes in the clearing hissed reverently, the noise annoying me. The transformed Fang smirked at me. "You may have matched me before, but now I'm stronger than ever!" Fang sneered. I noticed that for some reason, the Arbok no longer hissed the 's' in the words.

"I'll still take you down!" I replied angrily.

"You will try," Fang replied eerily. I floated to a different angle, sending a powerful Flamethrower at the large snake, but Fang dodged it. One thing I quickly noticed was that he was slower than he was as an Ekans, having had no experience with his new body. This was a weakness I could take advantage of, but I'd have to hurry. After evolving, it doesn't take too long to get used to the new body enough to reduce the sudden disadvantage.

Fang lunged forward at a speed that surprised me, striking me with his tail, knocking me to the ground painfully. That tail packs a punch, I'll say that much. I twisted just in time to dodge Fang's...er...fangs. I retaliated with my own tail, striking the Arbok's head with enough force to unbalance him. I used the moment to move away from the snake, who seemed amused by my tactic.

"Surely you can do better!" he mocked again.

"Just bring it!" I replied, but we both froze for a moment. The other snakes looked about in confusion as two figures emerged from the woods. "Aw damn!" I muttered.

"Thought you might be here," said the female Charmander matter-of-factly. The Pichu whimpered slightly.

"How the hell did you find me?" I demanded.

"Not the time, Dragonair. Now let's take these snakes down!" Ember replied, baring her claws. Spark made a very cute fighting pose, sparking nervously. Fang laughed.

"Take those two, boys. I'll deal with the Dragonair!" he ordered. "Don't kill them yet. That pleasure is mine!" he added, gazing at me. I scowled furiously.

"Over my dead body!" I snarled. Fang smirked.

"That's the point, yes. Now let's end this!"


	18. Arguments

A tense stare down followed Fang's announcement. Spark was still doing the painfully cute fighting pose, and Ember was eyeing the other Ekans carefully. Fang watched me for movement, and I rarely disappoint an expectation like this. I sent a small Thunder Wave towards Fang, hoping the paralysis would last long enough for me to finish him off quickly, but Fang launched his body to the side, the waves of electricity missing him altogether. I was slightly impressed by how much speed his Arbok body had, although it was still slightly slower than his Ekans form, but that is still probably because he hadn't fully adjusted to the new size and weight.

The other snakes had slowly begun slithering towards Ember and Spark, the latter was sparking nervously as they approached. "Be careful, Spark," Ember said calmly, examining her claws carefully. One Ekans lunged towards Ember, who jabbed her paw forward, catching the Ekans by the neck and throwing it back towards its comrade, knocking a few other Ekans aside. Another Ekans lunged at Spark, who jumped and landed on the Ekans' back. The confused snake began slithering in circles, unaware Spark was on its back, and was trying to see where the Pichu had gone. Ember dodged another lunge, this time striking back with her claws, wounding the snake. She glared at the blood on her paw for a moment before shrugging.

"Your little friends are stronger than I thought, Dragonair, but like yourself, they are nothing to me. This is why I am the leader of the Ekans clan," Fang hissed quietly. He lunged at me, fangs bared and ready to strike. I was an instant slow in dodging, and the fangs struck my body, fortunately not piercing through, but it hurt a great deal more than it had when I was attacked by an Ekans.

"Damn it!" I snarled, sending a Flamethrower at the Arbok, who was also slow in dodging. Fang let out a yell of pain, but seemed to recover quickly. "Like it hot?" I sneered. Fang chuckled.

"I'm just warming up," Fang said simply. He opened his mouth and a strange fluid fired at me. I twisted my coils to dodge, but a few drops hit me regardless. There was perhaps a pause of two seconds before I felt an intense burning sensation where the drops had touched me. I jerked in pain, staring at the scales that the fluid had hit. The spots were smoking slightly, and the scales were burned.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded furiously, as Fang laughed.

"Acid, of course. You merely got a small dose, so imagine the agony of a full blast!" Fang replied, snickering evilly. I scowled in reply, sending a Thunder Wave at the snake in retaliation. Fang attempted to dodge, but somehow only accomplished falling over, the wave of electricity striking him. "Damn you, Dragonair! This isn't over!" he raged furiously.

"I can see that. You're not dead yet!" I replied coldly, firing a Hyper Beam at his immobile form. Fang's eyes widened in horror, and the beam struck him. There was a large explosion and a cloud of dirt and dust was sent up, concealing the Arbok from sight, but I had seen the beam strike his body. The other Ekans hissed in shock, allowing Spark to bite the tail of the Ekans he was 'riding' on. The Ekans in question hissed in pain and Ember stabbed it with her claws. The dust cleared and I could see the Arbok slumped against a tree, blood trickling from a gash on his head. His eyes were closed and he was completely still. A sudden hush filled the clearing.

"Massster Fang?" One Ekans hissed, slithering over to the Arbok and examined him carefully. After a few moments of silence, the Ekans hissed angrily. "Leave now! You killed our massster, sssoo you are allowed to leave, according to our rulesss. If we ssseee you again, we will kill you to avenge our massster!" the Ekans hissed at me.

"No arguments here," I said coldly, turning away from the snake territory. Ember and Spark followed quickly, not wishing to be too close to the snakes, which were glaring at us furiously. Several minutes later, we had left the forest area. "Let's move out of range of the territory while traveling now," I said, continuing away from the woods until we reached a small stream. "We can rest here for a while, maybe clean up," I said, glancing at Ember's paws, which she was eyeing with disgust. Ember nodded and proceeded to wash her claws carefully. Spark was content to splash in the water aimlessly, laughing with delight.

"Why did you go back?" Ember asked after a few moments, as I knocked some apples off a nearby tree. I looked at her quizzically. "Don't act confused. Why did you go after the snakes again?" Ember asked, betraying anger in her tone. I was a little surprised by her sudden aggravation, but still couldn't resist increasing it.

"My question first. How did you find me?" I retorted. Ember's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Don't dodge the question. Why did you go back?" Ember repeated angrily.

"You dodged my question when I asked it earlier," I replied simply. Spark whimpered slightly, but no one seemed to notice.

"I think my question's a bit more important, Dragonair. You risked your life, and left us sleeping without knowing what the hell you were doing or where you were!" Ember shouted angrily. I felt a slight surge of guilt at that statement, having overlooked the issue when I had left. My guilt was quickly replaced with annoyance.

"It was my decision to make," I said, turning away from them. Ember growled from behind me.

"What's your problem? Why would you endanger yourself and leave us helpless?" Ember demanded, and I was willing to bet she had bared her claws threateningly, a gesture that is meaningless if the target doesn't see the threat. Spark whimpered loudly.

"I thought it was for the best," I replied coldly.

"What the hell does your mate see in you? You're an arrogant idiot that endangers everyone around him," Ember snarled. I was silent for a moment, then whirled around to glare at the Charmander, my pent up anger breaking free.

"You shut the hell up about things you don't understand!" I shouted furiously. "You can keep your opinions about my mate to yourself!" I snarled.

"You're still an arrogant idiot who left us asleep in a dangerous area without a freaking clue what was going on!" Ember shouted back. Spark was crying quietly, still standing in the stream, but not splashing anymore.

"NO FIGHT!" Spark yelled loudly, causing both of us to stare at him in shock. "ME NO LIKE FIGHT!" Spark yelled, still crying. "Me like you. Me like you. Me no like fight. No fight!" he said, pointing to each of us. "No fight or me sparkin' you," he said, climbing from the stream and staring at us, once more assuming his cute fighting pose.

"Whatever," I said irritably, floating away from them and curling up under a tree about 50 yards away, my back to them. I stared at the sky for several minutes, still angered over what Ember had said. What bothered me now was not the accusation of being arrogant or reckless, or even the comment about Sapphire, but what truly bothered me was I had noticed my anger was starting to control my actions. I had gone after Fang for revenge and, when questioned about it, I was too ashamed to admit it. Also, I was having difficulty controlling my temper, which was a problem in the past, one that I thought I had gotten conquered.

"Dragonair?" Ember asked from nearby, and I glanced at her for a moment before turning my attention away once more. "I'm sorry; I was just upset about the risk. I shouldn't have said that about your mate," she said awkwardly.

"I'm fine," I replied coldly. Ember glanced at me expectantly. "What, you want an apology as well?" I asked sarcastically.

"Spark said we should," Ember said with a hint of a smile.

"I don't apologize," I replied seriously. Ember raised an eye scale.

"Never?" she said, confused. I sighed.

"Very rarely." I replied, avoiding her gaze. She seemed to know what that meant.

"So only to Sapphire." Ember murmured. "Well, you can talk about it, or I can just leave you alone until you calmed down. Your choice," she said.

"I'll tell you later. I just need to calm down first," I replied. "Spark probably needs to calm down, also," I added as an afterthought. Ember nodded and walked back over to the stream. I relaxed a few minutes and then went to follow. We still planned to go to Vermillion, and if we hurried, we could make it by nightfall.


	19. Tale of Attraction part 1

**This is a Sapphire POV chapter. This scene takes place about a year before the rest of the fic. **

I awoke earlier in the morning than usual, which I think is a bit strange considering the amount of traveling I had been doing recently. Then again, I typically meditate to recharge most of my energy, so it really shouldn't surprise me. I'm not entirely sure why I travel so much, because I'm not searching for any particular destination. I spend a few days in one area, and then continue on my way. Unless I'm fond of a certain area, in which case I stay longer. I'm not restless, necessarily, just interested in different areas. I blinked a few times as I gazed towards the sunrise, admiring its warm glow. After a few minutes, I yawned, stretching my serpentine body. Then I floated over to the small lake nearby, diving into the water.

The cool water helped eliminate any remaining tiredness, and I swam around aimlessly, merely enjoying the swim itself. In a way, swimming is sort of like meditation, as it enables me to relax both my body and mind, but at the same time helps keep me limber. It wasn't until sunlight began shining through the water that I returned to the surface, returning to the shore, where I ate a few berries from a nearby bush, savoring the tangy flavor before coming completely back on the shore, stretching slightly. I turned back to the water, briefly examining my reflection before taking a short drink of water.

When I looked up, I blinked in surprise. Another Dragonair was coiled near the stream that led to the lake area. What intrigued me about the newcomer wasn't so much that it was male, or even that it was a Dragonair (both factors which did interest me slightly), but that the Dragonair seemed upset about something. I floated over cautiously, not wishing to alarm the other Dragonair, and landed perhaps 10 feet away. The Dragonair seemed to be staring at the surface of the water, completely oblivious to me. Then again, I was also partially in his blind spot.

"Hello," I said to him and he glanced up at me, eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yes?" he said with the faintest hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Hello. Do you live in this area?" I asked, smiling congenially. The male raised an eye scale slightly.

"No. I usually reside in Kanto," he replied.

"Are you alright? You seem a bit upset," I continued, moving a little closer.

"I'm fine," he replied, somewhat snappishly. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sapphire," I said, somewhat taken aback by his slight hostility. Then again, most individuals are hostile when upset.

"Are you a wild or human owned?" the male asked, without introducing himself.

"Wild," I replied calmly.

"I thought so. You actually have a name that isn't demeaning," the male replied, smirking slightly.

"Huh?" I said, confused. The other Dragonair's smirk grew wider.

"Demeaning refers to degrading, which means lowered in value or insulting. You actually have a respectable name, while almost every human given name is complete trash," he explained.

"I see. What's your name?" I asked. He seems to have a very low opinion of most humans. I haven't had much contact with humans, but they don't seem that bad.

"My name's Dragonair. I was named that as a Dratini by an idiotic human," he replied snappishly. "I evolved a while ago, so the name is tolerable," he explained, scowling slightly before stretching out and laying down near the stream. I wondered whether his attitude towards me was because of his mood or his personality.

"You should try to relax a little," I said calmly, lying down next to him. In all honesty, this was me trying to flirt a little bit, mainly to see his reaction. If he was uninterested or had personal space issues, he would move away. If he was indifferent, he wouldn't do anything, and if he were interested, he'd move closer. This isn't me predicting, it's a male Dragonair's involuntary reaction to a female of the same species. To my knowledge, this only works with a male and female Dratini or Dragonair. Dragonair glanced at me, but didn't move away or closer.

"I am relaxed. I meditate frequently," he muttered. I smiled slightly.

"I'll test that. Are you relaxed right now?" I asked him. He nodded, avoiding eye contact. I used my tail and very briefly stroked his tail before pulling mine back. He flinched almost comically, exactly as I predicted his reaction would be. "You weren't relaxed," I pointed out, laughing slightly.

"Why did you stroke my tail?" he demanded, looking very, very confused. I tilted my head at him, smiling slightly. He looks kind of cute when he's confused. Tail stroking is one of the few flirting techniques I know of, although Dragonair is the first one I've actually flirted with.

"Well, it proved you weren't relaxed," I said seriously, before very gently wrapping my body partly around him. There's no way in Jirachi's name that he could miss this hint. When the female partly wraps a male, it's common knowledge that the female is flirting. Dragonair flirting often appears to be very suggestive from a human's point of view, but humans have a bizarre point of view when it comes to affection.

"Uh...what are you doing?" Dragonair asked, looking awkward, which tipped me off that he knew that I was flirting. He looks cute when he's embarrassed also.

"I'm trying to help you relax, since you seem so tense," I replied, gently nuzzling my head against his neck. Dragonair blushed slightly and then pulled away, looking awkward. However, I noticed he was quickly replacing his discomfort with anger, which is a common action when stressed out.

"Just leave me alone!" he snarled.

"You don't have to be nasty," I said, feeling slightly upset by his hostility. I was, after all, just trying to be nice. Maybe I overdid the affection a bit, but he shouldn't be that hostile.

"Oh shut up," Dragonair muttered bitterly. I felt a twinge of anger, but took a deep breath, focusing my energy into my aura orb instead, smiling to myself as a cloud appeared over the male Dragonair's head, and I watched as snow began to fall upon him. He flinched, staring up at the cloud with slight horror.

"I can be cold, too," I said, turning away from him and floating to the opposite end of the clearing. "Let me know if you want to try again," I added. I wasn't quite sure why I made that offer for a second chance, but I think I knew that he was just upset about something completely unrelated, which was affecting his behavior and attitude. I stretched out and relaxed. He'd have to talk to me eventually in order to get rid of the cloud.


	20. Tale of Attraction part 2

**Dragonair POV**.

"Stop laughing!" I yelled in annoyance. Ember was seriously rolling on the ground, laughing hysterically. I had just finished telling her the story up to Sapphire using a snow cloud on me, and while she had snickered during half the story, this reaction was the most annoying of them all.

"No, wait...you seriously snapped at an attractive female...who was obviously flirting with you?" Ember said, clutching her side. I hope it was really hurting her.

"Shut up, Ember. I had no experience with flirting, and I was in a bad mood," I scowled.

"She was probably flirting to get you out of the bad mood," Ember pointed out. "Plus you said she was incredibly attractive, and she seemed to have a good personality. You basically blew it from the beginning."

"You realize she actually is my present day mate, right?" I asked, not sure whether she had actually forgotten that or not. Ember paused, confirming that she had, indeed, forgotten that fact.

"Wait, how the hell did that happen?" she asked seriously, still chuckling.

"You must have missed it when you started laughing. The last thing she said was 'Let me know if you want to try again'," I replied, still annoyed. Ember smirked.

"I know I said this earlier, but seriously, what did she see in you? She just met you and you were a jerk. However, she offered a second chance almost immediately. I doubt she would go for looks alone, assuming she was physically attracted to you," Ember said.

"I'll ignore the sloppy wording on that for now," I said dismissively. "Anyway..."

* * *

"Damn...I hate cold," I muttered, trying to find some way to get the snow cloud to stop chasing me, with no success. I even tried using my own weather control abilities, and learned something surprising. Sapphire's weather abilities vastly outstrip mine. I'm not particularly powerful at weather control, but the revelation was still surprising. After several minutes of failing to escape the cloud, I finally gave up on trying to get away. My next goal was to get Sapphire to get rid of it. It was at this point I remembered what Sapphire had said as she left:

_"I can be cold too. Let me know if you want to try again"._ I considered the message for a few moments, shivering as more snow fell on me. She was clearly chiding me for snapping at her, but she must not have been that angry about it, because she offered me a chance to make it better. I sighed and reluctantly headed over to where Sapphire was now stretched out, at the opposite end of the clearing, the snow cloud still pursuing me. I stopped a few feet away from the female Dragonair, moving around nervously. After a few moments, Sapphire opened one eye to look towards me, but didn't say anything.

"Um...can you call off your cloud?" I asked anxiously, still moving around, trying to stay warm, which was virtually impossible. I doubt even using a Flamethrower on myself would make any difference in the temperature, and it'd probably hurt me. Sapphire yawned and stretched lazily. I instinctively glanced at her sleek form before looking away.

* * *

"Dragonair, I really didn't need you to say that," Ember interrupted.

"You wanted to know the story," I replied.

"I'm fairly sure you could have told the story without telling me that you were checking her out while she was stretching," Ember said with a sigh.

"Can I continue?" I asked. "Good. Anyway..."

* * *

"Why?" Sapphire asked, lifting her head to look towards me.

"Because it's cold!" I said, aggravated. I noticed a flicker of annoyance upon the dragoness' face and winced. "So I can talk to you more comfortably," I said quickly. Sapphire tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Talk first. Then I'll call the cloud off," she replied with a small smile. I mentally groaned. "So what do you want?" she asked, looking at me seriously.

"I wanted to apologize for yelling at you. I was just upset," I said hurriedly, but sincerely.

"Upset about what?" she asked, and I noticed the snow cloud had stopped snowing, but was still hovering over me.

"I don't really know. I've just been stressed out lately, I guess," I said. Sapphire made a 'come here' gesture with her tail and I hesitantly came closer. The cloud had vanished, but I was still anxious.

"Well, talking about problems can help," Sapphire said. "Curious, have you been sleeping enough? You can get snappish if you haven't slept, and stress doesn't help," she said softly, now gesturing for me to lie down in front of her. I looked at her quizzically, but followed the silent instruction. "However, I'd appreciate a formal apology," she said. I shivered slightly from the lingering cold, but nodded.

"Ok...I'm sorry for snapping at you. It was unfair of me to take my anger out on you," I said sincerely. Sapphire nodded and nuzzled me gently, sending another shiver down my back, although this one wasn't from cold.

"I forgive you, but it's advisable if you make it up to me later," she said gently. I gave her a confused look. "Like prepare a meal or something," she clarified. "But right now, I want you to relax and tell me what's upsetting you," she said kindly.

"This should count as making it up to you..." I grumbled. Sapphire laughed slightly, and I felt her tail press against a spot on my neck, kneading gently. I almost immediately felt more relaxed. "How are you doing that?" I asked.

"I know most of the relaxation pressure points," Sapphire said gently. "Now relax...I want you to tell me what's bothering you," she said soothingly.

"I don't know. I just felt cranky this morning. I've been a little stressed out due to the recent operations I've been doing," I said, feeling myself get calmer.

"Operations?" Sapphire repeated, puzzled.

"My trainer is a Team Rocket executive," I explained. "It's a human criminal gang, but I avoid any unpleasant tasks. I don't hurt or attack the innocent or the young," I explained, yawning slightly. Sapphire stopped the massaging and lay next to me. I instinctively inched closer, which confused me. I wasn't very big on affection, so why did I go closer? Sapphire smiled and nuzzled me again, causing me to blush slightly.

"Feeling better?" she asked. I nodded slightly. "That's good. Now how do you plan to make up your earlier rudeness?" she asked, raising an eye scale at me. I paused, considering it seriously.

"Do you like fish?" I asked after a moment. She nodded. "Then I'll cook you a fish. Will that be good?" I asked and Sapphire nodded.

It took me perhaps two minutes to catch two fish from the stream, one for each of us. Sapphire watched me curiously, the light from the setting sun illuminating her sleek form, her aura orb glinting silvery, adding to her beauty.

* * *

"You're doing it again. Leave out the parts where you're checking her out," Ember said, scowling in frustration. She always acted like this whenever the topic of attraction came up.

"Oh, get over it," I retorted. "This reminds me about those red berries..."

* * *

I finished the basic preparations of the first fish and had placed it by a berry bush, which I recognized from my Dratini years as a Cheri berry bush, infamous for the spicy taste. I personally liked them as a flavoring, so after cooking the fish, I intended to season the fish with the berries. I sent a quick stream of fire towards the fish, hoping to cook it flawlessly. However, I kept the flames on for a few seconds too long. The fish cooked fine, maybe just a little overdone, but the REAL problem wasn't the fish. It was the Cheri berry bush, mainly because a few embers from my Flamethrower struck one of the lowest hanging berries. Sapphire gasped in shock and jerked backwards. I gave her a confused look just as there was a massive explosion.

"Holy Mother of Celebi!" I yelled as Sapphire burst out laughing from my expression. "Wait...Cheri berries explode?" I said, suddenly confused.

"Yeah, when exposed to fire," Sapphire said, still laughing.

"Now how did I not know that?" I muttered.

"Maybe because you never used a Flamethrower attack on a Cheri berry," Sapphire suggested, nuzzling me, probably both flirting and trying to calm my nerves, which worked quite well.

"Damn, there's only one fish left. At least I cooked that one perfectly," I said despairingly.

"We can share it. I'm not that hungry," Sapphire replied, coiling around me slightly. I agreed half-heartedly. "At least it was memorable," she added after we finished eating.

"That's true, I suppose," I admitted.

"If you get upset in the future, just talk to me," Sapphire said gently, nuzzling against me once more before coiling up under a tree in the center of the clearing. I coiled up a few feet away. "Good night, Dragonair," she whispered.

"Night," I replied before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"Is that it?" Ember asked. I stared at her. "Is that the end of the story?" she repeated.

"For that day. I just told you the story of me apologizing and making it up to her. What more do you want?" I asked. Ember shrugged. "I'll tell you more some other time. We're almost to Vermillion, but it's getting late." I said, floating over to a small clearing, which unfortunately had a small stream, but no fruit nearby.

Ember curled up by the stream, laying the sleeping Spark next to her. (He had been sleeping before I even started telling the story. Apparently, him yelling at us to not fight tired him out) "Alright, good night," Ember called before falling asleep. I nodded, replaying the memory in my head before falling asleep as well.


	21. The Shrine

"Dragon?" Spark's voice awoke me, what felt like moments after I had dozed off. "Dragon?" he repeated, whining a little.

"Huh?" I muttered sleepily. "Is this important? If not, go bother Ember."

"I'm awake too, jackass," Ember said, growling slightly. I opened one eye sleepily and noticed that it was almost pitch black out, the only light coming from Ember's tail and a small glimmer of the moon that peeked from behind the clouds overhead.

"Oh. Then why am I awake?" I asked, yawning.

"Me hear noise. Me scared," Spark said earnestly.

"What kind of noise?" I muttered, stretching slowly.

"Me no know. Me scared," Spark insisted, sparks flying from his cheeks. "Me wake up and hear noise. Me wake her up and she hear noise too. Me wake Dragon up now," Spark said rapidly.

"So I suppose I have to hear the noise now?" I asked sarcastically, listening regardless. After a few seconds of silence, I scowled at them. "I don't hear anything. It was probably the wind or a Hoothoot," I said dully, coiling up once more. Suddenly, I felt a flash of pain as Ember poked me with her claws. "Argh! What the hell was that for?" I yelled angrily.

"Could have been worse, and I'll be happy to give you a taste of that if you don't take us seriously!" Ember retorted. Spark nodded cutely.

"Ok, fine. What did the noise sound like?" I asked, irritated.

"Me no know," Spark said proudly. I stared at him for a few moments.

"The only thing stopping me from going to sleep right now is that Ember will slash me. Now help me understand what the problem is, or I will knock Ember unconscious and go to sleep," I said tiredly. Ember let out a weird growling noise and I raised an eye scale at her, trying not to laugh. It had clearly been an attempt to sound threatening, but also not to agitate the Pichu. As a result, it ended up as a slightly choked sound, failing in all definitions of threatening.

"Isn't that a Charmander mating call?" I teased, grinning. Ember's eyes widened in fury and she lunged at me, but I calmly blocked the lunge with my tail, throwing her to the side. Ember growled threateningly and lunged again, but I blocked her claws with my tail, pushing her to the ground. We both froze as a strange wailing sound was heard. At first, I thought it was Spark, but he was looking around nervously, sparks leaping from his cheeks in his agitation.

"That noise! Me scared!" Spark wailed. Ember hurried to comfort him, but shot me a venomous look regardless.

"That's no Hoothoot. Probably a Charmander returning Ember's call," I said, laughing quietly at Ember's expression.

"Shut up!" Ember snarled, looking ready to attack me again. She managed to restrain herself, but the urge could still be seen in her eyes.

"Me scared..." Spark whimpered. "Me want to sleep, but mean noise no let me." he said, cringing.

"Shall I investigate, or are you two coming also?" I asked with only half the regular amount of sarcasm as normal. The two exchanged looks, then stepped forward. "I assume that means you're coming," I said, leading them in the direction of the noise. "Stay close, we don't want to get lost now," I added. We traveled in silence for several minutes, entering a small forest, which was thick with strange fog.

"Me no like mean fog. Me no see Dragon!" Spark complained from behind me. I glanced back and raised my eye scale again.

"Spark, you're covering your eyes," I said, smiling slightly. He was sitting on Ember's tail again, but he had both paws over his eyes, apparently terrified of the fog. Ember glanced back at him, perhaps calculating how large she could make her tail flame.

"Peek-a-boo!" Spark replied cutely, moving his paws. I snorted with laughter, before almost immediately becoming serious once more. Spark covered his eyes again. "Me no see Dragon," he said in a sing-song voice.

"Um...not now, Spark," I said, just as I heard that strange wailing again, coming from the left. "This way," I told Ember, who nodded before following me to the left. I squinted, trying to see through the dense fog. I could barely see further than ten feet in front of me. After another few moments, the fog abruptly lifted, revealing a large, lush green meadow. Ember blinked in surprise. This area was lit by several glowing orbs of light.

"What is this place?" Ember whispered in awe. In the exact center of the meadow was a large, single story building. Compared to the rest of the clearing, it was small, and I sensed a strange aura coming from it.

"Me see building. Me think building scary. Me no want go in building," Spark said rapidly, shivering, now clutching Ember's waist nervously. Ember winced from the pressure before narrowing her eyes at the building.

"I think the noise came from inside the building," she said slowly and Spark's cheeks started sparking again.

"Me sparkin'..." he said, pointing at his cheeks as if we couldn't notice that without him pointing it out. "Me want Mommy and Daddy."

"Stupid Rockets," I said darkly, scowling at the thought of the cruelty so many Pokémon had suffered because of them. It was less than a week ago that I worked loyally with them, and now I was a traitor, hating them more than anything else I ever despised.

"It doesn't look like a Rocket base. I've never seen a building like that before," Ember pointed out, misunderstanding what I had muttered. I didn't bother correcting her, instead choosing to approach the building. The Charmander followed cautiously, the Pichu gripping her waist tighter with each step. "Spark, please let go before you break my ribs," Ember said to the kit, who obediently released her waist.

We ascended a staircase leading to the entrance of the building, which was starting to remind me of an ancient shrine. By the door, a faded plaque read "Ancient Shrine of...", but the last word was too faded to read. I really wasn't that surprised.

"Ancient Shrine of What?" Ember asked, puzzled.

"All that matters is that it's an ancient shrine," I pointed out. Ember shrugged, not really caring. "Shall we go inside?" I asked rhetorically.

"No!" Spark blurted.

"I'm voting with Spark. Two against one, we don't go in," Ember said, grinning.

"Then why the hell did we come this far?" I demanded, irritated.

"By all means, you go into a sacred shrine and get cursed, but leave us out of your fantasies of self-destruction," Ember said seriously.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I said, completely confused at this point, but sighed and entered the shrine regardless. "Fantasies of self-destruction?" I repeated after a few seconds.

"Yeah. Leave us out of them," Ember called from the entrance. I shook my head and continued through. It was an enormous room, lit by dim torches. I looked around curiously, taking note that the place had probably been deserted for decades.

_"Intruder! You triggered the curse of the shrine!" _A foreboding, echoing voice rang out.

"Told you so!" Ember yelled from the entrance.

"Hey Ember, go work on your mating call!" I shouted back, ducking as the Charmander launched a series of fireballs in my direction.

_"Master, I don't think they're taking us seriously," _the voice said in a worried tone.

"Yes, perhaps because there is no curse, you idiot," said a second voice, the new voice sending shivers down my back. It was a cold hiss of a voice, calm and sinister. "The best way for others to take you seriously is to encounter them. So go ahead," As soon as these words were spoken, a being materialized in the center of the room.

"A Ghost Pokémon?" I muttered, surprised, but at the same time, not surprised. In the rear of the room, a second figure seemed to materialize, but unlike the ball of gas before me, it wasn't a ghostly figure. The second figure was solid, and I recognized it as a Weepinbell. (What the hell?!) The plant Pokémon had its eyes closed, as if sleeping.

"Is that a Gastly?" Ember asked, walking into the room, Spark clinging to her, sparks flying from his cheeks.

_"You will learn to take us seriously,"_ The Gastly sneered at us.

"I guess we'll see," I replied calmly. Ember bared her claws as well and Spark struck up his fighting pose. "Bring it on, ghost boy!"


	22. A Gastly Battle

The Gastly smirked, exposing its fangs at us. _"You will soon respect the ghost Pokémon,"_ It hissed, floating in front of us passively.

"Less talk, more action!" Ember sneered, sending a fireball at the ghost, which simply faded out, the fire passing through it harmlessly.

_"You cannot harm a ghost,"_ the Gastly sneered, dark energy forming around it as it phased back into the more solid plane (although it was still gas-like). I narrowed my eyes a moment before the energy expanded, striking me forcefully, hurling me backwards, where I slammed into the wall, wincing in pain. Ember gasped in surprise, spitting several fireballs at the ghost, which phased out completely, reappearing inches in front of the Charmander. _"Boo!"_ the Gastly said mockingly.

"Just die already!" Ember snarled, slamming her claws into the Gastly, her paw passing uselessly through the gases. "Ooh, that felt weird," she said, shuddering, withdrawing her paw quickly.

_"You cannot kill a ghost, my Charmander friend. We are not truly alive and therefore, cannot die..."_ the Gastly sneered, fangs bared menacingly. It turned its gaze to the Pichu, which was sparking with terror. _"You amuse me, young one..."_ it whispered quietly.

"Leave him alone!" I yelled, regaining my composure from the Night Shade attack. The Gastly chuckled for a moment.

_"I didn't do anything...but he shows respect for the ghosts. He knows we are to be feared,"_ the Gastly hissed. _"You, however, do not take us seriously...so you will pay for the error,"_ More dark energy formed around it, expanding and hitting me again, slamming me back into the stone wall, where I slumped to the ground, groaning in pain.

"You okay?" Ember yelled worriedly.

"Yeah, I feel great," I replied sarcastically. "I'll feel even better after I hurt this ghost," I added, launching a thunderbolt at the Gastly, which faded out to avoid the shock before fading back.

_"You never learn, do you?"_ the ghost sneered, but suddenly was engulfed in fire from behind. Ember smirked.

"We learned that you only dodge for a short time, making you an easy target from a rear attack," Ember said. Spark shivered worriedly.

_"You got me once. You need more than that to take me down,"_ the Gastly insisted, fading from view before reappearing next to Ember. It grinned before a ball of purple-black energy appeared in his mouth, growing larger before launching forward and slamming into Ember, knocking the Charmander to the ground.

"Damn you!" Ember snarled, clutching her chest where the Shadow Ball had hit. The Gastly chuckled until a huge electrical blast struck it unexpectedly. I blinked in confusion and then looked down at Spark, who was whimpering on the ground, shaking from an electrical shock.

"Me sparkin' mean ghost. Me hurt," Spark said, crying slightly. The Gastly was twitching, which is odd, considering it's a ghost, and therefore shouldn't have nerves. Plus, it's made of gases, so how does it feel pain at all?

_"You still need much more..."_ the Gastly hissed, ceasing its twitching. Its eyes glowed red and waves of hypnotic energy was sent through the air, hitting Ember, who blinked in confusion and fear. _"Sleeeeeeeeep..."_ the Gastly whispered. Almost immediately, the Charmander's flame dimmed and Ember fell into a trance. I growled in annoyance, sending a powerful Flamethrower attack at the ghost, who calmly faded out again, the fire passing through it harmlessly.

"Leave them alone!" I demanded and the Gastly smirked.

_"I did not harm her. Hypnosis is merely to keep her out of my way, so I can deal with you,"_ it mocked slightly, baring its fangs. _"Of course, this will harm her..."_ the ghost chuckled, eyes glowing once more. Ember suddenly twitched in her sleep.

"What did you do?" I demanded angrily.

_"Revenge for the fireball. As long as she's asleep, she'll be plagued with nightmares, slowly draining her strength!" _the Gastly explained.

"Mean ghost!" Spark yelled, sparking angrily. "Me sparkin' you!" he said with a cute growl. (He was trying to be intimidating and failed immensely)

_"Will you? Then you should sleep as well!"_ the ghost sneered, eyes gleaming red, the waves of energy hitting Spark, who blinked a few times. _"Sleeeeeep..." _the Gastly hissed. Spark ignored him, sending a massive charge of electricity at the ghost, who blinked in shock as the shock hit him.

"Good one!" I told the Pichu, who was twitching, having shocked himself as well. I sent a Flamethrower at the Gastly, who yelled in pain, writhing in midair, unable to fade out in time. After several seconds of burning, the ghost finally managed to fade out enough to move away.

_"How...did...he...resist my Hypnosis?"_ the ghost demanded. I smirked, despite not knowing the answer myself. I had a clue though.

"My bet is because he's so hyperactive; it's very difficult to force him to sleep. Once he's ready to sleep, he's out like a light," I replied.

_"I'm not beaten yet! I am a ghost Pokémon...I'm more difficult to bring down than most Pokémon!"_ The Gastly sneered, hovering over Ember. _"Dream Eater will give me energy!" _It said, eyes glowing once again. Small orbs of energy flew from Ember's body before being absorbed by the Gastly. Suddenly, it twitched slightly. _"What is happening?!" _it demanded fearfully.

"You forgot that you plagued her with nightmares, you fool! Bad dreams do more harm than good when consumed!" snapped the cruel voice I had heard conversing with the ghost earlier. I glanced at the Weepinbell that was in the rear of the room, but it hadn't moved. The Gastly twitched, looking paler than normal.

_"I...feel...weak..."_ the ghost moaned slightly.

"You just consumed nightmares. Obviously you would feel worse. Maybe next time you'll remember that before using Nightmare or Dream Eater!" the voice replied pitilessly, sounding almost amused.

_"Forgive me, master...I failed..."_ the Gastly spoke to the Weepinbell, who didn't move, eyes still closed. I still think it was sleeping, a thought that faded when it spoke in the same cold, sinister tone I had heard before.

"You're dismissed, Nightmare," the Weepinbell said softly and the Gastly faded from sight. "Congratulations...you defeated one of my weakest servants of darkness," the Weepinbell whispered coldly, sending shivers down my back.

"Who are you?" I demanded, and the Weepinbell's eyes opened, causing me to recoil in shock. The eyes were a yellowish tinge, similar to its body color. There was a sinister aura coming from the plant, and it chuckled slightly.

"Why don't you show me your power? You've proven you can beat a ghost, so beating a plant should be easy work for you," the Weepinbell said calmly, moving forward. I scowled at it.

"Just bring it on!" I said coldly.

"Now prepare yourself for a true fight!" the Weepinbell replied with equal venom in its voice.


	23. Diablos

"I can't believe this is even going on," I muttered to myself, facing the Weepinbell. How the hell is a Weepinbell going to be any challenge? It's weak offensively, not that great defensively; being a grass type I can use Ice Beam or Flamethrower to take it down quickly, and dragons are resistant to the grass attacks.

"Suspend your disbelief, Dragonair. It will not aid you here!" the Weepinbell said coldly.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" I demanded, staring at the plant Pokémon's yellow eyes. Few Pokémon have eyes like that, it seemed so unnatural. "And what's with your eyes?" To my slight alarm, the Weepinbell laughed sinisterly, sending another odd shiver down my back.

"You can call me Diablos," the plant said coldly, the name itself causing me to shudder for unknown reasons. "Now shall we begin? Good," Diablos spat a dark liquid at me, but I failed to react in time, earning a sizeable splash of the stuff. Shortly afterwards, an intense burning sensation seemed to burn at my nerves, and I yelled in agony, the affected areas smoking slightly, my scales slightly burned. "What's wrong? Acid too much for you?" Diablos mocked with a cruel chuckle.

"Not even close," I replied angrily, for some reason my fury seemed to please the Weepinbell, but the next instant the expression had vanished. I sent a Flamethrower towards the plant, but a glimmer of light appeared, expanding into a barrier, which deflected the fire easily. "What the...? How can a Weepinbell learn Light Screen?" I demanded.

"They can't," Diablos replied emotionlessly, before sending a flurry of razor tipped leaves towards me. I twisted my body rapidly, avoiding most of them, but a few scratched me as they flew past, fortunately doing little damage to me, other than flickers of pain. I scowled at the Weepinbell, sending an ice beam at it instead. Once again, the barrier of light reflected the beam, and I let out a small grunt of frustration.

"This shouldn't be this hard to beat a grass type!" I muttered to myself, and Diablos laughed.

"This shouldn't be this easy to take down a dragon Pokémon, but no matter...I will enjoy the slight change to my monotonous lifestyle," Diablos said, smirking at me before releasing another spray of Acid in my direction. I managed to react quickly, dodging the dangerous substance.

"I'm very good at dodging, manure breath!" I said, wincing at the weak insult. Diablos chuckled, apparently amused by my comment.

"Can't say I've heard that one before. You may be able to dodge well, but can your little friend?" The Weepinbell turned towards Spark and spat a dose of Acid towards him. It seemed to move in slow motion while I stared in horror. The Pichu whimpered and ducked, the liquid missing his head by an inch.

"Me no like mean plant!" Spark yelled and Diablos chuckled.

"I'm far more than just a plant. Much more..." Diablos whispered mysteriously.

"You mean plant! Me no like," Spark insisted. Diablos blinked his unnaturally yellow eyes for a moment before smirking.

"I'll show you just how mean of a plant I can be..." he hissed before sending a barrage of razor edged leaves at the Pichu. Anger rose quickly to the surface and I released a stream of fire to intercept them, successfully incinerating most of them. The ones that survived the blaze hit Spark, creating several minor cuts, but it was enough to upset the kit.

"Me hurt! Me no like mean plant!" he wailed, sobbing loudly. Ember stirred slightly in her sleep, and Diablos turned his attention to her.

"How about her next?" he whispered softly, sending a quick spray of Acid in the sleeping Charmander's direction. I instinctively dove in front of the spray, letting out an agonized gasp as the burning kicked in, stronger than the last dose due to the damage the first one had done to my scales. Diablos laughed mercilessly. The pain I experienced fueled my anger towards the Weepinbell.

"Listen, you filthy bastard...attack me all you want...but leave them out of this fight!" I said furiously. "They can't fight back, so leave them alone!" I said commandingly. Diablos didn't seem intimidated.

"Nightmare thought the same thing, but he was weakened by the kit...I don't make the same mistakes as my associates," Diablos hissed. "Let's move on..." he continued, sending another flurry of razor leaves towards me, which I countered with a Flamethrower, this time blazing through all of them, the stream of fire also striking Diablos, who ignited quickly. He let out a surprised yell, which was almost agonized, but just as quickly as it began, the burning stopped.

"Like it hot?" I mocked slightly, pleased at actually injuring the plant. However, Diablos seemed as powerful as ever, albeit severely burned.

"You scored a powerful blow, but can you actually win?" Diablos asked me, launching several black orbs of energy from his mouth, each exploding as it impacted against me. I yelled in pain with each explosion, the force of the blows slamming me into the shrine wall.

"Dragon!" Spark wailed, as I struggled to move. I glared back at the Weepinbell, who smiled sinisterly. "Get up Dragon! Me want Mommy and Daddy!" he pleaded. I couldn't help but smile slightly at that.

"I'm not finished yet, Diablos. You need more than that to beat me!" I said, moving forward. Diablos' eyes gleamed brightly for a moment.

"You're determined, that much is certain..." Diablos said quietly. "But how long can you keep this up?" he hissed.

"As long as it takes. Now let's end this!" I shouted, sending a Flamethrower towards the Weepinbell, even as a shield of light materialized to intercept the blow. I followed up immediately with a Hyper Beam, shattering the Light Screen and striking the plant, launching it forcefully against the rear wall. A portion of the ceiling shattered, narrowly missing the Weepinbell.

"Not bad...but I too, am still in this fight!" Diablos said, staggering back towards me.

"Actually, you're not," Ember said, standing right next to the plant, which turned to her in alarm. Twin streams of fire struck the plant, one from me, the other from the Charmander. The Weepinbell let out a shriek of agony, and I winced slightly, unable to comprehend the plant's final moments of pain and agony. I ceased my Flamethrower, a half second before Ember did the same. The Weepinbell twitched slightly and went limp. I approached it cautiously, and noticed the eyes were no longer yellow, but now the regular black. I blinked, unsure if I had imagined the yellow all along. Then the eyes closed and moved no more.

"Great, we just killed a Weepinbell. That was how I enjoy all my mornings," I said sarcastically.

"I thought you spend your mornings putting salt in the sugar shakers and annoying the fire types," Ember said, missing the sarcasm.

"Well, that's fun too. But I especially like killing Weepinbells," I said, emphasizing the sarcastic tone. Ember yawned.

"You're sadistic," she said tiredly.

"I'm being sarcastic!" I yelled, trying to get the message across.

"That's what I said. Sadistic," Ember said, stretching slightly. Spark yawned as well, and Ember and he walked towards the entrance of the shrine. I followed, looking back at the dead Weepinbell. I paused, staring at a strange shadow neat the back of the shrine.

"One second, guys. I'll be right out," I called, floating back towards the back of the shrine, examining the strange shadow as I approached. Something about it seemed to draw me towards it. I tilted my head at it in confusion and suddenly an unspeakable cold came over me as the shadow detached itself from the wall and impacted with me, almost absorbed by my body, and all went black.


	24. Inner Darkness

I awoke, my head throbbing painfully, looking around myself in confusion. I was no longer in the shrine, but in a strange room I've never seen before, but it still felt familiar for some reason. I looked around carefully, searching for some clue as to where I was. The room was completely blank, with no objects in the room, or even ways in or out.

"Where the hell am I?" I demanded to thin air. Almost as soon as these words were spoken, a shadow appeared in the center of the room, causing my head to throb painfully again. The shadow was almost shapeless, identical to the one from the shrine. It was black, with tiny yellow orbs arranged like eyes, but shadows don't have eyes. The shadow suddenly expanded, becoming serpent-like, the black changing to blue and white until an exact duplicate of me appeared, the only difference being yellow eyes as compared to my black.

"Look at me..." the other Dragonair said in my voice, but I detected a slight tone difference. Instead of my usual sarcastic tone, this Dragonair spoke with a more malevolent tone, but was still almost impossible to differentiate between it and my normal voice. I was only able to do it because it's my voice. "Show me your fears..." the Dragonair whispered and the yellow eyes gleamed momentarily.

There were sudden flashes of images, as if I was watching a movie or television show, except I was unable to shut my eyes to block the images. A flash of a fang piercing Spark, the blood gushing from the wound, a flash of Ember injured by another fang. I cried out, trying to force my mind away from the images, but it was no use. Another flash, this one lasting much longer than the others, of a female Dragonair with a silver aura orb, injured and me unable to help her. More images flashed before my eyes, but most of them were similar, but no less horrifying. All spoke of pain and death, and me unable to do anything but watch these living nightmares.

"Stop!" I shouted, focusing on blocking the images, and after a few moments, I repelled them from the front of my mind. The other Dragonair was impassive, unaffected by either the images or my reaction.

"Look at me..." it whispered and I reluctantly stared at the yellow eyes of the Dragonair, which gleamed again."Show me your dreams...your desires..." the Dragonair whispered.

I cried out as images flashed before me once more, but unlike the others, these weren't horrible images. There was a flash of me delivering Spark to his parents, a flash of me triumphing over Ethan's other Dragonair, a flash of the female Dragonair wrapped lovingly around me. Like the more horrifying image involving her, this one lasted longer than the others. Unlike the first series of flashes, I didn't resist the thoughts, but delighted in them, enjoying the fantasies that played out in my mind, but these faded of their own accord, no matter how much I wanted them to remain.

"Show me your anger...your darkness within..." the other Dragonair spoke again, sounding almost hungry this time. I stared into its yellow eyes once more, and images appeared once more, existing longer than flashes, but still didn't linger long. One scene showed Venom charging his Hyper Beam, directed at the Pichu kit I didn't know at the time, and me retaliating with a Thunderbolt. The next scene was of Ember referring to Sapphire as 'ugly', and my momentary fury at her. I was reliving the moments, feeling the same emotions as I had the first time. Another scene showed me finding the imprints of the Rockets' boots where Spark's parents were attacked, and my confusion and frustration. Another scene showed an Ekans striking Spark, and my unspeakable rage and lust for revenge.

"Stop this!" I shouted, trying to wrench my mind free of the memories. They still haunted me, and they always would. However, more scenes appeared, and I was unable to block them. The memory of the dream where Fang killed both Ember and Spark, while I was helpless to do anything but watch. The pattern was broken by the next scene, showing me Hyper Beaming the Arbok, and my feeling of triumph, of satisfaction when Fang's death was announced.

The scene changed once more, this time to the Rocket laboratory, revealing my anger and hatred when I found the Pokémon in the cages, of learning what the lab was using them for, and my satisfaction at attacking the aide and Dr. Gravel, the pleasure experienced as I destroyed the base, contrasting sharply with the sudden surge of rage as Spark's parents were stolen again. Every emotion experienced during the scene was relived, and I moaned slightly, my head hurting more than ever by the sudden mood changes, from fury to joy, back to rage.

Then it was over, the images faded and I once again appeared in the strange room, the other Dragonair smiling slightly, identical to my smirk. I panted slightly, feeling strangely exhausted. "You harbor great power, but you don't use it. You fear the death and pain of your friends and mate, fearing that you can't help them."

"Shut up!" I snarled at my double, who smirked again.

"That's right...use your hatred and anger to fuel your strength. You cannot succeed in your goals without it," the Dragonair replied calmly. I growled slightly, before taking a deep breath, purging my mind of angry thoughts. "What are you doing?" the other Dragonair snapped in alarm. "Your anger and hatred must be unleashed! You can't defeat the Rockets to help the Pichu unless you are willing to do what is necessary to destroy them! You cannot save your friends from death if you refuse to act! All your goals require your anger to make use of your power!" it said, regaining its calm composure.

I hesitated for a moment, considering what was being told to me. Images flashed up once more, involving the dream where I was helpless to stop Fang from killing Spark and Ember. Then the memory of Fang biting Spark, and the blood soaking into his fur returned, but other than horror, I felt no emotion at all. I had begun meditating, blocking the angry thoughts that threatened to enter my mind. The other Dragonair looked coldly surprised by my lack of reaction.

"You're wrong," I said calmly, still meditating. "Anger accomplishes nothing. I went after Fang because I was angry and scared, and in effect, I endangered my friends. They bailed me out more than the other way around. Had I followed my anger when Fang first attacked Spark, he would have died. If I had just used my anger at the Rocket base, rather than my quick thinking, I'd have died then, too. Finally, you left out the one goal that can never be accomplished with anger and hatred: my mate," I opened my eyes to glare at my yellow-eyed double. "How would anger or hatred help me in a relationship involving love and respect?" I asked emotionlessly.

The double flinched, and then grunted in pain, the eyes reverting slowly to black. I stared at it in confusion, and the double smiled cruelly as it looked up towards me and the completely faded away, as if it never existed. Almost immediately, the entire room faded as well, and I blinked, staring around me. I was slumped on the ground in the rear of the ancient shrine. I looked towards the entrance, noticing that Spark and Ember were still in view, so the entire incident lasted mere seconds. I shuddered slightly, my head throbbing slightly, but I followed after Ember and Spark.

"Let's go," I told them, hurrying past. Both nodded sleepily. "Oh look, sun's up," I said, chuckling.

"We aren't traveling until we sleep more," Ember said grumpily.

"Whatever," I replied leading them back towards the woods.


	25. The Hunter

It took us maybe a half hour to find our way out of that foggy forest, and by that time, Spark was almost wide awake, Ember was grumpy as hell, and I was annoyed by Ember's griping and Spark's enthusiasm. That should have been the first clue that this day was going to suck. Then again, as far as I was concerned, my days have all sucked since I accepted the operation a few days ago, but that's not the point.

"Like I'm ever going to get some stupid sleep now that the stupid sun's up, it took so freaking long to get back to the stupid clearing," Ember grumbled rapidly under her breath. "There's not even stupid food to eat so I don't stupidly starve," she muttered.

"Should I knock you out? Because it's incredibly tempting right now," I told her after another three minutes of her muttering in this fashion. Ember glared at me before going silent, although this didn't last long.

"Let's just be stupid and walk to stupid Vermillion so we can hurt some stupid Rockets," Ember said bitterly after failing to fall asleep.

"Me see man!" Spark yelled a moment later and Ember stopped griping for a moment to look at where Spark was pointing.

"Oh shit!" Ember cursed.

"Don't swear in front of the kit!" I chided before I looked as well. "Oh damn it!" I muttered loudly. A human was walking towards us, a dark grin upon his face. He was dressed in a simple black outfit, but I recognized him from a picture in the Rocket's base. "Get ready to fight," I whispered to Ember and Spark, both who nodded seriously.

"Who is he?" Ember whispered back, although the human couldn't understand her.

"I'm not sure of his name, but he's a Hunter, a hired thug, if you will, that tracks down particular Pokémon for money," I replied quietly. "My bet is he was sent after us," I added. Ember cursed again and I smacked her with my tail. "Stop swearing in front of the kit," I hissed to her.

"Alright, we can do this the easy way or the hard way!" the man growled at us as he approached, holding a Pokeball. "The Rockets want you two alive, and a bonus for the Pichu," he said coldly. I snarled slightly.

"Why are they after us?" I asked sarcastically, although I was moderately interested in whether they actually had a specific charge against us. The Hunter blinked and then smirked.

"I don't care why I'm hired; I just do the job they pay me for, which is beating the hell out of Pokémon and turning them in. Although I was told that you are traitors," he replied, tensing slightly.

"I've always wondered about the Hunter profession. How much are they paying you? I mean, you're going after a Charmander who is very skilled in battle and a Dragonair, which is a rare and powerful specie. Then you get a bonus for a baby Pichu. How much is it for all 3 of us?" I asked seriously. Ember stared at me in confusion, unsure if I was trying to distract the Hunter or seriously wondering.

"We're talking about 300,000." the Hunter replied. I snickered and he growled in annoyance. "What's funny?" he demanded.

"They're only paying 300,000?" I sneered, "You should be getting a lot more." The Hunter paused, puzzled.

"What the hell do you mean?" he demanded.

"Think about it. You're being paid 300,000 to find and capture a Dragonair, a Charmander, and a Pichu. The odds against finding them are incredible and the odds of capturing us are 0," I explained, sending a Thunder wave towards the Hunter, who grunted as the wave hit, knocking him backwards, and temporarily immobilizing him. "Then again, you're pretty stupid, so it explains how they managed to buy you off so cheaply," I added, leading Ember and Spark past the Hunter, who was struggling to throw off the paralysis.

"So now what?" Ember asked several minutes later. "We can't go to Vermillion if the Rockets are hunting for us. We'd be overwhelmed. We can't stay here because of the Hunters that are being sent after us, so what do we do?" she demanded. Spark was bouncing around aimlessly, completely oblivious to the conversation.

"We have no place to go. With no leads as to where Spark's parents are, and no leads on where that information is, we don't really have a plan, do we?" I replied, slightly frustrated by being forced to admit the oversight. "We can't just go into hiding, because there's nowhere stable enough for long term stay, we can't travel far because of Spark. We can't wander around due to the regular dangers and the complications," I continued.

"So we have no options, no backup, no goal, and no food?" Ember asked angrily. I nodded grimly and she scowled. "This is all your fault!" she snarled. I shrugged off the accusation, mostly because I had nothing to argue that claim with.

"We better hurry in a different direction. That Hunter is sure to be following." I said after a moment. Ember scowled, but agreed. "We can't follow a path, too easy to track us," I added. Spark nodded before climbing onto Ember's tail to hitch a ride. Ember glanced at the Pichu, but didn't say anything.

"So where are we going to go now?" she finally shot at me. I sighed in frustration.

"We should go find a clue as to where Spark's parents are, and we can plan from there. The best bet to find this information is to access a Rocket database of some sort. We must be patient, or this will all fall apart," I said wearily.

"More than it already did?" Ember snapped back. I ignored her scathing comment.

"No fight!" Spark pleaded. Ember growled angrily.

"Get off my tail! You're so annoying!" she yelled at the Pichu, who slipped off her tail, whimpering slightly.

"Me sorry..." Spark said sadly, but Ember ignored him, turning away from both of us. I stared at her passively, although a bit startled by her anger directed at Spark.

"Calm down, Ember," I said gently, but she glared at me furiously.

"Just shut up! It's your fault I'm in this mess!" she snapped.

"Close enough, but don't get mad at Spark. He didn't do anything," I said calmly.

"Shut up!" Ember bellowed. "Just shut up..." she muttered, walking away from us, no longer appearing angry at all, but I also couldn't identify her current emotion. I paused, uncertain of what to do next. Spark was still whimpering, upset at being snapped at. Ember sat down under a tree, reminding me of my reaction during my argument with Ember a few days ago, after the second encounter with Fang. Maybe she was upset for the same reason I had been, that the stress had gotten to be too much, and coping with it was difficult.

"She no like me..." Spark said sadly, small tears running down his face.

"Sure she does. She's just upset, I think," I told him comfortingly and he hugged my coils.

"How cute," mocked the Hunter from earlier as he stepped into view. "No escaping me this time! Take them down!" he shouted, flinging a Pokeball towards us. It burst open, releasing a large bug Pokémon. I blinked at it, slightly surprised. It was a purple insect with large wings, which seemed to give off a poisonous odor. "Venomoth!" the Hunter yelled.

"A Venomoth," I muttered to myself. Shouldn't be too tricky, unless we get poisoned or something. Spark whimpered, his sparking cheeks causing me to wince, as they were pressed against my coils.

"Now surrender or you'll face the real terror of my creature!" the Hunter said mockingly.

"It has to be some horror to overcome the terror I'm experiencing by looking at you," I replied, causing the Hunter's face to darken in fury.

"You'll pay for that one, Dragonair!" the Hunter snarled. "Take it to them!" he ordered and the Venomoth dove forward.


	26. Not So Venomoth

I reacted quickly, sending a stream of fire towards the Venomoth, but it shimmered a moment, splitting into 3 identical Venomoths, my fire striking the middle one, which vanished without a trace. I blinked, recognizing the technique as Double Team. I hastily sent a Thunderbolt at another Venomoth, which also faded. My momentary distraction enabled the remaining one, the original, to fire a beam of multicolored energy, which struck me forcefully, causing me to feel slightly disorientated, even as I was flung into a tree.

"Dragon!" Spark yelled worriedly, then glared at the large purple insect. "Me no like mean bug! Me squish you!" he said, jumping at the Venomoth, undoubtedly with the intention of stomping on it, but the venomous insect calmly batted its wings, creating a strong enough wind to repel the Pichu. Spark jumped back to his feet and tried again. "Me squish!" he shouted as he leapt. Again the Venomoth repelled him with wind. "Squish!" Spark yelled, jumping again. For the third time, the Venomoth blew him backwards.

"Stop playing with it and take it down!" the Hunter ordered. I shook my head, shaking off my momentary disorientation caused by the Psybeam. The Venomoth was distracted enough for me to shoot a large burst of fire towards the bug, but it abruptly split into 3 as my fire approached, the flames eliminating one of the clones. The reason for the split became clear as Spark sent a small thunder shock at another clone, shocking himself slightly as he did so. However, Spark's electricity caused the hit Venomoth to jerk slightly, the other vanishing. I smiled slightly, despite my annoyance at the tactics the moth was employing.

"Nice one, Spark!" I called, unleashing another wave of fire at the bug Pokémon. The Venomoth shook off the electricity, still oblivious to the impending flames, which engulfed it. The inferno was cut short by a wave of psychic energy deflecting the fire around its scorched body. I scowled, but was still pleased by the damage inflicted.

"Nice hit," the Venomoth praised me and I raised an eye scale at it. "What? Can I not congratulate my first worthy opponent in a long time?" it asked. I got the impression it was a female, which was slightly unnerving.

"You're weird, but let's continue," I replied simply, sending another wave of fire in its direction, but it once again split into three, the stream of fire missing all three copies. "That's really getting annoying," I added seriously.

"That's part of my strategy," the three Venomoths said simultaneously, sounding almost like an echo. "I will refrain from using poison attacks on the young one. It could be dangerous," she added thoughtfully.

"Thanks. I'm fair game, though?" I asked sarcastically. The Venomoth chuckled, which scared me because of the almost friendly tone to it, so unlike the usual evil chuckle of most of my enemies.

"I tend to avoid using poisonous attacks on most of my opponents. However, I may require such techniques to defeat you, in which case I will not hesitate long to use such techniques," the Venomoth replied. This time I noticed that only one of the 3 copies was speaking, the far left one.

"Just checking," I replied, slightly amused by this unintentional slip. I assume the Venomoth also noticed the slip, but seemed to be hoping that I hadn't noticed. I smiled inwardly, preparing my Hyper Beam, wishing to take down the bug in one move. The 3 Venomoth narrowed their eyes at me.

"You're taking quite a risk, aren't you? You drain a great deal of your energy in order for one attack," the three Venomoths said calmly. "It'll leave you open for me to counterattack, should you miss," they added.

"I know. I feel lucky though," I replied smugly, sending the Hyper Beam at the far left Venomoth, whose eyes widened in shock before the beam hit it...and the struck Venomoth vanished. "Oh no..." I muttered to myself.

"Nice try, but you shouldn't take such a risk without knowing for sure your opponent made an error," explained the Venomoth, and the other copy vanished. I panted, already feeling exhausted from the energy expended.

"Good work, Venomoth, now take him out while you have the chance!" the Hunter yelled. The Venomoth stared at the human for a moment before laughing.

"Easy for him to say, when he's not doing the work," she said with a gentle laugh, sending a Psybeam at me, once more causing me to become disorientated, and slamming me into the same tree as before. "I hope you can still put up a fight, otherwise it'll seem like it was too easy." she added, sending yet another Psybeam towards me, but I managed to duck, the beam creating a dent in the trunk of the tree, which sizzled softly upon impact.

"You're pretty strong. What's your name?" I asked her, still breathing hard. The Hunter looked majorly confused at this comment, but I ignored him.

"I am usually just called Venomoth," she replied seriously. "I am unnamed, but I am fine with that," she explained. "Now, shall we resume?" she asked and I nodded, thankful for the momentary breather. "I shall now hold nothing back," she added, smiling slightly.

"Neither will I. May the best Pokémon win," I said.

"I wish you luck," she replied. I was taken aback by this, but nodded in reply, sending a Thunder wave towards Venomoth, who dodged quickly, retaliating with a spray of purple powder. I reacted quickly sending a Flamethrower into the powder, igniting it, causing Venomoth to jerk backwards quickly to avoid the flaming powder.

"Nice try," I said. Spark backed away from the fight nervously, but watching with enthusiasm.

"Same to you," Venomoth replied kindly. Actually, her friendliness was scaring the hell out of me. We were basically trying to injure each other, yet we were having a friendly conversation, as if we were friends in a fun competition. We stared at each other for a few moments until the Hunter lost patience.

"Finish him off!" he shouted to Venomoth, who glanced at him incredulously before returning her attention to the battle at hand.

"Tell him to shut up for me," she joked, sending a Psybeam towards me, which I countered with a Thunderbolt. The projectiles collided, causing an explosion. Both of us were within the blast radius and were thrown backwards. Venomoth struck a tree, while I hit the ground, skidding painfully. "Ow, that hurt," she commented lightly.

"Agreed. Let's try that again," I replied, sending a Flamethrower in her direction. She countered with another Psybeam, tearing through my fire attack, but I twisted my coils out of the way just in time.

"Nicely done," she commented. "However, I'm afraid I shall be forced to end this battle here. Hyper Beam!" She glowed, charging the beam rapidly. I followed suit with my own Hyper Beam and there was a tense silence as both of us charged our beams, draining more of our energy into the powerful beam. Then, as if by some invisible signal, we simultaneously released them. Twin beam fired towards the other, striking in midair. There was a bright flash and then an explosion of energy, creating a shockwave that sent both of us backwards, slamming into trees with a loud thud. I groaned, amazed that I was still conscious. Venomoth wasn't as lucky, and was very clearly unconscious.

The Hunter smirked triumphantly, pulling a gold colored Pokeball from his waist. "Hunter Ball, go!" he said, grinning widely. I knew of Hunter Balls, for the Rockets had developed the technology after Silph Co's Master Ball, although rumor had it that the Rockets had eventually succeeded in duplicating the technology. Hunter Balls were an early attempt, and while they didn't guarantee capture, they ensured that the captured Pokémon was going to have a hell of a time breaking out, making it the perfect tool to catch me. "You're all mine, Dragonair!" the Hunter sneered and pulled back his arm to throw the Hunter Ball.


	27. Much More Venomoth

The Hunter grinned as he threw the small, golden Pokeball in my direction; while I was helpless to do anything but watch. There's got to be something seriously wrong with winning a battle and still getting caught, but Hunters are infamous for underhanded means of capturing, which is why they get paid so much. However, the Hunter Ball suddenly stopped an inch away from me. I stared at it in alarm. The Hunter made a comical spasm of shock. "What the hell?!" he yelled furiously. I stared at the golden orb in confusion and noticed it was surrounded with psychic energy.

"Uh...I'm going to move over here now," I announced, having recovered enough energy to move out of the way of the Hunter Ball. As soon as I was clear, the psychic energy faded and the ball flew past me, bouncing on the grass uselessly. The source of the psychic energy became clear a moment later as Venomoth flew forward. The Hunter narrowed his eyes angrily.

"VENOMOTH! Why did you stop the ball?!" he shouted. Venomoth chuckled, although a little more sinisterly.

"Because you're an idiotic human," she replied and the human flinched in shock. Apparently, he had understood her that time.

"How...?" the human stammered before becoming angry again, seizing Venomoth's Pokeball. "Return!" he snarled, and a red beam flew towards the bug, which dodged with ease, as wave of psychic energy struck him in the chest, knocking him unconscious.

"Fool..." Venomoth said dismissively before turning towards me once more. "You owe me a rematch, Dragonair," she said solemnly and I blinked.

"We just finished a fight a few seconds ago. At least rest first," I replied. Venomoth laughed, but the tone was noticeably less friendly.

"I have enough energy. Call it a handicap. Let's see if you can beat me this time," she replied.

"You were just unconscious. I beat you like 45 seconds ago," I insisted. Venomoth scowled slightly.

"Either fight or I'll poison the Pichu," she threatened. I flinched at the threat and she smirked. "Thought you might give in to that threat. Now let's go," she added, flapping her wings, releasing a cloud of purple powder into the air. I hastily sent a Flamethrower, igniting the powder. Venomoth chuckled, unleashing a wave of psychic energy, pushing the fiery spores away from her, the remaining energy causing me to wince as they hit me, but lacking the force to throw me.

"I'll beat you this time, too," I said solemnly, angered over the threat to poison Spark.

"I doubt that," Venomoth replied emotionlessly, sending a Psybeam at me, but I dodged quickly, retaliating with a Flamethrower. Venomoth's eyes flashed for a moment before 6 identical Venomoths appeared, the fire causing one to fade away.

"How...?" I sputtered, shocked by the additional clones. Double Team requires a great deal of energy to create so many clones, and Venomoth had been unconscious less than 2 minutes ago. Now she not only was conscious, but had enough energy to conjure 5 clones, even after using a Hyper Beam?

"Hold nothing back, Dragonair. Prove your power, for if you lose this battle, Spark will be crying for an antidote," Venomoth said with a smile, all the clones doing the same thing simultaneously.

"You're sick!" I snapped furiously. The Venomoths merely smirked. "You're going down!" I snarled, sending a powerful Thunder Wave at the clones, causing three of them to vanish. The two remaining Venomoths flew clear.

"Take this, Dragonair!" Venomoth said softly, twin Psybeams flying towards me. I twisted out of the way, sending a Flamethrower at one of the Venomoths, but a barrier appeared before it, reflecting the flames away from her, the other Venomoth vanishing. "Nice try," she mocked.

"How many different techniques do you have, damn it?!" I muttered angrily. Venomoth smirked, releasing a cloud of orange powder, which I recognized as Stun Spore. I sent another stream of flames, igniting the powder, but Venomoth was slightly slower in moving out of the way, the fiery spores singing her purple wings.

"Ow!" she muttered, flapping her wings to put the fire out. Unfortunately for her, the air fed the flames, causing the flames to flare up. "Giratina damn it!" she muttered, releasing a psychic wave to cut through the fire. I really have no idea how she does that. She glared at me, no longer as calm as before. I noticed her glowing, ready to use a Hyper Beam. I was still too tired to use a Hyper Beam of my own, and none of my other attacks were strong enough to counter a Hyper Beam at the moment. "I win, Dragonair!" she hissed quietly.

"Wrong!" Ember shouted and a huge stream of fire engulfed Venomoth, whose eyes, which were slightly yellow, widened in horrified shock. With a Hyper Beam charging, she couldn't counter attack, and when the beam gets released, the explosion would be confined to her alone. Sure enough, a second after being engulfed by the fire, a large explosion took place within the flames. When the smoke and fire cleared, Venomoth was lying semi-conscious on the ground, twitching in agony. "Looks like you lost!" she spat at Venomoth.

"Thanks, Ember," I told her gratefully. She appeared to have gotten over her anger from earlier. I turned my attention to Venomoth who looked confused.

"What the hell happened?" she asked. I blinked, noting her eyes were black, not yellow.

"What do you mean, what happened?" I demanded angrily. "You just tried to kill me and threatened Spark!" I growled. The confused expression on Venomoth's face stopped me from continuing.

"What?" she said, then noticed her scorched wings. "Was I on fire?" she demanded. I nodded, still confused by her disorientation.

"Do you remember anything since you regained consciousness?" I asked her.

"Last thing I remember is slamming into a tree after the Hyper Beam battle. Next thing I know, I'm over here, severely burned and you're pissed. What happened to him?" she asked, looking towards the unconscious Hunter.

"You knocked him out," I said slowly. She stared at me, looking startled.

"Hm, you'd think I'd remember that. I usually remember knocking him out. Hypnosis or Psywave?" she asked.

"You know Hypnosis? It was a Psywave," I replied.

"It's not a strong one, but yeah," Venomoth replied. "I really don't remember anything, though," she said worriedly.

"Well, you stopped him from capturing me with a Hunter Ball, and then he got mad and tried to withdraw you. You knocked him out, challenged me to a rematch and if I refused you'd poison Spark," I began, and Venomoth gasped.

"I wouldn't do that!" she protested.

"Anyway, you also said if I lost you'd poison him. Then we battled and Ember caught you from behind and scorched you," I finished.

"All a blank and I would never threaten to poison a kit. I told you that earlier," Venomoth insisted. I nodded. "See you later, maybe," Venomoth said, managing to fly back into the air.

"Where are you going?" I asked, confused.

"I'm sick of Hunting. It is boring, and at times cruel, and the Hunter is a jerk. So, I'm leaving," she explained seriously.

"You can come with us. We're trying to find Spark's parents and mess things up for the Rockets, and you're strong enough to help us if we have trouble," Ember suggested. Venomoth considered it, and smiled slightly.

"Serious? Even after I nearly killed you in a daze?" she asked hopefully. We nodded and she nodded.

"Might as well," she said. Suddenly, Spark leapt on her back, knocking her to the ground.

"Me squish!" he said, stomping on her back. "Squish!" he said, jumping on her again. Fortunately for Venomoth, he wasn't very heavy and therefore wasn't hurting her at all.

"Spark, get off her. She's helping us now," I told the Pichu, who stomped on Venomoth three more times before hopping off.

"Ow...I deserved that, but still..." Venomoth said, slightly dazed.

"Me squish," Spark said proudly. I smirked slightly.

"Well, let's hurry on before idiot wakes up," I said, "The only problem...I still have no idea where to go."

"I do," Venomoth said serenely. "There's a small Rocket facility a mile or so from here. There should be some information about the wherabouts of the Pichu's parents," she explained.

"Been with us for less than a minute, and already helping us out," Ember said smugly. "Let's go, then."


	28. Tale of Attraction part 3

**Quick reminder: Set a year before rest of fic.**

I awoke in the morning, stretching out briefly, eyes still closed, which were startled open when I bumped something next to me. I glanced in the direction of the object and jerked in surprise. I had almost forgotten all about the female Dragonair from the previous evening. Wait...I hadn't fallen asleep with her snuggling right next to me...we had gone to sleep several yards away from each other. I was still where I had coiled up, so the only logical solution was she had come over to me, which seemed rather creepy to me. I stared at her curiously for a few seconds and was about to move away when her tail wrapped around me, preventing me from moving.

"Good morning," Sapphire said, opening her eyes to look at me. She was smiling almost mischievously, confirming my theory that she had come over to me, and I was now betting that it was recently.

"Uh...good morning. What are you doing next to me?" I asked, trying not to appear too uncomfortable (and probably failing). Sapphire tilted her head at me slightly, staring at me calmly.

"I was cold," she replied, smiling slightly.

"Cold," I repeated emotionlessly, unsure if she was serious or not. "So you decided to randomly snuggle next to the male Dragonair you met the day before, who was sleeping at the time?" I asked.

"Sounds right," Sapphire said.

"You realize you just confirmed you were snuggling next to me, right?" I said.

"Yes. Snuggling is the term I would probably use to describe my behavior at that time," Sapphire replied. I blushed slightly.

* * *

"Why do you insist on laughing during the story?" I asked Ember wearily. The Charmander was laughing again, which got really annoying at times. Venomoth was snickering slightly, also tickled at something. Spark was completely oblivious; sound asleep on Ember's tail.

"Sapphire's hilarious. You're almost completely oblivious to when she's flirting, and you're incredibly awkward around her," Ember explained.

"I just find it funny how direct your mate seems to be about her flirting," Venomoth admitted. I sighed.

"I'm continuing now. Anyway..."

* * *

"Uh...ok. Why were you snuggling with me?" I asked awkwardly. Sapphire seemed amused, pulling me closer to her.

"You're cute, and I like you," she replied simply, causing me to blush further. "And you have a nice tail." Honestly, I almost fainted when she said that. Like most Dragonair flirting, that sounds much more suggestive than it really is, but it's still a very powerful compliment.

"Uh..." I said blankly, my mind having basically shut down at that point. Sapphire was clearly resisting the urge to laugh at my expression.

"You need to relax," Sapphire said, pulling me even closer to her (and we started out already really close to each other).

"That's incredibly difficult to do at the moment," I blurted and Sapphire laughed softly.

"Then I'll help you," Sapphire replied, looking me in the face. "Look into my eyes. Don't look away, and try to stay focused," she said. I slowly turned my gaze to her eyes, looking into the shiny black windows. Sapphire seemed to be doing the same thing, but there was a strange look in her eyes, like she was gazing beyond my eyes themselves.

"Now what?" I asked after a moment, feeling increasingly awkward.

"Relax, breathe slowly," Sapphire said soothingly. "Continue looking into my eyes, but try to look past the eyes, gaze further..." she said, almost hypnotically. I followed the instructions, still feeling awkward, looking into her eyes, which were quite beautiful, just as alluring as the rest of her.

* * *

"Remember what I said about references to you checking her out?" Ember interrupted.

"I wasn't checking her out," I said, aggravated. "Now let me continue."

* * *

To my surprise, I was feeling much more relaxed than before, and Sapphire demonstrated this by kissing me gently on the cheek. I flinched, no longer perfectly relaxed, blushing slightly. "See?" Sapphire said teasingly.

"Why did you do that?" I asked, embarrassed.

"Felt like it," Sapphire replied with a shrug. "I can do it again if you want," she added mischievously.

"Uh..." I said, not sure how to respond to that. Sapphire interpreted it as a yes and kissed me again, this time on the mouth, but no longer than the first. I think I actually did pass out at that point, but only for a second. I awoke and Sapphire was laughing lightly.

"I'm guessing I should minimize those for now?" Sapphire teased.

"For now?" I asked, confused on what she meant, coupled with my dizziness. She tilted her head at me again, looking slightly upset.

"You...don't return my affection towards you?" she asked worriedly.

"Huh?" I said stupidly.

"Well, I've been flirting, and I thought we were getting along well..." Sapphire explained, looking more upset now. "But...do you return my affection?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused and slightly upset that she was upset.

* * *

"At this point, I probably would have just assumed you were an idiot and left you," Venomoth said bluntly.

"Huh?" I asked, confused by the interruption.

"Her point exactly. Continue," Ember replied.

* * *

Sapphire was looking particularly agitated now, which was worrying me. "Look, I like you, but if you don't return the affection, I'm wasting my time." she said. "So I'll just ask straight out: Do you want to be my mate?" I'm fairly sure I passed out again, because when I opened my eyes, the sun had moved a little bit.

"Run that past me once more," I said, almost positive I had misheard that. Sapphire blinked.

"I asked if you like me enough to be my mate," she repeated, then noted my expression. "No, no. The question is 'do you want to be my mate?' not 'Do you want to mate with me?'," she explained quickly.

"Oh...how long was I out for?" I asked in slight relief.

"Twenty minutes," Sapphire replied.

"Quick enlightenment: What's the difference between those questions?" I asked, trying to be sure I understood her. Sapphire sighed slightly.

"I am NOT asking you if you want to mate with me, which refers to us mating. I am asking if you want to be my mate, which is sort of like a life partner. Understand?" Sapphire explained. I had studied the dictionary, so I hoped I understood that.

"Wouldn't being your mate eventually mean we would mate?" I asked seriously.

"Yes, but not necessarily soon. By the way, how do you feel about kits in general?" Sapphire asked. I hesitated.

"I like kits, but I'm probably not ready to have one yet," I admitted. Sapphire nodded.

"I feel the same. How old are you?" she asked.

"5 years and a few months," I replied. "You?"

"How many months?" Sapphire interrupted.

"4 months," I replied. "My birthday's late November."

"So I'm about month older. I'm 5 years, 5 months. I was born in early November," Sapphire said. "So...do you want to be my mate? If not, my flirting is wasting our time," she said solemnly.

"There's got to be more to it than a simple answer, but yes," I replied. Sapphire rolled her eyes.

"Obviously. Since you're human owned, we can't be around each other as often as we'd like, but I can visit you every few weeks. It'll help us to get to know each other more. As far as kits, I say we wait a year, and then discuss it. We need be able to raise it together, and be sure we're ready for the task," she explained. "Also, you may learn to be more affectionate and comfortable," she added, smiling.

* * *

"Is that the end?" Ember asked. I nodded, and she smirked. "So, you two must have gotten along pretty well after that if she still likes you," she said.

"Yes, and yes I did get more comfortable with showing and receiving affection," I said.

"How long has it been since then?" Ember asked mischievously.

"It's been a year, so I expect the topic of kits will pop up soon," I said simply. Venomoth smiled slightly.

"Have fun with that," she said serenely.

"Exactly what does that mean?" I asked darkly.

"Interpret that any way you feel like it," she said. I glared at her.

"I should now seriously be wondering why the hell I even told you this," I grumbled.

"Cheer up, we're almost to the facility," Venomoth said cheerfully.

"Best news I've heard in a long time," I said.

"Here we are." Venomoth said, as we rounded a bend to emerge in front of a small building, even smaller than the laboratory we destroyed earlier.

"Good. We'll get the info, blow the place up, and be on our way," I said, smirking to myself. The day had sucked, but the evening was going to be fun.


	29. Showdown

"So here we are," Venomoth said, leading us towards the entrance of the facility.

"Wait, wait. We're wanted and we're going to just walk through the front door?" Ember protested.

"Actually, the problem isn't so much that we're wanted, it's that we're being actively hunted for," I pointed out.

"Me squish!" Spark said suddenly, jumping on Venomoth. I stared at them strangely for a moment, smirking slightly as Spark started jumping on her back again.

"You really need to stop doing that," Venomoth said, grunting slightly as she flew back into the air, examining her wings quickly.

"Me no like mean bug," Spark insisted, hugging Ember tightly, who winced from the pressure.

"He's stubborn," I told Venomoth who nodded, smiling slightly.

"I'll be worried when he gets big enough to actually hurt me by jumping on me." she said calmly. She led us to the main entrance and examined the security panel. "Ember, is it? Can you type in 0-2-0-3-2-0-0-8?" she asked and the Charmander walked over, typing in the digits quickly. The door lock disengaged, allowing us entry into the facility.

"How do you two know these codes?" Ember demanded.

"Pokémon of an executive. Admittedly, I didn't know that one," I replied, casting a quick look around the entrance hall. Unlike the laboratory, this area bore signs of recent inhabitation, the biggest clue being a human sleeping at the security desk in the corner. A lot of good he's doing there. Venomoth glanced at the human expertly.

"The Hunters are usually instructed to come to this facility after a capture. I know the code from past visits. That human is only sleeping lightly," she said, flying over to the man, then glowed briefly, a small psychic wave hitting the man, who slumped over further, audibly snoring.

"Curious, how do you know Hypnosis?" I asked her.

"I know Sleep Powder also. I learned Hypnosis when I was training with a psychic type, somehow I picked it up. I was recommended to practice it, because it can really catch opponents off guard. I use Hypnosis every chance I get, and notice an improvement in the power of it, but it's still fairly weak," Venomoth replied.

"Best keep our guard up. This place is occupied," I warned, leading them down the corridor ahead of the entrance, wary for any possible threats.

"Where are we going?" Ember asked nervously, Spark running around her excitedly. He always picks the worst times to become hyperactive.

"We're looking for the most recent reports, as well as the record of the transfer of the Raichus you're looking for," Venomoth answered and I turned towards her suddenly.

"How did you know what we're looking for?" I asked seriously. Venomoth blinked in surprise.

"The Hunters were not informed of all the details of your betrayal, but it was suggested to use the Raichus as bait, but the idea was shot down as being too risky for the research," Venomoth explained. I scowled at the thought of the Raichus being experimented on, as well as them being used as bait to lure us to wherever the Rockets wanted.

"Me want Mommy and Daddy!" Spark wailed and Ember winced from the volume the Pichu was using, worried that it would attract Rockets to our location. "Me sad cuz me no with Mommy and Daddy!" Spark said sadly, hugging Ember again, who sighed in annoyance.

"We're working on it," I assured the kit, glancing at Ember worriedly. We may be working on finding the parents, but like last time, we might fail at the last moment. I felt the surge of anger rise up again, but quickly shook the emotion away.

"This way!" Venomoth said suddenly, moving down a different corridor. I followed, still looking around warily for the signs of humans. I find it odd that despite the supposed great security of the Rockets, there are rarely any grunts or guards around. Venomoth stopped in front of a door and paused, turning back towards us. "There are three human inside this office, and I believe that some information is inside," she reported.

"Is the door locked?" Ember asked, concerned.

"Yes, but it's not hard to get through," I replied, sending a Hyper Beam at the door. The door burst off its hinges with a tremendous bang, flying into the room and hitting the wall. The humans within cursed loudly, running to the door to see what caused it. One yelled in terror upon seeing the small army just outside the door.

"Idiot, use your Pokémon!" snapped an unseen human inside the room. Although the voice seemed familiar, I couldn't immediately place it, nor could I see the speaker from my angle.

"Yes, sir!" replied the two grunts, each pulling two Pokeballs from their belts and flung them on the ground. Four Pokémon appeared in one unified burst of light. First there was a Bulbasaur, then a large bee-like Pokémon with sharp stingers on its arms, which I recognized as the dreaded Beedrill, then another bug Pokémon that looked like a large butterfly, and finally a brown rat-like Pokémon with sharp claws and layered spines on its back.

"So a Bulbasaur, Beedrill, Butterfree, and Sandslash?" Ember said, sounding slightly amused.

"Don't get too confident. Those Pokémon can be very tricky," Venomoth warned, gesturing to the Beedrill and Butterfree. "The Bulbasaur should be the easiest to pick off, and Sandslash is slow, but powerful," she added. Ember and I nodded, understanding the fight was not going to be easy. Spark struck his fighting pose again, causing the Bulbasaur to snicker slightly. It abruptly stopped snickering when Ember and I sent streams of fire directly into the stupid thing's face.

"You'll pay for that!" the Sandslash growled, darting forward and slamming those viciously sharp claws into Ember's side, which probably would have been a serious wound had she not turned towards it, sending her stream of fire at it. The Sandslash recoiled when the fire hit it, and his attack's momentum was weakened significantly. Ember yelled in pain, examining the small, bleeding wound before growling angrily, lunging at the offending Pokémon.

Meanwhile, the Beedrill had darted towards me with amazing speed, jabbing its arm stingers at me, requiring me to utilize a great deal of my dodging techniques to avoid the venomous stingers. The Butterfree was engaged in an intense battle with Venomoth, and I took a millisecond to appreciate the humor of a moth and butterfly dueling (two bugs humans often confuse for each other). That millisecond cost me, as my dodge was slow, and the Beedrill nicked my neck with the stinger, creating a painful scratch, which stung like hell due to the poison. Fortunately, it wouldn't do that much to me other than agitate the wound.

"Ok, you can just burn!" I snarled, sending a Flamethrower at the giant bee, but it dodged, the fire striking one of the Rocket grunts behind the Pokémon. It may not have been the desired target, but it was still satisfying to watch the grunt fall to the floor, clutching his new burn. The other grunt seemed to agree, because he was staring down at his partner with a look that clearly showed his glee at the other's misfortune. Humans can be so sick sometimes. I was just amused, this human was absolutely gleeful.

The Beedrill glanced at the fallen human indifferently before lunging at me, this time attacking with its tail stringer. I jerked to the side, swinging my tail and slamming it into the bee, which was knocked into the wall. I followed up with a Flamethrower, but the stunned bee split into 3, my fire obliterating both clones due to the narrowness of the space around us, but it had served its purpose. I scowled slightly, sending another burst of fire in the bug's direction, but it dodged, launching itself forward, glowing brightly. I stared in confusion, the moment of hesitation allowing the Beedrill to slam into me with unbelievable force, slamming me into the nearby wall, which cracked slightly. I've been hit with stronger attacks, but that one caught me by surprise.

"Giga Impact is like Hyper Beam, but physical," Venomoth said, sending a Psybeam at the Butterfree. Spark was punching the unconscious Bulbasaur, which had severe burns. Ember was engaged in an intense duel with the Sandslash, which appeared to be claw-to-claw combat. She was winning, but the Sandslash was holding its own quite well.

"Like Hyper Beam? So you wore yourself out, bug-boy!" I muttered, wrapping my body quickly around the poisonous insect. With it unable to retaliate, I wasn't in danger of him poisoning me, enabling me to prevent him from avoiding my close range Flamethrower. The bug let out a strange, pain-filled screech as it ignited, my fire-resistant scales preventing any damage to myself. I released the burning Pokémon, watched as it was sucked back into a Pokeball, along with the Bulbasaur. Spark ran over to me, talking excitedly, almost too fast for me to understand him.

"Me punch mean plant, and plant no hurt me cuz it hurt. Me punch and me punch and me win!" Spark exclaimed, confirming to me that the Bulbasaur was conscious until recently, when Spark apparently punched it out. "Me wanna help!" he said, pointing to Ember, but I shook my head.

"Not safe. That Sandslash has really sharp claws and I don't want you hurt," I told him, watching as Venomoth hit the Butterfree with a Hypnosis, causing the butterfly Pokémon to grow sleepy, but the Hypnosis was too weak to completely put it to sleep, but it had definitely given her the needed edge as a powerful Psybeam struck the Butterfly, slamming it into the Sandslash's spines. I winced slightly as the butterfly's wings were torn from the impact, the Butterfree collapsing, too injured and tired to fly, and was withdrawn into a Pokeball as well. "Nice one, Venomoth," I congratulated her, and Venomoth nodded humbly.

"Thank you. I appear to have aided your Charmander friend as well," she said, and I looked back at the Sandslash, who had lost its focus when the Butterfree had struck it. Ember had taken advantage of the distraction and had slashed the Sandslash's face, before punching it quickly, knocking it unconscious. A fourth beam of red light pulled the Sandslash into a Pokeball. I moved into the office and when I saw the third occupant, my jaw dropped in surprise.

"So good to see you, 'Boss'," the man seated at the desk said, rising to his feet, grinning gleefully. "I hoped I would get the honor of taking the traitors down, and looks like I get the opportunity. Besides, an old friend is dying to see you!" he sneered, throwing a Pokeball, which burst open, a large blue serpent appearing in front of us. Spark wailed at the sight of the Pokémon and I felt a twinge of hatred.

"Hello, Dragonair. Surprised to see me?" the Pokémon mocked.

"Venom." I replied curtly. "I was more surprised to see your precious 'Master Ed'. After seeing him, I knew you'd be here," I said coldly. Spark whimpered and Venom laughed.

"Still caring for the baby? Once I deal with you, I'll rip him in two!" Venom sneered, exposing his large fangs to the kit, which burst into tears, sobbing in terror, sparks flying from his cheeks.

"Not going to happen!" I snarled in reply.


	30. Venomous Duel

Venom laughed at my comment, but his eyes showed no amusement, just mindless anger, even though no anger was apparent. I sometimes wonder whether Gyarados have any chance of mixed species breeding. I think I better digress, I don't like where my thoughts are going. "You think you have a chance against me, Dragonair?" Venom sneered.

"Venom, in all the time we've been rivals, how many times have you beaten me?" I asked him. Venom paused, thinking.

"Twice," he replied smugly.

"How many times have you lost?" I asked him.

"Eight times," he replied grudgingly. (Notice the incredible change in attitude)

"Is that counting when I zapped you for trying to attack the kit?" I asked, smirking. Venom's face flushed angrily.

"Nine times, then!" he snarled, sending a high pressured jet of water from his mouth. I was a moment slow in dodging, the water striking me and slamming me into the wall nearby. The water itself didn't hurt that much, but that pressure is not fun to get hit by. I recovered quickly from the blast, and noticed Ember and Venomoth had tensed to join in the fight.

"Stay back, you three. This is my battle," I told them calmly and Venom snickered.

"You could use the assistance, Dragonair, but why should I care if you insist on being alone when you lose?" Venom mocked, watching me with wary amusement.

"Here comes loss number ten, or victory number three. Let's do this, Venom," I said with a smirk. The startled look on Venom's face was priceless, but he quickly regained his composure. The best part is, he didn't seem to have a single reply to my comment. I've never mentioned the chance that I would lose a fight, even against someone who can defeat me. He lunged towards me, jaws open to bite me, but I recoiled in time, sending a low charged Thunderbolt into the back of his head. Venom growled in pain, flailing his tail which struck me with enough force to knock me backwards.

"Is that all you've got, Dragonair?" Venom sneered, trying to mask his anger, and failing immensely. I sent another bolt of electricity towards him and he countered with a small burst of water, which worked surprisingly well in stopping my bolt. I scowled, looking carefully for an angle to attack from. One thing I learned from my past duels with Venom is he always leaves a small opening, but never notices it until I take advantage of it. The two times he had beaten me were because of lucky hits with an Ice Beam.

"I'd be more worried about you, Venom. Your attacks aren't doing you that much good either," I replied calmly. The office area was too closed in to make use of the better dodging tactics I employ, and I have surprisingly few attacks to choose from. I really need to talk to Sapphire about teaching me a few. I also need to learn to stop getting lost in thought in the middle of a fight, because my mental distraction allowed Venom to strike me with his tail, which glowed blue briefly, the force of it slamming me into the wall again, cracking it.

"You're too easily distracted, Dragonair," Venom mocked. Ember groaned slightly, and Spark whimpered. I grunted, pulling myself up again and shaking my head slightly to clear it.

"Dragonair, there's a line between settling a score and acting idiotic. With Fang, that was idiotic. In this case, you're on the verge of being idiotic," Ember said seriously. "Sometimes you need to have help," she added, and I scowled at her.

"I don't need help to beat Venom," I said dismissively.

"You need all the help you can get, sometimes," Venomoth said, but made no effort to join the fight. Venom listened with amusement, watching me carefully. I stared back at the Gyarados, my mind working frantically. Venom had the upper hand, but I had one advantage as well. Gyarados can't really move on land very well, so he was prone to mobility issues. I could try to take advantage of this, but in the narrow space, that was almost impossible, so I'd have to try something else. I ducked as Venom tried to use Aqua Tail again, retaliating with a Thunder Wave, which Venom barely avoided.

"You've gotten so much weaker since our last duel, Dragonair. Perhaps you've lost your touch," Venom sneered and I blinked for a moment before grinning. Venom had just unintentionally tipped me off on how to defeat him. "What's funny?" Venom snapped.

"Oh, I was just thinking about when you only could use Splash. How long ago was that, yesterday?" I said. Venom hissed in annoyance.

"I'm a damn Gyarados, idiot!" Venom snarled. I smirked slightly.

"Are you? I didn't notice an increase in power from when you were a cute little Magikarp," I replied, ducking as Venom fired a massive Hyper Beam at my head. I was on the verge of laughing hysterically at this point. "The Magikarp must be cranky. It's okay, wittle baby Magikarp, someday you'll meet a pretty Magikarp and have lots of little baby Magikarps of your own for your enemies to make fun of," I said in a mocking voice.

"I'm going to murder you!" Venom snarled, panting from the Hyper Beam.

"Poor wittle Magikarp thinks he's so tough," I said mockingly. I noticed that Ed, who had been watching the fight with interest, also appeared to be on the verge of popping a blood vessel. I decided that now was the best time to use a close range Thunderbolt, striking Venom in the face, the electricity flowing through him rapidly. He roared in rage and pain and a beam of red light pulled him back into a Pokeball. "Aggravation tactics...work like a charm," I said simply. For reasons unknown, Venom took unbelievable offense to being referred to as a Magikarp, most likely because he really was a Magikarp at one point.

"Impressive, Dragonair," Ed said from the desk, pulling out a second Pokeball. "But let's see you take down this heavy hitter. He'll be the one to break you after we recapture you. Machamp!" he said, throwing the Pokeball, the burst of light revealing the four armed muscular Pokémon.

"Break me?" I repeated, slightly concerned. Why would I get 'broken' after getting caught? I understand greatly injuring me in order to catch me, but why would I get greatly injured afterwards? Ed didn't reply, merely smirked coldly. By Celebi, I hate that human. Regardless, I turned my attention to the four armed freak. "Hello, mutant," I said snidely. The Machamp ran at me, all four fists clenched. If these hit, it was really going to hurt. Fortunately, I managed to dodge the first three punches, but the fourth hit me, smashing me to the ground.

"Don't kill him, Machamp," Ed said helpfully from the rear of the room. Machamp grunted and seized me by the tail, throwing me across the room, where I slammed into a bookcase, a small mountain of books falling down upon me, adding insult and injury.

"You actually have a dictionary?" I muttered, glancing at the book that was crushing my tail. Machamp approached at a leisurely pace, smirking cruelly. I flipped the dictionary off my tail and sent a Flamethrower at the mutant's face, but it blocked the wave of flames with his arm, singing the arm slightly, but doing next to no damage at all. The Machamp laughed mockingly and slammed his four arms down upon me, but they never hit. The Machamp looked confused, probably mirroring my expression. Then the Machamp was thrown backwards, slamming into Ed, who screamed shrilly (I swear I'm not making this up).

"I wish I had that on tape. It'd be great to play that scream over and over again," Ember laughed. Venomoth stopped glowing, confirming she had used the Psychic attack.

"I'll be sure to steal the security tape then," I said, pointing at the security camera nearby. Venomoth flew over to Ed and the Machamp and released a small cloud of blue powder over them.

"Sleep powder seems handier at this point. Shall we continue our search?" she explained. I nodded and we examined the papers on the desk (and the ones that had fallen on the floor. After several minutes, Ember grinned and held up a paper. Spark immediately grabbed it from her and held it up.

"Me find it!" he said proudly, oblivious to the shocked look Ember was giving him. I floated over and took the paper and read it quickly.

"Good work, Spark," I told him, ignoring Ember, who was looking severely pissed off. I'd have to talk to her later, but humoring the Pichu kit was the best bet right now.

"I've got his keys," Ember announced, taking a key chain off Ed, but Spark seized those also.

"Me have keys!" Spark said happily. Ember looked like she was about to have a seizure at this point.

"Thank you, Spark," I told the Pichu. "Let Ember hold on to them, though," I said, looking at Ember knowingly. Ember half-snatched them from the kit, but patted him gently on the head anyway.

"Me help," Spark said cheerfully running around the room excitedly.

"Is he always this hyperactive?" Venomoth asked as we exited the room. I nodded, handing Ember the paper she found. "We better hurry, the battle wasn't exactly stealthy, and the security might get alerted," she said abruptly.

"SECURITY ALERT! Intruders in the base. Locate and capture the intruders!" an alarm blared suddenly. Spark whimpered at the volume of the voice and I swore under my breath.

"This complicates things a bit," I said bitterly.


	31. Dark Manipulation

**I'm doing a brief POV change. Not telling you the narrator yet, but you'll probably figure it out if you know the character, or you were paying really close attention.**

There is a distinct difference between a dream and a nightmare, although the distinction is not always clear at first. A dream with bad events is not a nightmare, although fools come to that conclusion if they are frightened during the dream. A dream is naught but a scenario conjured by the mind. A nightmare, a true nightmare, is when the fears of a person's soul are manifested in a dream. Not just the fears, but also the anger and hatred in a person's heart. Many try to rid themselves of the memory, but not because of the content of the dream, but because they fear their own emotions, they dread what they experienced.

I glanced towards the nearest creature, a Rattata, and smiled to myself before meeting its gaze for a moment. The rat froze, sensing me, but was unable to see me. I moved closer, and brief images flashed before me, showing me the mindset of the Rattata. It was a male Rattata, recently mated to a female. He had left to gather some food for his wife, and I chuckled to myself. The idiocy of the small Pokémon was amusing. I darted forward, invading the rat's mind. The Rattata's mind attempted to repel me, which is a natural mental defense, but it was too weak minded to offer any true resistance to my will.

"Let's see what you fear," I whispered to the Rattata's subconscious. Immediately, images showed themselves to me, free to browse through and enjoy. Images of a snake striking a rat appeared, and images of Pidgeys and other bird Pokémon swooping down on unsuspecting Rattatas. The most amusing was of a female Rattata bleeding, slowly dying before his eyes. I laughed freely at this image, the subconscious attempting to shield itself from the emotional torment the image was causing.

"What could a fool like you hope to ever accomplish?" I murmured, and more images appeared and I glanced through the pathetic images, of the Rattata gaining the respect of his siblings, and the love of his mate, and an image of several young Rattatas gathered lovingly around their father. It was sickening at times to see that almost all individuals sought the exact same thing. I smirked to myself. I suppose it made it easier to exploit these similar weaknesses. Love is a fool's emotion, a desire to feel acceptance from a member of the opposite gender, and to live in an ideal existence. Fools do not realize such an existence is impossible, but they blindly pursue the goal regardless. They put all their hopes and even their mental stability upon this goal, which made the results all the more amusing. I noticed, with the slightest trace of alarm, that the Rattata's mind was trying to force me out, but making no progress.

"Give in...I can help you gain what you desire...the respect of your peers, and the admiration of your wife," I whispered. The resistance faded almost immediately and I laughed. The subconscious of a Magikarp struggled more than this rat's. I turned my attention from the rat's subconscious, still absorbing the knowledge of my new host. All his memories were mine, and I studied his body. It was a weak form, lacking both offensive and defensive abilities, but I wasn't possessing it for power, but for my own purposes.

I scurried forward, amused by the many senses of the body, and the subconscious' constant state of panic. After a few moments, I reached the clearing where my host's mate lay, waiting for his return. I smiled convincingly at her, especially since she seemed tense, almost suspicious of me. I'm not surprised by this reaction, my possession of a being often leaves a few signs of my presence, most notably that the irises turn yellowish in color, although I can often conceal this minor detail, especially if the host knows the Double Team technique, which causes the irises to change color slightly.

"Greta," I said softly, and the female's suspicions subsided slightly.

"Yes, my love?" Greta asked. "Did you not find berries?" she asked and I smiled slightly.

"I'm afraid I did not," I replied, laughing internally at the wench's idiocy.

"What happened to your eyes?" she asked worriedly, and my internal laughter ceased. So she wasn't as gullible as I thought, but the host's memories possessed an answer to this question to regain her trust.

"I fell in the river again. I need to remember to shut my eyes," I replied with a natural sounding laugh. Greta nodded and came over to me, placing a soft kiss on my cheek. I snickered slightly and Greta jerked back in alarm. I silently cursed, realizing I had laughed out loud.

"What happened to you?" she demanded, clearly unnerved.

"What do you mean?" I demanded aggressively, giving up the ruse of the loving husband.

"You're not acting like yourself," she insisted worriedly, tears forming in her eyes. I looked in her eyes, images of her fears flashing quickly. I snickered again, noticing she feared her husband in danger. This added to my amusement at the emotional pain she was undergoing.

"Maybe because I never loved you, you filthy vermin," I said darkly, chuckling at her look of shocked horror. "I'm tired of looking at you, pretending to love you," I hissed. The tears were flowing now, and I chuckled internally.

"Who are you? You're not Phil!" she sobbed. I laughed cruelly, abandoning my guise altogether.

"I'm afraid I am your darling Phil!" I sneered. "Or more specifically, I'm using his body!"

"What are you?" Greta demanded.

"I am a phantom that has the ability to possess beings," I said simply.

"Let him go!" Greta begged, tears flowing freely. I watched this with amusement, sensing her mind working frantically. "Please!"

"Your pleas are meaningless to me," I said dismissively, and she whimpered in grief.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded, and I sensed her anger, her hatred towards me.

"Because it's fun," I replied. "Your husband has served his purpose, and I have no need for him alive anymore," Greta's eyes widened in shocked horror, of absolute sorrow and fear.

"Please don't!" she begged, practically throwing herself down in front of me, as if bowing to me. While such a gesture was amusing, it gave her no advantage.

"Get up, vermin," I said coldly. "A being as worthless as you has no place near me."

"I'll do anything! Just let him go!" she begged. I considered this before laughing.

"What could a fool like you possibly have to offer me? I have no use of material goods, and you have nothing of value to me anyway," I replied cruelly.

"Possess me instead!" she whispered, sobbing loudly. I grinned maliciously. This is not the first time a fool has attempted to bargain their own body for my current one. It's a tactic that works to my advantage, especially if I possess a weaker body and need a stronger one.

"What value could you possibly have to me? I already possess a Rattata host, and it has no purpose. Besides, you may release your husband from me, but you'd lose yourself until death, or until I see fit to release you. Can you live with yourself, realizing your loving husband can no longer have you? You'd release him from the control, but condemn him to a life without you, and risk your very existence on my decisions," I explained seriously, my tone malicious. Greta wept bitterly, struggling to make perhaps the most risky decision of her life. It was only fair to warn her of the consequences of the decision, which would ensure the decision wasn't reckless, as well as provide the desired amusement of such an emotional decision.

"You'll kill him otherwise...I just want him to live..." she wept.

"His life would not be happy, and I could just as easily kill you," I replied indifferently. She sobbed again and nodded.

"I know," she said and that was all. Such a self-less decision would have been touching, but I was the only witness to it, and I didn't give a damn. Without a word, I released my hold on the male Rattata's consciousness, and invaded the mind and subconscious of the female, which didn't offer any resistance at all. Her subconscious was held by bargain made, and I smiled, absorbing the memories and thoughts of the female. There was a moment, where I could see the subconscious in physical form, while I took the form of her double, albeit with yellow eyes. The subconscious stared at me; all fight seemingly drained from it.

"Who are you?" she whispered after several seconds. I laughed and turned my attention into controlling the body.

"Diablos," I said, taking control of the body and then ran from the clearing, ignoring the disoriented male Rattata behind me, who called to me in confusion, unsure of why his mate had run from him.


	32. The Database

**Back to Dragonair POV**

We all managed to get through a few corridors without resistance, but I knew our luck wouldn't hold out long. The alarm was still blaring, and Ember was getting really pissed off, and had started fireballing anything in the way. Venomoth was calm, but very alert, and Spark was worriedly running around us. I was confident that we would reach our destination, but getting back was going to be a pain.

"Wait...where exactly are we going?" I suddenly asked. Ember stared at me incredulously.

"We're going to their little database center located a few halls down from here. Then we can get the information as to where the Raichus are being held, go to that spot, and free them," she explained.

"Freeze!" a human yelled from the other end of the corridor. I looked at him dismissively.

"Does he have a gun?" Ember asked worriedly, not wanting to turn around to find out.

"A tranquilizer gun," I replied.

"Oh. In that case, just knock him unconscious," Ember said. Venomoth flew over to the human and a small psychic wave hit the human, who collapsed to the floor, snoring. "Your Hypnosis is either getting better, or the Rockets have really weak minds," Ember added.

"It's more the second one," Venomoth admitted, continuing down the corridor. I nodded in silent agreement. "Here's the stairs that leads to the database," she said, reaching a locked door. Ember hurried to unlock it using Ed's keys and we emerged at the top of a staircase. Spark gleefully hopped down the stairs while Ember relocked the door.

"Good idea, that'll keep them from following us," I commented, floating after Spark, who was happily bouncing down each stair.

"Me like climb," Spark explained cheerfully. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Spark stayed close by, looking nervous. Ember unlocked the door at the bottom of the stairs and we emerged in a large room. I gave the room a quick glance over, wary of concealed guards or other security systems.

"Doesn't it ever strike you as odd that the highest secured areas have no security?" I asked. Venomoth laughed gently and Ember shrugged, walking towards the nearby computer, studying it for a few seconds. She looked absolutely confused. "Ember? Hit the Power button to get started," I told her seriously. Ember blushed slightly and hastily hit the button, the computer powering up almost immediately.

"Password?" she asked me, claws hovering over the keyboard. I paused, thinking quickly. I had no idea what the Rockets would use as a password.

"Try 'Rockets'," Venomoth suggested seriously and Ember typed it in skeptically and then snickered.

"They suck at making passwords!" she said gleefully.

"You think? Only Rockets have access to this computer," I pointed out. I looked at the screen over her shoulder and Venomoth looked over Ember's other shoulder. Spark climbed on Ember's head and looked at the screen.

"Should I move?" Ember asked sarcastically, "I seem to be in everyone's way."

"Well, you're the only one that can type and spell things right, so...we'll live," I replied. Ember rolled her eyes. "Look for a capture report," I instructed and Ember examined the screen a few moments and clicked on something with the computer mouse, which looks nothing like a mouse. Then again, humans are awful with what they name things, so I'm not surprised.

"Ok, found the report in question. The current whereabouts of the Raichus are..." Ember suddenly cursed loudly, earning a glare from me. Spark, thankfully, was oblivious to the new vocabulary. Venomoth winced as well, thinking the same thing as I had. "Sorry!" Ember said hastily.

"So what's the problem?" I demanded.

"The base is in Johto!" she explained. That stopped me cold.

"Johto? Why the hell did they send them to Johto?" I demanded, now really irritated by the whole scenario. When I started this journey, I didn't expect all the things I had to go through in order to learn that the goal had moved to an entirely different region.

"It doesn't say, but all experimentation has been halted for the time being," Ember said, still studying the computer screen. She clicked off the screen and turned to me. "So what's the plan?" she asked.

"Are you freaking kidding? Where in Johto are they?" I demanded. Ember sighed and turned back to the computer and after several minutes, turned back.

"Just outside Goldenrod," she said calmly. I smirked slightly.

"That's possible to accomplish. There's a train that goes from Goldenrod and...Saffron, I think," I said thoughtfully.

"I thought they shut that train down," Venomoth interrupted.

"Not that I heard of," I contradicted.

"Pokémon aren't allowed to ride the trains and subways," Ember pointed out.

"They just need convincing," I said darkly and Ember shuddered. She turned back to the computer and smirked and clicked on something.

"Hey Dragonair...this is the list of the Most Wanted Pokémon. Guess who number one is?" she said.

"Uh...just a guess, me?" I replied, not really caring. Venomoth and Ember burst out laughing simultaneously.

"You've got quite the ego," Ember said with a grin. "You're number 4," she added.

"What 3 Pokémon could they be after more than me?" I muttered and Ember started laughing again. "Give me a hint," I said. Ember considered it.

"It's very rare," she said after a moment. Venomoth was struggling not to laugh.

"How rare are we talking about?" I asked.

"I can't tell you without giving it away," Ember said, grinning.

"Why are we playing this game again?" I asked.

"Just answer the question," Ember said sharply.

"How the hell would I know this?" I demanded, looking at the screen. I stared at it for a full minute before slamming my head against the desk. "MEW?" I yelled. How did I not think of that one?

"A swing and a miss," Venomoth said absently. I had no idea what that meant.

"Guess who number two is," Ember said.

"I don't know," I looked at the screen and blinked. "Who the hell is Mewtwo? Is this some sort of joke?" I demanded. Ember shrugged, and then grinned.

"Guess number 3," she said.

"Mewthree?" I said sarcastically. Venomoth and Ember stared at me strangely.

"That's not a real Pokémon," Venomoth said after a moment.

"And Mewtwo is?" I retorted. Venomoth gave me another weird look.

"Yes...the Rockets created it by cloning Mew a few years ago," she explained. I cursed under my breath.

"I hate those creeps," I said bitterly. "Anyway, I give up. Who's number three?" I demanded, looking at the screen and paused. Ember nodded, sharing my thoughts.

"Why are they hunting a Charmander over me?" I demanded.

"Ego issue. You have a severe ego issue. I'm not even on the list," she said matter-of-factly.

"But you're hunted, aren't you?" I asked. Ember shrugged.

"Yes, but they don't have me on the list of the Most Wanted," she explained. "Now let's go."

"You wasted plenty of time playing a guessing game," I muttered angrily. "The security forces are probably on full alert and we'll never escape," I said bitterly.

"Stop sulking because they want a legend, a cloned legend, and a Charmander more than you," Ember said.

"They want a freaking Charmander over a traitor Dragonair! How is that justice?" I demanded. Ember stared at me pointedly. "Oh, you're biased," I turned to Venomoth. "They want a freaking Charmander over a traitor Dragonair! How is that justice?" I demanded. Venomoth giggled slightly.

"Why do you care?" she asked.

"Hold it right there!" a deep human voice snapped and all four of us turned to the voice. There were 3 Rocket grunts flanking a man wearing a green suit, who had been the one speaking. "Surrender now and save yourselves the pain of a fight," the man said.

"I prefer fighting." I said snidely. The man laughed.

"As you wish," he said and the grunts pulled out Pokeballs.

"You can't resist starting fights, can you?" Ember asked me wearily.

"No, not really," I replied.


	33. The Melee

The three Rocket grunts threw their Pokeballs towards us, grinning obnoxiously as the balls burst open, releasing their inhabitants in a bright flash of light. Spark whimpered as he noticed the one nearest to him, which was a yellow mouse Pokémon with red cheeks and a larger tail than Spark's. "A Pikachu?" I muttered, wondering whether this was a coincidence. Ember growled and I turned towards her, noticing her opponent was a larger lizard with dark red scales and a larger tail flame.

"Charmeleon, ugly things. I hope to Mew I never evolve," Ember said distastefully, baring her claws. Venomoth let out a strange buzzing noise, which sounded like irritation and I turned towards her, noticing that she was facing what looked like a purple ball of fluff with antennas, and compound eyes.

"Venonat," Venomoth said with annoyance. I turned towards the green suited man.

"What? Don't have anything for me to fight?" I challenged. The man smirked.

"Patience, traitor. Let's first see how your friends fare against their opponents," he said coldly. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. No opponent? I didn't trust these creeps. We didn't have to fight; we could escape now if we wished. However, it appeared as if the Rocket Pokémon had different ideas. The Charmeleon lunged forward, slashing at Ember viciously, but she ducked, jabbing her claws upwards into the larger lizard's chest, the Charmeleon bellowing in rage and pain, bleeding from the wound. Ember punched quickly, knocking the larger lizard to the ground. The Charmeleon lashed its legs out, kicking Ember in the gut, causing her to hunch over in pain. I growled in frustration, but didn't intervene. There seemed to be a fire burning in the Charmander's eyes, and I recognized this as a sign that I better stay out of the fight.

I turned towards the Veno-bug fight, pleased to see that Venomoth was fighting efficiently, using her Double Team to confuse the Venonat and then striking it quickly with a Psybeam. The lesser evolved bug was surprisingly defeated in under a minute, the disgruntled Rocket withdrawing it, but the man dressed in the green business suit seemed untroubled. "Nice one, Venomoth," I told her, and she merely grunted in reply.

Lastly, I turned to see how Spark was faring, and growled in annoyance. The Pichu was looking uncertain as the Pikachu approached him, sparks flying from both electric Pokémon's cheeks, Spark from nervousness, the Pikachu from aggression. "Me no fight," Spark whimpered, but the Pikachu ignored him, sending a bolt of electricity at the smaller mouse Pokémon. I dove forward, blocking the shock with my body, wincing as the bolt hit me.

"Don't attack the kit!" I snarled at the Pikachu, who looked momentarily frightened before regaining its composure. "You want to fight? Fight me," I continued and the Pikachu shrugged before sending another bolt of electricity, this one directed at me. I twisted to the side and retaliated with a Flamethrower, but the Pikachu vanished, reappearing a few feet to the side, then vanished and reappeared in front of me, releasing another thunderbolt. I grunted slightly as the bolt hit, the actual pain still lessened by my natural resistance to electricity.

Meanwhile, Ember and the Charmeleon continued their fight, but they had switched from claw combat to fire attacks, which are sort of pointless considering they're both fireproof. Naturally, the Charmeleon had the stronger fire attacks, but Ember was holding her own quite well, mostly by dodging the attacks. I noticed her strategy seemed to be trying to sneak closer to continue using claw attacks, which she was always very proficient at. The Charmeleon hadn't seemed to notice this yet, but I wasn't too worried. I ducked just in time to avoid another electric attack from my opponent.

"Ok, you're starting to annoy me now," I said to the electric Pokémon, sending an Ice Beam in its direction, but it once again vanished and reappeared in front of me. I had expected the Quick Attack and sent a Flamethrower directly at the spot where it reappeared, the flames briefly engulfing the Pikachu before a beam of red light returned it to its Pokeball. "2 down, 1 to go," I said with a smirk, returning my attention to the fighting fire lizards.

Ember had managed to get through the Charmeleon's defenses and they were once again fighting claw to claw. Ember ducked under a slash and kicked the Charmeleon in the gut, causing it to recoil in pain. Ember followed through with a slash of her own, creating thin gashes in the Charmeleon's chest, the marks bleeding slightly. The Charmeleon roared in pain and slammed its fist into Ember's face, sending her tumbling backwards. "You okay, Ember?" I called worriedly.

"I'm fine," Ember muttered angrily, her tail flame flaring up in her fury. She glared at the Charmeleon, which had a smug look on its face. Ember stumbled to her feet and eyed the Charmeleon warily. "Now I'm warmed up, show me what you've got!" she growled and the larger fire lizard looked momentarily taken aback, which gave the female Charmander the opportunity to run forward and she jumped as the Charmeleon attempted to punch her, and she landed on its arm before slamming her claws into her opponent's face. It roared in agony and Ember punched, her fist glowing white as she did so, the Mega punch striking with enough force to knock the larger lizard to the ground limply. The last Rocket growled angrily as he withdrew his fallen Pokémon.

"That's 3 down," I commented smugly, the man in the green suit scowling slightly.

"Good for you," he replied indifferently, pulling out a Pokeball. He smirked slightly as he threw it towards me, the ball bursting open, releasing an unfortunately familiar Pokémon. "Enjoy your rematch," he said coldly. The Charizard from the Rocket Labs roared at me, and I recognized the man as the trainer from the labs.

"I beat you once, and I'll do it again," I said with a slight growl, choosing not to point out that I had technically lost the fight, and had only won by tricking him.

"Charizard, Metal Claw!" the trainer yelled. The Charizard flew forward, claws gleaming silver. I hastily fired a Thunderbolt at the fire Pokémon, but it jerked backwards to avoid it, abandoning the Metal Claw and instead spitting a stream of flames towards me. I dodged the flames, scowling slightly. The Charizard was an impressive foe, but I had to find a way to win. I narrowed my eyes at the fire Pokémon, doing a quick analysis of its abilities and potential weaknesses. The only weakness I knew was that it was unbelievably stupid, but in order to take advantage of this, I'd need to figure out a way to exploit it first.

"So, have you gotten any smarter?" I asked him, and the Charizard growled slightly. "Is that a no?" I asked, preparing my Hyper Beam similarly to last time, except I wasn't pinned to the ground this time.

"Shut up, Dragonair!" the Charizard growled threateningly. I ignored him, completely unafraid of the Charizard's anger. Fire types are the easiest to antagonize because they lose their temper much faster.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak 'idiot'. Perhaps you can try speaking intelligently," I said, ducking several streams of fire as I finished the remark. The Charizard lunged towards me, attempting to grab me by the tail, but I was ready for the attempt, countering with the Hyper Beam I had charged. The Charizard was caught off-guard by the sudden attack, but I had neglected to take the possibility of the Hyper Beam coming into contact with the Charizard's tail flame. There was a massive explosion, and both the Charizard and I were caught in the blast, The Charizard struck the database computer, which exploded as well. I was slammed into a wall, conveniently smashing a large hole in it, revealing a hidden staircase.

"Dragonair!" Ember yelled suddenly. I stared at her blearily, too exhausted to move, my entire body throbbing with pain. She was staring at the trainer, who had pulled another Pokeball out. He threw it at me, but the ball didn't burst open. It also was a golden color: A Hunter Ball.

"Celebi damn it!" I said emotionlessly as the ball hit me, a powerful tugging sensation pulling me into the ball. I appeared in a simulated clearing, and cursed several times. I heard a clicking sound, confirming that I was locked in. "Well this sucks," I said. Unfortunately, this was just the beginning...


	34. Tale of Attraction part 4

**Yeah, I'm updating again. This is Sapphire's POV and it takes place about a month after the last Tale of Attraction chapter (about 11 months from present)**

"Hmm..." I muttered to myself, examining the area around me. I've never gotten lost in Kanto before, but Dragonair told me that the Rockets enjoyed putting their bases in areas where no one could find them. He then mentioned that all the bases are absurdly easy to find if you know one's nearby. I was now starting to wonder whether Dragonair had a twisted sense of humor and enjoyed giving really bad directions that were just clear enough to get you to the destination, but you doubt the validity of the instructions the entire way. Come to think of it, he does have that sort of sense of humor. I sighed and floated higher, so as to have a better view of the area.

"Oh there it is," I said cheerfully, noticing a small building that was almost perfectly concealed by trees. No wonder they were so hard to find from the ground. I also noticed that Dragonair himself was about 100 yards away from the base, coiled lazily under a tree. I smiled slightly to myself, taking a path around so that I approached from behind the male Dragonair. I wasn't too surprised that he was not unaware of my approach, nor that he was deep in thought. I really should ask him what he thinks about sometimes, because he spends a lot of time lost in thought. I slowly approached, resisting the urge to laugh as he remained oblivious to me. In order for him to notice me, I gently used my tail to stroke his and pulled back. His reaction was similar to when I first did that, except amplified due to his obliviousness to my presence.

"What the hell?" Dragonair yelped, jerking away in shock before whirling towards me, but his look of annoyance vanished immediately. "Sapphire?" he said blankly. He tilted his head towards me, puzzled.

"Unless you know another female Dragonair that randomly flirts with you," I replied teasingly. Dragonair gave me a weird look.

"By Celebi, I hope not. One's bad enough," he said, and I raised an eye scale at him. He abruptly realized what he said, and started stuttering an apology, none of it which was understandable. After about a minute, I just gave up on trying to understand him and instead stared at him skeptically, which caused Dragonair to increase the number of words attempted, and decrease the number I could ever hope to understand. This went on for another minute before I re-closed the distance between us, wrapping my tail around him affectionately. Dragonair, thankfully, stopped stuttering, but remained tense.

"You need to relax, Dragonair," I said softly, nuzzling him gently. "So, how are you?" I asked, deliberately maintaining contact with him.

"Uh...fine," Dragonair replied awkwardly, trying to inconspicuously move away a little bit, but I pulled him back using my tail.

"Seriously, try to relax, Dragonair," I said firmly, stroking his tail with mine. Again, most Dragonair flirting appears much more suggestive than it is. Dragonair flinched at first, but very slightly relaxed after a few seconds.

"So, uh...what are you doing here?" he asked.

"What, I can't visit my mate randomly?" I asked teasingly, no longer stroking his tail. Dragonair blushed slightly, but didn't reply. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed," I added, nuzzling him again. "You just need to relax more when I'm around," I said as an afterthought.

"Other than visiting me, why are you here?" Dragonair asked, wrapping his tail around me slightly. I could tell that was more instinct than deliberate, but it's an improvement to being unaffectionate and awkward.

"Pretty much just visiting you," I replied simply. "Try to relax. I have several methods to help, but not sure how you'd react to them," I said. Dragonair gave me a strange look.

"Like what?" he asked, and I answered with a short, but deep, kiss. To my slight relief, he didn't pass out this time, but he didn't relax much either. I pulled back to judge his reaction. He was blushing slightly. "Can you do that again?" he asked, slightly dazed.

"Maybe later," I said with a small laugh. "Let's play."

"Huh?" Dragonair said, looking confused. "Did you just say 'play'?"

"Yes, I said play," I replied.

"What do you mean, play? We aren't kits..." he said, still puzzled. I answered by tackling him playfully, catching the male completely off-guard. I wrapped him slightly, somewhat annoyed that he wasn't reacting at all.

"Come on, play," I said excitedly. I'm not sure why I suddenly got so playful, though. Dragonair blinked at me, his expression one of shocked bewilderment.

"I haven't studied female Dragonairs, but are they often randomly playful?" he asked, looking somewhat anxious.

"Sometimes. Why?" I asked him. Dragonair looked more concerned.

"Well...the few things I do know are that females become extremely playful when in heat. You're not, are you...?" Dragonair said awkwardly.

"Goodness, no. You'd know if I was," I replied quickly. "This is just playing. Trust me, if it was anything else, I'd tell you," I assured him.

"Why do you want to play?" he asked, looking relieved. I tilted my head at him slightly.

"Well, the simplest way to relax is to stop acting uptight and serious. You're generally laidback, but around me you're tense and worried, so I want you to forget that I'm your mate and just have some fun. Plus, I'm in a playful mood so it's doubly beneficial. It's okay to act like a kit sometimes, if it's appropriate," I explained.

"Ok..." Dragonair said thoughtfully. I tackled him again, which quickly evolved into an incredibly playful wrestling game, Dragonair's uptight demeanor faded almost immediately. I always guessed that he could be really playful, especially when I found out that we were almost the same age. To my surprise, I actually got worn out before he did, enabling him to wrap me without me being able to get free.

"Ok, you win," I said. Dragonair grinned and nuzzled me lovingly; an incredible improvement as far as showing affection goes.

"That was surprisingly fun," he said, panting slightly, as he released me. I gave him a quick kiss in congratulations, which he didn't blush in response to.

"It also helped you relax. I'm not always in that playful of a mood, but I am on occasion," I admitted.

"Well, thank you for helping me relax," Dragonair said, wrapping his tail around me, this time I could tell it was deliberate, since he seemed slightly uncomfortable doing it. I smiled at him, nuzzling against him.

"You're fun to be with when you're relaxed," I said, giving him another brief kiss, which he returned after a moment's hesitation. "Oh, but I think we should talk about a few rules," I said. Dragonair blinked.

"Rules? Like what?" he asked.

"Well, I want to know when something's bothering you. So we should talk out any problems we have," I began. Dragonair nodded in agreement. "This applies to all problems, anything that affects your mood. Now any for me?" I asked.

"We're switching off naming rules? Uh, you aren't going to leave me are you?" he asked worriedly.

"Are you worried that I would?" I asked, momentarily concerned. "I asked you to be my mate, so the only way I would leave you is if you abuse me," Then I added in a dangerous tone, "Actually, you abuse me, and I swear to Jirachi, I will kill you. Got it?" Dragonair looked shocked.

"Sapphire...I would never hurt you," he said sincerely, and I looked into his eyes as he said this, and smiled gently, showing I trusted him.

"That's good. I know you believe in mate loyalty and respect, so we should be good in that regard. And I doubt you'd leave me," I said kindly.

"I think leaving you counts as hurting you," Dragonair said solemnly.

"We can talk about any issues that come up. I want to be able to understand you, and for you to understand me," I continued. Dragonair nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to return to the base for the night. Are you staying out or coming?" he asked.

"I'm staying out. I wouldn't be comfortable in there. Even if you said I'd be safe or you'd protect me, I just wouldn't be comfortable. I'll meet you here tomorrow," I said. Dragonair nodded and kissed me briefly and nuzzled me before turning towards the base. I left before he reached the entrance, searching for a suitable nesting spot for the night.


	35. Another Complication

**Ember POV.**

I stared in stunned silence as the golden ball hit Dragonair. "Celebi damn it," Dragonair said emotionlessly as he vanished into the Pokeball. The human in the green suit, who I recognized as one of the Rocket trainers, smirked as the Hunter Ball's lock clicked, announcing to the room that Dragonair had been captured. Spark let out a wail of anguish, which caused me to wince from the earsplitting volume of the wail. My mind had blanked completely, too shocked by the rapid events to move or even to think. The green suited man (conveniently named Robin Green, although only a few Rocket Pokémon actually knew his name) picked up the Hunter Ball that held Dragonair.

"Looks like the traitor was caught," he said smugly, using his other Pokeball to withdraw his Charizard. I was starting to recover from the shock of seeing Dragonair defeated and captured, and I felt a brief surge of fury. Nothing strong, but definitely there. In the back of my mind, I knew that the actual realization of what happened hadn't completely sunk in. Venomoth was looking similarly surprised, but then again, she had stopped her former trainer from doing the same thing, although she seemed to have forgotten this detail.

"You bastard," I whispered at the human. He completely ignored me, but unlike Dragonair, I didn't have one of the collars that helped humans understand me. Where did he get that thing anyway? I ran towards Green, baring my claws and leaping towards him. The human saw me out of the corner of his eye and swung his fist, striking me in the head. I saw stars flash and landed on my back painfully. "Damn it!" I muttered, slowly crawling back to my feet. Green laughed and dangled the Hunter Ball in front of us.

"Aw, did you want this?" he sneered, tossing the ball backwards to one of the grunts. "You know what to do," he said, pulling out the other Pokeball from his jacket. The grunt hurried from the room and I yelled in frustration, sending a large fireball at Green, knocking the Pokeball from his hand. Venomoth glowed, using a psychic wave to prevent the ball from opening. Green looked somewhat alarmed by this development and fled from the room.

"Mew damn this!" I yelled furiously, running after the Rocket grunt that had been given the Hunter Ball.

"Ember!" Venomoth called after me, but I ignored her, focused on retrieving the main leader of our group. In all honesty, without Dragonair, we were almost helpless to find the Pichu's parents. I knew Spark trusted Dragonair more than me, although he was content to ride on my tail. I growled slightly as I raced up the stairs the grunt had run up, reaching the top in record time. I kicked open the door at the top and looked down the corridor frantically, spotting the grunt as he turned a corner.

"Mew damn it!" I snarled, running after the human, ignoring the beginning of the stitch in my side. I was not used to running much, but time was short. I reached the end of the corridor the grunt had gone, spotting an open door. I ran in, spotting the grunt again as he stood near a strange machine. He gasped as he noticed me, still clutching the Hunter Ball. I bared my claws and growled threateningly. "Give me the ball, NOW!" I snarled, hoping the tone of my voice and obvious threats of violence would get the message across.

"You want it? Too bad," the grunt mocked, placing the ball on a platform and pressing a button. There was a crackle of electricity and the Hunter Ball was sucked into a tube. My eyes narrowed furiously.

"You burn now," I said coldly, sending a massive stream of flames at the human, ignoring his yells of pain. I ran forward and slammed my fist into him, knocking him unconscious. I panted; feeling far more tired than normal, and hastened to examine the machine. It was a Pokeball transportation machine, but I managed to print off a report of where the last transport was to. "Good, he's still in Kanto," I said with a small snarl, leaving the room, still enraged by my failure and the situation altogether.

"The pain is overwhelming, isn't it?" asked a small voice from nearby. I turned to glare at the speaker, a small female Rattata that was peeking out at me from some form of air duct.

"I'm not in the mood!" I snapped. The Rattata nodded knowingly.

"You hormonal or something? Isn't the Charmander mating season in a few weeks?" the Rattata asked and my eyes narrowed in fury.

"You're this close from being roasted alive, rat! What the hell do you want?" I demanded.

"Forgive me, miss. I am a simple Rattata who happened to be in the area of this Rocket facility and decided to sneak in searching for food. Instead I see a Charmander who appears angry about a Pokeball being transported. Care to fill me in?" the Rattata asked kindly. I glared at the Rattata silently.

"No. I'm leaving the base now," I replied coldly. The Rattata sighed.

"This vent leads outside, just break it open," the Rattata said. I nodded, focusing my energy into my fist before slamming it into the grate, the Mega Punch breaking it off. "Nice punch. Follow me, Miss," the Rattata said. I followed cautiously and true to the Rattata's word, found myself outside the base.

"Thanks...er...what's your name?" I asked. The Rattata smiled.

"My name is Greta, what's yours?" she replied.

"Ember," I said. The Rattata sat down, facing me.

"So, Ember, what business did you have in that facility?" she asked.

"It's a long story. A friend and I were trying to help find a Pichu kit's parents that the Rockets captured. We failed the first time and tracked the information here. We were attacked and my friend got captured. I followed, but was too late to stop them from transporting him to a different base," I said bitterly. Greta nodded understandingly.

"Was this a...close, intimate friend?" she asked cautiously. I nearly choked, trying not to laugh.

"Hell no. He's a Dragonair and already has a mate," I said after regaining my composure.

"I understand. I apologize if I insulted you," Greta said humbly. I shook my head.

"I got to meet up with the rest of my group. I hope they got out alright," I said. As if to answer my question, Venomoth and Spark seemed to appear from the side of the building.

"Oh good, you're here. Any luck?" Venomoth asked, while Spark studied the Rattata curiously.

"No. He got transported to the base near Celadon City," I replied, showing her the report I printed. Venomoth sighed slightly.

"It's a complication, but we don't really have much choice, do we?" she said wearily.

"Hi! Me Spark!" Spark said to Greta, who was looking at the Pichu with slight interest.

"You're going to Celadon?" Greta asked and we nodded. "I'm heading in that direction. Mind if I tag along?" she asked.

"I guess not," I replied, not really caring about the Rattata at all. It could just be because of the stressful situation that led us to meet, but I felt somewhat uneasy around her. "Why are you heading to Celadon?" I asked her and she paused for a moment, her yellow eyes flashing in annoyance.

"I'm looking for an old acquaintance. I'm trying to resolve an old conflict," she said, the yellow eyes gleaming almost dangerously, but when I blinked the expression was gone. I yawned, feeling the exhaustion from the earlier events of the past day or so catching up with me. I was probably just imagining things.

"Well, we're turning in for now. I'm beat," I said, stretching. Venomoth and Spark wordlessly agreed. Greta seemed unbothered, her yellow eyes scanning the area for a sleeping area.

"That's fine. After all, I'm possessed...with fatigue," Greta said, giggling to herself for a full minute before sleeping. I gave the Rattata a strange look and shrugged before curling up under a tree. Spark slept next to my tail flame and Venomoth wrapped her wings around her body to sleep. I stared at the sky, lost in thought. It might take a few days to reach Celadon, even if we took a shortcut through Saffron. Then we could work out a plan to save Dragonair.


	36. Insanity

**Dragonair POV. Warning: This chapter is VERY weird.**

"So let's take a quick look at this situation. I am currently a traitor to Team Rocket after about four years of loyal service. I betrayed them because I discovered that besides being notorious criminals, they also abuse and experiment on Pokemon. While I'm taking a Pichu kit back to his parents, who were captured by the Rockets, it ultimately leads to a battle where I get captured. Now I am currently in the Celebi damned Pokeball, doing a freaking monologue! Does anyone see something wrong with this picture? Excluding the maddening simulated environment? Yes Dragonair, I see something very wrong with this picture. Really? What's wrong with this picture? You're having a conversation with yourself. No, I'm not, you liar. Are you calling me a liar? I'm sorry, were you not listening the first time? Are you perhaps deaf? Yes, idiot. I'm calling you a liar! Listen, Dragonair, no one gets away with calling me a liar. Oh really? Then better not let me get away with it, LIAR. I'm going to kill you and it will be slow and painful."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" a voice asked me and I looked up, startled from my argument. Pity, I was winning. However, I didn't see the speaker.

"What do you mean? Yeah, what do you mean? Shut up idiot. No, you shut up!"

"Out of interest of my own sanity, I don't think I'm going to reply to that." the unseen speaker said with a sigh.

"Who the hell are you? Yeah, identify yourself! Didn't I tell you to shut up? I told you to shut up!"

"So this is what a conversation with an insane Dragonair is like," the voice said with another sigh. "Very informative, but definitely not worth the headache I'm going to get for this."

"Who are you calling insane, weird voice in my head? I think it meant us. Shut up! No, you shut up!"

"I'm just delivering a message. Come to think of it, I don't remember the message. Let's look at my list of messages. To Mew...no, To Celebi...great, I look forward to delivering that one. To Jirachi...why is she sending a message to herself? To me...I'll read that later. To me, stamped with 'Urgent', better read it. Hmm...It says 'Read the less urgent message now'. Very well. The less urgent message says...'Mew left the aspirin in the refrigerator. You'll need them'. Great..." the voice said.

"What the hell? Yeah, what the hell? Stop that. You stop that. No, I told you first. Yeah, well I told you second!"

"I see what she means," the voice said dully. "To Giratina...oh that'll be so much fun, to Sapphire, to Lugia, ugh, why did I ever take this job? To Cresselia...do you know how hard it is to find her? Ah, to Dragonair. Here's the message: 'Don't lose hope'. Now how the hell did I forget that message? She sends that message to lots of random non-legends. Anyway, have a good day."

At that moment, I felt the tugging feeling of the Pokeball opening and I emerged in a large cage-like cell. The instant I emerged, a weird collar was placed on my neck, and I felt a powerful shock run through my body. "Celebi damned restraining collar! Yeah, what a Mew damned collar! Hey, I praise Celebi, not Mew! So what, I prefer Mew!" I yelled.

"Were you insane before or after getting caught?" a voice asked from elsewhere in the cage. I stared in the direction of the unseen speaker.

"Who's there? Yeah, who's there? Oh, shut up! You shut up! Make me! You make me!" I yelled.

"Tell you what, go to sleep and I'll pray you're sane tomorrow." the speaker said. I floated over to the speaker and discovered it was a weird blue creature with a spiral on its chest.

"A Poliwhirl? No, I think it's a Poliwrath. No, it's too small to be a Poliwrath. So you're the expert on the Poli line? Considering my knowledge of Pokemon, yes. Well, I still think it's a Poliwrath. Well, then you're wrong. Shut up, crazy snake," I said.

"Holy Mother of Mew, what drugs did they give you?" the PoliWHIRL said. (Shut up, crazy snake, it's a Poliwrath.)

"They didn't give me drugs. Well, you think it's a Poliwhirl, so they must have loaded you with hundreds of crazy drugs. What the hell are you talking about; you're the crazy one who thinks he's a Poliwrath!"

"My name's Poli," the Poliwhirl said (Poliwrath! It's a freaking PoliWRATH)

"Poli, don't tell him what specie you are, it's good to have some entertainment," said another voice from nearby, showing itself to be a dirt-covered Oddish, but a female. "I'm Strange," she said politely.

"That's very interesting that you're so open to admitting that. I think she meant it's her name. Human given name? Probably. Listen buddy, I was talking to her! Well, you probably think she's a Gloom! Well you think the Poliwhirl's a Poliwrath!" I replied. Strange giggled and Poli the Poliwhirl (Wrath, Mew damn it!) sighed.

"Uh...no, actually my parents thought it was cute. They named my brother Unusual, and my older sister Normal," Strange said.

"You had some messed up parents. Really messed up. Hey, I told you to stop that! I don't care what you tell me to do. How about I Hyper Beam your face?" I replied.

"Interesting. I didn't know drugs had that side effects, but I guess that's why they have those labs," Poli said wearily.

"Damn Rockets. Why did we ever serve them? Shut up! Make me! We're back to the threat of Hyper Beaming your face."

"Strange, help me out here." Poli said and the Oddish (wow, you knew it's not a Gloom) hopped over to me and sprayed blue powder in my face. I sneezed, blowing some of the powder into the Poliwhirl's (I still say it's a Poliwrath) face.

"Oops, sorry, Poli," Strange said, wincing as Poli collapsed, snoring slightly. I suddenly felt very sleepy and coiled up in one of corners of the cage before drifting off to sleep.

**Wow...that was even weirder than I envisioned it. Thank goodness it was short.**


	37. Rocket 'Training'

**Thankfully, this chapter isn't nearly as weird as the last one.**

"Get up!" a rough voice snarled and I opened one eye to glance at the speaker, a middle aged man wearing a black Rocket uniform.

"Make me, idiot," I muttered, closing my eye again. "Yeah, make me! Ugh, you're still here. Well I'm not exactly happy thrilled that you're here either." Suddenly I felt a sharp pain on my back and jerked in surprise, unfortunately triggering the damn restraining collar I had forgotten about. It reminded me of its presence by sending a flow of electricity through me. "ARGH! Damn it!" I yelled. "Yeah, that hurt!"

"Get up!" the Rocket snarled, brandishing a whip. I narrowed my eyes at the human.

"Hit me with that again, and you're a dead man," I said coldly. The human didn't react, and I took note that the restraining collar had fried the translation collar. This was probably more good than bad, but now I couldn't threaten or insult the humans.

"Get moving!" the Rocket snapped, cracking the whip in my direction. I tried to send a Flamethrower in reply, but the restraining collar activated again, hitting me with another shock, stronger this time. I winced from the shock, then the whip hit, causing another spasm of pain.

"Truce? I suppose so, it hurts me too. These bastards are going to die. I look forward to it," I said.

"Now!" the Rocket yelled, cracking the whip again, this time the impact drew a small amount of blood, as well as the regular pain. I examined the blood a moment before scowling. The Rockets had picked the wrong Dragonair to piss off. Check that, Sapphire's much worse when pissed off, because her weather control abilities are so powerful.

"Go where, idiot?" I muttered, still wincing from the pain from the whip. Those damn Rockets were going to pay for this. "I think they're moving us somewhere, so act obedient. I don't obey anyone but Sapphire. You really shouldn't admit your mate has you whipped. I'm not whipped, and we had truce." At that moment, the whip hit me again. "I'LL KILL YOU!" I yelled, lunging at the Rocket before writhing as another shock flowed through me from the collar.

"Oh look, Jason, he reacts best when we whip him," the Rocket with the whip said to a Rocket near the cell door.

"Whatever, Matt. Just hurry up and get him to move. The trainer will be pissed if we take too long," the Rocket called Jason said indifferently. Matt smirked and readied the whip again.

"Get moving or I'll give you two lashes!" he said smugly. I flinched.

"There's no way in hell I'm obeying these bastards. Well, if you don't, they could just whip you until they kill you. That would take a long time. You can't retaliate though. Damn it!"

"New guy, just move," the Poliwhirl said. (No, it's a Poliwrath. Oh shut up, we had truce)

"Why? Stop being an idiot, Dragonair and just follow the Rockets!" I said. Poli sighed.

"Still not sane yet. This place isn't going to be much better," he sighed. There two quick cracks and I convulsed, a rage quickly building within me.

"Three lashes next time!" the Rocket snarled, but was clearly enjoying himself.

"I'd like to see you try that when I don't have this collar on me," I said darkly, moving towards the cell door. "We'll see how much fun you get out of that," I said with a laugh.

"He's psychotic, did you hear that laugh?" Poli said worriedly to one of the other cage inhabitants.

--

I was led to what appeared to be a battle arena, but smaller than most arenas. At one end of the room was another Rocket, who also carried a whip and he wore a black uniform without the 'R'. "What took so long?" this man snapped to the two Rockets escorting me.

"This one gave us some trouble," Jason said lazily and I glared at him briefly.

"Correct me if I misunderstood, but wasn't this Dragonair a loyal Rocket about a week ago?" the trainer asked, studying me critically.

"According to the information associated with the hunting of him, yes. Gravel and Green both assured us of his betrayal, and Green reportedly was the one who caught him and transported him here," Jason replied.

"So if he is a traitor, rather than a recruit, why is he here?" the trainer asked impatiently.

"He is expected to be reverted or broken," Matt interjected. The trainer laughed humorlessly.

"Who suggested a reversion? A traitor is always a traitor," he said, twirling his whip a moment.

"Isn't the usual procedure to get the captured Pokémon to join?" Matt asked.

"For new recruits, yes. Traitors are punished, and many revert. However, Dragonair was more of a rebel. According to the data, he refused to do certain operations, and often went off by himself for most of the day, even during operations," the trainer explained.

"So maybe he found a girlfriend," Matt said stupidly. I charged a Thunderbolt at him, but the restraining collar gave me another powerful jolt, causing me to grunt in pain, unable to focus on readying an attack.

"You hit a nerve there. Don't forget the reports on him antagonizing other Pokémon, costing our organization thousands in collateral damage. The Boss was mad as hell when he got the accounting reports," the trainer said, shuddering slightly.

"Ah yes, I remember that. He cut our pay by three percent to make up the loss," Jason said bitterly. I smirked slightly, which the trainer noted, lashing his whip and striking me; the sharp pain caused me the wince.

"Look at that idiot, he's amused by this," the trainer said with a laugh. "I doubt he'd be reverted, because he never feared us. He's too powerful to control," he said in a business-like tone. Matt and Jason nodded indifferently.

"Just do your job," Jason said, turning and leaving the room. Matt moved to the other side of the room, blocking any chance of leaving. The trainer cracked his whip experimentally a few times before grinning.

"Let's see how long you can last!" he said sinisterly, and I felt a flicker of fear as he stepped forward.

--

I was returned to the cell after what felt like an eternity, several more wounds upon my body. They would heal perfectly in time, but the soreness and pain was what the real problem was. I was pushed into the cell, and the door locked behind me.

"Are you okay?" the Oddish asked.

"Do...you...think...I'm OKAY?!" I yelled.

"You fared better than most, I'll tell you that," Poli said calmly.

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better," I said bitterly.

"Aw, you stopped talking to yourself," Strange said in disappointment.

"Drop dead!" I spat angrily.

"That would defeat the point of me resisting," Strange said seriously.

"You can't resist. You're not strong enough," I said bitterly.

"I said resist, not defeat them. None of us are strong enough to defeat them, except maybe you and I think that because you're the only one fitted with a restraining collar," Strange countered. I was too tired and aching to care.

"Who else is here other than you two?" I asked wearily. Poli smiled.

"You'll probably meet them later. They're usually training right now. Training here means getting the shit beat out of them because they aren't obedien," Poli explained.

"That's sick, but at least they can fight back," I said darkly. Poli and Strange exchanged a look.

"They face opponents vastly stronger than themselves. It's about the same as not being able to fight back. The training destroys a Pokémon's hope, their fighting spirit. Eventually, they stop fighting and obey anything to avoid the pain that is inflicted on them," Poli said gravely.

"How often do they do this?" I demanded, Strange cringing slightly from my furious tone.

"Daily...until the Pokémon stops resisting. It's amusement to the trainers. The Pokémon are isolated from their friends, and fighting battles they can't win. It can take days, weeks, or even months. In the end, either the Pokémon stops resisting, or dies from exhaustion," Strange said softly, crying slightly.

"You should rest. It seems like they're trying to break you for amusement. It's worse if you're exhausted," Poli said. I nodded and coiled up in the corner to sleep. Strange hopped over and released some blue powder over me, easily dragging me down into sleep.


	38. Journey to Celadon

**Ember POV**

"Me awake!" Spark yelled cheerfully.

"Thank you for announcing that. Now let us sleep," Venomoth said sleepily from nearby. I opened my eyes, glancing at the excited Pichu kit that was...

"Are you roasting apples over my tail?" I asked him.

"Me no have marshmallows," Spark explained. I blinked. Dragonair, no doubt, had told the kit how to roast marshmallows, but neglected to warn me that the kit might actually try something like that. I remember one time when some of the Rocket Pokémon would steal food from the Rocket storeroom and have a party.

I remember this because Dragonair would piss off a random fire type and knock him or her out while the rest used the Pokémon's fire to roast marshmallows or stay warm. We stopped when someone spilled alcohol over a Slugma. The sad thing was that the Slugma wasn't the one Dragonair victimized. Come to think of it, I don't think I was ever the 'Party Fire', probably because other than his constant teasing about my name and other things, we got along well.

"Couldn't you wait until I was awake before doing that?" I asked him.

"Me yell 'Me awake!'. Me wake you," Spark explained cheerfully. "You fire big when you awake, so me wake you," he added.

"You realize that's dangerous, right?" I asked, realizing there was no chance of me sleeping with an excited Pichu roasting apples over my tail flame. I was going to punch Dragonair for teaching the kit about roasting food. The thought immediately reminded me that Dragonair had been captured; something my mind had chosen to overlook.

"Me no hurt," Spark replied, turning the stick the apple was impaled on, so as to roast the other side as well. I stared at him soundlessly for several seconds, unsure how to react to this.

"Morning," the female Rattata said, walking over to us and watching Spark. "Is he roasting an apple over your tail?" she asked.

"For some reason, yes," I said calmly, hiding my true annoyance at the kit's antics.

"I should try that sometime," Greta said with a smile. Venomoth let out a small buzz of aggravation and unwrapped her wings, flying into the air.

"I guess that means I'm getting up now. Unless I use Sleep Powder or Hypnosis on you all to get the extra sleep, but you would be out for hours, which isn't worth the five extra minutes I want," Venomoth said.

"You could just use Hypnosis; it's only strong enough for about a half hour," Greta pointed out. Venomoth nodded sleepily, while I briefly considered what Greta just said.

"Wait...how did you know her Hypnosis is weak?" I demanded suspiciously. Greta looked me directly in the eyes, and I returned her unblinking gaze, although uneasy by the yellow color. I got the strangest tingle of fear, but I shook it off quickly.

"Venomoths don't normally know Hypnosis, so it's significantly weaker than other species' Hypnosis," Greta replied calmly. "I'm a bit more concerned about your attitude, though. I'm just trying to be friendly, and you're all edgy and suspicious of simple things. Must be from being insecure around males all your life," Greta added. I growled.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" I demanded.

"I'm fairly good at guessing things based on behavior," Greta said quickly. "Considering you're female with no known intimate relationships, your suspicious nature hints at insecurity. I could see it in your eyes," Greta explained, the last line seeming to be more emphasized than the rest.

"Keep your guesses to yourself!" I snarled, looking away from the Rattata.

"My mistake," Greta said indifferently, "I didn't know you were so defensive."

"I'm not defensive!" I growled. Spark whimpered.

"You burn me apple!" he wailed, holding up the stick, a majority of the apple burned. "You fire get really big and me apple burn!" he said, tears running down his cheeks. "Me sad," he said, his cheeks sparking slightly. My annoyance faded almost immediately and I hugged the Pichu comfortingly.

"I'm sorry. I'll get you another apple to roast," I told him, and Spark nodded sadly.

"Are they normally like this?" I heard Greta ask Venomoth.

"I don't know, I'm new to the group," Venomoth replied, as Spark and I walked over to the nearest apple tree and I climbed up and knocked one down. Spark caught it and did a little celebration dance.

"Me catch! Me catch! Me catch!" he said. His dance reminded me of a weird dance I saw a Rocket grunt do. The Macaroni or something like that. Dragonair then asked me to help him broadcast the security footage to every television and computer in the base. Needless to say, the grunt was humiliated and given a promotion. No, I'm serious, he got promoted. Dragonair said Ethan has a really strange sense of humor because every grunt in the base started doing the dance in front of the security cameras in the hopes they'd get promoted. None of them did, and they got their pay docked for slacking.

I climbed down the tree and reluctantly let Spark try his paw at roasting the apple again. "Just be careful, okay?" I said and the Pichu nodded.

"Me safe," he said, turning the impaled apple carefully. "Me no burn, and me no burn apple," he said to himself. This reminded me of when Dragonair convinced me to help him infiltrate the kitchen to play a prank. By convince, I mean blackmailed. The prank was to paint the room black, so I'm not quite sure how cooking apples reminded me of this.

"You almost done? We need to go find Dragonair," I told Spark.

"Me no done." Spark replied. "Me make apple good," he said.

"Can you cook while we're walking?" I asked. Spark abruptly climbed onto my tail and held the stick over the flame.

"Me can," he explained, turning the stick.

"Ok...hey Venomoth, let's get going to Celadon now," I called. Venomoth and Greta hurried over to us.

"Alright, Celadon is this way," Venomoth said, leading us down a small path. "We're first heading towards Saffron and passing through to get to Celadon," she explained. "It'll still take a long time, though," she admitted.

"We know, but we're sort of low on options," I pointed out. Greta suddenly tensed. "What's wrong?" I asked warily.

"I'm not sure." she said quietly, staring unblinkingly at something within the nearby trees. She finally turned away from the trees and scowled. "I was probably just imagining it. Rattatas are very anxious. Makes it better to travel with others," she said.

"That's true," Venomoth said. "It's nice to have help available."

_"And you'll need all the help you can get"_ a familiar voice said and I flinched in shock.

"You burn me apple!" Spark wailed, crying again, seemingly oblivious to the strange voice. Greta had tensed again, but Venomoth hadn't reacted at all.

"Did you hear that, anyone?" I said worriedly, unable to place the voice. Greta shook her head, but I got the feeling she had heard. Venomoth gave me a weird look, and Spark whined about his apple.

"Hear what?" Venomoth asked.

"That voice!" I said, looking around worriedly.

_"Voice? What voice? Oh...my voice!" _the voice mocked and Venomoth hesitated.

"I think I just did," she said seriously. "But I don't see the speaker."

"I didn't hear anything. Let's keep going," Greta insisted, but no one paid attention.

"Why no care me apple burn?" Spark demanded, and I felt sparks flying from his cheeks in his distress. Before I could respond, an unnatural darkness surrounded us, as if the sun itself had gone out. The only light was from my tail flame and Spark's sparks. A purple and black creature appeared before us, seeming to be composed only of gases, but also it had eyes and a fanged mouth. I gasped, recognizing the ghost before us.

_"Hello again," _the Gastly sneered.


	39. Nightmare Rematch

_"What's wrong, don't recognize me?"_ the Gastly mocked. Spark whimpered at both the appearance of the ghost and the unnatural darkness around us.

"What do you want?" I demanded of the ghost, who smirked, revealing its pointed fangs.

_What do you think I want? A little rematch!"_ the Gastly sneered. _"But this time, I'll win!"_

"You met this ghost before?" Venomoth asked me in surprise.

"I think the night before we met you. We found this weird shrine while investigating a weird noise. That ghost attacked us, and I think Dragonair won, because I was asleep at the time, and woke up to Dragonair battling a Weepinbell," I explained, glaring at the ghost.

_"Your little dragon friend would have lost! I made the error of trying to eat your dreams...which I had already corrupted into nightmares."_ the Gastly snarled.

"Dream Eater on nightmares? That couldn't have been good for you," Venomoth said, smiling slightly. The Gastly glared at her.

_"I don't recall seeing you that night, nor do I seem to see the dragon. You also have added a weak Rattata to your team, so I doubt you'll beat me this time. I am Nightmare, and you'll soon see why!" _Nightmare laughed. I growled slightly, annoyed by the cold reminder that Dragonair was gone. Not to mention, the Gastly had put me to sleep in the last encounter, so I anticipated it happening again.

"Careful, he'll probably try to use sleep techniques," I warned and Venomoth laughed slightly.

"Doesn't surprise me," she replied, watching the Gastly carefully. Greta seemed to be trying to make herself unseen, which I could understand. Rattatas probably aren't very useful for fighting ghosts. The same went for me, as I had to rely on fire attacks rather than claws. For most Charmanders, this wasn't a problem, but I was better at claw-to-claw combat than fire attacks.

I made the first move, a fireball directed at the gaseous Pokémon, but the ghost simply faded out, the fireball passing through it harmlessly. I let out a low growl of annoyance, and Spark whimpered, trying to hide behind me, which probably wasn't too difficult considering his size and he was still on my tail. I really hope I don't burn him.

_"Pitiful. Sleeeeep!"_ Nightmare sneered, eyes glowing. I shut my eyes quickly to block the Hypnosis and heard the Gastly let out the tiniest growl as the sleep waves passed me harmlessly. _"No matter, I have other tricks at my disposal. Like this one!" _he sneered and after a second I felt a wave of energy strike me, and felt myself fly backwards, slamming into a tree. I groaned in pain, even as the veil of darkness surrounding us vanished.

"Me okay!" Spark said, seemingly unharmed by the impact with the tree. I stared towards the Gastly, which had just engaged Venomoth. The Gastly send a wave of dark energy, but Venomoth split into three, the Night Shade shattering one of the copies harmlessly.

_"How clever, a guessing game," _Nightmare hissed. _"You can only hide so long..."_ Another wave of energy struck one of the Venomoths, which grunted in pain, the other one vanishing. _"Told you..."_ Nightmare sneered, amused. I sent a barrage of fire towards the Gastly, which vanished, reappearing in front of me, grinning sinisterly.

"Uh oh..." I muttered, sending a stream of fire at the ghost Pokémon, but it faded out, the flames missing it completely. Spark cringed in fear, sparks flying feverishly from his cheeks. Nightmare chuckled as he reappeared.

_"Confuse Ray!"_ he whispered, and a flash of light blinded me and most likely Spark as well. I felt dizzy, looking around worriedly. Everything seemed so strange, so unusual. Every shadow on the ground looked intimidating, every shape seemed senseless. There was a strange shape in front of me, but it seemed to be threatening. I lunged at it with a fury that was strange in its own, slamming my claws into it. I felt incredible pain in my shoulder and stared at it, noticing the blood trickling from the wounds my claws had made. How? Attacking that threatening shape hurt me? Then how can I fight?

"Ember!" a strange, distorted voice called and I turned towards it. "Use fire attacks!" it called. I blinked, confused by the command. "Do it now!" the voice insisted. I turned back to the threatening shape, but it had vanished, replaced with the Gastly. I shot a fireball towards it and the Gastly jerked in shock before vanishing and reappearing close to me.

_"Sleeeep!"_ it hissed, and its eyes glowed. I giggled, unafraid of the funny looking smoke, wrapping my arms around it, hugging it close. It was surprisingly soft and warm. I felt myself floating happily in the air before suddenly falling to the ground, the strange sights and sounds fading instantly, and pain returning to my back.

"Ow..." I muttered, looking around. "How'd I get hurt?" I demanded, staring at my shoulder, which twinged painfully from the claw marks. I looked at my paw, blinking at the blood on it. Had I stabbed myself? Why? I looked around the strange area, noting the Pichu was unconscious, apparently from hitting himself in the head. Nightmare was staring at me with a strange expression, a mixture of shock and disgust.

_"She...hugged me!" _Nightmare said in disbelief. He turned and sent a wave of dark energy at Venomoth, who had snuck up behind him. Venomoth quickly split into three, but the energy was so close, all 3 were struck with part of the blast, vaporizing the two clones and the real Venomoth jerked in minor pain, fortunately not receiving a full blast. Nightmare prepared another wave of dark energy, and Venomoth fired a multi-colored beam of energy, striking Nightmare in the face.

"Not bad, Venomoth," I said, still feeling dazed.

"Just recover from the confusion he inflicted," Venomoth replied as Nightmare shook off the psychic energy.

_"You're powerful, Venomoth, but you can't defeat a ghost!"_ Nightmare said coldly, as a pulse of black energy flew from his body, hitting Venomoth and sending the bug into a tree, but she recovered from the impact quickly. I growled in annoyance, feeling helpless in the fight that was occurring. Greta seemed to be watching with a trace of excitement.

"I'm not finished yet," Venomoth said simply and gleamed slightly. Nightmare looked puzzled, but Venomoth gave me a secretive nod. I inhaled, feeling my tail flame flare up, and I sent a massive stream of fire at Nightmare, who noticed it in time to fade out.

_"What?!" _Nightmare yelled as the fire engulfed him. When the fire subsided, the gaseous Pokémon was twitching in agony. _"How did it hit me? I wasn't solid!"_ he hissed in rage.

"I used Foresight, so your evasion tricks didn't work," Venomoth replied, firing a Psybeam at the Gastly, striking it and sending it slamming into the tree.

_"You haven't won! I'll defeat you yet!" _Nightmare spat, vanishing and reappearing next to Greta, laughing. _"Sleeeep!"_ he hissed, his eyes glowing briefly. Greta returned the gaze indifferently and after a moment, it became clear she wasn't going to fall asleep.

"Nice try, Nightmare," Greta said, her tone slightly darker and more malicious, although it was such a small change I only noticed it because Nightmare flinched. "But you won't be putting me to sleep," Nightmare stared at the Rattata in mute horror.

_"Master...?" _Nightmare hissed in shock and a flash of rage appeared on Greta's face.

"Get lost, ghost!" she snarled, her fur standing up on end. She was staring at Nightmare intently and without a word, Nightmare disappeared. Greta very slowly relaxed. "I think it's gone," she said timidly. Venomoth paused, as if scanning the area.

"Indeed it is. We better continue on our way if we are to get to Celadon quickly," she said. I studied the Rattata somewhat suspiciously. There was an even odder feeling about her, and the more I thought about it, the more odd things seemed to pop up. The yellow eyes had a definitely sinister appearance to them, she seemed to know way too much about us, and a ghost called her 'master' and left when told to go away. It didn't add up.

"Why did the ghost leave?" I blurted, carrying the unconscious Pichu. Greta shrugged, as if she didn't care why the ghost had fled. Venomoth paused thoughtfully. "And why did it call you 'master'? Who the hell are you, Greta?" I demanded, staring at the Rattata. Greta smiled coldly.

"Shall I assume you're still affected by the Confuse Ray? You asked who I am, but used my name," Greta replied. I narrowed my eyes at her before carefully placing Spark down and baring my claws threateningly.

"Who are you?! You're not who you say you are!" I insisted furiously. Greta seemed unfazed by this, almost amused.

"Oh, and do you know who I am if I'm not who I say I am?" Greta asked, chuckling. I growled furiously, readying my claws to strike.

"Hang on, Ember," Venomoth said abruptly. "You have a point or two. First, you do seem to know quite a deal about our personal information, like my weak Hypnosis, including how long the sleep lasts for. Only I knew that information, but I was too tired to notice it immediately. A ghost referred to you as 'master' and left after you sent a telepathic message. Yes, I sensed a telepathic message, although I couldn't tell what was said," Venomoth continued.

"Good show, Venomoth," Greta replied coldly, her normally semi-friendly demeanor gone, leaving a cold, hateful personality. "Shall we battle?" she sneered. Venomoth looked confused a moment.

"If we must," she replied. Greta grinned wickedly.

"We must," Greta said, the eyes gleaming maliciously.


	40. Exposure

I stared at the Rattata in confusion. Greta was grinning maliciously, baring her fangs at Venomoth, who stared back calmly. "I'll take you first..." Greta hissed darkly and vanished, reappearing next to Venomoth before sinking her fangs into Venomoth's left wing. Venomoth cried out in pain, her balance thrown off by the decreased ability to flap her left wing.

"That hurt," Venomoth said, examining her wing expertly. Greta smirked and leapt at her again, the fang ready to strike. Venomoth split into 3, causing the Rattata to miss her target. Greta paused for a moment before smirking.

"Your little game is no match for me," Greta snarled and leapt towards one of the Venomoths, plunging her fang into the Venomoth's right wing. The Venomoth jerked just in time to avoid serious damage and I gasped in surprise. Greta seemed to know precisely where the real Venomoth had been, but how? Venomoth herself seemed surprised by this.

"How did you do that?" she asked the Rattata, but Greta merely smiled in reply.

"I know everything about you, Venomoth. _Next you'll use Psybeam to try to drive me back, but when you do, I'll use Quick Attack and Hyper Fang and crush you in one move._" Greta said, but I heard most of the words telepathically and I felt a twinge of dread. I opened my mouth to warn her, but was too late before the battle resumed. Venomoth fired a multi-colored beam of energy towards Greta, who dodged nimbly and lunged, her fang gleaming dangerously. Venomoth's eyes widened in shock as the fang struck her body. She let out a strange cry, then twitched and collapsed, unconscious.

"Venomoth!" I yelled in shock and Greta turned towards me, smirking maliciously.

"Exactly as I said it would happen, wasn't it Ember?" Greta mocked and I glared at her.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" I demanded angrily, baring my claws once more. Greta sat down calmly, ignoring my threat, staring at me with her gleaming yellow eyes. I stared back, searching my memory for where I had seen those eyes before, they seemed so familiar.

"My reasons are mine and mine alone," she replied coldly.

"Well, then I'll make you talk!" I snarled, sending a stream of fire towards the Rattata. However, a barrier of light appeared in front of Greta, repelling the flames effortlessly.

"Please, don't make me laugh. Your fire attacks are feeble, and you can't get close enough to use your claw techniques," Greta sneered. I growled in annoyance at the taunt.

"Shut up!" I snapped and Greta smirked.

"That's it, let out your anger and hatred, fight using all your power. Only then can you hope to kill me," Greta hissed and I sent another fireball at the Rattata, but it once again was deflected by the Light Screen. I ran forward, jabbing my claws towards the Rattata, who calmly slammed her body into me, knocking me backwards.

"You got me that time, but I'll take you down, you demon rat!" I said angrily. Greta smirked.

"Let's see you prove it then," she sneered, wagging her tail tauntingly. I blinked at the strange taunt, my anger surprisingly gone. It reminded me of when a Pokémon once gave Dragonair the middle claw gesture, and Dragonair burst out laughing at the gesture, confusing everyone. He then asked whether that gesture was supposed to offend him, as it had no meaning. Something about humans making a big deal out of meaningless motions. I smiled at the memory.

"Was that supposed to mean anything?" I asked the confused Rattata, who narrowed her eyes angrily. I mentally smirked at the reversal of emotions. "So let's see if you're all talk, or actually can fight," I added.

"It's your funeral. Of course, not too many will mourn you," Greta replied.

"I'll say the same about you," I said calmly and Greta gave a chilling smirk, as if the idea of death was laughable. The smirk caused me to shudder slightly, my tail flame flaring up slightly. Greta darted forward, fang bared to strike. I dodged to the side, slashing my claws quickly as she ran past. She gave a small grunt of pain as bleeding scratches appeared on her flank.

"First blood yours. Last blood mine," Greta hissed, leaping towards me, fang aimed at my throat. I reacted instinctively, jabbing one paw forward, the other arm defending my throat. Her fang pierced my arm, blood seeping from the wound, pain flaring from my injured shoulder and arm. Greta let out a hiss of delight and my eyes widened in shock as I realized that she was partially impaled on my claws, but hadn't noticed. I flicked my arm quickly, flinging Greta away where she slammed into the ground.

"That wound's pretty nasty, you know," I said, panting slightly as I examined my own wound. Greta smirked.

"A mere flesh wound. If it doesn't kill, it doesn't matter. If it kills, it doesn't matter to me," she replied and I shivered. She was insane, a twisted creature that thrived on pain and was untroubled, almost amused, by her own suffering and pain.

"That's just disturbing. What is wrong with you?" I demanded. Greta chuckled.

"Nothing is wrong with me at all. Now prepare to die," she replied, darting forward once more before striking, her fang glowing differently from her Hyper Fang technique. I was a moment slow on blocking due to the shock of the different glow. The fang struck and I yelled in shock, feeling myself weaken dramatically. "Super Fang halves your energy. With only half strength, you'll tire long before me," she hissed and I slammed my fist into her face, knocking her away from me.

"I still have some fight left in me," I replied, panting slightly as I pushed myself back to my feet.

"So be it," Greta said, spitting out a small amount of blood, but I didn't hit that hard so I assume she bit her tongue. "Try at one quarter energy then!" she said lunging forward. This time I was ready for her and crouched, slamming my claws into her face and placing my tail under the Rattata. Greta let out a yell of agony as her fur was scorched by my tail flame, adding to the pain of the claws in her face.

"Had enough?" I said emotionlessly, feeling disgusted at my method of victory as I slammed the Rattata to the ground, wincing at the cracking sound as one of her legs broke. Greta stared at me in near disbelief, but not a trace of fear upon her face.

"You win this time, but you haven't seen the last of me!" she hissed and her eyes closed, as if about to sleep, her body relaxing. I felt a strange feeling as this happened, as if the aura of evil had vanished. Venomoth stirred and examined her wings briefly.

"Are you okay, Ember? What happened?" she asked.

"I'm okay, I guess...just worn out. I don't think I killed her..." I said, gesturing to Greta, who remained motionless. Venomoth flapped her wings experimentally before flying over and examining the Rattata.

"No, but those are pretty nasty injuries. Broken leg, scratches, and burns," she said. Suddenly, Greta twitched, crying out in pain as she attempted to move the broken limb.

"Where is it? What happened?" she demanded frantically, staring at Venomoth and me in confusion, half panicked. "Where am I?" she asked. I narrowed my eyes, reminding me of when Venomoth had fought Dragonair and me. Her memory had been faulty and she had been confused.

"Are you Greta?" I asked her cautiously. The Rattata nodded, perplexed. "What was the last thing you remember?" I asked. The Rattata paused, thinking hard.

"My husband..." she said slowly, trembling now. She paled. "Is he alright? Is Phil alright?" she asked, flailing worriedly.

"Relax, calm down!" I said firmly. "I don't know who Phil is. I need to know why you were trying to kill us," At this last sentence, Greta flinched in shock. Venomoth seemed apprehensive as well, perhaps seeing the similarity between Greta and her own condition.

"I don't know you two. My husband...had been acting strangely...and..." she furrowed her brow, thinking hard. Venomoth and I exchanged a glance. "He was possessed..." she said, tears forming in her eyes.

"Possessed?" I repeated, now worried. Something was starting to fit, but not enough to understand everything. "By what?"

"A phantom named...named..." she stammered, thinking frantically. I felt a thrill of excitement and fear, but Greta fell back. "I don't remember the name. I offered myself to save Phil...and the next thing I remember is I'm here. What happened?" she begged.

"We met you in the Rocket facility not too far away from here. You were coming with us to Celadon, and we were attacked by a Gastly. The Gastly went after you, but called you 'master'. We became suspicious of you and you attacked, wounding Venomoth and myself, but were severely injured," I explained.

"Why me hurt?" Spark asked, causing me to jump in surprise. I had temporarily forgotten about the Pichu kit (something I would never admit to Dragonair).

"You bumped your head, I think. You feeling okay?" I asked and Spark nodded before climbing onto my tail.

"Me sleepy," he explained and almost immediately fell asleep. Venomoth stared at the Pichu in surprise, but seemed unbothered by it.

"Greta?" a voice said from nearby and Greta turned towards it before smiling brightly.

"Phil...you're okay!" she cried, as a male Rattata ran over, looking relieved, but worried.

"You're...not okay. What happened?" he asked, kissing her lovingly.

"We're going to continue on now," I said to no one in particular, turning towards the path again. Venomoth followed wordlessly.

"You're jealous, aren't you?" Venomoth teased.

"Oh shut up. Don't act like Dragonair while he's not here," I scolded, smirking slightly.

"Well, then I can't act like Dragonair when he is here," Venomoth complained, smiling.

"Me want sleep!" Spark grumbled from my tail. "Me no talk, me no want hear."

"Uh...sorry Spark. Enjoy your nap," I said, rolling my eyes.


	41. Jirachi's Message

**Sapphire POV**

I yawned and stretched briefly, basking in the gentle rays of the sun. I sighed happily, floating over to the nearest berry bushes and eating a few of the tart fruits. I took a long drink from the lake and stretched again before diving into the cool water, washing away any residual tiredness from the previous night. After a short swim around the lake, I felt a strange need to return to the surface. I pondered this unusual desire, and ultimately followed it, glancing cautiously around the clearing before coiling up under one of the trees.

"Sapphire?" a voice said and I jerked my head, searching the area for the speaker. "You are Sapphire, correct?" the voice asked. I paused, still scanning the area for any sign of the one trying to contact me.

"Yes, my name is Sapphire," I replied calmly. "Who are you?" I asked politely.

"You are the mate of a Dragonair named Dragonair, correct?" the speaker continued, and I felt the slightest pang of annoyance at having my question ignored.

"Yes, my mate's name is Dragonair, and he is a Dragonair," I answered. "Why do you ask, where are you, and who are you?"

"I'm confirming your identity because I have a message for you. I am a messenger sent to deliver the message," the voice said and I let out a small sigh of annoyance.

"Very well, who is the message from, and what is the message?" I asked after a short pause.

"Why does Jirachi insist on sending messages like this? The message is 'I'll personally deliver the message'. I swear, I think she thrives on making my job hard! She pays well, though," the messenger said and I blinked in confusion.

"So Jirachi sent you to deliver a message to me that says that she'll deliver the message?" I asked.

"Sounds right. I really need that aspirin now," the messenger's voice said dully and then fell silent, so I assume it left.

"Ok...that was rather odd," I said quietly to myself, stretching out once more, pausing when I heard another voice, this time sounding like it was from a visible figure.

"Hello, Sapphire is it?" I looked around quickly, spotting a small star shaped creature. I stared at it blankly for several seconds, having never seen anything like it before.

"Uh...yes, I'm Sapphire. Who are you?" I asked, feeling slightly stupid at my delayed reaction. The creature giggled slightly.

"I'm Jirachi, I believe you received the message that I was coming?" she asked.

"Yes, but I didn't think you'd come so soon. Aren't legendary Pokémon usually busy?" I asked, now feeling almost like a child asking ridiculous questions. Jirachi giggled again.

"Well, I am busy, but this is important and you're in Hoenn, so it isn't completely out of the way," she explained.

"Alright. What is it?" I asked, feeling slightly concerned. Odds are good that Jirachi or any legendary wouldn't come personally unless it was very important. Although Dragonair said Mew or Celebi were unlikely to come at all, but I think he just doesn't like Mew, and Celebi sounds like he would always be swamped.

"Well, I decided to come personally because you're one of the few Pokémon who knows of me and for some reason you almost deitize me. Most use Mew, and your mate and a few others use Celebi. Personally, the less I have to worry about, the better," Jirachi explained, and I noticed the slightest trace of venom in her voice when she mentioned Mew, and she seemed exasperated about Celebi, so I got the feeling those 3 knew each other.

"So, what's going on?" I asked, still feeling anxious. Jirachi frowned slightly.

"Well, your mate is in a bit of trouble right now," she began. I flinched.

"What kind of trouble?" I asked, really concerned now.

"Well, he was captured and being tortured, for lack of a better phrase," Jirachi said unhappily. I stared at her in disbelief.

"What happened?" I asked, concerned. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine right now. He's located in a facility near Celadon in Kanto," Jirachi explained.

"But I can't get to Kanto quickly enough to help him," I protested. "I assume you're telling me this so I can go help him, right? Or do legends have a cruel sense of humor?" I asked with a small snarl. Jirachi flinched slightly at the change in my demeanor, but recovered quickly.

"I can teleport you to Kanto, if you wish. Not directly to the destination, but you should be able to make the rest of the journey in a short amount of time," Jirachi explained. I nodded fervently.

"Uh...one little favor. I really like this spot, so can you somehow protect it so nothing takes it over?" I asked. Jirachi giggled slightly.

"I suppose I can do that. No guarantees, because something might come up, of course, but I'll try," she said.

"Okay, thanks. I'm ready to go now," I said gratefully. I was also grateful for the transportation to help Dragonair.

"Okay then, close your eyes," Jirachi said softly. I gave her a questioning look but closed my eyes. I felt Jirachi place a paw on my neck and I felt a strange sensation, which lasted for only a few moments. It wasn't long before I noticed the sounds and smells of my location changed immensely. "We're here," Jirachi said and I opened my eyes, feeling slightly disoriented by the scenery change.

"Give me a hint. Where in Kanto are we?" I asked, noticing mostly just trees and a path. Jirachi paused, looking around thoughtfully.

"I think somewhere near Saffron. Not exactly sure, because I don't go to Kanto that often," Jirachi admitted and I lightly growled in reply. "Maybe you can ask for directions."

"A Dragonair asking for directions?" I repeated skeptically. "If I'm lucky, the Pokémon I ask don't have trainers nearby, because I'd hate to snowstorm the area to get away."

"Ah yes, you beat Zapdos and Articuno in a weather control competition, didn't you?" Jirachi asked. Where did she hear that?

"I'm not going to ask how you heard that, but Articuno beat me," I replied humbly. Jirachi giggled.

"Zapdos wasn't kidding when he said you're humble to the point of irritating." she said. "As far as directions, I have to return to Hoenn, and as a legend, I can't exactly risk being seen by humans, either," she said. "My apologies," I blinked as she vanished.

"Uh...thanks, I guess," I said, irritated. It didn't take too long to calm down, reminding myself that I was there to help my mate, once I found where he was and where I was. I glanced at the sun and sighed. It was about noon so I couldn't tell which direction was east or west, although I knew Celadon was to the west, assuming I wasn't near Fuchsia.

"Well, well...we meet again, Dragonair," a cold hissing voice sneered from behind me. I glanced over to the speaker and raised an eye scale at the large purple cobra Pokémon.

"Are you addressing me? I don't think we've met," I said politely. The Arbok looked confused, and strangely lost for words. "Can you perhaps tell me where I am?" I asked.

"You're a female Dragonair?" the Arbok said stupidly.

"Uh yeah...you're a male Arbok?" I said, feeling rather annoyed. "Location, please?"

"Never mind. I'm looking for a different snake," the Arbok hissed, slithering away. I stared after it in confusion, and then continued down the path. There had to be someone around here that knew where 'here' was.


	42. The Day of Love

Love. An emotion that confuses almost everyone, even those who claim to experience it. I've seen hundreds of individuals all believing they love someone or something. They even have a day to celebrate the emotion. Luvdisc Day? Fools, love is a senseless emotion, a more acceptable version of its true form: Lust. Everyone understands lust, no one understands love. Perhaps it's because they're one and the same. Love appears to be whenever the other returns to feeling, but yet some say that you can love someone even if they don't love you back. Then there's parental love, which is far from lust, so perhaps the emotion exists in some form.

"Nightmare..." I hissed quietly and immediately the Gastly appeared silently, floating next to my shadowy form.

_"Yes, Master?"_ Nightmare whispered reverently and I gave him a small glare.

"You messed up...again." I said dangerously and the Gastly shuddered in fear. "Care to explain why I shouldn't destroy you for the second error?"

_"Master, I did not know it was you!" _Nightmare pleaded. _"The revelation caught me off guard, and I..."_

"Silence! I am willing to forgive you this time..." I interrupted sharply. "If you can explain to me the purpose of Luvdisc Day." I continued and Nightmare faltered a moment. I knew it was an odd request, but I was slightly interested in his interpretation.

_"Master...the day is the celebration of love...of affection towards a being you are attracted to,"_ Nightmare explained slowly, but stopped as I laughed.

"So it is nothing more than lust. But I learned something, oh yes...you see Nightmare...everyone who claims to feel love also feels hate. Just as those who are pure have a darkness within. There is a darkness within us all; the trick is how to set it free." I said and Nightmare stared towards me, confused. "Perhaps you need a demonstration?" I hissed.

_"Master?"_ Nightmare said, looking puzzled, uncertain of what I meant.

"If you need proof of the hazards of this emotion, we'll use you as an example," I whispered, conjuring the image of a small stone tablet with the image of a Haunter upon it. Nightmare flinched visibly and I smirked at him. "Tell me...what use did your attraction with the female Haunter grant you?" I asked softly. Nightmare turned away, avoiding the sight of the tablet and my own gaze.

_"Nothing, my master..."_ he said finally.

"Yet you continue to beg me to release her spirit from the Void. You desire her, but it is more than lust, for ghosts cannot reproduce as easily as other species, nor do they often experience such a desire. You cannot explain the emotion, nor can you understand it yourself," I hissed quietly.

_"I'm afraid I don't see your point, master,"_ Nightmare said bitterly. I laughed coldly, dissipating the image into smoke.

"My point, Nightmare, is that Pokémon and humans alike celebrate a day for an emotion that is deeper and more complex than any other, but as fragile as smoke. Why invest so much in something so delicate?" I hissed.

_"It makes them happy,"_ Nightmare replied.

"Are you happy, Nightmare?" I asked casually. Nightmare sensed the trick question almost immediately.

_"I could be happier,"_ he admitted finally.

"You prefer a female over ultimate power?" I asked softly.

_"At times..."_ Nightmare admitted hesitantly.

"Why, Nightmare? WHY would anyone desire a fragile emotion over the abilities that can be granted by giving it up?" I demanded loudly, but without anger.

_"I...don't know, master," _the Gastly replied.

"FOOLS BLINDLY CHASE THIS GOAL!" I bellowed. "Mortals want what they cannot have! If you don't know what you seek, why chase it?!"

_"Even ghosts and phantoms crave it..."_ Nightmare interjected. _"Personally, I think you're still sore about the shrine incident."_

"How bold of you to bring it up. Love defeated me...but never again. Never again..." I replied, impressed by Nightmare's spine, not even remotely upset by his insubordination. "It's time I show you my true point. The true weakness of love is hate and anger. You'll see how fragile love truly is," I added with a cold laugh. Nightmare looked at me in confusion.

_"How will you do that?"_ he asked and I smirked.

"Luvdisc Day...couples all over the region will be gathering in order to celebrate acceptable lust. What happens when something goes wrong? Mental instability, hatred, violence, and suffering. When you break an expensive object, you pay the price. Perhaps you should have invested in stocks and bonds, less likely to shatter," I replied.

_"Master...can you please stop comparing emotions to investments? I'm having trouble understanding your point,"_ Nightmare said seriously.

"You never were the sharpest spine on the Sandslash," I said with a sigh and Nightmare was blank again. "You're an idiot," I clarified, but Nightmare remained blank. "You're just acting dumb to mess with me, aren't you?" I demanded.

_"Guilty as charged, master,"_ Nightmare said dully.

"Why I chose you as my apprentice, I do not know. Moving on..." I said, irritated. "Ah, there's a target. A Pikachu and a Raichu," I pointed out and float nearer to the couple. Nightmare followed, puzzled. "Remain invisible. We don't need to alert them," I sneered.

_"As you wish, master," _Nightmare said emotionlessly. We floated near the electric Pokémon, watching them hug and nuzzle. It was so pathetic.

"Aw, look at the affection they show to each other, they love each other so much," I said mockingly. "See, they're hugging and sharing their body scent. Aww...how cute and adorable. Who wants to bet one of them is only thinking of mating?" I asked Nightmare.

_"Uh...did you already read their thoughts?" _Nightmare asked suspiciously.

"Nightmare, I wasn't asking a serious question," I replied coldly. My yellow eyes gleamed for a moment and I accessed the present thoughts of the electric rats. Flashes of emotions and desires flashed before me and I studied each with interest. "Aha! The female is thinking of mating," I said triumphantly.

_"How does this prove your point that love is purely lustful?" _Nightmare interrupted. I paused for a moment.

"It doesn't, but lust is definitely involved," I replied.

_"But master..."_

"Silence! To prove my main point, that love is one of the most fragile and pathetic emotions in existence!" I snarled, possessing the female Pikachu, whose subconscious was easily overwhelmed thanks to the abruptness of my possession, and her mental barriers weakened. See, love already has a fault of letting one's guard down.

_"You just possessed one of them, didn't you?" _Nightmare asked telepathically.

"Shut up, Nightmare," I replied telepathically. The male pulled away from my embrace gently and took out a paper the male had been hiding in his fur.

"My love, I wrote this poem to tell you my true feelings for you," he said, and I was slightly amused by the fact the male had rehearsed this exact wording for the last three days according to his memory. I smiled and looked at him expectantly. He studied the paper briefly, preparing himself to read.

_"Are you the male or the female?"_ Nightmare asked telepathically, undoubtedly unable to tell the difference due to the natural reactions of both electric Pokémon. I smirked to myself.

"Why don't you guess?" I replied.

_"I'm going to guess the male, because you could probably twist the words of the poem to be insulting," _Nightmare said logically.

"Which would fall flat if the female ever saw the real poem? I'm the female; the yellow eyes kind of give it away, idiot," I replied.

_"You have an interesting taste in hosts. You possessed a female Rattata and a female Pikachu. I think the Weepinbell was female also, but it was a plant...but aren't you considered male?"_

"Shut the hell up, Nightmare," I replied curtly. "I can't listen to the lovely poem he's written for me if you distract me."

_"No offense, master...but what the hell?"_

"Ahem...Cheri berries are red, those other berries are blue. I just want to say that I love you." the Raichu read nervously. "The roses smell sweet, sort of like your feet..."

_"You sure you're not possessing the male?"_ Nightmare asked.

"Read the damn poem yourself, idiot!" I shot back telepathically, "It really says that."

_"Wow...it does," _Nightmare replied a second later.

"...you are so fine, you appear divine..." the Raichu continued. "And despite the weather, we'll stick together. I'll love you forever, for this I endeavor...Happy Luvdisc Day, that's all I'll say," he finished proudly. "So what do you think?" he asked me. I stared at him blankly. The female's instincts said that the correct response was to start kissing him passionately (there's no way in hell I'm doing that. I don't even want to know where that would lead to, despite it would probably prove my point).

"What do I think?" I repeated. "I'll show you what I think," I said, slowly walking closer and delivering a powerful slap to the Raichu's cheek. He jerked in shock and I allowed myself a small chuckle. The male clutched his cheek, and stared at me in shock.

"What was that for?" he demanded angrily.

"That poem was meaningless, just a bunch of words to try to soften me up!" I snarled back, slapping him again. Tears formed in the male's eyes, both from sorrow and pain.

"But...I worked hard on that..." he said pleadingly.

"Where were you yesterday when I was making dinner? Out with your friends, right? Or your real girlfriend?" I demanded. The Raichu looked confused and hurt by the accusation, and I smirked to myself in cruel triumph. It was so much more fun when they didn't realize that the female's body and voice was just a puppet for me. A tool to use for my amusement. It was petty, but the world was celebrating, so I may as well have some fun as well.

"No...I...I was...writing the poem..." he said, a lone tear falling down his cheek.

"And leaving me to do all the work with the food," I snapped.

"I offered to help, but you said you could handle it, remember?" the Raichu begged. "So I took the time to write you the poem."

"Well, it's always the girl's job to do the cooking, isn't it?" I retorted sarcastically.

"What? I made dinner the night before for you," the Raichu argued, getting angry.

"Just because you wanted to cuddle," I shot back just as angrily.

"What? You were the one who wanted to cuddle..." the Raichu protested.

"You made dinner to try to butter me up so I'd be willing to cuddle. You're a lustful pig!" I snapped. The Raichu flinched in horror, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry if you feel that way...I respect you, I really do," the Raichu pleaded.

"Yeah, you respect me long enough to reach a certain point and then you vanish and brag to your little friends! Don't think I don't know what you guys talk about!" I shouted.

"We don't talk about things like that! Well, Greg does, but we tell him to shut up and change the subject!" the Raichu protested fervently. "Please believe me!"

"I believe you. I believe you're a backstabbing cheater!" I raged and stormed off, leaving a heartbroken Raichu behind. As soon as I was out of sight, I released my control over the Pikachu, ensuring she was unconscious and she would have no memory of the incident. My possession of individuals often gave them no recollection of the events, although they were usually fully aware of the activities as they occurred. "See what I mean, Nightmare?" I hissed quietly to the Gastly that had followed me.

_"You were proving what point, again?"_ Nightmare asked, seemingly bothered by the cruel display earlier.

"The anger and hate that the Raichu showed when his love was unreturned," I replied.

_"Master, I saw a sad, heartbroken Raichu, not a violent, hateful one," _Nightmare protested.

"Just as enjoyable to cause. The main point was the loss of emotional stability and pain when the pursuit is in vain," I said indifferently. "Stop acting so weak, Nightmare. Emotional pain is a necessity to existence. If you can't live with it, you'll die."

_"But...it's Luvdisc Day..."_ Nightmare said.

"All the better. The greater thrill from the day made the fall all the more painful. The higher the fall, the worse the break. Moves from a crack to a shattering." I retorted. Nightmare sighed softly and I laughed. "You disagree? Tell you what, Nightmare...there was one more little game in this little charade. The Pikachu remembers nothing of being possessed or anything else. She will seek him out, and they'll be back together. But their precious Luvdisc Day is ruined because the mood was ruined. He will be cursed with the memories, and the dread that she'll regain her hatred of him," I explained.

_"Yes, master..."_ Nightmare said, but I knew he did not agree.

"You're a fool, Nightmare...a weak naive fool who believes in love. You can never taste greatness until you give up the idealism of the fool," I said coldly. "However...it is Luvdisc Day and your loyalty deserves a reward. Enjoy your prize," I said conjuring the image of the stone tablet and focused briefly. Black energy flowed from the image, forming the shape of a Haunter female. Nightmare's eyes widened in surprise.

_"Thank you, master..."_ he whispered.

"She'll return to the Void in 24 hours. Report back to me immediately afterwards." I said coldly, turning away from the infatuated ghost Pokémon. Nightmare would taste the true sorrow soon enough. Like everyone else, Nightmare was a fool when it came to the idea of love. I gave him a taste of his desire, which would make the loss so much stronger. 24 hours of joy, but the price was steep. He missed her less the longer he didn't have her. Now that he had a taste, his desire would increase, except now the prize would be dangled before him, once more out of reach.

"Now...who else's relationship can I jeopardize today?" I muttered to myself, laughing coldly. So many to ruin, and only 24 hours to do it. I'll prove the fragility of love, and the darkness within those who claim to experience it.


	43. Giving Directions

**Ember POV**

After perhaps an hour of traveling, we stopped to rest up a little bit and get some food and water. The water aspect was unfortunately scarce, but there were a few berry bushes for us to pick off of. "How much farther until Saffron?" I asked Venomoth, who paused her eating to think.

"We still have a ways to go, but after we get there, we can reach Celadon much quicker," she said after a moment, and then proceeded to continue eating. Spark was running to various bushes, seizing random berries and eating them.

"Me berry! Me berry! Me berry! Me no like berry, so me eat this berry," he called out happily. I stared at him a moment before shaking my head. I had gotten so used to the Pichu in the short time we had know each other, but it felt like months, which didn't make sense, as Dragonair estimated his age at about a month based on his growth and vocabulary. Venomoth noted my expression.

"You're fond of him, aren't you?" she asked, nibbling on a berry. I shrugged in reply. "It's natural to bond with one you're taking care of," she continued. "Just remember..." she stopped in midsentence, suddenly alert. I looked at her questioningly, but she motioned for me to stay quiet. Spark had stopped as well, ears twitching as he listened. I strained my hearing but didn't hear anything.

"Me hear stuff," Spark whispered worriedly, sparks flying from his cheeks.

"I don't hear anything," I complained and Venomoth sighed.

"I didn't hear anything, but I think something's nearby," she said. "Perhaps we should move from the area, just in case." she added and I nodded in agreement, leading the way from the clearing back to the path. We continued at a slightly faster pace, all on edge from the feeling that someone or something was nearby.

"Me see Dragon!" Spark yelled from my left and I looked at him quickly. He was pointing towards a large, blue serpentine creature maybe 100 yards away. I stared in surprise for several seconds, unsure whether I was seeing things or not. That last berry I ate did taste rather weird, and Spark had probably eaten several weird berries during his eating spree.

"I can't tell, is that Dragonair?" I asked aloud, at the same time trying to stop Spark who was bouncing dangerously close to my tail flame.

"If it helps, it's a Dragonair, but I can't tell if it is Dragonair," Venomoth said helpfully.

"The downside of having a name the same as your specie, it's harder to tell whether you're talking about the person or the specie," I said with a small sigh.

"You're telling me," Venomoth said with a laugh. "Well, we're heading in that direction anyway, so we may as well try to find out," she added. I nodded and we continued walking, watching the Dragonair anxiously. It abruptly turned towards us and tilted its head curiously.

"Hello. May I ask where we are?" the Dragonair asked in a calm, soothing voice. I almost immediately registered the fact that it was not Dragonair, the biggest clue being that it was a female.

"You don't know where you are?" I repeated, surprised.

"Correct. While I am familiar with most of Kanto, I am not aware of my current location," she explained.

"Where are you going?" I asked, unusually interested. The female seemed somewhat annoyed by this question.

"Could you perhaps tell me my current location before I answer your questions, seeing as I asked first?" she asked.

"We could also just ignore you and continue on our way," I replied. I'm not sure why I decided to start irritating the Dragonair, probably because I found her a convenient outlet for my current stress. The Dragonair's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she seemed to be considering something.

"While it is true that you could ignore me, I would consider such action to be rather rude and penalize you accordingly," she said seriously. Venomoth sighed, annoyed by my manners, or lack thereof.

"Ember, we don't want to piss off a random Dragonair. We're in a hurry, you know," she said.

"How would you penalize me?" I snorted in disbelief. The Dragonair raised an eye scale at me.

"Are you under particular mental stress? I see no other cause for your attitude towards a being who simply asked for directions," she replied, lifting her head to glare down at me. I glared back and caught sight of a silvery orb on her neck.

"Oh shit...is your name Sapphire?" I asked, suddenly afraid. The Dragonair blinked in surprise and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"How do you know my name?" she asked.

"You wouldn't happen to have a mate named Dragonair, would you?" I asked, half hoping she'd say no (Dragonair would beat the hell out of me for antagonizing his mate).

"Yes, my mate's name is Dragonair, of the Dragonair species," she replied. I cursed softly under my breath. "Is that a problem?" she asked calmly.

"Yeah, Dragonair's going to hurt me now. I just spent 5 minutes antagonizing his mate," I said. Sapphire smiled slightly.

"I'm sure I can convince him otherwise, but now that I appear to have a bargaining chip, perhaps you might be interested in giving me directions?" she asked.

"You're south of Saffron City," I replied hurriedly. "We should probably fill you in on a few details, though. See...Dragonair and I were both Rocket Pokémon and I was helping him try to locate Spark's parents," I said, pointing to the Pichu.

"Me want Mommy and Daddy..." Spark muttered sadly. Sapphire blinked slightly, but didn't say anything.

"Anyway, we discovered that the Rockets have labs and the sort where they abuse and experiment on Pokémon. That was sort of troubling..." I continued.

"How upset did Dragonair get?" Sapphire asked abruptly.

"Scary in my book," I replied. "We abandoned the Rockets and searched for more clues as to where the Raichus were, and discovered they have been moved to Johto. Shortly afterwards, we were attacked and Dragonair was captured as a traitor. I tried to save him, but he was sent to a base in Celadon. That's where we're going," I finished. Sapphire nodded thoughtfully.

"I was recently informed that Dragonair was in trouble, so I came to Kanto to find and help him. I was unsure of where I was, however. It appears we have the same agenda, so I hold no ill feeling towards you. I do advise that you be more considerate to those you don't know. Same advice for those you do know, of course," Sapphire said gently.

"I'll keep that in mind. Please don't tell Dragonair, though," I said. Sapphire laughed gently.

"I'm fairly sure the topic will come up. I will urge him not to harm you, however," she replied.

"And he'd listen to you?" Venomoth asked seriously.

"I have my methods," Sapphire said. "Anyway, shall we go? Now that I know where we are, I can travel to the destination in very little time," she said.

"Any chance you can take passengers?" I asked. "Like me and Spark?" Sapphire was about to reply, but stopped as Spark suddenly let out a wail.

"Me see mean snake!" he yelled, clutching his chest where the bandages still were. I froze in near terror and at the same time, confusion. I hate snakes, but Spark's reaction meant something more specific, the snake that inflicted the wounds originally...but he was dead, wasn't he? I turned to where Spark was staring and saw a large purple cobra.

"So, the bitch is the mate of the Dragonair I seek?" the Arbok hissed softly. Sapphire's eyes blazed with anger.

"What did you just call me?" Sapphire asked dangerously, and Fang snickered.

"I called you..." the Arbok paused for effect."...a bitch." he enunciated clearly. "If you find it so offensive, I could say it many more times, along with a few choice adjectives in front of it," he added cruelly. "And your bastard mate isn't here to protect you, what would he do if I killed you, eh?" Fang mocked.

"I don't know how he's alive, but he's dead now," I whispered to Venomoth.

"Why's that?" she whispered back.

"Dragonair once admitted that his mate is significantly stronger than he is," I whispered back. Venomoth grinned. Sapphire was seething with fury, seemingly using all her self control to prevent a reckless attack. Fang laughed coldly.

"Come on...bring it on..." Fang hissed quietly. "Let's see if your blood tastes as delicious as you look," he sneered, exposing his fangs.


	44. Fang vs Sapphire

Fang flicked his tongue mockingly as Sapphire glared at him furiously. Venomoth, Spark, and I all moved back nervously. "This is something we should probably stay back from," Venomoth said unnecessarily.

"What's wrong? Too scared and weak to fight?" Fang sneered, poised to strike. Sapphire slowly took a deep breath and Fang raised his eye scales in confusion.

"No, just relaxing a little bit first," she replied, sounding strangely calm. "Don't fret, while I prefer peaceful solutions, this situation seems to require the removal of a threat."

"Whatever," Fang spat mockingly, and lunged at the female Dragonair. Sapphire twisted her body quickly, the Arbok's fangs missing her neck by an inch. Fang turned his head for a second attempt, but before he could sink his fangs into her, a strange sandstorm swirled around them, blocking Sapphire from view. Fang bit down and recoiled in frustration, spitting out a great deal of sand. Sapphire reappeared just outside the storm, the silver orb on her neck gleaming slightly.

"Sandstorm," Venomoth whispered.

"Really? I never would have guessed that technique otherwise," I replied sarcastically. Venomoth shook her head with a sigh. Spark was hiding behind me, watching the fight nervously. Fang glared at Sapphire, who returned the stare calmly.

"Clever little trick, but your blood will be worth the aggravation," the Arbok hissed softly, spitting a dark liquid at her. Sapphire retaliated with an Ice Beam, freezing the acid solid and the icy acid bounced off her harmlessly before shattering on the ground. Fang hissed in annoyance and lunged at her once more. This time, a strong gale of ice slammed into the Arbok, knocking it away. Sapphire sent a Flamethrower towards Fang, but his scales repelled most of the damage. He had definitely gotten tougher since our last encounter.

"Icy Wind and Flamethrower. Interesting techniques she has," Venomoth pointed out thoughtfully.

"I get the feeling she's holding back," I said after a moment's pause and Venomoth stared at me in confusion. "She's fighting defensively, not taking any real initiative," I pointed out. Fang hissed furiously and lunged at her again, fangs bared. Sapphire countered with a large bolt of electricity, but at the same time, there was a sudden rainstorm directly over the Arbok. Fang stared at the cloud in shock, forgetting to dodge the Thunderbolt. The water drenching his scales insulated the electricity and the Arbok screeched in pain.

"I think she's trying to wrap things up now," Venomoth said.

"Dragonair wasn't exaggerating her abilities. He fought Fang twice and while he sustained no serious injuries, he didn't win easily," I said, half in awe. "She's creaming him almost effortlessly."

"Well, so the bitch has teeth," Fang snarled, shaking off the shock from the water-enhanced Thunderbolt. "But I didn't become the leader of the Ekans clan by being weak," he hissed.

"Can you please get to the point with your comments? They're really tiring to listen to, especially considering that you're attempting to piss me off, and I'll warn you that should I get upset, the damage inflicted by my temper will be severe," Sapphire said calmly.

"Well, your temper earlier didn't seem too dangerous to me, bitch," Fang replied, flicking his tongue once again. Sapphire's eyes narrowed dangerously and I flinched. I could just tell that this was not going to turn out well for the Arbok.

"Very well. I gave you a chance to back off, but you decided to press your luck," she said softly. Fang spat another burst of acid towards her, but Sapphire countered with an Ice Beam once again, the frozen acid bouncing off her harmlessly. Fang used that moment to strike, but before impact, a burst of blue flames engulfed him. I cried out in surprise, staggering another few inches backwards in shock. When the flames cleared away, the Arbok was twitching in agony and Sapphire was completely unscathed.

"Impressive battle," Venomoth commented. Sapphire glanced towards us and nodded humbly.

"Thank you kindly," she replied, glancing at the Arbok in disgust and floating back towards us. "I assume you have encountered that snake before?" she asked us.

"I haven't. I only recently joined this group," Venomoth explained, but Spark and I nodded.

"The first day of our little quest. He was an Ekans then and we got into a bit of trouble with the clan for being near their territory. There was a big battle and all that, and the leader there bit Spark pretty badly," I said slowly. Spark whimpered and clutched the bandages again. Sapphire gently patted the Pichu kit's head with her tail and Spark relaxed slightly.

"It's okay...calm down," Sapphire whispered soothingly, her tail still petting Spark, whose ears twitched happily.

"Me like," Spark announced.

"Continue, please," Sapphire said to me.

"Well, Dragonair was rather upset by this, and after hurrying him to the Pokémon Center in Cerulean City and ensuring he was okay, he ended up returning to the snake territory to battle Fang once more. The problem was that he left me and Spark sleeping, unaware he was doing this. We woke up and found him gone, but somehow I had a feeling where he was, even though I didn't have a path to follow or knowledge of the destination," I continued.

"Knowing of his liking for kits, I imagine this incident had to have upset him greatly," Sapphire said slowly. "Please continue."

"Well, Spark and I found him and fought the other snakes in the clan. Dragonair finally managed to take advantage of Fang's lack of familiarity with his newly evolved body and hit him with a Hyper Beam. An Ekans examined the body and announced him dead," I continued. "I don't know how he's alive."

"I have a theory, then. A clan leader usually has his subordinates attempt to protect him if he is unable to continue a fight. In most cases, the leader will feign death or have the subordinates drive back the foe," Venomoth interjected. "I grew up in a Venonat clan, and that was a common practice to have the leader pronounced dead. The invaders leave and the leader recovers and life continues," she explained.

"We may as well set off towards Celadon before the snake recovers from my Dragon breath," Sapphire said abruptly.

"Why didn't you kill him?" I asked seriously. Sapphire looked rather annoyed by the question.

"As detestable as he is, I do not see a need to deliberately kill him, even though he was attempting to harm me," she said with a hint of coldness in her voice. I backed away worriedly.

"I'm sorry, just asking," I said quickly and Sapphire sighed slightly.

"How are you traveling? On my back or wrapped?" she asked me. I paused, unsure of the best answer. "On the back is perhaps more comfortable, but travel will be slower due to precautions so you don't fall. Wrapped is less comfortable, but faster," she explained.

"I prefer comfort, typically," I replied. Sapphire nodded and floated lower, allowing Spark and me to climb onto her back. She checked to make sure we were on.

"Be sure to hold onto me, otherwise you're in danger of falling, even if I'm careful," she warned. Spark clung onto the dragoness' neck as if he were holding on for dear life.

"Me safe?" he asked me worriedly. I struggled to avoid rolling my eyes (ultimately failing) and followed Spark's lead. My arms were longer, so I was able to actually have a safe grip. Sapphire slowly floated upwards, and began moving over the trees towards Celadon in the distance. "Me no like high," Spark wailed, shutting his eyes tightly. Venomoth laughed at the comment as she flew after us. We were finally on our way.


	45. Gender Unification

**Dragonair POV**

I awoke abruptly, looking around the cage in confusion as to what caused the sudden awakening. Rocket grunts were rounding up the various Pokémon in the cage, leading them out. However, none of the Pokémon seemed anxious, but they were all...excited? What the hell was going on? I voiced this last thought out loud and Poli laughed slightly. Compared to how serious he normally was, this was adding to the confusion of the event.

"You'll see. It's Luvdisc Day, also known to humans as Valentine's Day," he said cheerfully. I glanced at Strange curiously and she shook her head slightly.

"I think he's slightly sedated or something, it's messing with his personality a bit," she muttered. "He was hitting on me earlier."

"What?" I said, this strange revelation adding another load to the strange situation.

"Not severely or anything, but it was pretty unnerving," she said.

"What did you do?" I asked her and she giggled.

"I hit him with Mega Drain and he backed off rather quickly," she said dismissively. She stopped speaking as the Rockets led us down a different corridor than normal. I followed with minimal resistance, still wary of the general atmosphere, which was WAY too relaxed for such a place as this prison area. After several minutes of moving, we reached a different caged area and were moved into these cells.

"What was the point of that?" I asked Strange, still completely confused.

"Look around and tell me one very obvious difference," she said. I scanned the cell, noting that the cell was larger, but also had many more Pokémon in it.

"It's bigger and has more Pokémon," I replied and Strange glanced at me with an odd expression.

"What's different about those Pokémon?" she asked. I studied the other group, which were eyeing our group with unusual interest. I noticed nothing immediately, however.

"Give me a hint," I said. Strange sighed.

"Our group is all male, theirs is all female. Cages have always been separated by gender, but on this day, they unite them," she said.

"I have several comments to that. The first one is that the Rockets have a really messed up sense of humor. The second is...you're female, but you're in our group," I said. Strange laughed.

"Humans aren't very talented at discerning genders of plant Pokémon. They messed up with me," she explained. "And they never figured it out because the males in our group weren't attracted to me. Any that tried were usually hit with Sleep Powder anyway."

"What's the purpose of this, though?" I asked cautiously. Poli answered cheerfully.

"Well, the males have had no female contact for a long time, and the females have had no male contact for a long time, and almost everyone is under the impression that they're going to die soon, so you can imagine the effect of sudden gender unification without restraint, especially around this time," he said. I stared at him.

"You're damn serious, aren't you? So you're saying that both genders are basically desperate for companionship of members of the opposite gender, especially around this holiday, so..." the idea was so creepy to me that I couldn't complete voicing the thought. I took another brief glance around and noticed most of the males had approached the females already, regardless of specie or any other factor. Many of the females seemed just as excited and eager.

"So, Dragonair...you want the Flareon or the Vaporeon?" Poli asked, eyeing two Pokémon nearby lustily. I flinched slightly and glanced at both Pokémon briefly and paused.

"I don't want either. I'm taken already," I said coldly. Even if I wasn't, I doubt I'd want to take advantage of this supposed opportunity. "Do you not have morals or something?" I demanded harshly. Poli ignored the question.

"So I get both, huh?" he muttered. I glared at him before sighing.

"The Flareon's male, just thought you'd like to know," I said. I wasn't lying either. The presence of the male Flareon was one reason I hadn't realized the group was all-female. Same with our group being all male, with a female Oddish involved.

"Beggars can't be choosers," Poli replied. I blinked, inching away from him.

"I don't think he was listening to what you said," Strange assured me and then flinched as Poli walked over to the Flareon. "I hope he wasn't listening," she said doubtfully.

"I'm going to stay in the corner. This is too creepy and I don't want any part in it," I said darkly, moving into said corner, averting my gaze from the various 'couples'. I can't even refer to them as that without feeling ill. Of course, almost immediately a female Ekans slithered up to me.

"Hello," she said, moving dangerously close to me.

"Not interested, move along," I said dismissively. The Ekans tilted her head at me (frighteningly similar to how Sapphire does).

"Oh, don't be like that," she said, making a strange purring hiss. She attempted to move closer, but I swatted her away with my tail.

"Stay away from me," I said with a slight growl. This did nothing to dissuade the Ekans, however, and she slithered closer again.

"Playing hard to get? Come on, you know you're interested," she whispered softly, her tongue flicking in an almost suggestive manner.

"I'm playing 'Get the hell away or I'll hurt you'. You play it by staying the hell away from me and if you get too close, I hurt you," I snarled back. "I'm not interested and I'm not available. Now beat it or I'll beat you."

"Fine, don't need to get so nasty," the Ekans said, slithering away resentfully. Strange giggled slightly.

"You handled that better than most. Check that, most probably would have just done whatever she wanted, so right off the bat you handled that better than most."

"I'm not interested or available. I have a mate already, and I'm not going to go hunting for others just because I'm trapped in a cage with them," I muttered, tapping my tail irritably against the cell wall. Poli apparently had settled on the Vaporeon as he was talking to her rapidly, but I gathered that she wasn't listening to his words at all, just staring at him.

"I pray to Mew that I never have that expression on my face." Strange commented, nodding towards one of the other females.

"Aw, she's a great cuddler though," the Flareon said, sitting down extremely close to me and nodding towards the Vaporeon. I stared at him for a moment.

"Why are you that close to me?" I demanded aggressively. The Flareon didn't bat an eye.

"The Rockets accidentally put me in the female cages, and I don't want them to catch on," he replied, licking his paw idly. "Do me a favor and go with it."

"You're way too close to me," I said coldly. The Flareon laughed.

"That's the point. A little later, I'll rub against you. This way the Rockets still think I'm female, and I get to continue enjoying the real girls' company," he said casually.

"The Rockets will think you're female, but everyone else will think you're weird," Strange pointed out.

"A better way than I would have worded that," I said. Weird wasn't quite the adjective I had in mind.

"Females don't seem to mind," the Flareon said coyly, brushing his tail against me.

"Don't touch me again!" I snarled, slamming my tail against the Flareon, knocking him off balance, but he recovered quickly, smirking at me.

"It's cool, I got plenty of girls to entertain me, this is just a formality," he said.

"You're this close to being child-less for life," I said darkly. Both Strange and the Flareon recoiled at the threat. It is a rather effective threat, but not exactly to my taste, but definitely better than having a male Flareon flirting with me in order to keep his true gender a secret from the humans, who, I might add, are nowhere near the cage.

"Ok, sorry," the Flareon said worriedly, backing away quickly. I glared at him until he was across the room.

"Jeez, did you have to use that threat?" Strange asked, looking uneasy.

"Uh...you think? I wouldn't let a female touch me, I'm definitely not letting a male touch me," I said angrily. Strange sighed, shaking her head briefly.

"I know that guy a bit, he's annoying at times, but otherwise he's alright," she said.

"This is torture. I prefer being whipped relentlessly to being locked in a cage with desperate females and equally desperate males, the majority of the latter, thankfully, don't go after me."

"It's sort of annoying to me, also. However, you have more people to talk to than normal," Strange replied.

"Lot of good that does us. I actually don't hear much chatter other than pathetic pick up lines that even humans don't use and the loving sighs of the females who seem to think that it was the most romantic thing anyone could ever say," I spat angrily. "And let's not even go into what's going to happen as a result..."

"Ugh, that Poliwrath is a pain," said a female voice from my left. I jumped slightly and stared at the Vaporeon in confusion.

"Ha! It was a Poliwrath! No, she's mistaken, it's a Poliwhirl. Just admit I was right by saying it's a Poliwrath. I rather let that Flareon flirt with me than say I was wrong when I wasn't. You're talking out loud again, and that Vaporeon's staring at you weird. Huh?" I stared at the Vaporeon, who was staring at me strangely.

"Blaze was flirting with you?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, something about trying to keep his gender a secret from the Rockets," Strange said before I could go into a rant about the Flareon.

"They already know. Eevees are rare, so they're trying to breed more 'accidentally'," she explained. "So they left a male Flareon in the same cage as a female Vaporeon. Clever idea, but not well planned."

"He says you're a great cuddler," I said before I could stop myself. She giggled, a faint blush appearing on her face.

"He thinks he's making progress. If he spent more time with me and less with the other females, he'd actually have a chance. I humor him a little, mostly because I want male companionship, but nothing too intimate. My name's Aura, by the way."

"I'm Dragonair," I said, "And for some strange reason susceptible to random mental arguments voiced out loud, but that's a recent problem."

"I noticed," Aura said with a smile. "Can you do me a favor and make sure the males stay away?"

"I guess so, if you keep the females away. Just don't try anything with me, I have a mate already," I replied. Aura nodded in agreement.

"I'm not interested in anyone right now, anyway. Although Blaze has his moments."

"Does he?" I muttered.

"He can be annoying, but he's usually sincere about what he says," Strange said again. The Vaporeon nodded serenely.

"That's true. Hey, beat it!" she snapped at a female Sandshrew that had wandered over to us. The mouse-like Pokémon hurried away nervously. The Flareon suddenly came over and rubbed against Aura.

"Hi Aura!" he said brightly.

"Blaze, tone it down," she said, lightly pushing him away with her fin-like tail. I mentally debated on whether to get him away or not (unfortunately, it was a literal mental debate, which evolved into a heated argument about Poliwhirls).

"Is Poli a Poliwhirl or Poliwrath?" I asked abruptly.

"Whirl," Blaze said promptly.

"Wrath," Aura said.

"Wrath," Blaze said. Everyone stared at him. "Aura's a water-type. She probably knows," he protested. "And I was sucking up a little," he said, brushing his tail against her. She rolled her eyes, but didn't protest.

"Ha, told you! Oh shut up, this proves nothing. It proves you're insane. Prove it! You're arguing with yourself again and everyone's staring at you." I shook my head to clear it, noticing that Strange was trying not to laugh, Blaze was edging away from me (and closer to Aura), and Aura was looking at Blaze suspiciously.

"Actually, as fun as this debate is, Poli is actually a Poliwag," Strange said with complete seriousness. There was a long silence as everyone studied Poli.

"Y-y-you're messing with us, right?" Blaze finally sputtered.

"You bet I am," she said and sat down, falling asleep.


	46. Rescue Mission

**Ember POV**

The flight to the base's location took significantly less time than it probably would have if we had been walking, so it was definitely worth the annoyance of Spark worrying about falling and my own worries about slipping off Sapphire's back. "Now where would the base be?" Sapphire asked me.

"If I remember correctly, it should be right...oh, there it is!" I pointed to a large building, which was much more conspicuous than most Rocket bases, but it was also posing as a supply depot, so it wasn't too suspicious. Or at least no more suspicious than regular supply depots, not sure how many are under suspicion. Dragonair seemed to think all depots were worthy of investigation. Sapphire descended a short distance from the building and Spark and I got off of her back, just as Venomoth caught up to us.

"That was definitely faster than walking," Venomoth commented. "Now that we're here, we should probably make a plan of action."

"And here it is: I do not wish to endanger the kit, so one of us should stay out with the Pichu, while the other two go in. The one that stays back also serves as backup and a lookout," Sapphire said. "Any volunteers for staying back?"

"I will sit this one out. My wings are still a little injured and the flight tired them out," Venomoth answered.

"I guess that means we're going in," I said to the dragoness, who smiled at me.

"Okay, let's go then," she said, cautiously leading the way towards the base entrance.

"Wait...why does everyone insist on going through the main entrance?" I demanded. Sapphire laughed gently before turning towards me and making eye contact, which had a powerful effect of showing me how confident she was.

"Dragonair has told me that the Rockets have a severe security error in most of their bases. Due to frequent vigilante groups trying to invade the bases, the Rockets focused all their efforts on defending such breaches, such as ventilation shafts and weak walls. The mistake seems to be that with all the efforts focused on the holes, they left the main entrance primarily undefended. Now, if you did not know this information, where is the last place you'd try to sneak in?"

"The main entrance," I breathed; amazed that such knowledge had slipped by everyone except Dragonair and the ones he told about it.

"Exactly. By the way, Dragonair has admitted to having an obsession with analyzing errors humans make, which explains how he knows every mistake, loophole, and weakness of the Rockets. Funnily enough, he was a loyal supporter of the Rockets while learning this information, but never bothered trying to fix it," Sapphire reached the main entrance and concentrated briefly, the silver orb on her neck glowing as rain fell over the base. I stared up at the large raincloud, noting the cloud was focused on the base only.

"What's that for?" I asked, shielding my tail flame from the rain.

"Disruption," the female Dragonair said, charging a thunderbolt around her body before releasing it in a wave. "The rain generated by the storm helps conduct the effect of a channeled Thunder wave. The isolated area of the base ensures only the base is affected, but it will have no effect on areas hooked to a backup generator."

"You're knocking out the power?" I summarized. Sapphire nodded and I looked around carefully, noticing that the security lock on the main door had gone out. "You'd think the locks would be attached to the generator," I pointed out.

"It probably means this is a low security lock compared to others in the base, ones that would be attached to the generator, if one even exists in the base," Sapphire suggested as I pushed the door open, baring my claws cautiously. Sapphire followed, looking around serenely. Most of the lights were still working, which caused Sapphire to narrow her eyes suspiciously. "Seems a little strange to have lights working, but locks fail."

"Is it possible you only managed to knock out the lock?" I wondered.

"Possible, but unlikely considering the added power of the storm and the way the wave was channeled. Unless they have some form of generator for the lights, but no back up for the security lock, which is pretty foolish, I have no explanation for this."

"Perhaps I can be of service." laughed a gruff voice from nearby. I whirled around, claws ready to strike as a large, rocky Pokémon stepped towards us. I narrowed my eyes at the Graveler, stepping back, knowing my claws were as good as useless against it. "Ah, you're the two from the lab. Ember and Dragonair, if I'm not mistaken."

"Uh, actually you are. This isn't Dragonair," I said, pointing to Sapphire. The Graveler did a double take, clapping its four arms together in surprise.

"So it's not. A female? Is this Dragonair's girlfriend?" it asked mockingly.

"Uh...yes, she is," I replied. The Graveler sighed, in a remarkably similar way to how Dragonair does when his jokes fall flat.

"This is not my day. The Doctor placed me on guard duty, so guard the base I shall. Let's see if you're as tough as Dragonair was," the rock type flew towards Sapphire, who hastily twisted her body before hitting the Graveler with an Ice Beam, causing the rocky Pokémon to curse loudly. I spat a fireball at the Graveler, who seized a chair from a nearby table, flinging it at us. The chair blocked the fireball, shattering into several pieces in the process. Sapphire watched the rock Pokémon carefully, as if waiting for something.

"Ember, go to the left of the room and use a fireball," she whispered. I gave her a puzzled look but obeyed, launching a fireball towards the Graveler.

"Nice try!" the Graveler snapped, curling up, his rocky body easily neutralizing the fiery attack. I scowled, wondering what Sapphire had been planning when she told me this instruction. I glanced over to the dragoness and my jaw dropped. She was gone! How the hell did she leave without anyone noticing? The Graveler seemed to notice the same thing and his own jaw dropped. "Where did...?" he muttered worriedly.

"Above you," the gentle voice said and the Graveler slowly looked up in time to get engulfed in blue fire.

"Is Dragonbreath your signature move or something?" I asked seriously and Sapphire shook her head.

"Not really. I try to be more flexible than that. Dragonair uses Hyper Beam as his, though. I never really liked the technique, it's too draining," Sapphire examined the unconscious Graveler before heading towards the door leading to the rest of the base. I followed, glancing around the room to ensure there were no other hidden foes. The rest of the base seemed far more active than the entrance had, but there were no other guards or even random grunts walking around.

"It's still unnerving that all the bases are so empty," I said, casting a wary look around us. Sapphire nodded in agreement before flinching. "What is it?"

"I can sense Dragonair nearby," she explained, gesturing towards a stairway partially hidden in an alcove. "This way."

"How can you tell?"

"My aura orb sometimes shimmers when he's nearby. Only him, though, not all Dragonairs," Sapphire floated down the staircase and I followed warily. After finally descending all the stairs, I flinched as I noticed a corridor lined with cages (most empty), and a few laughing Rockets.

"What the hell?!" a human voice demanded and I bared my claws, ready for a fight if one broke out. I wasn't disappointed as far as a fight starting, but a huge explosion and the shocked yells of the Rockets caused me to stare at the female Dragonair.

"I thought you don't like Hyper Beam," I said, unable to think of anything better to say. Sapphire rolled her eyes slightly.

"I don't like it, but it's useful. It's perhaps the least used of the techniques I know, anyway." We moved down the corridor, studying the caged inhabitants as we passed. Sapphire would pause every few meters and release a small electrical charge, disengaging the electrical locks on the cages. It reminded me of when I freed the caged Pokémon back at the lab, except her way was faster and more efficient. My way had been picking the locks with my claws or Mega Punching the doors.

"I haven't seen Dragonair yet. Are you sure he's down here?"

"Definitely," Sapphire replied, leading me down another corridor that led to a single, large cell. There were no humans guarding it and I stared inside a moment.

"Sapphire? The Rockets united the males and females in this one. Dragonair's here, but hasn't noticed us yet," I whispered. The serpentine Pokémon was conversing irritably with a Vaporeon and a Flareon, the latter of which turned towards us. More specifically, towards Sapphire. Considering his expression, I assume he was openly gawking at the female Dragonair. Sapphire stared back and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Not another one'.

"Hey, there's a really pretty Dragonair," the Flareon muttered and the Vaporeon rolled her eyes (I think she was female, anyway) and glanced towards us. Dragonair looked at us blankly, his eyes somewhat unfocused. Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock as he recognized me. No, wait...he was looking at Sapphire. Figures. "Really pretty..." the Flareon muttered, practically drooling. Dragonair stared at the Flareon for a few seconds.

"Blaze," he began and the Flareon turned his head towards Dragonair, keeping his eyes on Sapphire. Dragonair smirked and slammed his tail with incredible force into the Flareon's side, sending the fire Pokémon across the long cell, where he tumbled across the ground.

"Ow...what the hell was that for?" the Flareon whined.

"Might have something to do with you gawking at my mate," Dragonair replied testily. "She's off limits to everyone except me."

"Lucky bastard," the Flareon muttered. Dragonair smirked in reply, and then suddenly paused.

"Wait...the restraining collar should have shocked me," he muttered, using his tail to prod at a collar on his neck.

"What's going on?" an Oddish asked sleepily, opening one eye. I was guessing from the voice that it was female, although I really couldn't be sure.

"Oh, my mate showed up and Blaze was gawking so I hit him and noticed the restraining collar isn't working," Dragonair responded casually. The Oddish glanced at me, failing to notice Sapphire. How do you not notice a long, blue serpent?

"A Charmander? Sheesh, you have low standards," she muttered tired. I responded with a burst of fire strong enough to ignite the grass on the plant Pokémon's head.

"Ember's here, too?" Dragonair said, slamming his tail against the Oddish's head in reply to her comment, also putting out the fire. "Explains...absolutely nothing. How the hell did you get here from Hoenn?"

"We can discuss it later," the dragoness replied, using a small burst of electricity to fry the lock, opening the cell door.

"Hey idiots! The door's open if you can ignore your hormones long enough to exit. Or don't, I don't really care," the Flareon called out loudly. I flinched once I realized what most of the Pokémon were doing. Dragonair, the Oddish, a strange Pokémon with a spiral on its chest, and the two Eons (the Flareon timing his exit so he would brush against the Vaporeon) exited the cell. The majority of the other Pokémon were completely indifferent.

"Ah well, the security's down for a while anyway," I said, not daring to look back into the cell. "Some just go wild on this stupid holiday, don't they?"

"Well, at least they're not threatening to drown themselves," Dragonair said snidely.

"I didn't threaten to drown myself! I fell in the river!" I protested with a growl.

"I guess I should have seen the signs, though. Non-existent love life, minimal friends, depression...and then 'accidentally' falling in the river," Dragonair said. I was about to stab him with my claws, but Sapphire beat me to him. Unfortunately, she wasn't attempting to injure him.

"Not the time to be nasty," she said, wrapping her tail around him and nuzzling him gently. "We need to leave first, so let's go."


	47. Rescue Aftermath

It didn't take me too long to determine the names of the Pokémon accompanying us. The Flareon's name was Blaze, the Vaporeon's was Aura, the Oddish was named Strange, and the spiraled Pokémon was known as Poli, but a specie name was not given. I introduced myself, and Dragonair introduced Sapphire, while warning Blaze viciously that gawking at her would result in death (I think he was kidding). Sapphire seemed a bit uneasy about the threatened penalty for staring.

"Halt!" a human voice shouted and two Rockets appeared in the corridor in front of us. Dragonair made a strange hissing sound and his eyes seemed to blaze with anger.

"You two..." he whispered coldly, gesturing with his tail for the rest of the group to stop. The humans froze at the sight of him.

"Jason, the collar's not doing anything," the younger one whispered and the older one shrugged indifferently.

"No matter, Matt. We can't allow them to escape," he replied, pulling a Pokeball from under his uniform and throwing it towards us. However, Dragonair smirked coldly and sent a Hyper Beam towards the Pokeball, just as it released the Pokémon inside. The powerful energy beam engulfed the Pokémon, and the human called Jason gasped in shock. There was an explosion and when the smoke cleared there was an unconscious Squirtle.

"Sucks for you, Jason," the other Rocket said, throwing his Pokeball. Dragonair moved quickly, panting from the Hyper Beam use, and slammed his tail against the Pokeball, sending it back towards Matt, who gasped as the ball struck him in the neck, knocking the human to the ground. The Pokeball didn't open, but rolled towards Dragonair, who batted it aside roughly.

"Now to suffer for what you fools did..." he said darkly, unleashing a wave of flames towards the frightened Rockets. I flinched at Dragonair's words, and Sapphire twitched slightly, but said nothing. The fire singed the uniforms and the Rockets tried to crawl away. "Like Weedles fleeing before a fire," Dragonair hissed, sending a massive wave of flames after them. The humans shrieked in pain as the fire hit, burning their bodies. The fire subsided and the two Rockets twitched in agony, clutching their burned arms.

"Stop it!" I shouted at Dragonair, who ignored me. "Let's go!"

"I've only just begun," Dragonair said with a snarl, charging a Hyper Beam. Sapphire winced and floated in front of Dragonair, glaring at him with an odd expression on her face. Dragonair hesitated for a moment, but continued charging the Hyper Beam.

"Enough," she said calmly, but forcefully. Dragonair narrowed his eyes angrily.

"Move aside, Sapphire," he commanded, but the female Dragonair didn't move.

"That's enough. Leave them and let's go," she said, just as commandingly. Dragonair hesitated for a fraction of a second.

"Get out of the way. Now," he demanded, his eyes blazing with anger and hatred, but the emotion wasn't directed at Sapphire.

"No," Sapphire said firmly.

"They must pay for what they did! They all must pay!" Dragonair scowled and Sapphire floated closer to him, holding eye contact with the agitated male. Dragonair glared at her resentfully, but Sapphire's expression didn't change.

"Calm down, Dragonair. I understand that you're upset, but getting violent isn't solving anything," she said calmly. No one else spoke, the tension in the air tangible. "Just calm down," Sapphire repeated soothingly.

"I'll calm down when they're dead!" he said angrily. Sapphire moved quickly, wrapping her tail around him and pulling him into a close embrace, nuzzling her head against his neck. The most shocking thing about it, though, was she made a strange purring noise that seemed to shatter Dragonair's anger. He shook his head slightly, blinking at her for a moment. After several seconds, he rubbed against her gently and Sapphire broke the embrace.

"Feeling better?" she asked softly. Dragonair looked embarrassed, and merely nodded. "Okay, then. Let's go," she said loudly and there was an audible sigh of relief from our group as we hurried down the corridor towards the staircase Sapphire and I had taken to get down here. I helped the Oddish get up the stairs, as she was having difficulty getting up due to her lack of arms and inability to jump high enough. After that, it was a simple matter of going down a corridor to the main entrance.

"Not so fast!" a human sneered and I saw Dr. Gravel smiling coldly, his Graveler standing on a table next to the human. "We meet again, Dragonair. And you brought your girlfriend, lovely," he mocked. Dragonair scowled at the scientist.

"You're asking for a great deal of pain, Doctor," he snarled, but Sapphire touched him with her tail and he fell silent.

"Now would be a nice time for backup," she said loudly. Dr. Gravel couldn't understand her, but the Graveler looked worried. Less than thirty seconds later, both the Graveler and the scientist were on the ground, snoring loudly. Venomoth gave a tiny bow from behind the sleeping beings.

"See, saves a lot of time and effort to have secret backup," Sapphire told me and I nodded. Couldn't really argue with results sometimes.

"I could have taken them," Blaze said, inching closer to the Vaporeon, who watched him warily.

"Blaze, can you at least wait until we've escaped?" she asked, sounding a little exasperated. The Flareon shrugged, and walked towards the door, leading us out of the base.

"Hi! Me Spark!" Spark said cheerfully to the Pokémon that had come with us. Poli blinked at the Pichu in surprise, while Strange giggled softly. Aura sat down next to the kit, triggering the Pichu to start asking bizarre questions about her appearance, especially the tail. "Why you tail weird? Why you blue? What you eat? Me like apple."

"Because I'm a Vaporeon, and it helps me swim. I don't know why I'm blue, probably because I'm a water-type. I eat almost anything. I like apples also," she replied. Spark nodded and ran over to the other Eon.

"Hi! Me Spark! You fluffy," he said, hugging Blaze, who looked taken aback, but shrugged and patted the kit on the head.

"The perks of being a Flareon are being able to be fluffy and warm. Ask Aura if you don't believe me," he muttered. The Vaporeon reddened slightly, but didn't reply. I looked up when Poli and Strange turned to go down a path.

"Where are you two going?" I asked curiously.

"I used to live around here. I want to return to my home," Strange said cheerfully. Poli nodded in agreement.

"I also lived in the area. I used to travel a bit, and I'm not fond of large groups," he said seriously.

"Are you a Poliwhirl or a Poliwrath?" Dragonair yelled abruptly. Poli chuckled.

"Good bye, Dragonair." he said. "I'm a Poli..." then he tripped and the rest of the word was muffled. He got up and continued walking.

"Anyone catch the answer?" Dragonair asked hopefully. Everyone shook their heads. "Of course not," he muttered. "So now where are we going?"

"Mommy and Daddy?" Spark asked hopefully and Dragonair winced.

"I almost forgot. We have to go to Saffron and take the train to Goldenrod. Then we can find Spark's parents," he said.

"Pokémon aren't allowed on the subway, though," Sapphire pointed out. Dragonair grumbled softly, but nevertheless started down the path towards Saffron.

"Are you two coming?" he asked the two Eons.

"I might as well, and Blaze will no doubt stalk me, so I think yes," Aura replied.

"W-what? I w-wouldn't stalk y-you!" Blaze sputtered. "Follow you relentlessly, yes. Stalk you, no. Besides, females typically don't like stalkers."

"Oh, my mistake then. I'll come with you, and Blaze will follow me relentlessly, but won't stalk me," Aura amended with complete seriousness.

"Because that sounds so much better," Dragonair said sarcastically. "Who wouldn't prefer to be followed relentlessly over being stalked?" He broke off his sarcastic tone when Sapphire gave him an annoyed glance. "Anyway, we're going to rest for a while before moving on. I'm sure everyone's still a little tired. It's early afternoon, so it's lunchtime anyway."

"Sounds good to me. Let's see...fish for lunch sounds good," Blaze said cheerfully.

"Do you want me to catch the fish, or will you try to impress me and fall in the stream?" Aura asked teasingly as we reached a large stream. I sat down under a tree, stretching quickly. I needed a nap, due to the stress of the past day or so. I looked around the area, taking note of the group's activities. Venomoth and Spark were eating from a berry bush. The two Eons were at the stream, and Dragonair and Sapphire had moved to the rear of the clearing and were having some form of a conversation. I yawned and almost immediately drifted off to sleep.


	48. Confessions

**Sapphire POV**

I watched as the two Eons walked over to the stream, the Vaporeon watching the water carefully as the Flareon watched her with interest. Dragonair glanced at them indifferently before gently placing his head on me. I wrapped my tail around him gently. "You're feeling better?" I asked him and he grunted in reply. I turned to face him, tilting my head at him questioningly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said miserably. I raised an eye scale at him.

"You know I'll just flirt with you until you tell me."

"Is that incentive to withhold it or tell it?" he asked, a weak smirk appearing on his face.

"I'll flirt either way, so it's up to you," I answered with a giggle. He's really cute sometimes.

"Good point."

"What about those two Rockets upset you to that extreme?" I prompted. Dragonair shifted uncomfortably, whether at the memory of what upset him, or the memory of how upset he had been.

"I'm sorry about that..." he said quietly."I don't know what was wrong with me..."

"It's okay," I assured him. "But the problem will repeat if you keep it bottled up." Dragonair closed his eyes, as if trying to block out the memories. I moved up against him comfortingly, using my tail to stroke his own.

"They whipped me. They were trying to break me for their amusement. I left them because the organization abused Pokémon...and I myself felt the effects of their breaking techniques. I wasn't powerful enough to beat them. I was weakened, and in the weakness I was caught. If I had been stronger, I would never have been caught," he said in a strained whisper.

"You can't blame yourself for that," I said reasonably. He didn't reply immediately, but when he did, his tone was darker and laced with venom.

"Those two deserved to feel the same pain I did. To taste the fear of death. To struggle to breathe after each lash of a whip. The terror that you'll never be truly alive once again," he hissed.

"Calm down...anger doesn't help, it makes things worse," I told him, nuzzling against him, trying to comfort him. After a few seconds, he slowly relaxed, breathing hard, averting his gaze. I preferred him calm, because his comments were a little frightening to hear.

"I hate myself for this...but I wanted to hurt you when you stopped me. I was so angry...I wasn't thinking clearly. I don't know what I was thinking..." he said miserably. "I swore to never hurt you and I still almost did. You probably hate me now..."

"No, of course I don't hate you. I like you more than ever," I replied seriously. He glanced up at me in shock.

"But...I just told you that I had an urge to hurt you," he protested. "Surely that's got to worry you."

"Honestly, it doesn't bother me at all. Firstly, you truly regret the desire, secondly you didn't act on the impulse, thirdly you told me about it, and lastly, you were under extreme emotional distress. You had no malicious intent towards me; just the situation caused the impulse," I explained gently.

"So...you don't hold anything against me?" he asked me hopefully.

"No. I think you need to work on your anger for a bit, but there was no harm done, and I forgive you," I replied, kissing his cheek gently.

"But...what if I had hurt you?" he asked sadly. I considered it for a moment, looking at him thoughtfully.

"The important thing is that you didn't. I knew when I moved into the firing line that there was the chance that I could get hurt, and I was prepared to counterattack. I think the real problem would be that you wouldn't forgive yourself if I got hurt," I said soothingly. "Don't worry about it so much."

"Thank you," he said, a little more cheerfully. Then he suddenly narrowed his eyes at me. "What's bothering you, then?"

"Hm?" I asked, startled by the sudden shift in conversation. What made him think something was bothering me?

"Something's bothering you, too. I noticed you got all nervous when I threatened Blaze for checking you out. It may have had nothing to do with the situation at the time, but something is also bothering you, but you haven't told me yet. So fill me in," he said, wrapping his tail around me. I took a deep breath.

"Well, I didn't want to tell you until you were calmed down because you're going to be pissed," I told him and he raised an eye scale at me.

"Estimate how pissed I'll be and at who."

"I have a good idea what your exact reaction will be. Might as well start from the beginning. It was a few days ago, and I was doing my normal routine. It was nearing sunset and I was taking a drink when this weird Quilava came over to me and asked if I was a mirage," I began, not wanting to stall this uncomfortable story further. Dragonair blinked.

"A mirage?"

"Yes. I told him I wasn't and he seemed confused and a bit disoriented. He introduced himself as Narcissus, and I asked if he was native to the forest area," I continued. "He said no, and asked me the same question, along with a flirting comment. Now wait...he could not have known that I was taken," I said sharply as Dragonair's eye twitched angrily. Considering this reaction, I was somewhat hesitant to continue.

"Well...fine. Go on," he said, calming down. I took another deep breath.

"I told him that I had a mate and...I believe his exact words were 'You're in Hoenn now and should have a bit of fun'. Wait...that wasn't the worst of it, and if you get upset every few seconds, it makes it harder to continue."

"There's more?" Dragonair said with a slight scowl. I nodded.

"His next comment was asking me how many ways I could use my body, and that he could think of a few," I continued. Dragonair's reaction was actually quite comical, as it was first a small snort of laughter followed by an angry growl. "Wait...what's funny?" I asked, shocked by this reaction.

"Er, nothing. Continue," he said, giving me a slight hint on what he found funny.

"I snapped at him for that and he suddenly moved extremely close to me, on the verge of rubbing against me. I once again emphasized my lack of interest and resolved to chase him off if he didn't back off," I said. "His response to being told I wasn't interested was...something about him being physically appealing, and whether I ever wondered 'what it's like with something with limbs'. At that point, I chased him off with a raincloud."

Dragonair was silent for a few seconds, and then his self control broke. "I'LL KILL HIM!"

"Exactly the reaction expected," I interrupted before Dragonair could continue his rant. He blinked at me. "I say let it go. Besides, it's not like you'll ever meet him. Don't go hunting for him either. It's not worth it."

"Fine, but he deserves death. A long, drawn out, painful death. Or the inability to have offspring."

"I wasn't looking at her!" Blaze yelled to us worriedly and I turned to him, confused.

"What?" I asked.

"Oh...you aren't talking about me? Thank Mew," the Flareon continued whatever he had been doing, which appeared to be cooking fish. Dragonair smirked and picked a large red berry from the nearby bush and lobbed it in front of Blaze's Flamethrower. There was a sudden explosion and Blaze cried out in shock. Aura hurriedly sent a burst of water to extinguish the flames. I shook my head in mild amusement.

"What the hell was that?" Ember yelled irritably, waking up from her nap.

"Cheri berry exploding," Dragonair replied. Ember growled at him in annoyance. "Jeez, control your hormones," he muttered. Ember's eyes blazed with anger. I groaned slightly at Dragonair's comment.

"You shut your damn mouth!" she shrieked.

"Kit nearby, don't swear," he said promptly and the Charmander spat a fireball at him, which he blocked with ease.

"You shut up! I don't have to put up with this!" Ember shouted, getting to her feet and storming away from the clearing. Dragonair didn't seem troubled by this at all. I smacked him with my tail and he flinched.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"What do you think?" I retorted.

"Oh, I tease her all the time. This time she just got more upset," he said indifferently. I smacked him again. "Ow, stop that," he said. I hit him again and he let out a low growl. "Stop it."

"Notice you get more annoyed the more I do it," I said, hitting him again to demonstrate my point. Dragonair tackled me in retaliation, but I knocked him off me, now thoroughly pissed off. "Don't ever tackle me unless we're playing!" I snapped and Dragonair flinched. "Notice you didn't call me hormonal when I got annoyed at you."

"I know better than that," Dragonair said, eyeing me warily. I glared at him, dimly aware that everyone was staring at us.

"Why do you pick on her?" I demanded. "You know it bothers her, so why don't you stop?" Dragonair hesitated. "You don't know, do you? Go after her and apologize."

"What?" Dragonair asked, staring at me like I was insane. "I don't apologize to anyone."

"Apologize for that remark!" I ordered.

"Sorry, Sapphire," Dragonair said. I raised an eye scale at him. "You are so whipped. Oh shut up! Make me dumb snake. Oh just wait until I get a hold of you, I'll tear you apart. Haha, whipped! You're dead now!"

"Er...are you arguing with yourself?" I asked, bewildered by his sudden eccentricity. Dragonair continued his strange behavior, which now seemed to be an "Am Not/Are Too" argument.

"He did seem to do that randomly at the base." Blaze said thoughtfully.

"Am not! Are too! Am not! Are too! Am not! Are too! Am not! Am not! Am too! HAHA, YOU ADMITTED IT!" Dragonair shouted.

"I'll go after Ember, then. Uh...someone knock out Dragonair before he hurts himself," I said. Venomoth floated over to the agitated dragon Pokémon and glowed with psychic energy. I shook my head slightly as I followed the path Ember had taken.


	49. Tarot Reading

**Ember POV**

I ran down the path blindly, my mind racing, tears flowing from my eyes. After all I did to help Dragonair, I was either ignored or mocked. Over the years that I had known him, he teased me occasionally, and that always bothered me, but lately it bothered me more than ever. He had lately begun using the comments that bothered me the most...but it wasn't just him, either. Greta had mentioned them also when I met her. I slammed my fist into a tree, creating a dent in the bark. I winced, jerking my paw back and shaking it in the air.

"Damn, forgot to use Mega Punch," I muttered angrily, changing direction and walking through the trees, leaving the path behind. I just wanted to be alone, to try to calm down a little bit. Maybe I was overreacting and taking his taunting too seriously. I threw myself down at the base of a random tree, staring upwards at the sky, still taking deep breaths. I've always found that lying down and staring at the sky helped me to think. Unfortunately, my thoughts kept returning to various comments that Dragonair made about me, which caused me to become upset all over again. I growled in anger and sent a large fireball at a nearby bush, igniting it, watching as it burned down to cinders.

"Good afternoon. Is this a bad time?" a voice asked and I jumped slightly, turning my head towards the speaker, which was a small purple creature with glittering gem-stone eyes. On its chest was a small red gem.

"Who are you?" I demanded aggressively. The creature nodded serenely.

"My name is Tarot. I am of the Sableye species and unique in the fact that I dislike caves," he explained.

"Sableye?" I repeated. "So you're a ghost type that dislikes dark areas?"

"Close. I dislike caves, but I do prefer dark areas to sunlight, but can still inhabit sunlit areas," he corrected.

"What do you want?" I asked in annoyance. The Sableye blinked its gem-like eyes.

"I noticed you seemed upset and decided to see if there's anything I could do to help."

"Why do you care?" I muttered, turning away from the ghost type. The ghost appeared in my view again, smiling kindly. "Just leave me alone," I snapped. The Sableye nodded understandingly and a small deck of cards appeared in his paws, which he shuffled casually.

"You feel lost...don't you? Like no one cares?" he asked in an oddly soothing voice. "You are uncertain about your future so you try to hide from it. Am I right?" I didn't answer, turning my head away from him.

"Just shut up and go away," I muttered. The Sableye reappeared in my line of sight again, throwing one of the cards he was shuffling into the air, where it hovered in front of me before slowly turning towards me. I stared at it blankly while the Sableye smiled kindly.

"The Moon...this card symbolizes doubt. You doubt yourself, but refuse to admit it. I can help you, if you let me," he said softly. I twitched, but remained silent. The Sableye slowly shuffled the deck, his eyes glittering eerily as he gazed at the floating card.

"How can you help me?" I asked coldly, trying to hide my slight curiosity.

"Let's see here..." he said, tossing 3 cards into the air. "Your past," He pointed, and one of the cards turned around. Like the previous card, it was meaningless to me, just a bizarre picture. It also appeared to be upside down.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded.

"A tarot reading. This often allows me some insight into certain matters."

"Explains your name," I muttered. I had never actually heard of tarot reading before, so I had to admit I was curious.

"Indeed. The Lovers card is in reverse, as you can see it is upside down. This is interpreted as either a failed relationship or a lack of romantic relationships," Tarot said gently and I got to my feet angrily.

"Shut up! Is everyone going to poke fun at me?!" I shouted. Tarot looked at me passively.

"Not intentionally. I was merely interpreting the card. This spread is to determine the root of the conflict, which is the Moon, the doubt and tension you experience," he said soothingly. "Now the present..." he said, pointing to the middle card, which turned around. "The Chariot. This card symbolizes conquest, should you have the will to achieve it...however, once again, this card is in reverse, warning of failure should you continue to lack the discipline required," Tarot explained.

"So what's the last card? My future?" I asked sarcastically.

"Indeed. You catch on quickly," he said, pointing to the card, which spun around. "The Magician, symbolizing personal power and abilities. This card is in reverse, warning that you do not have the abilities you seek."

"They were all in reverse," I said with a scowl. What did that mean, anyway?

"This makes the Moon all the more important, as it symbolizes doubt within you. You perhaps doubted yourself in the past, and you suffer from the feeling that no one cares for you, proving the Lovers card. In the present, you are in danger of losing your chance of success, for you are slowly losing your will to continue. Lastly, the future warns that you will lack crucial abilities, most likely as the side effect of the present," Tarot said calmly, but there was an aura of power in his words that almost immediately attracted my attention.

"What can I do?" I asked, feeling overwhelmed by the unusual information, yet it seemed so accurate that I couldn't ignore it.

"You must search inside yourself and learn what it is you seek. Then you must determine how you can acquire it. Lastly, you must take the steps to acquire it," the Sableye said, holding out his paw as the four cards slowly dropped, then replaced them in the deck and shuffled before waving his paw, causing the cards to vanish.

"But how do I do that?" I demanded impatiently. Tarot studied me thoughtfully.

"Reflect on it. Your answers can come from unexpected places, but the solution is within you. You just need to find it," the Sableye turned to leave.

"Wait...I think I have a thought," I said and Tarot paused, looking back at me.

"I cannot guide your personal reflection, just lead you to where you journey would take you. Reflect on the thought and search within your heart," he said and then faded away. I growled in frustration.

"What do I need?" I asked aloud, closing my eyes to think. "I need to find the answer to that, and hanging around here isn't going to help me," I stood up and walked back towards the path, continuing in the original direction, further from the area where the others were.

"Ember!" Sapphire's voice called, but I ignored her, looking at the path in front of me. "Ember, wait!" I continued to ignore the female Dragonair's calls until she had caught up with me. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"Somewhere," I replied emotionlessly, still walking and ignoring the dragoness' attempts to make eye contact.

"Why are you leaving?" Sapphire asked urgently.

"It doesn't matter," I replied, still avoiding her gaze, slightly annoyed that she was still following me. Didn't she see I wanted to be alone?

"I don't suppose you want to talk about it?" Sapphire asked kindly. I shot her a venomous look.

"Go away. I don't want to talk to anyone."

"It often helps to talk about problems. Otherwise you could get more upset later."

"Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to anyone, and I don't appreciate you annoying me about it!" I snapped, sending a fireball at the dragoness, who blocked it with her tail. She stared at me passively, but seemed a bit upset by my attack. I turned away once more and walked down the path, noting with satisfaction that she had stopped following me. As I turned a bend, I glanced back and saw that she had turned around and gone back. I smirked in triumph and continued on my way.


	50. Making Plans

**Dragonair POV**

"Venomoth, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Sapphire told me to knock you out," she replied, still trying to hit me with Hypnosis while I quickly kept my eyes averted.

"Get away from me! She wasn't being literal!" I said forcefully. Venomoth sighed and backed off.

"Me sparkin'. Where Ember go?" Spark asked, looking around anxiously. "Ooh, soft!" he squealed, running and nearly tackling Blaze, hugging his tail. Everyone stared at the kit, all of us lost for words.

"He's hugging my tail," Blaze said in disbelief. "Why are you hugging my tail?"

"Me like soft and fluffy. You tail soft and fluffy. Me hug," Spark explained cutely and Blaze stared at him blankly.

"The rest of me is soft and fluffy, too. Why did you target the tail?" he asked, and then suddenly froze, as if he couldn't believe what he just said. Fortunately for the Flareon, Spark didn't realize the unintentional invite to hug Blaze, but released the tail.

"Hi pretty dragon," he called cutely as Sapphire returned. Blaze looked towards me hopefully and I rolled my eyes.

"He's a kit, and I don't hurt kits. Now if you said that, I'll hit you," I told him. Sapphire gave me a small glare and I tilted my head at her in confusion. "What happened?"

"Ember left," she replied, coiling up next to me, but noticeable a few inches away. I blinked, glancing at her questioningly.

"Where?" I pressed.

"I don't know, but she was very agitated."

"She scorched you, didn't she?" I demanded angrily, noticing she kept one area of her tail out of sight. I could pay the Charmander back for that if she hurt Sapphire.

"Let it go, Dragonair. Ember was your friend, and you upset her so much she left and wanted to be left alone, refusing to talk about it," Sapphire said firmly, but without anger.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" I asked with a sigh. Sapphire shook her head.

"I don't think you can do anything. She didn't seem very interested in company, and I don't know if she even intends on coming back."

"So...we just continue on and don't concern ourselves? She could get hurt," I said, stunned by this revelation.

"Good to see that you actually see the gravity of the situation," Sapphire said, her gentle nature back in full force. "But I honestly don't see any solution at the time being. We can't force her to talk to us, and following her would be unfair."

"She also knew we're leaving, so if she wants to come back, she'd have to travel to Johto," I added bitterly. "Well, let's go now."

"Can we finish our fish?" Blaze asked, casually brushing his tail against Aura, who rolled her eyes. "I spent...five seconds cooking them, and I at least want to enjoy my hard work," he explained.

"I spent five seconds upsetting Ember so much she left, but you don't see me enjoying the spotlight," I said snidely.

"Upsetting her was a bad thing. Him cooking was a good thing," Aura pointed out, sounding intent on stopping an argument. "Nice work, Blaze," she said kindly and the Flareon grinned, taking another bite of the fish. Venomoth flew over to the stream, hovering over it as she took a drink. Spark watched her in awe, and then looked towards Sapphire anxiously.

"Me want Mommy and Daddy," he whined. Sapphire floated over to him and patted him gently, whispering something to him and he perked up.

--

Several minutes later, we continued towards Saffron at an almost leisurely pace. Venomoth had pointed out that the subway was closed today anyway, so we were in no genuine hurry until tomorrow. In all honesty, I still had no idea how I was going to manage to get two Dragonairs, a Pichu, a Vaporeon, a Flareon, and a Venomoth on a human-only subway in the middle of Saffron City. Whenever someone asked, I dodged the question the only way I could without being suspicious, which was nuzzling Sapphire. Needless to say, Sapphire eventually realized I was being doubly affectionate whenever asked that question, and asked me the question herself.

"Dragonair, how do you plan to get us on the subway?" she asked. I briefly considered how to dodge the question, after eliminating rubbing against Aura as a possibility. I wanted to live after dodging the question, so instead I pretended not to hear. This worked very well, until Sapphire slammed me against a tree and repeated the question.

"I have no idea. It's something I've been working on for a while, okay?" I explained hastily and Sapphire rolled her eyes.

"So you spent the last hour or so dodging a question because you didn't know the answer?" Aura said. "You could have simply said you didn't have a plan and we could have helped brainstorm."

"I've got the perfect plan!" Blaze said triumphantly and everyone stared at him. "First, we disguise ourselves as humans..."

"How? We're two 13 foot long snakes, a large bug, a baby electric rat, and a fluffy dog thing, and a quadruped with a mermaid tail," I interrupted. Blaze's ears dropped slightly, and then almost immediately perked up.

"I've got the perfect plan! First, we disguise ourselves as humans..."

"Blaze, you said that already," Aura said gently. Blaze's ears drooped again, but once more perked up.

"Here's the plan. First, we sneak onto the train and kill the passengers and hide in their luggage," he said dramatically.

"Why the hell would we need to kill them? And how would the 13 foot long snakes hide in luggage? And if we killed them, why would we hide?" I demanded.

"Um..." the Flareon considered this, ears drooping once more. "New plan! We disguise ourselves as grocery bags..."

"What?" Sapphire asked, blinking in astonishment.

"Sorry, I lost my train of thought," he said, scratching his ear with a paw awkwardly. Aura giggled softly at his expression.

"Does anyone have a plan that doesn't involve killing anyone and might actually work?" I asked impatiently. Venomoth smiled slightly.

"I could use Sleep Powder or Hypnosis to put the passengers to sleep, but that still leaves the problem of getting on the train in the first place."

"We could try to figure that out when we get to Saffron, which should be in the next hour or so. We'll sleep outside the city, and we'll have an early start," Sapphire announced.

"I got it!" Blaze yelled, causing Aura to jump in surprise. "Sorry, Aura. First, we disguise ourselves as humans..."

"Say that again, and I'll hurt you," I threatened.

"You have no sense of humor. Anyway, the real plan is that we casually walk to the platform and the Pichu distracts the guards with a cute act while Venomoth goes aboard the train and puts everyone to sleep. Then, I knock the guards out and we double check to make sure there's no hidden guards on the train. Then boom, we're set," the Flareon finished, grinning proudly.

"And after you've knocked the train guards out, what prevents investigations and police?" I asked sarcastically.

"Ok, we don't knock out the train guards, and Spark just distracts them so we can all get aboard," Aura said before Blaze could respond. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"What me do?" Spark asked, still nodding.

"You can stop nodding now, for starters," I said with a faint smile. "We'll go over it later. Right now, we're turning in," I gestured to the clearing just outside of Saffron's gate, off to the side so as not to be stumbled on by humans.

"Me sleepy," Spark said cheerfully, lying down under a tree and curling up. Venomoth landed next to the Pichu and wrapped her wings around herself. Blaze cheerfully followed Aura to a flowery area, smiling innocently when she stared at him suspiciously.

"Uh...can I sleep near you?" he asked hopefully. Aura rolled her eyes as she lay down.

"Whatever. Only because it's still Luvdisc Day," she said indifferently, the Flareon curling up next to her.

"You warm enough? If not, I can move closer." Blaze said, still grinning. Aura shook her head slightly as she put her head down, closing her eyes to sleep. Blaze yawned, stretching out before following suit. I turned towards Sapphire, who was examining the area for an ideal nesting spot. It took her about three attempts before finding one and she gestured for me to come over to her. I coiled around her protectively.

"Good night, Dragonair," Sapphire said, kissing me briefly before lying her head down.

"Good night. I'm sorry about earlier..." I whispered back.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't have the best day, either," she replied.

"Still, I should make it up. This was the first Luvdisc Day since we met," I insisted.

"You can if you feel that strongly, just try to sleep for now," she murmured sleepily and I laid my head on her coils, slowing my breathing to match the gentle movements of her coils, quickly drifting off to sleep. It was going to be a tough day tomorrow, I could feel it.


	51. Train Travel

I awoke at what I could only assume was dawn, considering the color of the sky and the sun peeking up from the horizon. Sapphire was still prodding me with her head, as if she was uncertain of my waking state. "Why are you waking me up this early?" I asked sleepily.

"We were planning on making an early start, and dawn is as early as you can get, really."

"Why did you wake me up first?" I muttered.

"Because you're wrapped around me, and therefore are first on my list to wake up. Plus, I can do this since everyone else is asleep," she added slyly as she gave me a long kiss, snapping me out of my sleepy state. "Are you awake now?" she asked when she broke away, squirming out of my coils and floating over to rouse the others.

"Unfortunately," I said, still slightly annoyed by being forced to wake up at dawn. I've always slept in when I got the chance, and I always had the chance. In fact, only Venomoth seemed untroubled by waking up at this time. Spark tried to protest by shocking Sapphire, which she shrugged off easily, while the Pichu started crying because he also shocked himself. Aura only woke up because Blaze (with a sly grin) gave her a kiss on the cheek and she spent over five minutes trying to hit him with a Water Gun attack in retaliation.

"It was worth it," Blaze confided to me after finally being taken down with the spray of water.

"If you say so," I replied with a smirk. "I'd say you got off easy that time."

"Aw, my fur's all wet and cold," the Flareon grumbled, carefully using a controlled stream of fire to dry himself off. He shook himself, checking to make sure he was dry before another stream of pressurized water struck him, knocking him to the ground and drenching him all over again.

"I retract the statement. You didn't get off that easily," I laughed. The Vaporeon was smirking, watching the distraught Flareon grumble about his fur. Blaze repeated his technique to dry himself, and Aura hit him again with water. I stopped paying attention then, although I was curious how long it would take Blaze to accept that he wasn't going to dry off anytime soon. Judging by the frustrated yells from behind me, I was going to guess a LONG time from now.

"Ready to go?" Sapphire asked loudly. Spark whimpered a negative, although he had stopped crying. Venomoth nodded, and the two Eons reluctantly agreed. Sapphire knew I wasn't stupid enough to say 'no', so we left the clearing and entered Saffron City.

"Act natural," Blaze said. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Two Dragonairs, a Pichu, a drenched Flareon, a Vaporeon, and a Venomoth in a group can look natural?"

"Shut up," Blaze muttered and I smirked before glaring at a random human who was staring at us. The human hastily continued on his way. Sapphire glanced around briefly.

"The train station is to the right, and there's only one person checking tickets. I believe the train's leaving in twenty minutes. So we have perhaps fifteen minutes to get aboard quickly without being noticed," she whispered.

"Me?" Spark asked hopefully. "What me do?"

"Just be cute," Blaze told him. Spark looked confused and I couldn't really blame him for that, since Blaze's comment was exceedingly vague.

"Me cute, but me no know what me do," the kit said worriedly.

"Spark, go over to the human and do a dance," I said, only half joking. Spark smiled and ran over to the train platform, a blur of yellow. Venomoth flew over a rooftop, staying out of sight from the human. The human noticed the Pichu and stared at it curiously.

"Hi!" Spark said, doing a dance that caused me to laugh hysterically. It brought back memories of embarrassing every single Rocket grunt in one of the bases after I broadcasted security footage of a grunt doing the dance. Ethan promoted the grunt, triggering every grunt to mimic the first offender. All of them had their pay docked, which the funds were then used to pay for one of my medical bills. Can't remember which one it was, since I tended to get injured every now and then, if I was slow in dodging retaliation. The guard stared at the Pichu incredulously.

"Frank! Check this out...this Pikachu's doing the Macarena!" the human yelled and another guard came out from inside the train to watch. Venomoth slipped into the open train door unnoticed. Blaze and Aura inched forward casually, managing to slip past the guards as well. Sapphire and I were all that were left.

"This could be tricky," Sapphire whispered to me. I nodded, looking for an opening.

"Ah, forget subtlety," I muttered, sending a low powered Hyper Beam past the train platform, causing an explosion off to the side. The humans jerked in shock, staring towards the direction of the explosion. "NOW!" I yelled, racing towards the platform. I managed to get onboard the train without notice, and Sapphire and Spark followed shortly afterwards.

"That was stupid, but it worked," Sapphire scolded. Spark was clinging to her worriedly and I grunted indifferently. Venomoth nearly bumped into us in the corridor.

"Oh good, you made it," she said softly. "We've managed to get into the luggage compartment unnoticed, and I was coming to lead you there and ensure there weren't any wandering guards. I didn't have to put anyone to sleep," she explained and the three of us nodded. Venomoth led us down a series of narrow corridors to a room filled with various bags and suitcases and other trivialities. Like who needs 12 bags of clothes? Who wears that many clothes? Who pays that much money for so many clothes? I understand humans' obsession with needing clothes, but not 12 bags worth.

"Ever notice humans pack so many unimportant things?" Blaze asked, snooping through various bags.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked the Flareon.

"Snooping through these bags, what did you think I was doing?" he replied promptly.

"Why are you doing that?" I asked seriously.

"I'm bored and Aura's mad at me, so it's something to do," he replied, causing the Vaporeon to fix him with an annoyed look. Before I could reply, the train started to move.

"Oh good, we're moving," I said pleasantly. Spark had joined Blaze in his snooping adventures and had found a bag of potato chips.

"Me find food!" he said, biting a hole in the bag and nibbling on some chips. Aura had walked over to Venomoth and they were having a low volume conversation, causing me to inch closer to try to overhear. Sapphire's tail wrapped around me, pulling me away from them.

"Don't eavesdrop. It's rude," Sapphire said calmly.

"Okay fine, spoil my fun," I said reluctantly, watching Blaze sniff through various human objects.

"Blaze, that's perfume," I called and the Flareon gave me a confused look. "It's something that female humans spray on themselves to make them more appealing to males. Ironically, they smell worse."

"What do males use on themselves to be appealing to females?" he asked mischievously.

"They shower," I replied seriously. "Or they spray salad dressing on themselves."

"Really?" Blaze asked, somehow finding a bottle of salad dressing a moment later. I snorted with laughter as he started spraying it on himself. Sapphire was also trying not to laugh, and was failing. He smelled his fur and smiled in satisfaction, walking casually past the conversing females. Venomoth snapped her head up and stared at him.

"Why do you smell like salad?" she asked the Flareon. Aura hid her laughter behind one of her paws.

"You like it?" Blaze asked hopefully.

"You're making me hungry," Venomoth explained, flying over to Spark, who was now eating peanuts. Blaze looked even more confused than before.

"Blaze...I was kidding about the salad dressing," I told him and he glared at me. "You're going to need to wash that off."

"How am I going to wash it off on a train?" he demanded angrily before his eyes lit up. He turned to Aura and smiled, and I winced as he kissed her cheek. The next thing we knew, Aura had punched him in the face, leaving him semi-conscious.

"That was not smart," I said unnecessarily. "He could have just asked you to spray him." Aura nodded grumpily.

"Ow..." the Flareon moaned.

"Smelling like salad, drenched, and in pain. What else can happen to him before the sun's up, and what else can happen in the entire day?" I said with a smirk.

"You never saw him when he was sharing a cell with all females. As desperate as most of them were for male companionship, none of them could stand him, although that didn't stop him from flirting. So in a typical day, he'd get hit by all the girls twice and once by me," Aura explained.

"Train's stopping," Venomoth announced.

"Already?" I stared at her.

"This is a very fast train," Venomoth said seriously. "We should hurry before humans pick up their luggage." Spark reluctantly got up, struggling to carry the chip bag, which was as big as he was. Aura and Venomoth led the way out, with Blaze following slowly behind. Sapphire and I followed them, reaching the train doors before anyone else. The instant the doors opened, we rushed out, ignoring the stunned yells of the train guards.

"Not much they can do about it now, is there?" Blaze said conversationally. No one answered, but we eventually returned to a more leisurely pace as we reached the Goldenrod City gate. It was still early enough in the morning that humans were so scarce so as to avoid being noticed.

"So now where are we going?" I asked aloud. Everyone was silent. "No one knows where the base is?" I said incredulously.

"Er...Ember had that information," Venomoth said slowly. I stared at her.

"And she didn't tell you?" I asked hopefully. Venomoth shook her head. "Well this sucks."


	52. Johto Base

"Wait...we just traveled all the way to Johto and we find out that no one has a clue where we go from here?" Blaze asked incredulously.

"Apparently," I said, mentally cursing our bad luck. "We can't go back to Kanto and hope to stumble upon Ember in order to get the information we need, nor would she be inclined to help us."

"Yes, she would," Venomoth argued. Everyone stared at her in confusion.

"That last point is almost irrelevant since we'd still need to return to Kanto, find Ember, and convince her to give up the information, travel back to Johto and find the location. It simply can't be done in a short amount of time," I said miserably.

"I could travel to Kanto, search for Ember and convince her, then come back and we'd continue," Venomoth explained.

"That would take several days. We should try to stick together the best we can," Sapphire interrupted calmly. Venomoth reluctantly agreed. "At least until we eliminate the other options. If you left, there's the chance that we would find the base on our own, and your trip would be wasted."

"Well, you know the base is in Johto, and near Goldenrod, correct?" Aura asked.

"I think that's what Ember said. That's why we had made plans to go to Saffron, but there was the complication of me getting caught, and considering I was in Celadon, I suppose you took a detour there?" I replied, glancing at Venomoth, who nodded.

"Yes, although we met Sapphire on the way and she carried Spark and Ember, cutting time drastically."

"I've got a plan!" Blaze said abruptly and I glanced at him indifferently. His plans were so idiotic I wasn't raising my hopes that it would be worth hearing. "We walk around and ask any Pokémon we meet where the Rocket base is."

"Not the worst idea, considering the others you had today, but most Pokémon are oblivious to what buildings are Rocket bases and most are pretty well hidden," I said slowly, searching the surrounding area for any possible Pokémon to ask.

"Assuming that Johto bases are similar to Kanto," Venomoth said slowly. "My old trainer used to get assignments in Johto, and most bases are very simple to differentiate between normal buildings."

"Still leaves the problem of finding a Pokémon that would know," Aura said logically.

"You need assistance? For what?" a low voice asked and we turned towards the speaker, a small Spearow perched on a branch over our heads.

"We're trying to find a Rocket facility which should be somewhere in this area. Know anything?" Venomoth asked. The Spearow snickered, preening his wings indifferently.

"I assume you mean the building about a mile that way," he said, jerking his head in that direction. I raised an eye scale at him.

"Are you certain?" I challenged. The Spearow chuckled.

"Of course, bunch of humans wearing black with 'R' on the shirts. Not too difficult to guess their occupations. I'd lead you there myself, but that would involve taking time out of my busy schedule to help some Pokémon that are going on a suicide mission. The Rockets are evil, and they would like nothing more than to attack your little group," the Spearow chuckled again before flying off, leaving us staring after him.

"Okay then, guess that's the answer we're going to get," I said, turning and heading in the direction indicated. The others followed, Spark climbing up on my neck.

"Me see Mommy and Daddy?" he asked hopefully.

"We hope so. We hope so..." I murmured in reply. Spark seemed cheered by this and proceeded to talk almost non-stop about random observations, such as the color of leaves. After a while, I turned towards the rest of the group. "We should almost be there. Ready?"

"I am! I'll take those Rockets down easily!" Blaze said heatedly.

"Blaze, you still smell like salad dressing. You might want to wash it off before we get there. It could give away your position if we're sneaking around," I pointed out. Blaze scowled and looked at Aura pleadingly. She averted her gaze, ignoring him.

"Come on, Aura. I'm sorry!" Blaze pleaded and the Vaporeon scoffed disbelievingly. "Oh come on, I'm being sincere!"

"Leave me alone, Blaze," Aura snapped, and the Flareon's ears drooped. We continued moving, turning a small bend and stopping at the sight of the imposing building in front of us. "That's probably the base," the Vaporeon said thoughtfully, looking around warily.

"Please?" Blaze pleaded and Aura smacked him in the face with her tail. "Ow..."

"Blaze, leave her alone," Sapphire said gently, a small raincloud appearing over the Flareon, who cringed but hastily began using the water to wash the scent off him.

"Thanks..." he muttered, using a fire stream to dry off afterwards. Aura immediately hit him with a jet of water. "What was that for?!" he wailed. Aura didn't reply, turning back towards the base.

"Tough luck, Blaze," I said with a laugh, floating towards the base. Venomoth had gone ahead, using her sleep powder to knock out the several guards. "Wow, they actually have security in Johto," I said sarcastically, reaching the main gate. "Oh, and they have keycard locks. We should be impressed that they actually keep doors locked with keycards instead of pass codes, which are harder to steal."

"Tone down the sarcasm, it's annoying," Sapphire said gently, as Venomoth stole a guard's keycard, carefully aligning it with the lock and sliding it, allowing us entry into the base. Spark whimpered nervously as the door closed behind us. I glanced around warily, taking note that there were no guards in this entrance way, but wasn't that surprised, considering that there were guards outside the base.

"We need to try to find the labs where the Raichus should be held," I whispered, feeling a surge of anger at the memory of the incident at the other lab. "I bet it's in the basement."

"Actually, I've visited this base before, and I clearly remember the Hunter being told that the lab is on the second floor, in room L." Venomoth said calmly. I sighed, but didn't argue.

"Me climb!" Spark said from a staircase. I blinked, surprised at how quickly he had found the stairs leading upwards. He happily bounced up the stairs, counting each one. "One! Two! Me no know! Me no know! Five! Me no know! Seven! Eight! Me no know! Ten! Yay!"

"He doesn't know the numbers three, four, six, or nine?" Blaze whispered loudly.

"At least not while counting," I said, remembering our hide-and-seek game. When we reached the second floor, there were several grunts and scientists moving around. "Venomoth, can you do something about this?" I asked hopefully. Venomoth nodded and flew through the hall quickly, leaving a trail of blue powder. Every human dropped to the floor, except one scientist, who was wearing a facemask. He turned to run, but Blaze ran forward and slammed into the scientist's back, knocking him into a wall.

"He's out," Blaze said proudly. "And here's door L!" he gestured to the nearest door, pushing it open and peering inside. "Looks like a lab, I think," I followed, looking around curiously, leading them into the large room, which showed recent signs of experimentation.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Spark yelled, racing over to a small cage, where two Raichus were cowering.

"You're here much later than expected, Dragonair. Oh and you brought some friends, how cute," sneered a voice as a human entered the room, grinning. I stared at the man and flinched.

"Then you must have missed the news that I got captured a few days ago. This is strange, considering you were in the base at the time," I snapped back.

"Oh, so Mr. Green did capture you. I was transferred to this base to ensure the Raichu experiments were ready. A small demotion, but well worth the effort," Ed said silkily, pulling out two Pokeballs.

"Ah crap..." I muttered as Ed threw the two balls, releasing the familiar Gyarados and Machamp.

"Dragonair," Venom sneered as the Machamp assumed a battle pose.

"Ready, guys? This fight's going to be rough," I warned, glaring at the Pokémon. "Hey Ed! A wager...If we win, you release the Raichus to us, no strings attached! Should we lose...whatever."

"Fine. Take them down!" Ed yelled.


	53. Wager Duel part 1

**Sapphire POV**

I studied the two opponents critically. Dragonair seemed genuinely worried, although he was hiding this detail fairly well, perhaps I was the only one who could tell, but I'm also probably the only one he's ever lowered his mental guard for. The Gyarados was leering at Dragonair, and I remember Dragonair commenting on a Gyarados he despised above most other Pokémon.

"Should have stayed in hiding rather than return!" the Gyarados mocked and Dragonair rolled his eyes.

"Venom, stop acting like a Magikarp and fight!" Dragonair shot back. The reaction was immediate, as the Gyarados flushed with rage, gnashing its teeth furiously.

"I'm a Gyarados, you filthy snake! You're dead!" he snarled, lunging forward, fangs bared to strike. Dragonair twisted his body around, sending a bolt of electricity at the Gyarados, but the Machamp suddenly leapt forward in front of the attack, absorbing the shock into a fist that was sparking with electricity. Dragonair looked momentarily taken aback by this, but it didn't last long.

"Nothing's as easy as we'd like, is it?" he asked sarcastically. Venom chuckled cruelly before glancing at the Machamp.

"Good work, just like we planned. Now take this bastard down with Ice Punch while I rip his throat out."

"Hey idiots, I can hear what you're saying!" Dragonair yelled, but I could tell he was panicking slightly. Venom smirked.

"I know you can, Dragonair...but can you trust our strategy is genuine? Can you protect yourself if it's not? Hell, can you protect yourself if it is? You're so much weaker than our last duel, and you only scraped out of that by timely interference. Oh yes...you're weaker...Green took you out, and I bet you were broken a bit in that lovely facility...the likelihood of you fighting at full strength is low, and only at full strength could you hope to best me!" Venom mocked. Dragonair's eyes blazed with anger at the mention of the facility. The Gyarados noted the expression with delight.

"I may not be at full strength, but I'm strong enough to beat you!" Dragonair snapped angrily.

"I doubt it. Let's continue, shall we?" Venom sneered, inhaling and sending a pressurized stream of water. Dragonair grunted as the stream hit him, propelling him backwards. Spark whimpered, still by the cell where the two Raichus were held. Everyone else seemed frozen, watching the battle with mixed emotions. Blaze and Aura seemed anxious, Venomoth was watching calmly, and I didn't know what emotions I felt. The human that Dragonair referred to as 'Ed' was watching with cruel excitement.

"Nice hit...but you need more...to beat me..." Dragonair panted as he floated back towards Venom, who snickered.

"Machamp, Ice Punch him now!" the Gyarados ordered and the Machamp leapt towards Dragonair, all 4 fists gleaming with icy energy. Dragonair countered with a Hyper Beam, and I winced at his tactless attack choice. The Machamp was launched away from him, landing painfully on its back, but after a moment, crawled back to its feet. Dragonair seemed to realize his error as well, for he was looking more worn out than before. Venom sent another water blast at Dragonair, striking him and knocking him down.

"Not out...yet..." Dragonair panted.

"Don't bother getting up, Dragonair...you've lost and the battle just started," Venom sneered. "Who's my next opponent? Perhaps the baby Pikachu? A short match in that case, but just as satisfying, don't you think?" the Gyarados chuckled, turning towards Spark, who wailed in terror.

"Stay the hell away from him!" Dragonair yelled and Venom chuckled.

"Going to stop me? You can barely move, much less fight," the Gyarados hissed.

"He can't...I can!" Venomoth said boldly, flying forward. Venom examined her with interest.

"Venomoth, is it? The most recent traitor to the Hunters, if I'm not mistaken," he whispered. "Very well, I can swat a fly before I deal with the mouse. Machamp, stay out of this one. I know you'd love revenge for her beating you, but you'll get to rip her wings off when I'm done," his words caused Venomoth to flinch slightly, but she didn't back down. The Machamp nodded and took a step away from the combatants.

"Aw...she got to fight first..." Blaze moaned and Aura rolled her eyes irritably. Venom eyed Venomoth carefully, watching for signs of attacking. Venomoth did the same, and Venom broke the stare down first, exhaling a stream of fire towards the bug type. "He knows fire attacks?" Blaze yelped in surprise. Venomoth split into 3 separate Venomoths, the flames shattering one of the copies, causing the Gyarados to scowl slightly before turning his attention to the other two. The Venomoth copies glowed and two multicolored beams of energy flew towards the Gyarados, both striking him and pushing off backwards.

"Is that all you've got?" Venom hissed dangerously. Venomoth seemed surprised by the ineffectiveness of the double Psybeam, but the expression quickly vanished. "Let me show you the correct way to fight!" Venom sneered, exhaling another stream of flames. The targeted Venomoth vanished in the same fashion as the first and Venom lunged forward, clamping his jaws on the bug, but once again, she split into 3, and Venom bit nothing but air. He roared in frustration, and Machamp smashed his fists together in annoyance.

"You're doing a wonderful job of showing us how NOT to fight," Dragonair piped up and Venom spat another jet of water at him, smashing him in the face.

"You're weak, Dragonair, and this damn bug can't stall forever. She'll have to fight eventually, and I'll tear her in half!" Venom snapped, spitting another burst of fire, laughing triumphantly as the struck Venomoth let out a shriek of pain, igniting briefly. He followed the attack with a burst of pressurized water, extinguishing the fire, but knocking her out of the air. She struggled to get back up, but Venom sent a bolt of electricity, the shock conducted by the water. She twitched a few seconds before collapsing, too weakened to continue the fight.

"Venomoth!" Dragonair yelled, glaring at Venom with hatred.

"Two down, Dragonair. Who's next? Come on; let's see what you fools have," Venom sneered to the two Eons.

"Fight him together?" Blaze asked hopefully and Aura nodded confidently, both stepping forward. Venom chuckled.

"I hope you present a true challenge. I'll test that. Machamp, you take them," he sneered, turning towards the Machamp, who stepped forward while Venom moved backwards. The Machamp pounded his fists together threateningly and the Eons stepped back a pace, looking anxious. "What? You got wise and backed out?" Venom mocked, and Blaze growled slightly.

"We'll beat the idiot on steroids and then tear you apart!" he snapped, and the Machamp smashed his fists together again, walking forward aggressively. Blaze flinched, but didn't back off. The Machamp ran forward, fists glowing. Blaze exhaled quickly, a large burst of fire heading towards the fighting Pokémon, and Aura also exhaled, sending a beam similar to a Psybeam, only more transparent. The Aurora beam hit the Machamp in the chest, causing it to double over slightly and the Flamethrower scorched one of the fighting type's arms.

"Not a bad start, but you'll still lose," Venom said with a smirk. Aura smiled slightly and whispered something to Blaze, who grinned before running forward, dodging a fist and running behind the Machamp, who turned to follow. Aura took this moment to send an Aurora Beam at one of the Machamp's arms and nodded triumphantly as the Machamp swung the arm moments before the icy beam hit it. The fighting type let out a bellow of agony, clutching the affected arm with another arm.

"What happens when muscles get cold?" Aura asked.

"You're likely to pull a muscle!" Blaze replied cheerfully as the Vaporeon sent another three Aurora Beams at the other arms and Blaze baited the Machamp to attempt to use the arms, resulting in the fighting Pokémon's immense discomfort, as well as the inability to use the arms without intense pain. "You're down!" Blaze said, exhaling an intense stream of fire at the fighting Pokémon for several seconds before a beam of red light shot from a Pokeball the human was holding, the Machamp disappearing into the ball. The Gyarados looked surprised.

"Clever, but I won't go down as easily as he did," Venom sneered, moving forward and smiling coldly at the Eons, exposing his fangs.

"Prove it!" Blaze taunted and Aura groaned softly at the Flareon.

"I defeated Dragonair and the bug, a pair of weaklings should be easy work for me," Venom replied, grinning maliciously. "So let's battle, so I can avenge Machamp's defeat. You proved your worth in battle, so let's see how many pieces you're in afterwards!"


	54. Wager Duel part 2

"Ready?" Blaze whispered to Aura, who nodded with considerably less enthusiasm. Venom grinned at them almost mockingly as they took a few paces away from each other, preventing one hit from taking them both out at once. Dragonair seemed to slowly be recovering enough strength to rejoin the fight, but I was sort of hoping such an event would be unnecessary. The Gyarados spat a burst of water towards Blaze, who dodged nimbly as Aura fired another Aurora Beam. Venom twisted to avoid the icy beam, chuckling.

"Pity, after witnessing your triumph over Machamp, I'd have thought you'd provide a genuine challenge, but alas I was mistaken," the Gyarados mocked.

"I'm just getting warmed up, and Aura's just chilling," Blaze replied.

"How long have you been dying to use that phrase?" Dragonair asked.

"A very long time," Blaze admitted sheepishly, dodging another jet of water. Aura fired another Aurora Beam, but Venom dodged it again, and I noticed the Gyarados' strategy almost immediately. He'd attack Blaze, and while dodging the Aurora Beams, would move within striking distance with his tail. I was about to shout a warning when Venom swung his tail, catching the Vaporeon off guard, but she managed to dive clear just in time.

"Nice try," Aura said, clearly annoyed at herself for not seeing the threat before it had nearly hit her. Blaze was glaring at Venom with eyes narrowed to slits and sent a large stream of fire at him. Venom chuckled, using his tail to slice through the fire and exhaling, a large jet of water striking Blaze in the face, drenching him again and knocking him several feet backwards. He got back to his feet, slightly dazed.

"Aw, come on! What is it and the fur?!" the Flareon whined. Aura leapt forward, landing on Venom's head before firing a close range Aurora Beam right into the back of the Gyarados' head. Venom roared with rage and pain, shaking his head quickly and throwing the Vaporeon off him. She landed gracefully, smiling slightly, even as Venom turned his enraged gaze upon her. He lunged towards her, fangs bared and she jumped out of the way, the Gyarados striking the tiled floor, possibly chipping a tooth in the process, because he let out a stream of curses.

"Kit nearby, don't swear!" Dragonair said automatically. Venom laughed sinisterly and began reciting curses at the top of his voice. Dragonair looked like he was about to have a seizure, and Spark was covering his ears (most likely instructed to by his parents, who were wincing, whether from the words or the volume, I'm not sure).

"Stop it!" Aura snapped, sending an Ice Beam at Venom, the white energy much more noticeable compared to the Aurora Beam. The Gyarados, distracted by the energy required to continue his stream of curses, was struck in the face by the beam, writhing in fury before swinging his tail, striking Aura and knocking her to the ground. He smirked victoriously as he fired a Hyper Beam at her fallen form. Blaze suddenly leapt in front of Aura, sending a powerful stream of fire in the path of the Hyper Beam, causing a massive explosion. "Blaze?" Aura called worriedly.

"I'm fine," the Flareon's voice said from the smoke. When the smoke faded, Blaze was panting slightly, glaring at the Gyarados, who looked a little bit worn out, but was still grinning wickedly.

"You're fine? How much longer can you last?" Venom mocked, swinging his tail, knocking the Flareon to the ground painfully. "Less than twenty seconds!" Venom laughed, baring his fangs and striking at the fallen fire Pokémon. Aura leapt forward, releasing a powerful jet of water directly into Venom's eyes, causing the Gyarados to flinch in surprise, his fangs missing the Flareon by inches.

"Thanks, Aura," Blaze mumbled, getting back to his feet shakily. The Vaporeon glanced at him anxiously, and turned back to Venom, who had recovered his composure. Blaze sent a stream of fire at the Gyarados, but a jet of water extinguished the fire, but Aura leapt in front of the stream, smiling as her body absorbed the water.

"Water gives me my energy back," Aura explained, glaring at the startled Gyarados. Venom scowled briefly before charging up an electrical shock, releasing it directly at Aura, who tried to leap out of the way, but her tail got caught in the blast. Blaze growled angrily as the Vaporeon twitched in pain. Venom snickered and sent an even larger blast of electricity, even as the Flareon leapt in front of the bolt, wincing in pain as it struck his wet fur.

"Protecting her at the cost of your own safety? You're a fool," Venom sneered, spitting a burst of water which hit the Flareon, knocking him to the floor where he lay limply, and struggling to get back up.

"And you're a bastard," Blaze whispered. Venom's face contorted with anger and his tail came swinging around, hitting the struggling Flareon in the head, causing his body to tumble across the floor before lying weakly on his back. "That hurt," he whined.

"It's only a taste of what you feel when I rip you apart," Venom sneered. "Looks like it's down to the baby and the hot snake."

"What the hell did you just say?!" Dragonair raged, managing to float back into the air and stare at Venom.

"Oh, did I touch a nerve? I could have just called her an offensive name, but no I went with a compliment and you get upset. You're pathetic Dragonair, and you're pathetic for being with him," he added to me. I scowled briefly before regaining my calm demeanor. I shouldn't be surprised that people think I'm too good for Dragonair.

"Don't talk about her!" Dragonair snapped angrily.

"Or what? You're too weak to defend her honor, so why don't you let her do the fighting?" Venom mocked.

"We'll take you on together," I replied calmly. Venom and Dragonair both stared at me, Dragonair recovering first from the surprise. Venom laughed mockingly a few seconds later.

"Your mate is so weak he can barely move, and I doubt you're worth anything other than for..."

"I'll kill you if you complete that thought, Venom." Dragonair said fiercely and Venom's grin widened. "I swear to Celebi, you say it, I will kill you!" His reaction gave me a hint of what the Gyarados had been on the verge of saying, but I remained calm.

"Sometimes it's not necessary to complete the sentence to get my point across," Venom said dismissively. "I accept the challenge, but I doubt you or your little..."

"VENOM!" Dragonair shouted dangerously. The Gyarados chuckled malevolently, but didn't continue the sentence. I narrowed my eyes at Venom.

"Let's get this over with," I said calmly and they both nodded. Dragonair sent a Thunderbolt towards Venom, who twisted out of the way, swinging his tail, which glowed slightly before striking Dragonair in the neck, knocking him into a table, which broke in two as he collided with it. I watched Venom carefully, spitting a Dragon breath at the Gyarados, catching him off guard and he yelled in agony as the blue flames burned him.

"You bitch!" he snarled. There was a moment of dead silence.

"Venom, Venom, Venom..." Dragonair said calmly, floating into the air. Venom looked confused a moment. "You're a dead snake. Got it? I'LL KILL YOU!" he raged, his eyes burning with a fury similar to during our escape of the facility. Venom looked truly frightened for a moment as Dragonair released a powerful burst of energy from the horn on his head, which struck the Gyarados, launching it into a wall, creating a crack in the wall. Another burst hit Venom, making the indent deeper, the Gyarados' head snapping back. A third burst hit him, and the massive snake fell to the ground, unconscious.

"When did you learn Outrage?" Venomoth asked weakly, having regained consciousness. Dragonair looked confused at the question, his breath coming out in gasps. The technique seemed to have taken a lot out of him. Ed scowled angrily and withdrew Venom into the other Pokeball, but he smiled shortly afterwards, pulling a third Pokeball from his pocket and tapping the center button, causing it to enlarge.

"You took them down...but how can you deal with my final Pokémon?" he whispered thoughtfully.

"Damn it...I forgot about his third..." Dragonair said, clearly exhausted from the Outrage attack he had used spontaneously, in addition to already being tired. "It's far worse than Machamp and Venom...even I can't beat it..." he muttered before collapsing to the floor weakly. Ed threw the Pokeball into the air, and it burst open, a bright burst of light forming into the silhouette of a Pokémon. I flinched as I recognized which specie it was.

"Yeah, that one would be a problem," I said.


	55. Wager Duel part 3

I stared at the Pokémon as it emerged, feeling a flicker of fear. It was a large Pokémon that looked sort of like a giant lizard. It was green, with blue on its stomach, standing maybe 6 feet tall, so it was large by most Pokémon's standards, but only half my size. It roared threateningly and I blinked at it. "Now how did he get a Tyranitar?" I wondered aloud.

"No idea...but it's a fiend to deal with," Dragonair muttered, still too exhausted to get back up. I nodded understandingly. "Be careful, Sapphire..."

"Fiend, take down that Dragonair!" Ed yelled. I raised an eye scale.

"Er, he named it Fiend?" I asked Dragonair, who nodded bitterly. The Tyranitar's fist glowed white as it charged at me with far more speed than you'd expect from something that large. It swung its fist, but I moved out of the way, shooting an Ice Beam at the large lizard. The beam hit the Pokémon, which let out an aggravated roar, but seemed mostly unharmed. I was momentarily surprised but, moved quickly to dodge a retaliatory swipe of the Tyranitar's tail.

"Careful!" Dragonair urged worriedly. I didn't reply, watching Fiend for any sign of attack. I didn't have to wait long as he lunged at him, mouth open to bite, its fangs gleaming with what appeared to be icy energy. I twisted to the side, spitting a Dragon breath into its face, but once again, the Tyranitar seemed to shrug off the attack, causing me some minor concern. I'd have to think of something else to take it down. I'd have to be more strategic, which was my usual style anyway. I focused my energy briefly, conjuring a raincloud over the large lizard, which stared at the cloud with surprise.

"Now let's see if this works..." I muttered, charging a Thunderbolt, releasing it at the Tyranitar, which roared in pain, although it recovered much quicker than most Pokémon would from a water-conducted Thunderbolt. I sighed in minor frustration, thinking quickly, remembering that Tyranitars were infamously powerful.

"I could never beat Fiend," Dragonair muttered bitterly. "He's so powerful..."

"Doesn't mean he's unstoppable, Dragonair. I just have to figure out a strategy to beat him," I replied calmly, ducking as the Tyranitar threw a chair at me, narrowly missing, the chair shattering to pieces as it struck the opposite wall. Fiend seized a table and swung it at me, flinging me across the room, where I hit the wall, grunting slightly.

"Bastard!" Dragonair yelled, his anger giving him enough energy to lunge at the Tyranitar. I winced as the Tyranitar swung the table, but Dragonair, having anticipated the strike, dove lower and sent a Hyper Beam into the Tyranitar's face, causing the lizard to drop the table, which broke in two. Dragonair was clearly exhausted, while the Tyranitar managed to recover from the beam, swinging its tail and knocking Dragonair back to the ground, where he collapsed, too weak to move. Ed laughed with malicious pleasure. I now understood why Dragonair despised him so much, and I suddenly had an idea. I spat a stream of fire towards the Tyranitar, who seemed unimpressed, shrugging off the attack easily.

"This isn't working..." I muttered to myself. Fiend's fist glowed white and he swung it at me, and I jerked backwards, the fist narrowly missing. I slowly moved backwards as the Tyranitar continued to swing its fists at me, the blows missing by inches and creating dents in the wall nearby.

"Hurry and finish her!" Ed shouted angrily and I smirked slightly, knowing the human hadn't seen the threat yet. Fiend hastened to obey, leaping forward, attempting to body slam me, almost exactly as I wanted him to do it. I floated up higher, out of the Tyranitar's grasp, the larger Pokémon tripping over a computer system that I had led him towards, smashing the electronic equipment. Ed's face blanched, but he recovered his composure quickly.

"What good did that do?" Dragonair asked weakly and I chuckled.

"That equipment was a power generator. So the security locks, etc are all taken care of," I explained. "Oh, and the Tyranitar fell and I can barrage him with attacks," I added, sending a hail of attacks at the large lizard, which was slowly pushing itself back up, unable to effectively retaliate thanks to my distance and his position.

"You're not doing enough," Venomoth grunted, managing to fly back into the air. I looked towards her in confusion. "Try Iron Tail," she whispered.

"I don't know Iron Tail," I admitted, tilting my head thoughtfully. "Oh...but I do know Aqua Tail, I just rarely use it. Would that work?"

"I think so," Venomoth said. I flew over the Tyranitar and focused my energy bringing my tail down upon the fallen Tyranitar, the tail glowing. When the tail hit, Fiend roared in rage, confirming that I hit a weakness. I repeated the blow, the Tyranitar struggling harder to get up or knock me away. Ed let out an enraged yell as I hit Fiend in the head, the force coupled with the Aqua Tail and knocking it unconscious. I panted, thoroughly tired by the effort required to fight him. Ed raised the Pokeball, pulling Fiend back within it and slamming his fists against the wall.

"You won this round, but you won't get away from us!" he yelled, raising a small black object. Venomoth moved quickly, a burst of psychic energy striking Ed in the chest, and he collapsed limply.

"He was going to call for reinforcements," she explained tiredly. "I only knocked him out. Let's hurry and get out of here, though."

"Not yet. We need to get the Raichus out of here," Dragonair said weakly, still too tired to get up from the ground. Blaze had awakened and looked around, disoriented.

"What happened?" he muttered before seeing the unconscious human. "We won?"

"Sapphire beat Ed's Tyranitar," Dragonair explained, looking impressed. "I've never even come close to beating it before."

"It was more luck. I would have lost if I hadn't lured it into falling down," I protested, floating over to the cage where Spark was still covering his ears and crying, looking distressed about the battle that had just gone on. With my tail, I pulled the door open, the destroyed generator no longer powering the Raichu cell's electronic lock.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Spark yelled, hugging his parents excitedly. The Raichus smiled as well, hugging their kit.

"Thank you so much," the father said to me and I nodded humbly. Dragonair grunted slightly, managing to float back into the air. "And thank you for taking care of him," the Raichu said to Dragonair.

"It wasn't easy, but I couldn't just leave him there," Dragonair said seriously. "But we can talk more once we're out of the base. Let's go," he said, turning and leading the way back to the door where we had come from. Blaze nudged Aura, who had also awakened, and helped her stand. The Vaporeon smiled at him and allowed him to lead her to the door. Venomoth flew behind the Raichus, Spark clinging to his mother, who carried him in her arms, hugging him just as tightly. We retraced our route to the entrance of the base, and this is where we encountered a few Rocket grunts, who gaped at us, and each took out a Pokeball.

"We're too tired to fight...only I have enough strength to fight. The rest of you stay out of it," I urged and no one complained, although Blaze looked disappointed. I studied the two opponents, a Spinarak and a Koffing. Dragonair snickered for some reason I didn't know. The third Pokémon was a Machop, which seemed weak next to the Machamp we had encountered earlier. The Koffing spat a dark fluid at me, but I countered with a Flamethrower, incinerating the sludge and striking the Koffing, which surprisingly self-destructed, covering the room in smoke. "NOW!" I yelled, and the group surged forward, knocking the confused humans aside. No one spoke for several minutes, when we were far from the base.

"Odds are, they aren't going to pursue for a while. They're disorganized at this point, and most of the available forces are asleep," Dragonair said, panting and coiling up under a tree to rest.

"Everyone okay?" I asked, preparing to meditate.

"Just tired. I'll be fine in an hour or so," Venomoth said wearily.

"I'm fine, and Aura will be fine in a little bit," Blaze announced, after examining the exhausted Vaporeon, who nodded gratefully.

"Me good! Me have Mommy and Daddy!" Spark said happily, sparks flying haphazardly from his cheeks. The two Raichus nodded to signify that they were also well.

"That's good. Now...we all really need to rest and then decide what we're doing next," I said calmly, before closing my eyes and focusing my aura and sinking into the semi-consciousness of my meditation, allowing the calm aura to pass onto the other members of the group.


	56. Different Paths

**Dragonair POV**

"Uh...Sapphire?" I asked about an hour and a half later after she started meditating. She didn't stir, and I felt a little nervous about attempting to rouse her from her meditation. I did that once and she was incredibly irritable afterwards. I moved closer and very gently prodded her with my tail.

"What are you doing?" Venomoth asked me, looking confused.

"She was the least tired, but she rested the longest," I explained, prodding Sapphire again. She opened one eye and glared at me irritably. I resisted the urge to flinch.

"Yes?" she asked.

"How tired were you?" I asked, knowing it was better not to stall the reason I had roused her. Sapphire opened the other eye and stared at me blankly for a moment.

"Very tired, why?" she asked, stretching out a moment before tilting her head at me questioningly.

"Because everyone else is rested, and we were wondering what we're planning on doing next," I explained. Sapphire yawned before looking around the small clearing at the other members of the group. Spark was napping in his mother's arms and the Raichu couple was conversing in low tones. Venomoth was looking around aimlessly, while Aura was half-sleeping, resting her head on Blaze's shoulder, much to the Flareon's glee.

"Dragonair, wouldn't it have made more sense to ask them what they want to do next? Why did they come with you in the first place?" Sapphire asked, betraying a hint of annoyance.

"Ember had originally come to help find Spark's parents, but she left. Spark was looking for his parents. You came to rescue me, Venomoth was leaving and decided to help us, and Aura and Blaze were rescued along with me and came with us," I replied. Sapphire nodded, prompting me to continue. "What?"

"Now that we rescued the Raichus, what is there to do next?" she asked. I paused, frowning slightly.

"I guess it would be to return the Raichus to their original home," I said slowly.

"No, we will just create a new home," the male Raichu spoke up, and we turned to look at them. "The area we lived at was overtaken by Rockets, correct? Then we will not return there to prevent a reoccurrence."

"Then where would you live?" I asked curiously. The female Raichu looked around the clearing with interest and whispered something to the male, who nodded.

"We find this area to suit our needs. We will live here for the time being and move to a different area later," the male replied.

"I am also staying in this area," Venomoth said softly and I stared at her.

"What?" I asked, confused. "Why?"

"I know a family friend who lives here, and I wish to visit him. Since I no longer have a place to live, and the travel is quite difficult at times, I will remain at his residence," Venomoth explained.

"Oh..." I said, slightly taken aback. "Well...ok." I didn't quite know how to respond to the announcement that Venomoth was leaving.

"I bid you good day, and I hope to meet you again," Venomoth said gently. I nodded and Venomoth flew over to the Eons, delivering the same message. Spark opened his eyes as Venomoth approached him. "Good-bye, Spark," she said kindly.

"Oh...mean bug! Me squish!" Spark said gleefully, tackling Venomoth and stomping on her. The Raichus stared at him in confusion as he happily hopped off her and back into his mother's arms.

"Ow..." Venomoth said, wincing slightly as she flew back into the air. "I should have seen that coming."

"Huh, didn't surprise me that much," I said with a small laugh. "Well...bye then. Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome. Take care," Venomoth said, flying away from the clearing. I watched until she disappeared from view, and then sighed.

"Well, we should get going then," I said to no one in particular.

"Why you go?" Spark asked curiously and I turned to him, feeling a pang of sadness. How best to explain this sort of thing to a kit...

"Because I don't live here, and your parents are going to live here for a while," I explained.

"But...me like Dragon!" Spark said, tears forming in his eyes. I stared back at him, smiling weakly.

"I like you, too," I said simply.

"Me no want Dragon to go!" Spark wailed, the tears becoming more pronounced. I flinched, averting my gaze.

"I don't really want to go, either. But I can't stay here. I got your parents back, just as I promised," I said to the ground, trying to block out the Pichu's sniffling. Why was he making this so much harder than it should be?

"It's okay, Spark," the female Raichu whispered consolingly. The Pichu buried his face in his mother's chest, openly crying now. I kept my gaze averted, feeling guilty, but my resolve staying strong. Sapphire floated over to them, stroking Spark with her tail gently.

"I didn't know you as long as Dragonair did, but I'll miss you, too," she said softly and Spark looked up at her sadly, tears flowing from his eyes.

"Bye bye, pretty dragon," Spark said miserably and Sapphire stroked his head again before floating back over to me. Aura and Blaze walked over to Spark and Aura smiled at the kit.

"Good bye, Spark. I only knew you for a day, but I enjoyed meeting you. I hope to see you again," she said softly and Spark nodded sadly, sniffling loudly. The Vaporeon took a step back and the Flareon walked closer.

"Same thing, kiddo. Aww, I'll miss you," Blaze said awkwardly. Spark whimpered sadly. "Come on; give us a hug before we leave, though."

"Me hug..." Spark said sadly, hugging Blaze tightly. "Me like soft..." he said, a little more cheerfully, but then started crying harder than ever, his tears soaking into the Flareon's fur. After several awkward seconds, Blaze finally managed to escape without upsetting Spark further. He walked back a few steps and I distinctly heard him mutter about wet fur. Aura stepped forward to receive a hug as well, and Spark hugged her tightly, but didn't start crying again. The Eons walked back to Sapphire and I, and we floated back over to the Pichu. Sapphire received her hug first, and then it was my turn.

"Well, good bye, Spark," I said softly, trying to ignore the piercing pang of sadness I was feeling. It wasn't until this moment that I realized just how much I had bonded with him. Saying good bye shouldn't be this hard. The only one I could ever compare this feeling of attachment to was Sapphire. I remembered the time when I was in the Cerulean Pokémon Center, hoping the injured Pichu would be okay. That was maybe a week ago, and I remember the great anger and sadness I experienced then, when I barely knew him. It was much worse now, but with the sadness was an odd sense of relief, that the kit was back with his parents. I had fulfilled my promise to him.

"Bye bye, Dragon..." Spark said sadly, hugging my neck tightly (I recognized the grip as the vice grip hug Ember was often forced to endure). "Me miss you," he said, crying harder than he had for everyone else combined. I didn't attempt to break his hold on me, just let him continue. He finally released me and continued sobbing.

"I'll pass your good byes on to Ember," I told him and he nodded sadly. "Sour," I said with a small smile and Spark's face lit up briefly.

"Special word!" he said cheerfully, but almost immediately started crying again, covering his face with his hands. The Raichus smiled at us.

"Good bye. We'll never forget what you did for us," the father said. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I was glad to help. Good luck," I replied, and we left the clearing. I don't know what the others were thinking, but I was absorbed in my thoughts, reliving my memories of the Pichu kit. Sapphire studied me silently. "Are you two still coming with us?" I asked the Eons.

"I will, and Blaze will stalk...er, follow me relentlessly, so I assume he will also," Aura said, glancing at the Flareon briefly.

"Yeah, I'm coming," the Flareon said, seemingly also lost in his thoughts.

"Okay, then," I said quietly, staring up at the sky aimlessly, my thoughts still on Spark. Sapphire seemed to know what I was thinking and nuzzled me briefly.

"He'll be alright. You helped him get his parents back, and you still have the memories," she assured me gently. I nodded.

"Yeah...I'll always have those." I said. "I can never forget those."


	57. Phantom Conference

_"Master...I've returned."_ The Gastly appeared before me, looking around the cave I was currently inhabiting. _"Why are you in here?"_

"Nightmare...did you enjoy your holiday?" I whispered with sarcasm. Nightmare looked at me with a puzzled expression.

_"Yes, I suppose so. Why do you ask?"_

"Just wondering, my apprentice. While you were out enjoying the celebration of lust, I took the liberty of preparing our next move," I replied. "I need a new host, Nightmare. One that is powerful enough in battle. You see, Nightmare...I learned something. Why did I lose the first time?"

_"The Weepinbell host? You were overconfident when battling the Dragonair,"_ Nightmare said cautiously, and I smiled.

"You think so? I'll accept the answer, since you did not witness the actual fight. My next duel with Dragonair was by possessing the Venomoth. It had enormous battle potential, and the power to win. Why did I lose that fight?" I asked quietly. Nightmare considered the question.

_"I believe the host was weakened too greatly to win in time,"_ the Gastly said, wording his response with great care. I let out a sigh of annoyance.

"I'll accept the answer, but the weakness of the host was only a minor factor. Remember, I can force the body past its normal limits while possessing them," I said. "My next encounter was while possessing that Rattata, and while I did not have their trust like intended, I was more than capable of winning," I said, sending a sharp glare towards the Gastly. "Why did I lose that battle?"

_"The body was incapacitated," _Nightmare replied promptly. I laughed, causing the Gastly's expression to change to one of confusion.

"There's a pattern here, Nightmare. The first duels were against Dragonair, and both duels I had the upper hand, but the loss wasn't as a result of his superior abilities. I thought at first he had the power I sought, and you know what my plan had been to deal with that...right?" I asked.

_"To take the power for yourself by possessing him,"_ Nightmare replied. Good, the fool pays attention.

"Indeed. However, I failed to fully control him. I would have to weaken him further, both body and mind to claim him..." I hissed. "So I dueled with him again, using the Venomoth's power to manipulate his mentality, as well as ultimately defeat him. I lost, but not to him, nor as a fault of my own."

_"Forgive me, master, but I don't see your point. If not to him, nor as an error, then what caused your defeat?"_ Nightmare asked.

"You don't see it yet, do you? How were you beaten the first time?"

_"An error of eating nightmares,"_ the Gastly admitted.

"The second time, your error was revealing my guise, but that battle was slipping away from you, just like the first one did. Now, who beat me the first time?"

_"Dragonair,"_ Nightmare replied, and looked confused when I laughed. _"He didn't?"_

"The Charmander defeated me, you fool. Your Hypnosis wore off and she got the jump on me. I overlooked this small fact, attributing it to a one time occurence, and tried to possess Dragonair, but failed," I explained and Nightmare nodded. "So I arranged a rematch and was once again on the verge of victory. Now who should happen to intervene, but the same Charmander? She defeated me again!" I hissed.

_"So why didn't you target her?"_ Nightmare asked logically.

"Simple, a Charmander has no more power than a Charmeleon or Charizard. Any potential the Charmander has can also be found in a Charmeleon or Charizard," I explained. "Besides, I didn't see the pattern until later, when you dueled with her. You overwhelmed her twice, but the Venomoth enabled you to become injured, and I ordered you to retreat."

_"Correct, master."_

"She is mediocre, except she defeated me in our duel. She managed to cripple my host, despite having the disadvantage. It was then I realized she was a potential threat," I whispered.

_"So...you want her eliminated?"_ Nightmare asked cautiously.

"Hardly. There is nothing to gain from her demise, for she is mediocre in all respects, but somehow capable of timely interference," I said coldly. "I've seen into her mind and I know a few things. For one, she is insecure, and very prone to anger and violence."

_"I don't understand, master,"_ Nightmare said solemnly.

"She has a darkness within, but lacks the power to be as valuable as Dragonair. She lacks both the will and the power to be useful as a host, but she also threatens the plan," I explained silkily. The Gastly's slowness was beginning to irritate me, but I remained calm.

_"You haven't explained the point,"_ Nightmare said quietly and I sighed in annoyance.

"Then listen, you fool! She has value, but she's mostly just a minor threat! Since she has value, her death is not needed! But she must be kept away while we proceed with our next phase!"

_"How?"_ the Gastly asked. _"Short of fighting, there is little that can be done to keep her away."_

"For you and for me, perhaps. But not for him," I replied, and a flame appeared in the rear of the cave, revealing the shape of a Sableye which had been waiting in that corner.

"You called, Diablos?" Tarot asked sarcastically. Nightmare stared at the Sableye in horror.

_"Respect the master! He commands all ghosts!"_ the Gastly snapped indignantly.

"But not me, Nightmare. I do not serve a master, but choose my own fate," Tarot said calmly, shuffling his namesake deck.

"Regrettably, I cannot banish him to the Void, and I cannot possess other ghosts," I admitted coldly. "So, what have you accomplished for me?"

"I did nothing for you, I was helping her." the Sableye said quietly and I glared at him. "I stumbled upon her and gave her a tarot reading. Anything as a result was her choice," Tarot said.

"She left them, I presume? So there will be no slip ups?" I demanded coldly.

"The cards offer guidance, and are not perfect indicators of the future, Diablos." Tarot said dismissively.

_"How dare you speak to the master in such a way?"_ Nightmare snapped, and Tarot ignored him. The Sableye had never been intimidated by me, something that seemed to genuinely offend Nightmare.

"She did leave the group. Her insecurity coupled with Dragonair's constant taunts should have caused her to lose faith in herself," I pointed out.

"Her faith in herself was always low," Tarot admitted. "The Moon was the dominating force, with the Lovers in reverse, the Chariot in reverse, and the Magician in reverse."

_"That makes no sense to me. Explain," _Nightmare hissed.

"The Moon symbolizes doubt. The Lovers in reverse symbolized a lack of, or failed romantic relationship," Tarot explained.

"She's never had a romantic relationship, although she has shown interest in some males," I interjected, basing my claim from the knowledge I had acquired from the Charmander's mind. Nightmare bobbed, the equivalent of a nod.

"The Chariot in reverse refers to not having the determination to accomplish her goals," Tarot continued softly, holding up said tarot card, but without looking at it.

"Her insecurity at romance has begun to extend into her regular life. She is weak willed," I said softly.

"And the Magician in reverse says that she lacks crucial abilities in the future," Tarot finished.

"Which is where our advantage comes in. I know precisely how to assist her with gaining those abilities. Yes, Nightmare...without possessing her," I said, responding to the smaller ghost's inquisitive look.

"Without harming her. I am helping her, so you are forbidden from doing anything to her, Diablos," Tarot said warningly. Nightmare seemed to pale.

_"You can't order the master!"_ he protested. I blinked at the Sableye before smirking.

"Fine. I'll do nothing against her, if you keep her out of my way! My plan doesn't involve her, anyway. You're pathetic, Tarot. Believing in rubbish and helping my enemies. Why do I keep you around?"

"Because I am immune to your powers and my predictions help you," the Sableye replied emotionlessly.

"Fine. Be gone," I muttered darkly and Tarot disappeared. "According to Doom's data, Dragonair will be easier to work with."

_"Which host are you looking for?"_ Nightmare asked, feigning genuine interest. I smiled.

"I won't spoil the surprise, but with the Charmander out of the way, this should be easy."

_"Don't be overconfident, master," _Nightmare urged me, and I laughed.

"I don't see how we can lose, not with you, me and Doom involved. Unless you wish to sit this one out, as I doubt you'll be needed this time."

_"You're offering another vacation day?"_ Nightmare asked in disbelief.

"Better accept it before I change my mind," I warned and Nightmare nodded.

_"How many relationships did you break up yesterday?"_

"Let's see...23 couples, 2 of which got back together, 8 breakups resulted in a member committing suicide, and the other 13 just involved heartbreak," I replied with a laugh. It had been so satisfying to destroy the bonds of lust, and I gained more from the results of its destruction.

_"I guess you partially proved how much mental stability goes into relationships,"_ Nightmare said bitterly.

"Way too much. Why any fool even goes into it, I don't know," I answered dismissively.


	58. Return to Kanto

**Dragonair POV**

We spent the rest of the day resting, most of us too lost in our thoughts to suggest a plan of action. It was late at night now, but none of us seemed too eager to sleep. "Dragonair?" Sapphire said suddenly, and I looked up at her.

"Yes, Sapphire?" I asked, my attention torn away from reliving the memories of Spark for the eighth time that day. Sapphire floated over to me, looking me in the eyes.

"I was wondering how you were feeling. You seem so distracted lately," she said gently. I sighed quietly and she came closer, looking slightly concerned. "Anything else bothering you?"

"No, just I'll miss him. I've been taking care of him for a while, protecting him from danger, fighting for him and everything like that. It feels so strange that he's not going to be around anymore," I said quietly.

"Understandable, but I still worry that you're troubling yourself more than necessary," she said carefully, perhaps worried that she was going to upset me. I stared at her blankly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, somewhat harshly. I regretted my snappish tone almost immediately, and Sapphire looked uncomfortable a moment before placing her tail around me comfortingly.

"I apologize if I upset you. I was merely trying to say that while it is appropriate to feel sad if you part ways, but I worry that you're focusing too much on the parting, and not on the possible future. It isn't good bye forever," she explained soothingly. I relaxed almost immediately, now feeling guilty at my earlier reaction.

"I guess I didn't think of that," I muttered, staring at the ground. "I was also trying to think of where we should go next. I think Ember had more foresight to the current issue. She was the most upset when we officially betrayed the Rockets, because we have nowhere to go. I didn't consider it before, because the objective was to find the Raichus and rescue them, but in the focus on that objective, I never really considered what we'd do afterwards."

"What do you think you should do next?" Sapphire asked.

"I don't know. Ember and I never planned to leave the Rockets, only to recover the Raichus and continue life as before, but we learned what the Rockets truly were and we left the organization. Ember was upset that this complicated our life, but I overlooked the problem in favor of the second attempt to find Spark's parents," I admitted.

"She isn't used to the wild, I assume?" Sapphire asked. "Ember, I mean?"

"No, I think she was caught at a young age. She's older than me, so I'm not sure," I said.

"Perhaps you could help her find a place to live," Sapphire suggested softly. "I know of an excellent clearing in Hoenn where I currently reside."

"Huh?" I asked, taken aback by the strange twist to the conversation. "Hoenn...wait, what are you saying?"

"Well, now that you are no longer employed by the Rockets and have the freedom to live wherever you want, I assumed that you would live with me," Sapphire explained gently.

"Yes, although I'm still not sure about kits," I replied hurriedly.

"We'll discuss that when the time comes," Sapphire said. "I'm merely talking about living arrangements; nothing more."

"Oh," I said, and then suddenly froze, listening carefully. Sapphire blinked in confusion, looking around carefully.

"What is it?" Blaze asked from a few feet away, looking around anxiously. Aura walked over, looking confused.

"I'm not sure; I thought I heard something..." I muttered, unable to hear anything anymore. "If I did, it's gone now. Maybe I'm just getting drowsy. It's getting late, and we may need to get up early to return to Kanto."

"Why back to Kanto?" Aura asked.

"I want to go find Ember," I explained. "And I never really liked Johto much."

"Really? Why not?" Blaze asked curiously.

"I just preferred Kanto to Johto, and I'm not that familiar with Hoenn," I floated over to a comfortable looking tree and coiled up underneath it. "I'm going to try to sleep now."

"Actually, we could try to catch the subway right now. There's still one more trip tonight," Aura said seriously.

"After they saw us exit the train this morning? There's almost no chance of getting on board. Plus, Spark distracted them last time, and he's not here, and we don't have Venomoth to knock the guards out if there were any complications," I pointed out flatly. Amazing how many complications suddenly exist.

"It's darker out, and you can use another distraction to get us on board," Sapphire suggested.

"That's true, I suppose," I sighed, reluctantly getting back up and leading the way back to Goldenrod City, which we had been camping outside of. We moved through the shadows of the buildings, avoiding any random humans that still hung around at night.

"There are...no guards," Blaze whispered when we came into view of the train.

"No, there is...but he's not exactly alert," I whispered back, gesturing to the empty bottle by the desk the guard was seated at.

"He's drunk?" Aura whispered in awe.

"No, it's cold medicine, but the type that causes drowsiness," I explained, snickering slightly at the thought of intoxicated train guards. "Here watch this..." I floated over to the guard. "Excuse me; I'd like to purchase 4 tickets for this trip, if at all possible."

"Yes, sir...that'll be 200," the guard said, struggling to keep his eyes open, and his vision seemed blurry, so maybe Aura wasn't entirely wrong in thinking he was drunk.

"Here you go, my good man," I said, pantomiming placing money on the desk. The guard nodded, placing the four tickets on the desk, which I hurriedly swiped, leading the others onto the train before the guard could realize that I didn't give him anything, or realize that we weren't humans.

"How the hell did you do that?" Blaze demanded, awestruck. I smirked and tapped the translation collar I still wore. I had earlier removed the restraining collar, but I liked mocking humans, so this one still came in handy.

"It isn't that hard when the human's about to pass out," I said seriously. I jerked slightly as the train started to move. "Huh, just barely made it."

"Luckily for us," Aura said cheerfully. "But why bother getting tickets, since Pokémon still aren't allowed on the subway?"

"So the human wouldn't be alarmed by 4 individuals getting on the train," I explained with a smirk. "Not like we paid for these, anyway."

"Should we go back to the luggage area?" Blaze asked hopefully.

"No, the trip isn't that long, and you'd just snoop through baggage again. By the way, where did Spark leave the bag of potato chips?"

"Uh...I think he dropped them in the city somewhere," Blaze said, after thinking for a moment. I sighed, but didn't concern myself for long. After about 20 minutes, I felt the train slow down. "Oh good, we're here," the Flareon said cheerfully. The train stopped and we hurried through the doors, past the similarly distracted guards (Although one was definitely intoxicated. The several liquor bottles tipped me off), and we hurried out of Saffron, not wishing to linger in the town long, partially due to my hatred of being in the towns. "Ooh, let's go to Celadon!" Blaze said abruptly.

"Why?" Sapphire asked, confused.

"I found a quarter!" the Flareon said cheerfully, holding the coin in his paw.

"So?" I asked.

"Slot machines!" Blaze said, as if the answer was obvious.

"Blaze, shut up and go to sleep," I retorted, coiling up in the same clearing we had the night before, quickly drifting off to sleep.


	59. Creepy Encounter

I awoke, feeling well rested, and looked around the clearing. Sapphire was snuggled next to me, which really didn't surprise me that much, and Aura and Blaze were sleeping on opposite ends of the clearing, but judging from the Flareon's damp fur, this was not his ideal sleeping arrangement. I was about to lie down again when I heard a noise and shot upright again, looking for the source of the noise. It reminded me of the noise I thought I had imagined in Johto.

"Is someone there?" I demanded loudly.

"Something wrong, Dragonair?" Sapphire asked, lifting her head to look at me. I winced at having awakened her, but the moment passed.

"I thought I heard something," I explained quietly. The female Dragonair paused to listen, and her silver aura orb glowed slightly.

"I don't hear anything. I don't think you're imagining it, but you may be worrying about it more than necessary," she suggested, nuzzling me gently. I nodded, still uncertain, but willing to let the subject drop.

"I'm not tired right now. You can go back to sleep if you want. Sorry to wake you," I said. Sapphire yawned briefly before giving me a brief kiss and coiling up once more, and a minute later, her breathing became rhythmic once again. I looked towards the early sunrise, my thoughts on Spark once more, but I no longer felt the same sadness I had the previous day. Then my thoughts changed to Ember and I frowned. I hadn't realized she was so sensitive to my teasing that she would leave the group, and I had recently realized that she still wasn't used to the wild, despite the last week.

"Good morning, Dragonair," Aura said softly and I flinched slightly, so lost in my thoughts I hadn't noticed the Vaporeon stirring.

"Ah, good morning, Aura. How are you?" I asked and she smiled.

"I'm doing well. How are you?" she asked, stretching her legs before taking a few steps towards me.

"I guess I'm alright. I've just been thinking about finding Ember. Sapphire told me the direction she had traveled in, but she has a massive head start, assuming she didn't turn back. It could take forever to find her," I said and the Vaporeon nodded understandingly.

"Morning, Aura!" Blaze said cheerfully, bouncing over. Aura shot him a warning glare, and the Flareon stopped a few feet away from her. "How are you this fine morning?"

"I'm fine, Blaze," Aura replied emotionlessly.

"That you are," Blaze answered, looking her over briefly. "So what are we up to? Heading to the Celadon Game Corner?" Blaze continued excitedly, before the Vaporeon could react.

"Uh...no. I was thinking more along the lines of finding a cliff and pushing you off it. Finding Ember is a close second," I replied coldly. Blaze blinked at me, unfazed.

"Dragonair, be nice," Sapphire said, waking up again and floating over to us, landing next to me and casually placing her tail around me. Blaze blinked at her in confusion, and then hastily looked in the opposite direction, perhaps worried I would interpret that as him staring at her and then kill him. His fear was pointless as Sapphire would stop me, even if he had been staring at her.

"I was thinking we'd head over to the area where we were when she left. That way we can create a plan of where Ember may have gone, and that might give us a clue where she is now," I said, casting Blaze a threatening glare purely for the fun of scaring him.

"Good morning...pity we were sssent to ruin it!" a hissing voice said from the entrance to the clearing and we turned towards the voice, surprised by the sudden appearance of five Ekans, the centermost somewhat familiar.

"Sent? By who?" Aura demanded, attempting to sound pleasant. It wasn't working.

"I sent them, you wench," the centermost Ekans said, and the lack of hissing once again triggered the sense of familiarity. I could tell it was female, but nothing else was coming to mind.

"Rosa?" Blaze blurted in surprise and Aura made a strange growling noise. "Why would you sic some Ekans on us?"

"How do you two know her?" I demanded. Aura glanced at me in surprise.

"I thought this Ekans was hitting on you in the Rocket cell, right?" the Vaporeon explained. "Rosa's her name and she's the vengeful flirting type. Have you ever heard of praying mantises that kill and eat their mates? Rosa is the only female that Blaze didn't flirt with, despite her many, many advances."

"She's a snake!" the Flareon said furiously. "And she refuses to understand that I wasn't interested!"

"Sort of like a certain Flareon," Rosa hissed. "You were after every girl except the one who wanted you!"

"You said you had a mate already!" Blaze shouted back. "And you wanted to bite me while flirting!"

"So?" Rosa snapped.

"You have venom in those fangs!" the Flareon protested. "How many Pokémon are you going to find that enjoy getting bitten with poisonous fangs?"

"Some would find it to be incredibly pleasurable," Rosa said calmly.

"Getting bitten by poisonous fangs? Show me someone who enjoys that!" Blaze demanded.

"Most are dead now," Rosa admitted. "But they all LOVED it. Every second of the pleasure of life draining from their bodies as the venom spread..."

"You are one messed up snake," the Flareon scowled. "That is the most F-ed up thing I ever heard in my life."

"I'm sure you'd love it, too...I'll give you a taste of the pleasure," Rosa whispered seductively, baring her fangs and licking them. I stared at Sapphire, noticing she wore an expression that no doubt mirrored my own; an expression of shock and revulsion. Blaze flinched. "Oh, don't be like that...I know you'd enjoy it, just give it a chance," Rosa whispered, slithering closer. The other Ekans looked deeply discomforted by the female's behavior, tipping me off that Rosa was definitely messed up, even by a snake's standard.

"Get away from me!" Blaze demanded angrily, spitting a small burst of fire at the Ekans, who smiled at him, still coming closer. Blaze growled, spitting a stronger stream at her, and she let out a squeal of delight as the fire struck her.

"So warm...just like your fur...or your sweet blood after I nibble you..." she hissed and Blaze's eyes widened in a mixture of fear and shock."We'll share the pleasure, like real mates should..." she breathed seductively. "No need to be shy, I'm offering it to you...all you need to do is stay still and accept it..."

"You're sick!" Blaze said, looking panicked at the continued approach of the serpent, and was too frightened to run away.

"Just relax..." Rosa whispered, delicately licking her fangs before slowly moving her mouth to his neck. "I can almost taste you..." she said. I snapped out of my daze and smashed my tail into her face, flinging her back from the Flareon, who was on the verge of fainting in fear. "That wasn't very nice!" Rosa hissed at me.

"Get the hell away from us," I said coldly and Rosa's eyes lit up.

"Ooh, you're that Dragonair," she whispered, licking her fangs suggestively."I could always give you a taste of the same pleasure..."

"No, I'm satisfied with my mate," I said firmly. Rosa looked at Sapphire critically.

"Eh, your loss. Besides, Blazey is my mate of preference," she said, once more looking at the Flareon excitedly. Blaze whimpered in terror and Aura shot a jet of water at the female Ekans, who ducked before glaring at the Vaporeon.

"Stay away from him," Aura said firmly and Rosa hissed in reply, which could have passed as a laugh.

"You want to fight over him? Five against one?" she whispered, and the other four Ekans slithered forward, albeit reluctantly.

"Five against four!" I retorted, gesturing to our entire group.

"I don't want Blazey put at risk, so first four against three, with Blazey and me out," Rosa insisted. I glanced around the group. Sapphire seemed unbothered by the odds, and Aura nodded confidently while the Flareon whimpered in terror.

"Alright then. If we win, you get lost. We lose, Blaze is all yours," Aura said. Rosa hissed in agreement, and Blaze whined worriedly. "We aren't going to lose, Blaze," the Vaporeon assured him.

"Don't underestimate snakes," I warned her. "Now let's fight!"


	60. Another Battle with Snakes

The Ekans slithered apart from one another, with Rosa staying out of range, eyeing Blaze with obsessive interest. The Flareon returned the gaze worriedly; although it was obvious he was wishing to be far away from that clearing. Aura glared at the Ekans that was slithering towards her, eyes narrowed carefully, her body tensed to spring into motion should the need arise. She didn't have to wait long as the Ekans struck, but the Vaporeon jumped into the air, landing on the Ekans' back and slammed her fin tail upon the snake's head, slamming said head into the ground, where it lay limply.

"Nice one Aura!" Blaze cheered and Aura nodded before turning her attention towards the other three Ekans, one of which had slithered towards her cautiously. The other two headed towards Sapphire and I; both of us eyed the Ekans carefully.

"Ready, Sapphire? We could take them out really fast with Hyper Beams," I suggested. Sapphire gave me a strange look.

"We need to talk about your choice of attacks in battle. Hyper Beam is for final blows, not for the start of a fight. What if you miss? Your opponent isn't tired, but you are," she pointed out calmly. I nodded thoughtfully. "Use something less risky, like Ice Beam."

"Ok, fine," I agreed, returning my attention to the rapidly approaching snakes, releasing an Ice Beam towards them, just as Sapphire's aura orb glowed, creating a confined hailstorm around the snakes. As my Ice Beam flew through the air, the hailstorm added more ice to the beam, enhancing its power when it struck one of the Ekans, freezing it solid. Sapphire smiled, sending her own Ice Beam into the hailstorm, striking the other Ekans and freezing it solid. I privately noted her Ice Beam was stronger, but didn't comment.

"They aren't exactly tough opponents, are they?" Aura asked, body slamming the last Ekans and following up with an Aurora Beam, knocking the snake unconscious. Rosa seemed disappointed a moment before smiling slightly.

"Don't worry, Blazey, we'll have our alone time soon," she hissed softly, slithering forward. Blaze flinched nervously. "I was wondering when you'd arrive. Almost too late," she said to the air. I stared at the Ekans, perplexed.

"Talking to your imaginary friend?" I muttered to myself.

"He's coming, Rosa...not to worry," said a voice, the speaker unseen. I looked around, feeling my chest tighten with a fear I could not place.

"Is he bringing reinforcements? I don't want to lose my chance with Blazey," Rosa hissed to the air. There was a small chuckle, the source still unseen.

"I'm the reinforcements," the voice said. "Surely that's all you'll need? After all, what good are more snakes, when they'll just crush them?"

"I brought snakes, you idiot!" hissed a voice I knew all too well. The Arbok slowly slid into view, accompanied by a small army of Ekans. Sapphire flinched slightly and I stared at her in confusion.

"Master Fang," Rosa said reverently. "Please do not harm the Flareon. I wish to mate with him." This announcement caused Blaze to cringe in terror and several of the Ekans stared at Rosa uneasily. I was a little freaked out by this announcement myself. Fang looked at Rosa with an odd expression.

"You wish to mate with a Flareon?" he said in a tone of forced disbelief, but the distinction was subtle and not worth wondering about.

"Yes," Rosa said seriously, eyeing Blaze with the creepy expression again. One of the Ekans whispered something to Fang, who nodded slowly.

"You're Rosa, correct?" Fang asked maliciously, but again his tone was rhetorical, as if he already knew this detail. Rosa nodded, still staring at Blaze, who was now backed up fearfully against a tree, but still trying to back away desperately. Fang studied Blaze with interest before laughing sinisterly. "Fine, but you really should immobilize him first. Like this..." Fang's eyes glowed yellowish for a moment and Blaze was almost instantly paralyzed. Aura gasped in shock as Fang's eyes returned to normal. "Glare, such a handy technique. I'll teach it you sometime, so you can get new mates much faster. They'd last longer if you kept antidotes nearby."

"I do, they die before I finish," Rosa said, eyeing the now paralyzed Flareon with growing excitement. Fang shook his head indifferently.

"On to business, then. Dragonair...surprised?" he sneered to me. I stared at him in confusion. "So you knew I was alive?" he hissed. The realization hit me like a Rhydon. Fang was supposed to be dead!

"I realize it now; I was a bit distracted by that psycho snake," I said slowly.

"Yes, a bitch like her can be rather distracting," he said, glancing at Sapphire for an instant. Sapphire tensed, and Rosa looked at Fang resentfully. Fang looked back at the Ekans in disbelief. "I'm not talking about you!" he snapped at her. She looked confused, then amused.

"You did not..." I whispered dangerously, and Fang smirked.

"What are you going to do about it? My snake army is more than enough to kill you fools. Take it to them!" he ordered and the Ekans lunged forward, Aura leaping in order to dodge, but Fang swung his tail quickly, knocking her aside easily. Sapphire scowled slightly, clearing angered by the Arbok's comment, but determined not to show it. I felt my anger rise to the surface, but pushed it aside. Anger wouldn't help right now, not in battling against large numbers.

"You'll pay for that comment, Fang!" I promised, charging electricity through my body before releasing it in a large wave, just as Sapphire conjured up a large rainstorm, conducting the Thunder Wave, enabling it to affect several more Ekans than before. The other Ekans lunged at us, and Sapphire hit several of them backwards with her tail, while I froze several of them with an Ice Beam. Aura had gotten back to her feet and fired several Aurora Beams towards the Ekans near the rear, but before she took take out more than a few, the Arbok struck her with his tail, slamming her into a tree, where she slumped, barely conscious.

"Aura!" Sapphire yelled worriedly, as a few of the Ekans slithered towards the fallen Vaporeon, fangs bared to strike. Just as the snakes struck, Sapphire darted forward, firing an Ice Beam, stopping several of them cold (no pun intended). I kept my attention on the dozen odd remaining snakes, while Sapphire drew the attention of the ones attacking Aura.

"These Ekans aren't very strong," I observed, sending another few Ice Beams to freeze the remaining snakes. Fang seemed completely unbothered by the defeat of his army, and Rosa looked annoyed.

"Master Fang-" she began, but Fang shot her a dark look.

"The real battle begins...this duel will usher in the doom!" he hissed.

"Why does everyone insist on saying that?" the unseen speaker said in annoyance, right before a small skull-shaped creature appeared. I stared at the strange creature in alarm, not even sure what it was. It was some sort of ghost Pokémon, judging by the composition of its body. "It's a very uncreative line. Find better ways to use my name!"

"Sorry, Doom," Fang said sarcastically. Rosa chuckled, eyeing Blaze, licking her fangs hopefully. "Not yet, Rosa. Patience..."

"I've been patient!" the Ekans whined.

"Be more patient! We're about to send these fools to their doom!" Fang snapped, smirking at the skull creature. "Better?"

"Why did I agree to this?" the skull creature muttered. The specie was still avoiding identification, but I knew it was a ghost type. Something relating to a skull...the name was at the tip of my tongue...

"When do I get to have the Flareon?" Rosa hissed, sounding agitated.

"When we deal with Dragonair!" Fang retorted before turning to me. "You and your little friends caused me enough humiliation, so I called up an old friend to spread doom!"

"A Duskull named Doom?" Sapphire said skeptically. Doom rolled its red eyes, which gleamed in the sockets of his skull face.

"I may not be powerful, but I have several tricks..." he hissed."Let me show you a demonstration: Trick Room!" There was a flash of light and I suddenly felt sluggish, as if I were moving through a pool of syrup (Yes, I have done that before. Not very pleasant, but very delicious). Sapphire seemed to be moving in a similar fashion, except slower. I stared around in confusion. The Duskull smiled widely, moving at an incredible speed, its body glowing before slamming into me, throwing me backwards.

"How did he do that?" I demanded, feeling dazed. Fang chuckled, somehow moving faster than I was, seemingly unaffected by the sluggish feeling.

"Trick Room is a particularly nasty trick, allowing slower beings to move faster than even the fastest opponent," he mocked. "So the faster you are, the slower you go!" I cursed under my breath as Fang slammed his tail against me, slamming me against a tree. "Just try to fight back!" the Arbok sneered.

"Be careful what you wish for," I retorted angrily, spitting a stream of fire at the Arbok, who dodged it easily.

"You're too slow to hurt me this time. It's all over for you!" Fang mocked, striking me with his tail once again. I grunted in pain, feeling strangely helpless against the Arbok. I was moving too slowly to dodge, too slowly to attack, and the Arbok was faster.

"Don't give up just yet!" Sapphire urged me and I glared at Fang, feeling my anger towards the snake rising to the surface.

"Don't count me out yet, Fang...I'm just getting started," I said quietly. The Arbok laughed.

"Then let's finish this! It's time to meet your doom!"


	61. Emotional Battle

"Enough gloating, just shut up and fight!" I snapped at Fang, who chuckled maliciously.

"With Trick Room, your speed is far too low to harm me, but you're right. Rosa's getting impatient, so I might as well hurry and kill you and your girlfriend," the Arbok hissed, lunging at me with unnatural speed. I struggled to counterattack, but he was still way too fast, knocking me to the ground again. I groaned in frustration, struggling to think of a plan. My mind was just as fast as normal, but my body refused to move at a normal speed, so my best bet was to try to out think Fang.

"Dragonair, are you okay?" Sapphire asked worriedly. I grunted a reply, trying desperately to think of a plan. Fang moved towards my neck, mouth wide and fangs aimed at my throat. I forced myself to react, but my movements were still too slow, and the fangs struck my neck, barely piercing the scales, a burning pain shooting through the area struck, but it was a minor wound. Without my scales' hard defense, I'd have been killed. Fang's gloating laugh echoed in my head and I growled in anger.

"You'll pay for that one, Fang!" I snarled, charging up a Thunderbolt and sending it towards the Arbok, who quickly moved out of the way. He then lunged at me again, but I had anticipated the attempt and had a Hyper Beam ready. It was a moment slower than desired in releasing, and Fang managed to knock me backwards again, but the beam grazed him with enough force to throw him backwards, where he landed painfully on his head.

"Minor injury," Fang said with a snarl, recovering his composure and lunging at Sapphire instead. I felt my anger boil over at this attack, even though I was unable to do anything about it. Sapphire was even slower at reacting than I was, and Fang tried to bite her neck, but his lunge had been mistimed, and he only grazed her, not even drawing blood. Sapphire seemed a little more distressed than normally, but otherwise still seemed calm. I wasn't surprised by her reaction, but my anger flared up worse than it had in a long time.

"I'll kill you...I swear I will!" I hissed, privately noting that I wasn't feeling as sluggish as I had seconds before. Sapphire seemed to also be regaining her speed, so I assume the effects of the Duskull's Trick Room were fading. "I'LL KILL YOU!" I raged and Sapphire flinched at my anger. Fang seemed a little surprised, but otherwise was unbothered.

"Then I'll kill her in front of you," he said coldly, baring his fangs for the killing blow. I felt all my self control snap, I could literally see nothing but a red haze of hatred and anger. A massive burst of energy shot from my body, and I recognized the attack as what Venomoth had called Outrage. Fang seemed to realize that the Trick Room had worn off, but too late to attempt to dodge. The energy hit him, slamming him through a tree. Not into it...through it. The rest of the tree crashed down upon the Arbok. I felt a thrill of satisfaction, almost identical to the feeling I experienced when I thought I had killed him the last time. This time I wasn't taking chances. I floated towards the fallen Arbok, just as another blast of energy flew from my body, hitting the Arbok again, and I heard him grunt in pain, confirming life still existed in him.

"You dead yet?" I sneered coldly. The Arbok moaned in agony and I chuckled to myself. "No? Well then let's rectify that error." The third burst of energy hit Fang who let out an agonized gasp, the force of the blast sending 3 more trees falling upon his body, hopefully crushing him, but I doubted it. That damned snake had been brutalized several times; a mere tree or two falling on him wasn't going to do the job.

"Dragonair...that's enough," Sapphire pleaded.

"Not yet...not until I confirm his demise," I said coldly. "Until he breathes his last, it's not enough. Until-"

"Dragonair, stop," Sapphire said sharply, and I blinked at her, surprised by her tone. It was...commanding...I shook my head, trying to clear the haze that had settled in my mind. The Duskull watched me passively.

"The true master of doom has arrived," the ghost said quietly. I blinked in confusion and felt the clearing grow cold, even though the sun still shone brightly.

"What's going on?" I demanded. Rosa was looking around in confusion as well, her eyes searching the clearing frantically. I felt a strange aura...one of evil, but familiar as well. Suddenly, there was a stirring from where Fang had been buried under the trees and the Arbok reappeared, looking worse for wear, but still strong enough to fight. I stared at the Arbok in shock, in numb disbelief.

"Dragonair," Fang said softly, in a tone that confused me, but filled me with dread at the same time. There was no emotion in the voice at all, but it chilled me to the core. It wasn't the same tone Fang normally used, but then why was it so familiar to me? It was Fang's voice, but with a darker, more malicious tone to it, even noticeable from the Arbok's usual manner.

"Master," Doom said reverently. Wait...a ghost calling Fang master? It reminded me of the Gastly that called the Weepinbell 'master'...

"Very good, Dragonair...you are capable of making connections," Fang sneered. "Now, you owe me another rematch." The phrase hit a small connection in my mind. "Very perceptive, Dragonair. Venomoth did indeed say the same thing," the Arbok looked me in the eye, and I noticed that its eyes gleamed yellow, but differently from when Fang used the Glare technique. I jerked in surprise, and Fang laughed.

"Who are you? You can't be Fang...but how?" I muttered, the Arbok laughing humorlessly, the same cold laughter from the Ancient Shrine. It was making some sense, but I was still confused. A ghost serving a master...both with yellow eyes. The similarities were uncanny, unless...

"Indeed. I am Diablos," Fang whispered, the yellow eyes gleaming maliciously.

"Diablos was a Weepinbell...how can you be him?" I demanded. Fang laughed once more, the laugh cold and sinister.

"Perhaps you don't understand my powers. I am a phantom, and I have the ability to possess others. Now, we'll see if you can beat me this time!" Fang mocked. I scowled, still not fully understanding, but not really caring, either. Whoever this guy was, he wasn't going to last very long. I sent a Thunderbolt towards Fang, but a barrier of light expanded, blocking the shock. "Light Screen. Recognize the technique?" Fang mocked.

"Doesn't matter. I beat that trick once and I can do it again!" I snapped.

"I doubt it. You don't stand a chance against me!" Fang laughed. The Duskull floated over to the Arbok. "Which reminds me; Doom has been keeping tabs on you. Once I kill you and your mate, your little Pichu friend in Johto will be the next to feel the fangs of death. Him and his parents. Then there's that Venomoth. Worthless as she was as a host, I'd enjoy killing her. Rosa will enjoy her little mating session with the Flareon, but I doubt he'd survive it. The Vaporeon will be torn apart by the other Ekans."

"You won't hurt anyone!" I snarled angrily, struggling to stay calm, but each threat was an emotional blow stronger than anything I'd ever felt before.

"That's where you're wrong, Dragonair. I'll hurt you and your mate. The Ekans will tear Aura apart, and I'll travel to Johto and do in the rest of your little friends," Fang contradicted coldly. "The Flareon might survive, but I truly doubt it." This last comment made my rage rise to the surface once more, the anger I experienced exceeding the previous rage, my mind shutting down except for one final message: to take the bastard down.

"We'll see!" I spat, sending a Hyper Beam at the Arbok, but he dodged with ease, the Duskull glowing briefly. "Damn it...Trick Room again!"

"If it isn't broke, don't fix it!" Fang mocked, spitting a large splash of Acid over me, the liquid sizzling as it contacted me, causing me to cry out in agony as the liquid burned my scales. Sapphire gasped in shock and I scowled.

"You'll have to do better," I whispered weakly. Even as my anger threatened to overwhelm me, I was still helpless against the power of the Trick Room. Fang chuckled, his yellow eyes gleaming with delight at my suffering, fueling my anger. I hate sadistic Pokémon, and I already loathed Fang.

"You want more suffering? Very well, then enjoy it!" he sneered, spitting another large burst of Acid, and once again I was unable to react, the agony of the second dose worse than the first, due to the weakened scales. I screamed in agony, hating myself for the feeling of weakness such outbursts caused me to feel. "Want more?" Fang sneered, the yellow eyes gleaming. "Or would you prefer if I finish you off?"

"I'll kill you," I retorted, but the fight was leaving me. My anger couldn't overpower my sense of hopelessness, the agony of the acidic burns. "You won't win..."

"I already have," Fang said triumphantly, and spat a third dose of Acid over me, and I writhed, my scales smoking from the acid. "Enjoy your suffering! Your mate can't bear watching you in pain, but you're too foolish to know when you're beat!"

"Stop it!" Sapphire shouted and the Arbok chuckled.

"Or what? You can't fight anymore than he can. Besides, it's time he paid for my humiliation. Now, you can watch him die..." Fang looked down at me, even as I felt the effects of Trick Room begin to fade; I knew I couldn't fight back, as the Arbok bared his fangs and plunged them down towards my neck. I couldn't dodge, I couldn't block, and I couldn't fight. Suddenly, the Arbok stopped, his face paling in shock and pain and he convulsed briefly.

"I hate snakes," a shockingly familiar voice said quietly as the Charmander withdrew her claws from the injured Arbok, even as Fang turned towards her.

"Ember?" I whispered in disbelief.


	62. Ember's Return

"What?" Fang hissed in shock as he stared at Ember, who eyed him with deepest loathing. The Arbok twitched, examining the claw wound Ember had inflicted. "The pattern continues..." he hissed, swinging his tail to strike the Charmander, but she ducked, slashing the tail with her claws, causing the Arbok to wince as scratches appeared on his tail.

"Ember?" Sapphire muttered, similarly surprised by the Charmander's reappearance. Fang lunged forward at Ember, who leapt nimbly out of the way, the Arbok slamming into the ground. Ember landed on his back and slashed his back quickly, drawing small trickles of blood from the wound before he bucked, sending her off of him.

"Giratina damn you!" Fang snarled, eyes flashing with annoyance. "Doom, you fight her! As a ghost, she cannot harm you with those claws of hers! Just be sure to watch out for her fire attacks, weak as they are."

"Yes, master," the Duskull said reverently, turning towards Ember, who stared back indifferently. The ghost Pokémon glowed briefly and vanished, reappearing instantly behind Ember, slamming into her back and knocking her to the ground. She growled in anger as she got back to her feet and spat a small fireball at the ghost, which calmly faded out, reappearing behind her once more before hitting her with an orb of black energy. Ember growled again, returning to her feet and fixing the Duskull with a dark stare.

"Hurry up, master," Rosa complained, coiled lazily a few feet away from Blaze, who was twitching nervously. I scowled, still too weakened to continue the fight, and Fang was watching the fight between Ember and Doom with fascination, almost hunger. Doom lazily sent another Shadow Ball at Ember, but she rolled to the side, the orb exploding harmlessly against the ground. She then lunged forward, and pulled back her paw, claws bared. Doom didn't so much as flinch, and why should he? Claws were useless against ghosts, after all. What I didn't expect, however, was for the claws to suddenly glow with a frightening purple aura as they connected with the Duskull's ghostly form. Fang's eyes widened in shock as Doom shrieked in agony, the claws somehow wounding him as if he were solid.

"How?" Doom whispered in horror as he jerked away, staring at his new wound, which looked like a regular claw wound would look like if inflicted upon a non-ghost, but this observation was baffling to me. How can a ghost be injured like that? Physical attacks were all but useless, unless combined with elemental power, and even those don't do nearly as much damage as what Ember had just inflicted to Doom.

"Shadow Claw, it uses ghostly energies to power it, so you can be harmed now. Looks like your advantage is gone," Ember explained coldly. Doom grunted in pain, eyes closed tightly, as if trying to mentally block out any pain he felt.

"Fight her, you idiot!" Fang snarled fiercely. Doom stared at the Arbok, his skull face contorted with pain.

"Master...I cannot continue...please...I must go," he begged, and Fang looked at him pitilessly.

"You're weaker than Nightmare, and he's an idiot!" Fang said coldly. "Be gone, then. I'll deal with her," The Arbok turned his attention back to Ember, who all but ignored him. The Duskull vanished without another word. "So...let's see if you can defeat me again, you insecure wench!" I flinched at the comment, and Ember's eyes narrowed dangerously before she ran forward, Fang swinging his tail, but she slid under the tail, rolling to her feet and plunging her claws into the Arbok's chest, the claws assuming the purple glow as it impacted with the snake.

"That's got to hurt," I said, wincing. Fang roared with fury and pain, blood trickling from the wound, the scales around the wound seemed scorched, as if they had been burned away by a powerful flame. Rosa hissed in anger, but Fang seemed to recover from the pain quickly, thrashing his tail and knocking Ember off balance before striking at her. Ember blocked the fangs with her claws, the momentum of the attack still knocking her to the ground, but there was a fire in her eyes I hadn't seen in her before, and it burned with a frightening intensity. Fang's yellow eyes were focused pitilessly upon the fire lizard, his fangs inching closer to her body, despite her efforts to repel him.

"You should never have come back," Fang hissed coldly, but Ember suddenly smirked before lashing her foot out, connecting with the Arbok's wound on its chest, slamming forcefully into the charred scales. Fang winced, his concentration broken, and Ember slammed her fist into his head, pushing him off of her. He struck at her, but she rolled out of the way, and the fangs were momentarily imbedded in the ground. Ember's claws glowed purple once more and she struck him in the neck, the Arbok howling in agony, blood pouring from the wound.

"That could kill him," Sapphire said softly, floating over to me anxiously, checking to make sure I was okay. I smiled at her briefly.

"I'll be fine...and Fang deserves death for the hell he's put me through," I said coldly. "I just never thought Ember would fight like that. She's normally methodical and very skilled at close range combat, but this is overkill...her style is different, but..." I was unsure how to explain what about her tactics bothered me. "Is she just that hateful of snakes?" I knew she hated snakes, and Fang was undoubtedly one of her least favorite from the Spark incident.

"Taste the fangs of death!" Fang snapped suddenly, lunging forward, his fangs gleaming with sparks of electricity. "Thunder Fang!" he sneered, and Ember leapt to the side, but his tail swung quickly to intercept her leap, knocking her in the path of the fangs, but Ember blocked one fang with her claws, the other grazing her arm and she cried out in pain as the electricity flowed quickly through her body.

"That stung," Ember said emotionlessly, her claws glowing purple yet again and she slammed them into Fang's face, the Arbok recoiling in agony, blood trickling from the wounds, an inch higher and she would have struck his eyes. "Take that, you Mew damned bastard!" she snarled, slashing her claws across his nose and the Arbok flinched in pain, fresh scratches upon his face. "Why don't you die?" Ember shouted, her claws glowing purple once more before she prepared to slam them into Fang's chest.

"Not yet!" Fang snapped, orbs of black energy launching from his mouth as he spoke, surprising the Charmander as they impacted with her, flinging her across the clearing limply. She groaned as she hit the ground, skidding a few feet across the ground. She slowly crawled back to her feet, her stomach now slightly scratched, and she winced slightly. "Shadow Ball comes in handy...as does this!" Fang whispered as Ember spat a stream of fire towards him, a barrier of light intercepting the fire and reflecting it to the side harmlessly. Ember growled in annoyance, running towards the Arbok, and slashed at him, but a different colored barrier appeared, blocking the claw attack and throwing her backwards.

"Clever trick," Ember said grudgingly and a strange look appeared in her eyes and she smiled at Fang, who blinked his yellow eyes at her. "Here's a better one," she said and her paw glowed briefly as she sent a huge fireball at Fang, and as the Light Screen appeared, Ember smashed her glowing fist into the barrier, shattering it easily. Fang blinked in shock, noticing the Barrier had also been shattered. "Brick Break destroys all barriers," Ember said quietly, just as the fireball engulfed the snake. "Now I'll break you..." she whispered, her claws once again taking the purple aura and she jabbed her claws into the fire and I heard the Arbok shriek in pain.

"That's a pretty nasty tactic," I muttered to myself, but Sapphire nodded in agreement. The fire burned down and the Arbok was bleeding profusely from another wound in his chest. The yellow eyes focused briefly on Ember before Fang went limp, the eyes closing. Rosa hissed in rage, and Ember turned to the Ekans, glaring at her.

"You'll pay for that someday," Rosa snarled, slithering from the clearing. "I'll make you pay..." she hissed before vanishing from sight. Sapphire and I almost immediately floated over to Blaze, who was looking relieved.

"Are you okay, Blaze?" I asked, panting slightly. The Flareon gave me a dirty look. "Oh right...the paralysis. Strangely, it should have worn off by now..."

"That damn Ekans was practicing Glare on me! She also was testing Attract! Thank Mew her Glare was better than Attract!" Blaze shouted at the top of his voice.

"Whoa, calm down Blaze," Aura urged, also recovered from her injury.

"How the hell can I calm down? I was offered as a freaking prize!" Blaze shouted. "And they almost won me!" I had never seen the Flareon so agitated, but I understood why he was upset.

"I'm sorry, Blaze." Aura said quietly. "I didn't think that reinforcements would come...I thought it was a safe way to get her to go away." she said, rubbing against him gently. Blaze's anger seemed to fade rather quickly after that. I glanced at Ember, who was standing a few inches away, and recoiled in shock. She was glaring at our group, but the real worrying factor was her appearance. She seemed wilder; a dark feral look seemed to burn in her eyes.

"What the hell happened to you?" I blurted without thinking. Sapphire groaned softly at my tactless comment. Ember looked at me coldly for a moment, uncrossing her arms. Suddenly, her claws glowed with a blue aura, which reminded me of fire, and agony shot through me, pain that startled me by its intensity. I cried out, jerking backwards, the pain still throbbing, even after the claws had been removed. Sapphire looked shocked.

"Was there a reason you found it necessary to attack him?" she demanded, and I noted that there was a genuine trace of anger in her voice. Ember looked at her emotionlessly.

"I thought it might demonstrate that I no longer will be stepped on or disrespected," she said casually. "I'll be given proper respect one way..." she glanced at her claws and smiled a cold, humorless smile. "...or another." Sapphire narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Don't do that again," she said angrily. "Or you'll have me to deal with." I almost winced. Dragonairs are very protective of their mates, and definitely are not creatures that you're advised to tangle with when in that mindset. I know that I get protective extremely quickly, but Sapphire isn't as quick to anger as I am, but she's still scary when she does get angry. Ember stared back at Sapphire emotionlessly.

"I don't really care," she said finally and Sapphire blinked in shock. "He got what he deserved. Now get out of my face, unless you want a fight."

"Listen, I don't know what your problem is, but I do not appreciate either your threats or your violence directed at me or my mate," Sapphire said angrily. Ember made a contemptuous wave of her paw, a dismissive gesture, and Sapphire's eyes narrowed to slits, and she attempted to slap Ember with her tail, but the Charmander blocked the attack with her paw, using her other paw to scratch the female Dragonair.

"Oh, now you're in trouble!" I snarled angrily, floating forward. "No one hurts Sapphire! You want respect? You aren't getting any from me!"

"So be it," Ember said coldly, the feral look more apparent than ever as she readied her claws and grinned, the blue fire aura reappearing. "You'll learn to respect me the hard way, then!"


	63. Dark Embers

**Sapphire POV**

I silently groaned again. Not only did Dragonair upset Ember AGAIN, he was about to fight her despite still recovering from the battle with the Arbok. He was in no condition to fight her, not to mention the whole issue that he really shouldn't be fighting his friend anyway. I was angry at her too, but I wasn't the one significantly injured. Unfortunately, Dragonair was in one of his protective moods, so there wasn't much chance of solving the issue without a fight of some sort. Part of me wanted to try to talk the issue out, but then there were my own protective instincts, which wanted to avenge Dragonair's injury.

"I'll fight her. You need to recover," I said impulsively, blocking Dragonair with my tail. He looked at me in confusion, but after a moment he backed away, nodding to me to take his place. Ember's expression didn't change, which briefly caused me to wonder whether she was just fighting for the sake of it, rather than to settle a long standing grudge. I stared at her, forcing myself to relax, to force my angry thoughts away for the time being. The Charmander's claws continued to glow with a blue fire-like aura, and I recognized the technique as Dragon Claw, which is probably why Dragonair was injured so much by the attack.

"It doesn't matter. You don't respect me either, Sapphire," Ember said emotionlessly, raising her paws into a battle stance. I studied her carefully, taking note of her wild expression. It was a rather unusual expression, as if she no longer used rational thought, but was driven by emotion or instincts. However, her battle style earlier had demonstrated a great deal of logical thinking, but the tactics were harsh, almost unnecessarily cruel. I couldn't quite see how the pieces fit, for they seemed to contradict each other. Logical battling, but seemingly fueled by emotions and impulse.

"What happened to you?" Dragonair muttered quietly, perhaps concerned about Ember's behavior. Ember ignored him, focusing her attention on me. She watched me closely before spitting a small fireball towards me, which I blocked with my tail. Being a dragon Pokémon made almost all fire attacks incapable of harming me, so Ember's attack confused me. It wasn't even strong enough to singe me, so why even try it? The answer came a moment later when Ember dove forward, slashing at me with her claws, which still glowed with the blue fire aura. I narrowly dodged the slash and retaliated with a swipe of my tail, but Ember leapt backwards, dodging the swipe.

"Oh good, paralysis wore off," Blaze said abruptly, and I glanced at him in surprise. This moment of distraction allowed Ember an opportunity to strike, and I yelped in surprise and pain. She hadn't used Dragon Claw, so I got off easy, but it still hurt a fair bit. Dragonair's expression darkened.

"Stay back, Dragonair," I said sharply and Dragonair scowled angrily, but obeyed. I watched the Charmander carefully, looking for some clue as to an efficient strategy that could be utilized to defeat her. My gaze paused on her tail flame, which was burning strongly. From what I knew about Charmanders, the tail flame was partially tied to their body heat, and extinguishing the flame weakened the Charmander. The flame was said to flare up when the emotions are stronger. Perhaps if I snuffed the flame, she'd calm down quicker, as well as tire out faster. It was worth a try. I focused carefully, conjuring a raincloud over the fire lizard.

"That's a good idea, Sapphire," Dragonair said thoughtfully. Ember, however, completely ignored the cloud and lunged forward, the cloud chasing after her. I twisted out of the way of her Dragon Claw, next sending a Thunderbolt in her direction, which narrowly missed as she rolled to the side. The raincloud was unable to keep up with her consistently as long as she kept moving, but I expected her to tire out quickly as she would then be unable to catch her breath without risking the extinguishing of her flame.

"A small complication," Ember said with a tiny growl, darting towards me and jabbing her claws forward, but I hastily focused, aura orb glowing, and a strong, cold gale slammed into her side, throwing her to the ground. Her tail flame sputtered as the rain fell upon it, but she sheltered the fire with her body, glaring at me with unmistakable rage. "Now you've done it," she hissed angrily. Her claws glowed with the purple aura, which I now recognized as Shadow Claw. She stood up, still sheltering her flame, glaring at me as the rain continued to fall upon her body. The glare was filled with anger, but the wild look had not faded from her, either. If anything, she looked more feral than before.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked her, but she ignored the question, only growling angrily in reply. She hurried towards me, the raincloud still following her, and leapt towards me, slashing with the Shadow Claw. I sent a Thunderbolt towards her, and she cried out in pain as the electricity flowed through her, conducted by the water on her scales. She twitched for a moment, but slowly got to her feet.

"You'll pay for that," Ember panted and then slammed her claws into my coils, the claws assuming the blue fire aura and pain shot through me, comparable to when I accidentally hit myself with Dragon breath (by the way, that really hurts if you're a Dragon type. Actually, I imagine it doesn't feel too good even if you're not a Dragon type). Unsurprisingly, Dragonair looked like he was about to snap. I glanced to see the severity of the wound, which wasn't nearly as bad as I expected such a powerful blow to have done. It was bleeding a little bit (Dragonair would snap right now if he saw that), but otherwise didn't appear too bad, other than it really hurt.

"That hurt," I muttered aloud, still repelling my angry thoughts. Ember stared at me, smirking in triumph. I noticed that the raincloud has dispelled itself, but I wasn't bothered by that detail too much. "I'm sorry, but I'm holding nothing back now," I said calmly. Ember made the same dismissive gesture as before, as if everything I said was meaningless. I repressed another flicker of annoyance and fired an Ice Beam towards the Charmander, simultaneously conjuring a hailstorm vortex around her, essentially trapping her in the path of the beam, as well as boosting the power of the beam when it struck.

"Nice try!" Ember said, jumping on one of the frozen Ekans from the earlier battle and leaping off of it, her momentum enough to avoid the Ice Beam, although the hailstorm still hit her. She rolled out of the storm, grunting slightly and attempted to stab me with her claws again, but I moved to the side and spat a Dragon breath, feeling guilty as I did so. Ember's claws glowed with the blue energy once more, countering my burst of blue fire. I blinked, surprised by the effectiveness of the counterattack. Ember smirked at me. "Respecting my abilities at last?" she asked coldly.

"You're stronger, Ember, but you are trying to get respect the wrong way," I replied gently. Ember shrugged.

"Then I guess I'll make the message clearer," she said, slashing suddenly, the Shadow Claw striking me in the exact spot the Dragon Claw had earlier, and my scales felt like they were on fire, forcing me to jerk backwards. Unlike what happened to the Arbok, my scales weren't actually charred, but the affected spot still burned painfully.

"You know, Ember, I'm sure that acting like this is bound to get you a mate," Dragonair said sarcastically. "Sheesh, you act like this now and I'd hate to see you...I better shut up now, shouldn't I?" he suddenly said, noticing the look I was giving him. Ember growled furiously, and I quickly slammed my tail into the side of her head, knocking her down. Ember pushed herself back to her feet, and I hit her with another Thunderbolt, the remnants of the water on her scales conducting the bolt once more. She roared in rage, her expression becoming wilder and angrier than ever before. She sprang back to her feet and slashed with a Dragon Claw, and because I was a moment slow in reacting, the attack caused me to gasp in pain once more.

"Stay back, Dragonair...let me finish this," I said softly when the male moved forward aggressively, intent on avenging the latest attack on me.

"But-" Dragonair protested.

"Not yet," I said firmly, raising my head to stare at Ember before spitting another Dragon breath at her. She countered again with Dragon Claw, but I focused quickly, another gale of icy wind hitting the Charmander, throwing off her timing, the Dragon breath grazing her. She growled in pain and anger, examining the burn I inflicted. My own wound throbbed painfully, but I ignored it, feeling obligated to finish the battle, but at the same time unsure if I could continue much longer. Ember seemed a little worn out as well, and her eyes flashed triumphantly, as if she knew I was beaten.

"Do you respect me now?" Ember asked coldly and Dragonair hissed angrily.

"My turn, then. Sapphire can't continue this fight, and I won't let her," he said. "You're going to pay for hurting her!" he snapped.

"As you wish," Ember said dismissively. "You'll see how much stronger I am now, and you'll no longer disrespect me."

"Ember...I tease you, not disrespect you!" Dragonair protested. Ember's eyes flashed with annoyance.

"And I'm tired of you looking down on me!" she snarled, lunging at him recklessly. Dragonair sent an Ice Beam towards her, but she intercepted the attack with a stream of fire, slamming her claws towards him, but he twisted at the last moment, the attack merely grazing him, his tough scales absorbing the lessened damage easily.

"Hurting Sapphire doesn't make me respect you. It makes me hate you!" he snapped, slamming his tail into her and knocking her to the ground. "Now, I will show you why no one messes with a Dragonair that's protective of their mate!"


	64. Protective Fight

**Dragonair POV**

I glared at Ember, who stared back unflinchingly. However, I also felt an odd emotion, one I couldn't immediately place or find reason for its existence. After a moment, I understood the cause of the feeling. There was still an odd glimmer in Ember's eyes, that wild, angry look. It was so unlike her that it was almost as if she wasn't the one fighting me at all. Her battle style against Sapphire had been similar to her normal style, but it was more aggressive rather than tactful, and that was what I found wrong with her when she fought Fang.

"So be it, Dragonair," Ember whispered, "You still look down on me, now I'll penalize you for it while proving my worth." She raised her claws and they glowed purple, signaling her use of Shadow Claw.

"Where did you learn these moves?" I wondered aloud, but Ember ignored the comment, instead darting forward to rake me with her claws, and I jerked backwards, spitting a stream of fire at the Charmander. Ember chuckled humorlessly, brushing off the fire attack easily.

"You're panicking already?" she asked me, but I smiled in reply.

"Not yet," I said, sending a Hyper Beam at her from point blank range. Her eyes widened in shock as the beam struck the ground at her feet, the shock wave throwing her backwards. She growled angrily, and her claws took on the blue aura. Dragon Claw...that would hurt like hell if she hit me with it, and I unfortunately had just used Hyper Beam, and I wasn't exactly recovered from the battle with Fang and the Duskull.

"You missed her," Blaze whispered loudly in disbelief, and I resisted the urge to shoot him a venomous look, as he had inadvertently distracted Sapphire in a similar manner. Ember moved quickly, slamming the fiery claws at me, even as I attempted to twist away, which didn't work thanks to the exhaustion I felt from using the Hyper Beam. Pain shot through me in agonized throbs, and I jerked quickly to get away from the claws. Ember smirked triumphantly and I glared at her.

"What is wrong with you?" I demanded angrily, ignoring the slight bleeding where the claws struck.

"Nothing is wrong with me, except you're a damn jerk that relentless mocks me!" she snarled. The wild look in her eyes seemed to intensify, and she jabbed at me again, but I narrowly blocked with my tail. "You're no better than any of the other creeps I know!" This comment stung me a little, and I stared at the enraged fire lizard in shock.

"I was your friend...your only friend, really," I said slowly, but Ember growled angrily.

"Like you would ever let me forget it!" she snapped. "All you ever did was mock me, other than to help you, you basically ignored me!" I flinched, seeing a partial truth in what she said. Her expression had changed from the wild, angry look to a frustrated, almost sorrowful look, but only for a moment.

"Then why'd you come back?" I demanded. "If you held this much of a grudge, why'd you even come back?" Ember stared at me for a moment before looking depressed.

"I thought if I could prove myself, you'd treat me nicer...looks like I was wrong," she said, and then the wild, angry look reappeared, as if the other emotions had never existed. "I saved your life, and you still treat me as an inferior! Well, no more!" she slashed her claws at me, catching me by surprise, and I gasped. She had hit the area that I had received the worst of the acid splashes, causing the pain to nearly double as the claws scratched the burned scales. The only good thing was that she hadn't used Dragon Claw or Shadow Claw.

"That hurt a lot!" I snapped, anger returning full force, and I fired an Ice Beam at her, but she sidestepped out of the way before slashing me again, causing me to cry out as the burning pain flared through me yet again. "That's it...you're no friend of mine," I snarled, firing a Hyper Beam. Ember tried to move out of the way, but I blocked the escape with my tail. She leapt backwards, the beam missing her, but the shockwave once again threw her backwards.

"Hyper Beam is your undoing," Ember said coldly, scrambling to her feet and lunging at me, her claws taking on the dragon fire aura, but before impact, a blur of blue slammed into the Charmander, knocking her off balance a moment. "What?" she snarled, staring at the source of the attack. Aura stared back calmly, but with a trace of annoyance in her eyes. I was at this point too exhausted to fight anymore, so I was grateful for the diversion.

"Enough fighting," Aura said firmly. Ember chuckled humorlessly.

"You're right, I think he got the point," she said and turned to glare at the Vaporeon. "But you need a lesson in knowing when to butt the hell out!"

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Blaze shouted angrily, running over to Aura, who glanced at him in surprise, but didn't say anything.

"Or what?" Ember snapped, readying her claws.

"You need to chill, man," Blaze said, preparing to pounce. Aura shot out a spray of water, but Ember dodged easily. Blaze leapt forward, attempting to tackle Ember, but the Charmander's fist glowed and she punched, striking the Flareon in midair and throwing him backwards. Aura scowled angrily, shooting out another spray of water, dousing Ember's tail flame and knocking her to the ground. Blaze groaned and got back to his feet, seeming a little dazed, but otherwise all right. Ember spat a small fireball at her tail, reigniting it before glaring at the two Eons.

"You will pay for that," she said angrily. How many times is that going to be said?

"Calm down, Ember. We can settle this without fighting," Aura insisted, but Ember made the same dismissive gesture as she had done earlier, and Blaze scowled, moving forward as a blur, slamming into Ember and biting her arm. Ember cried out in surprise and pain, using her other paw to punch the Flareon, forcing him to release his grip on her arm. Aura took the opportunity to shoot out yet another stream of water, knocking Ember over, but failing to extinguish the tail flame. Blaze hastened to pin her down, smiling slightly.

"Good teamwork," Sapphire said, floating over to make sure I was all right. Ember's eyes flashed dangerously and spat a fireball into Blaze's face, causing him to recoil slightly, even though the flame was absorbed into his fur harmlessly, enabling her to free one paw and punched him, forcing him off her and getting back to her feet.

"Ember, stop fighting," Aura said firmly, and Ember scowled angrily, running at the Vaporeon and slamming her claws at her. Blaze growled angrily, striking Ember with a Quick Attack before the claws could hit Aura. "Thanks, Blaze."

"Leave her alone!" Blaze shouted at the dazed Charmander. "Oh forget it, I'll just beat the hell out of you!" Blaze tackled Ember, slamming his paw into her face, a small trickle of blood flowing from her nose. "Had enough?!" he yelled at her.

"Blaze...this isn't helping," Aura pleaded. The Flareon hesitated and Ember kicked him off her, slashing him once across the face, the Flareon yelping in pain. Ember panted, clearly tired, but the wild look in her eyes showed that she would fight until she won, or passed out. Everyone else was injured, tired, or in my case, both. "This fighting is pointless, all it's accomplishing is pain and hate," Aura continued.

"Does my face look okay?" Blaze asked worriedly. Aura blinked at him.

"Your face looks fine. No visible marks, anyway," she said slowly, then stared around the clearing. "Where did Ember go?" she asked worriedly. Sapphire and I glanced around quickly.

"How? She was here just a few seconds ago!" I said, my mind racing, searching for a likely solution. "Is it possible she left without us noticing?"

"Possible," Sapphire said softly. "Nothing we can do about it. We should leave this area, anyway. Those Ekans will probably thaw soon, now that the sun is getting higher, and we don't want to have to fight them again." No one argued, and we silently left the clearing, with me looking around for any sign of Ember's continued presence in the area. About a half hour later, we rested near a stream where several berry bushes were growing.

"What happened to her?" I finally asked quietly. "She's acting so strange."

"I don't know," Sapphire murmured.

"She's so angry and she doesn't care about hurting people, even her friends," I continued. "Her style changed, and she seems to focus on causing pain while fighting. Plus those new techniques. What if that phantom is possessing her?"

"It's possible, I suppose," Aura said skeptically. "But even if it's true, what can we do about it?

"Find her and free her," I said urgently.

"What if she's not being possessed?" Blaze asked, anxiously studying his reflection in the stream. "What do we do if she just hates you so much she wants to kill you? Because that's what she was acting like."

"But she isn't that hateful. I've known her for years. Such a change would have to be caused by something else, and whatever it is, we can find out how to undo it," I said thoughtfully. Aura continued to look skeptical, and Blaze shrugged. Sapphire coiled up next to me before resting her head on me.

"I'll help you, but for now, we all need to rest. We've been fighting so much lately, that we're tiring faster," she announced. Everyone seemed to agree, or at least I did, because I almost promptly fell asleep, despite it still being sometime in the morning.


	65. Celadon Difficulty

"You know you want to!" Blaze whined. I opened one eye to glare at the Flareon, who seemed oblivious to how loud he was. "Why can't we go?"

"What the hell are you yelling about?" I asked angrily.

"I think we should go to the Celadon Game Corner, but Aura doesn't want to," he explained earnestly.

"We have one coin!" Aura protested, sounding aggravated. "How is that worth the journey? Plus, there's no way he'll win, so it's a waste."

"No it isn't! I could win!" Blaze argued. "Then we'd have lots of coins, and we'd be rich!" he said excitedly, his eyes glazing over, confirming he was officially insane, I mean daydreaming. Actually, his daydreams had to be unrealistic, so I probably wasn't that far off.

"Blaze, give me one good reason why we should go to Celadon for the sole purpose of gambling a single quarter rather than something more productive, and I'll agree," I challenged. The Flareon didn't miss a beat.

"Because if you don't, I'll set you on fire," he said.

"We're dragon types and a water type. Fire won't do a thing to us," I retorted.

"Because I'll pester you until you agree," Blaze suggested.

"We'd kill you and find Aura a cuter Flareon," I replied. There was an abrupt silence as both Aura and Blaze stared at me incredulously.

"I don't like him like that!" Aura said, scowling.

"Good luck!" Blaze said. "There aren't any cuter Flareons!"

"You keep on thinking that, Blaze," I said with a smirk. "Any other reasons?"

"Um...we might find Ember," he said cautiously.

"Why would Ember be anywhere near Celadon?" I asked seriously. Blaze seemed to be thinking frantically.

"Because we've been so stressed out lately we could use a break?"

"A satisfactory answer, but gambling a single coin hardly counts as a break," I pointed out.

"If I win, we'd have hundreds of coins," Blaze argued.

"The odds against winning are over a thousand to one, and you have only one shot," I said, shaking my head.

"It could be a nice break," Sapphire said, from behind me, where she had been sleeping. "I have no problems with a short trip to the city. It's not that far from here, anyway."

"So we're going?" Blaze asked hopefully and I sighed before nodding. "Oh yeah!"

"Whatever. Let's just go," I said irritably. Sapphire floated over to me and nuzzled her head against me affectionately.

"Just try to relax on the trip. You've been doing so much lately, and you're starting to get upset easier," she said gently. "You spent about a week taking care of Spark, and fighting snakes, ghosts, and Rockets almost daily. You probably haven't had a single relaxing day since you met the Pichu."

"It's hard to relax when there's evil humans tracking you, snakes are obsessed with killing you, and some phantoms and ghosts are fighting you as well," I said dryly. Sapphire laughed softly.

"I imagine that is difficult, which would make a short relaxing trip even more important. Plus, it would make Blaze happy, and he was upset about the use of him as a wager," Sapphire said. I nodded thoughtfully.

"Alright, we'll go. Let's go now," I led them out of the clearing and in the direction of Celadon, my thought still on Ember. I was convinced that she was being possessed or brainwashed in some way. To me, it was the only explanation for her change in attitude, as well as her new, more aggressive battle style. I suppose it's possible she changed on her own, but such a great change in about three days seemed very unlikely. Unless she had been bottling a secret grudge for years, and it just recently snapped...

"Celadon!" Blaze shouted unnecessarily as the entrance to the city came into view. The Flareon was a little too excited about the prospect of gambling a quarter he found in Saffron. I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

"Just checking, none of us are psychics, right?" I asked as we entered the large city. It didn't have quite as many skyscrapers as Saffron, although there were a few tall buildings here and there.

"Huh?" Aura asked, staring at me blankly. I sighed softly.

"Never mind, it was a rhetorical question," I looked around the city, taking note that the humans didn't seem nearly as weirded out at seeing rare Pokémon as most humans did. I'm sure we still got some glances, but definitely less staring than normal.

"Ooh, Game Corner..." Blaze said, staring at one of the buildings, where people were coming in and out frequently. "Let's go!" he yelled and ran forward.

"Ugh...Blaze, wait up!" Aura called after the Flareon, taking off after him. Sapphire and I followed, the female Dragonair laughing softly, while I scowled in annoyance. Almost immediately after entering the building, we saw Blaze seemingly arguing with a human who looked arrogant, bossy, and rude, the type of human who usually is in charge. Unfortunately for the Flareon, he didn't appear to be getting anywhere with the argument, most likely because the human couldn't understand him (which was good, as Blaze's vocabulary was perhaps a bit uncouth).

"What's the problem?" I asked the irritated Flareon.

"He won't let me use the slots!" Blaze whined.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"He said 'No Pokémon allowed', but yet we can still play games like Blackjack and Poker, just not slots!" Blaze complained. I turned to the human, who was looking slightly surprised by his ability to understand me. I noticed a tag marked 'Manager', and smiled. I loved putting humans in their place, beneath Pokémon. (Hey, when humans act smarter than Pokémon, then they deserve to be in charge. They make dumb rules barring Pokémon, so rebelling is fun.)

"So, what's the problem, sir?" I asked sarcastically. The manager scowled. "Why can't the Flareon use the slot machines?"

"No Pokémon are allowed to use the slot machines," the man said dismissively. "It's nothing personal."

"I see. So you run a casino and a Pokémon walks in with a bag full of money and wants to blow it all on your rigged slot machines. Do you refuse him?" I asked, and noticed the manager hesitated for a fraction of a second, confirming I had hit a weak point. "Oh, so it's a matter of how much money you could get from a customer? I'd say that's personal, Mr. Bob."

"The name's Phil," the manager snapped. "Can you read?" he asked nastily.

"Don't change the subject. I understand if you deny a psychic type from using the slots, but you're telling a Flareon he can't use the slots because no Pokémon are allowed to use the slots. Tell me, can humans understand all Pokémon?"

"No," the manager snapped. "Why?"

"Because the rules state that Pokémon can play the card games, where opponent interaction is usually required. If humans cannot understand Pokémon, the game is more difficult. Slots require no conversation, so I'd think it'd make more sense to let non-psychics use the slots. This way, you'll get more business from not barring Pokémon willing to waste their money," I said calmly. "Of course, you could do what all managers do and threaten to kick us out if we don't mind our attitude, but then we'll advertise your unnecessary cruelty to Pokémon, for humans can understand me. Just imagine the publicity if a Dragonair says that the manager of the Celadon Game Corner is a giant prick. Not the best type of publicity, but it's your choice."

"Fine, use the damn slots!" the manager snapped, eye twitching. "I'll keep my eye on you, though!"

"We're wasting a single quarter. Why bother watching?" I muttered and turned towards Blaze. "There, problem solved."

"Thanks!" Blaze said cheerfully, bounding over to the line of slot machines.

"By the way, Mr. Bob, you might want to change that rule about Pokémon and slots. I'd expect you'd get more business."

"The name's Phil, you illiterate snake," Mr. Bob said.

"I'm illiterate? I memorized the dictionary, you idiot. By the way, you might want to check your zipper. It looks so professional." I replied with a smirk as the human checked his pants, only to find that nothing was wrong. "I was referring to your jacket," I said snidely. The human glanced at his jacket. "Wow...you didn't realize your jacket is a buttoned jacket?" I said, laughing.

"Damn Dragonair," Mr. Bob muttered, walking away.

"Excuse me, Mr. Bob?" another human asked the manager, who growled.

"My name's Mr. Phil!"

"Sorry, sir, I'm new here."

"Dragonair, did you have to antagonize him after getting what you needed?" Sapphire asked, hiding a smile.

"I hate authority figures. They're all jerks who think they're better than everyone. Now let's go watch Blaze pick a slot machine. He can't decide which one is luckier," I said, noting the Flareon's frustrated expression as he tried to pick between forty-five different machines.


	66. Winnings

"Blaze...there's 45 machines and 44 of them are occupied. This can't be that hard of a decision," Aura said after about twenty minutes of the Flareon attempting to decide which machine to take.

"I need to find the lucky one," Blaze insisted, examining the machines carefully. Sapphire was trying not to laugh at the Flareon's stubbornness, and I was fighting the urge to kill him.

"Relax, Dragonair. Let Blaze enjoy himself," Sapphire said gently when she noticed my expression. I scowled, prompting her to wrap her tail around me comfortingly. "Just try to focus on something else for a while. Do something you find relaxing or something," she suggested. I noticed a few idiot humans watching us for no apparent reason, and I shot them a venomous glare.

"Some reason you idiots are staring at us?" I yelled to the offenders, who shrugged and looked away for a few seconds before starting again. "If you have some legitimate reason why you're watching us, let me know. If you don't tell me, you'll piss me off and I'll beat the hell out of you," I warned, smirking as all the humans looked away, without glancing in our direction again.

"Was that necessary?" Sapphire asked me and I smirked.

"I hate humans that stare," I said, watching as Blaze began poking several machines, despite humans occupying them. "What is he doing?"

"Seeing which one is luckiest," Aura explained with a sigh. "He's completely ignoring every attempt to get his attention and he doesn't care if someone's using the machine or not. Which makes sense considering every machine but one is occupied!" The Vaporeon finished with a growl and sat down next to Sapphire, watching Blaze continue his examinations of the slot machines.

"So do we just wait until he finds the 'lucky one' and wastes his single coin on the machine, thus proving we wasted all this time waiting for him to find the non-existent lucky one?" I asked sarcastically. Sapphire sighed slightly.

"Just relax, Dragonair. Try to find some way to enjoy the break," she urged me, resting her head on my neck. "If you get worked up over a minor thing, you're going to eventually just get really irritable. Need a hug?"

"What?" Aura asked, recoiling in shock. "Dragonairs can hug?"

"It's more of an affectionate constrict," Sapphire admitted. The Vaporeon just stared at us blankly. "Here, I'll show you, assuming Dragonair doesn't mind. Do you?" she asked me. I felt my face get hot for a brief moment before nodding to confirm my assent. Sapphire wrapped around me lovingly, resting her head on my neck again, and then allowed herself to relax.

"What's the difference between a Dragonair hug and a Dragonair wrapping for the purpose of immobilizing?" Aura asked curiously.

"A hug involves both Dragonairs relaxing. Constricting is tenser and has a more aggressive feel to it," I explained, allowing myself to relax to demonstrate. Aura nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks, Sapphire, that helped a lot," I told her. Aura turned to check on Blaze, who was now arguing with a human who was using a slot machine.

"Please tell me he's not trying to usurp someone's machine..." Aura moaned, walking over to the irritated human and the equally annoyed Flareon. "Blaze, what are you doing?"

"He's got the lucky one!" Blaze whined. Aura rolled her eyes.

"What's the difference?" she asked him. "Why is this one lucky and the other thirty that you checked aren't?"

"I just have a hunch that I'll win," Blaze insisted. He growled at the human, who was giving both Eons a confused look.

"Blaze, you can't kick him off because you have a random hunch that you'll win using this machine," Aura said reasonably. Blaze's ears drooped slightly.

"But...I want to win," he said sadly. At this point, the human at the machine had gotten anxious with two Eons right next to him and had left the machine. Blaze perked up almost immediately and tossed the quarter into the machine and pulled the slot arm down. "Come on..." he pleaded to the machine as the reels began to spin. Sapphire unwrapped herself from around me and we floated over to the Flareon to watch the reels. The first reel had the Jackpot icon in the top, a bar in the middle, and a thunderbolt symbol on the bottom.

"So far it's possible to win big," I admitted grudgingly. Blaze nodded, rubbing his paws together excitedly. Aura still looked skeptical. The second reel had stopped, putting a bar on top, the jackpot in the middle, and a thunderbolt on the bottom.

"Guess I have to hope for a thunderbolt..." Blaze muttered sadly as the third reel spun, and finally stopped, showing a Meowth icon on top, a Voltorb in the middle, and a jackpot on the bottom. Blaze cursed loudly, making me grateful that humans couldn't understand him. Suddenly, there was a loud alarm sound, causing us all to look around worriedly, until Aura gasped.

"Blaze, diagonally!" she said, pointing at the upper left, the middle, and the lower right, all which were jackpot icons.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me. There's no chance in hell he hit the jackpot with one shot," I said, staring in disbelief. Coins were spitting from the machine into a tray near the bottom of the machine and the Flareon was grinning wildly.

"Told you I'd win!" Blaze said obnoxiously, and Sapphire had to wrap around me to prevent me from hitting the fire type. "How much did I win?"

"Looks like...2,200 dollars," Aura said, examining the flashing numbers over the machine. "Because you only spent one quarter. Pity, if you had five, you'd have won a half million."

"2200?" I repeated, shocked. "Hey, Mr. Bob! We need a bag here!" I shouted. I heard Mr. Bob grumble angrily.

"It's Mr. Phil, you unintelligent creature!" he shouted. I smirked.

"Are you always this rude to customers who win?" I asked snidely, the human's eye twitching again.

"Take your money and leave!" he snapped, throwing a bag down to the Flareon and walking away.

"Oh, so we won money from this place, so you're kicking us out," I said loudly, several other customers turning towards us. "Well, just goes to show that the lucky ones are unwelcome and the suckers are supposed to come flocking. Just like casinos," I smirked as a few customers 'casually' walked out of the casino. Blaze had finished scooping the coins into the bag, and was proudly walking towards the door. The rest of us followed the Flareon, still in a state of stunned disbelief.

"We're rich!" he bragged happily. "Ooh! Let's go somewhere to eat! I'll buy. Please?" he begged. We all stared at him for a moment.

"You're a little too excited about buying us things. Sure, why not?" I replied. Aura nodded in agreement and Sapphire smiled at the Flareon's generosity. "Did you have any place in mind?"

"I've heard there's a restaurant somewhere in the city that has great food and serves Pokémon," Blaze said. "But the only problem is this bag is really heavy. Is there somewhere where we can cash it in for something lighter?"

"I think I saw a place like that near the casino..." Aura said, looking at the signs carefully. "Ah, this small building," she gestured to a nearby building and Blaze and she went in, coming out less than five minutes later with a wad of paper bills. I never quite understood the use of paper money, because it's nothing more than paper with a design on it. Coins at least appear to have value, what with being shiny and things like that.

"Okay, so now where is this restaurant you mentioned?" I asked, looking around with slight interest. Truth be told, I never had a use for money before, mostly because anything I wanted, I had available to me thanks to my rank. However, I also knew how to survive without material possessions, so it was never important to me to have money.

"It's down this street," Blaze said cheerfully, leading us down a different street. "This is the area where most of the businesses that serve Pokémon are, but there's more in Saffron. I grew up near Celadon, haven't been here for about a year, but I remember a few things. We're here," he led us into another building, where there were indeed dining areas, and most of the tables were occupied by Pokémon, although a few humans were scattered throughout the building, most likely the trainers of some of the Pokémon occupants. It also looked absolutely packed. "Huh...never thought it'd be so busy, though."

"That's usually a good sign of quality," Aura pointed out. "Problem is, we won't be able to sit down anywhere."

"Not that big of a problem. Besides, Dragonair and I would take up a lot of space." Sapphire pointed out. "Is it possible to get food to go? We may want to continue moving or find a quieter area to eat. I'm not that fond of cities," Sapphire continued.

"Yeah, good idea. What did you all want?" Blaze asked. After a minute of studying the menu, Aura asked for a lightly cooked salmon, while Sapphire and I decided to share a trout with a special berry sauce. Blaze ordered a steak, and Sapphire and I went outside to wait. About twenty minutes later, Blaze and Aura came out with the food, and we went to a clearing just outside the city to eat.

"It's good, but the recipe you cooked that one time was better," Sapphire said to me and I nodded in agreement.

"I used the absolute freshest fish and berries," I explained. Blaze was enjoying his steak and Aura had finished her fish. "Thanks, Blaze," I told him and he smiled happily. "Look, the Rockets picked the wrong Charmander to mess with," I smirked, pointing my tail towards two black uniformed humans who were being growled at by a familiar Charmander. "Dinner and a show..."


	67. Fire of Emotion

**Ember POV**

I found myself on one knee, panting hard. The battle had taken so much more out of me than I expected. I looked around and narrowed my eyes. I was no longer in that clearing, but somewhere else. I growled in frustration, trying to determine the cause for my change in surroundings. My answer wasn't far off, as the Sableye from before stood a few feet away, shuffling the small deck of cards casually.

"What the hell did you do?" I snarled. Tarot glanced up at me, his gem eyes staring.

"It would not do for you to keep fighting until you passed out or something. You're exhausted," he replied calmly. "I teleported you away from the fight."

"Damn you!" I snarled angrily, my claws taking on the blue aura of Dragon Claw and I slammed the claws into a tree, the claws doing significant damage to the bark of the tree. "I was going to win!"

"At what cost?" Tarot asked me and I glared at him. "What would victory give you more than the brief sense of satisfaction? It would do more harm to you than good to push yourself so far."

"I don't need a lecture," I growled, turning away from the Sableye, feeling the frustrating pang of sadness. "I don't need jerks like them anyway. They don't care about me. Just go away."

"As you wish. You're about a mile north of Celadon, just to let you know," Tarot replied before fading away. I snarled again, venting my frustration on another tree trunk. After several minutes of destroying the nearby foliage, I began walking in a random direction. I didn't give a damn where I was going, but I felt a constant surge of anger and frustration and desperately needed a way to relieve it. I was still panting with every breath, my constant rage preventing me from regaining my breath, but I still didn't care.

"Damn Sableye, interfering in matters where he isn't wanted," I snarled to myself, slashing my claws at all nearby plants as I stormed past. I stumbled abruptly, landing painfully on one knee, growling in anger as I pushed myself back up. Almost immediately, I fell again, but this time didn't bother trying to get back up. I was worn out, just like Tarot had told me, but the realization of the accuracy of the comment only frustrated me further. I slumped underneath a nearby tree, trying to force myself to rest. I must have fallen asleep, because it was getting late when I opened my eyes again. The source of my awakening was clear almost immediately, and I smiled coldly as I spotted two humans.

"What do we have here?" one hissed to his companion, who glanced at me with near indifference. I took note of their black uniforms, which had the familiar red 'R' on the chest. I stood up slowly, glaring at them, at the same time pleased that I could vent some of my anger and frustration upon these idiots.

"Female Charmander...not of great value," the second Rocket snorted dismissively. I scowled angrily. I was sick of being treated as unimportant, as if I didn't matter.

"It looks so wild, the eyes especially. That means it has potential. Besides, Mr. Green has that really powerful Charizard. Maybe this one can someday rival it," the first one said. "It'd need to be tamed, but still."

"Whatever. Take it out then," the second said with a smirk. I growled furiously, baring my claws to strike. How dare they think they had a chance in hell of me being tamed? I'd rip them apart for that comment. "Look how much spirit it has...the tamers will have fun with her," At this new comment, my tiny bit of self control snapped and I lunged forward, driving my claws into the Rocket's leg, causing him to yell in pain, his pants now ripped, blood seeping from his leg. "Oh, that lizard's dead!" he snarled, both of them pulling out a Pokeball and throwing them forward.

"Holy shit! Jason...it's that Dragonair!" the first Rocket yelled suddenly, even as their Pokeballs burst open, releasing a Squirtle and a Pidgeotto. I recognized the Squirtle from when Dragonair was rescued, although it never got the opportunity to actually battle. I shook my head to clear the worthless thoughts about the past. No one ever cared then, no one cared now. The human's words suddenly seemed to sink in and I turned to see what the humans were staring at. My eyes widened in shock as I saw Dragonair, Sapphire, and the two Eons not that far away.

"Hey...those are those damn humans from the facility!" I heard Dragonair exclaim. "Come on, let me kill them!"

"I don't think so," the female Dragonair replied firmly, and I scowled at them before turning my attention back to the idiot Rockets. The one called Jason looked the least afraid of seeing Dragonair, but the other one looked terrified. I pulled back my fist and slammed it into the Squirtle's face, knocking the water type to the ground.

"Either pay attention or pay for not paying attention!" I snapped, feeling a wonderful sense of triumph at hitting the turtle, although the feeling was brief, since the Pidgeotto dove at me, talons prepared to rake me across the face. I ducked, seizing the bird Pokémon's talon and pulling it downwards, the startled bird slamming beak first into the hard earth. I chuckled quietly, raising my free paw, smirking as it glowed with a purple aura before I brought it down upon the terrified Pidgeotto. It squawked in pain as I struck, blood staining its feathers, as well the ghostly energies burning its flesh. I threw the injured bird to the side indifferently. It would live, and that's all that mattered. A beam of red flew from the younger Rocket's Pokeball, and the human looked slightly queasy.

"Jason..."

"Shut up, Matt," Jason said coldly. "Squirtle, use water gun!" I narrowed my eyes at the dazed turtle Pokémon as it inhaled, ready to send a blast of water towards me. Before it got the chance, I lunged forward, my claws taking on the favored blue aura, and I raked it across its chest. The turtle yelped in pain, despite the shell defending it. I placed my foot on its chest and shoved my foot, shoving the Squirtle to the ground, as well as knocking the wind out of the Pokémon, preventing it from using its water burst. I raised my claws to do the final blow, but a beam of red pulled it into Jason's Pokeball.

"Jason..." Matt pleaded.

"We should have asked for better Pokémon," the older Rocket muttered, looking worried, his gaze shifting from me to Dragonair anxiously. I relished the fear on his face, readying my claws to attack.

"Ember, stop!" Dragonair said abruptly, and I glared at him. He was looking at me with alarm, but no fear or respect. I'd have to rectify that difficulty, but my hesitation to attack enabled the humans to flee and I growled in fury, turning to the Pokémon responsible for the distraction.

"What the hell was that for, you bastard snake?!" I snarled. Dragonair hesitated, staring at me strangely. "Stay the hell away from me! But of course you don't care! No one cares..." I felt my eyes sting and flinched, blinking as I tried to focus on Dragonair.

"Ember..." Dragonair said softly, and I glared at him. "I don't understand what happened to you."

"Nothing's wrong with me!" I snapped furiously, readying my claws to attack. Dragonair looked uncertain, and there was an odd expression in his eyes as he stared at me.

"I guess there's only one way to find out what's wrong," he said quietly. "You won't talk or listen, so I'll find out a different way." he smiled for a moment before taking an offensive pose. I blinked at him in surprise, but suddenly gasped, falling forward to my knees. Dragonair hurried forward, and I expected him to strike me, but was surprised when he did not. "Ember? Are you okay?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice. I felt my eyes sting, and failed to repress the tear as it slid down my face. I closed my eyes, trying to block the sudden surge of sadness.

"Ember?" Sapphire asked, sounding equally concerned. Dragonair had wrapped his tail around my shoulders in a comforting gesture. "What happened after you left the group?" she asked softly. "We want to know," she added quietly. This comment caused another powerful wave of sadness, which threatened to overwhelm me. Memories flashed before my eyes and I opened my eyes to look at them.

"What have I done?" I asked before all went black


	68. Ember's Story

I opened my eyes, feeling like my head was spinning. I groaned, trying to focus on my surroundings. I blinked in the early morning light and saw that the Vaporeon, Aura I think, was watching me while the others slept. "Oh, you're awake. How are you feeling?" she whispered, sounding genuinely concerned. I felt another surge of emotion flow through me, and I averted my gaze.

"I don't know." I replied quietly. I felt so strange...sad, angry, confused and so many other emotions. I sat up, scratching my shoulder with one claw, looking around at the others. Dragonair and Sapphire were sleeping basically intertwined, and the Flareon, whose name escaped me at the moment, lay a few feet from where Aura was sitting. "Where the hell are we?" I grumbled.

"Same place we were last night, in a clearing just outside Celadon." Aura replied. "Dragonair asked us to watch in shifts to make sure you were alright, since you passed out, and he wanted to know when you woke up." I didn't reply, feeling distinctly awkward. The Vaporeon walked over to the sleeping dragons and gently prodded Sapphire, who opened one eye.

"Hm?" the dragoness asked, yawning.

"Ember's awake, and I figured you'd be the safer choice to wake up." Aura whispered and Sapphire glanced in my direction before raising her head and prodding Dragonair, who grumbled as he opened his eyes. His slightly cranky demeanor faded the instant he saw who had awakened him, but he still seemed confused.

"Ember's awake, according to Aura." Sapphire explained and the male Dragonair looked towards me and smiled for a moment.

"How are you feeling, Ember?" he asked kindly, floating over and coiling a few feet away. Aura poked the Flareon, who jerked awake, looking around in agitation.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, jerking his head to look in different directions until his gaze stopped on me and he relaxed. "Oh, she's awake. Now why did I have to wake up?" he asked and the Vaporeon shook her head before walking over and sitting down next to Dragonair. Sapphire prodded the Flareon for a few seconds before they both came over as well. I blinked at them silently for a few moments.

"Are you alright? Are you up to telling us what happened to you?" Dragonair asked cautiously. I shrugged.

"I don't know...I'll try, I suppose." I muttered, taking a deep breath. "Where should I start?"

"Did anything happen between the time you left and Sapphire caught up with you?" Dragonair asked curiously. I thought for a second and half nodded. Dragonair raised an eye scale at me.

"I don't want to talk about it now." I said hastily and Dragonair sighed, but didn't argue.

"After you talked to me then." Sapphire said quickly and I frowned slightly, trying to remember exactly what happened.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I smirked in triumph as I noticed Sapphire had turned back and I rounded the bend, continuing towards my unknown destination. I wasn't sure where I was going, all I knew was I didn't want to stick around that jerk anymore. I clenched my fists at the memory of Dragonair's constant teasing.

"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" the Sableye asked as he appeared a few feet ahead, sitting on a rock. I shrugged, not really willing to admit that I hadn't even been paying attention to where I had been going at all. I also wasn't used to traveling or surviving in the wild, despite the time I had spent with Dragonair. "If you knew what you were seeking, you can ask for assistance." Tarot continued, shuffling the tarot deck he was carrying.

I closed my eyes, thinking hard for a few minutes while the gem-eyed ghost waited patiently. "I want to be respected. I don't want to be looked down upon by everyone." I said finally. Tarot paused for a moment, looking slightly amused.

"What do you need to prevent reoccurrences of disrespect?" he asked calmly, and I smirked, looking at my claws.

"I need to be stronger. Strong enough to never lose a fight." I said softly.

"Everyone loses eventually. However, there's a small shrine not too far away that you may be able to get better assistance. I have an idea of what you need." he broke off when the red gem on his chest glowed. "Hm? I have to go now. The shrine is that direction, about a mile away." he pointed in one direction and then faded out. I shrugged, walking in the designated direction for about a half hour until I noticed an eerie feeling in the air. I stopped and looked around warily. The only time it felt this eerie was whenever I was in the presence of something really creepy.

"What the hell?" I muttered to no one in particular as the area around me became engulfed in fog. I took a cautious step forward, my arms in front of me like a blind person. After failing to find anything within five steps, I stopped, hoping the fog would fade on its own. I have no idea how long I waited, but it felt like hours before another shape appeared in the fog. "Hello?" I called cautiously and the shape paused for a moment. "Anyone there?" I asked loudly.

"Defog..." a voice muttered and the fog almost instantly lifted, but there was no sign of the speaker, and I took silent notice of the setting sun. I hadn't been trapped in that unMewly fog for as long as I thought, but still for about an hour or so.

"Ah there you are." Tarot said, appearing nearby. "I forgot the fog security was active. I apologize for the oversight." he then glanced behind him. "Thank you, Doom. Alert Chaos of our arrival."

"No can do. The master wanted me to report in, and I'm only late because you needed my Defog." the unseen speaker said. Tarot shrugged and led me forward, showing me a small temple-like building with an eerie resemblance to the Ancient Shrine where Dragonair, Spark, and I had encountered the Gastly the first time. This one was different, however, but I was still anxious in approaching it.

"Here we are." the Sableye said unnecessarily as I climbed the stairs leading to the entrance. Inside the building was an unusual room, and the first thing that attracted my attention was the large amount of electronic equipment that was all over the place. "Chaos? Are you here?"

"Sure thing, Tarot! Can I finish my Solitaire game?" a cheerful voice replied, although there wasn't anyone in the room. "I'm almost done. Ooh, I messed up. I'll just reprogram the entire computer so it goes back a step...ok, do this move instead..."

"You reprogrammed the computer just to take a move back? You can do that without reprogramming the computer." another voice spoke.

"Excuse me, Fear? I'm the electronics expert! The boss even said so! So I think I would know if...oh, there is an option that says undo..." the cheerful voice retorted. I looked at the Sableye questioningly.

"I don't think you want to know." Tarot said seriously.

"So much for electronics expertise." the second voice scoffed.

"Wise guy, huh? Reprogram the Solitaire program so the Undo option is removed. Ha-ha!" the cheerful voice said happily. "And I just sent a computer virus into your hard drive. How do ya like them bananas?"

"I hate you, Chaos." the second voice said emotionlessly, and I finally determined that the voice was coming from what I had thought was a computer, but actually seemed to be some sort of Pokémon.

"A Porygon. Completely useless in battle...or anything else, really." Tarot muttered.

"Then why is it here?" I asked, puzzled.

"I'll field that one. I'm a Porygon who was offered a route other than a scrap heap. The humans were trying to upgrade me and failed miserably. They deleted all my data by mistake and Silph Co had no idea how to repair me. So I was basically doomed because the humans messed up, but then I was offered a position in this shrine. I can still access data, but I can't really do anything, and Chaos is much faster." the Porygon explained.

"That's not true, Fear. You're still able to save data and hack, plus a whole bunch of other stuff!" the cheerful voice said and a strange creature appeared, and I had absolutely no idea what it was. Its shape reminded me of a light bulb, and it had what appeared to be lightning bolts coming from its body, with blue electricity surrounding it. I stared at it blankly for several seconds.

"Chaos is a Rotom." Tarot said quickly, interpreting my confusion. "The Porygon's name is Fear."

"Hiya!" Chaos said, smiling strangely. Upon closer inspection, his body seemed to be made of plasma or something like that.

"Uh...hi." I said, raising an eye scale at the odd Pokémon. "Now how was coming here supposed to help me?" I asked Tarot, who blinked.

"Ah yes, almost forgot. Chaos, can you access the desired data?" he asked the Rotom, or whatever, which floated over to a large computer next to the Porygon.

"Sure thing, but you need authorization from the boss!" Chaos replied. Tarot sighed.

"Would I ask if I didn't? Besides, you report everything to him."

"Good point." the Rotom said happily.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why'd you stop?" the Flareon asked.

"Because I'm hungry." I said irritably. "Can I eat something before continuing?"

"Don't rush her, Blaze." Sapphire told him and his ears drooped a little. "Want to run into town and buy her something?"

"Wait, how do you have money?" I demanded, confused.

"I hit the jackpot at the Game Corner! With only one coin!" Blaze boasted. I stared at him in disbelief, but Dragonair nodded, confirming the truth in the statement. "So, want anything?"

"Sure, anything. Just not anything spicy." I replied. The Flareon talked to everyone else, collecting their orders as well before running towards the city gate.

"Just don't continue without me!" he pleaded and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry." I called after him. "I want to eat first."


	69. Ember's Story part 2

As we waited for the Flareon to return, Dragonair tried to explain a few things about what happened after I left. Apparently, they had gone to Johto as planned and successfully rescued Spark's parents before parting with him and Venomoth. I cringed slightly at the realization that Spark was gone, and I hadn't said good bye to him myself. Fortunately, a distraction arrived in the form of the Flareon coming back with food, a large selection of doughnuts.

"Thanks, Blaze." Sapphire said kindly, examining the sweets before picking one that looked almost completely plain. The Flareon glanced at her choice curiously. "I try to limit my sweets." the female Dragonair admitted. Blaze shrugged and offered the box to the Vaporeon, who picked one randomly. Dragonair examined the options and took one that was the exact opposite of Sapphire's, being practically smothered in what looked like whipped cream.

"I like whipped cream!" he said defensively when Sapphire stared at him. I took one that had a sweet fruit filling in it, and Blaze took one for himself. Dragonair promptly took two other doughnuts smothered in whipped cream, and Sapphire was giving him a strange look.

"Anyway, can I hear the rest of the story?" Blaze asked hopefully a few minutes later.

"You realize this actually happened, right? And it's probably not the easiest story to tell?" Aura asked him, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Might as well get this over with," I sighed, looking down at the ground and taking a deep breath.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chaos glowed brightly before disappearing as a small spark of energy, and becoming absorbed by the computer. Before anyone could explain what the hell just happened, Chaos' voice could be heard from inside the machine. "Okay, found the list! Printing, one copy...Fear, put paper in the printer! You were the last one to print something!"

"No, I wasn't."

"Yeah ya were."

"What did I print?" the Porygon asked.

"The Loser's Guide to Computer Repair, chapter 4." Chaos retorted and Tarot rolled his gem eyes, which I found to be quite an accomplishment. I got the feeling these types of arguments happened a lot.

"You're so lucky I can't hurt you." Fear muttered.

"You're so lucky I didn't disable your Anti-Viral software! Oops, just did. Now you should be feeling the effects of that virus I sent earlier..." Chaos called back.

"I hate you, Chaos." Fear grumbled, twitching strangely.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's the importance of this?" Dragonair interrupted and I glared at him silently. "I just don't see the need to tell us this."

"Neither did I see the need for you to tell me about how you were checking out Sapphire every ten seconds during your stories. Deal with it." I retorted, grinning as I saw Sapphire stare at Dragonair, who was now blushing furiously. I admired the interesting shade of red for a moment before continuing.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Should I just put paper in the printer?" Tarot interrupted.

"No! Fear should because he printed last! It's a rule!" Chaos insisted.

"What did I print?" Fear demanded.

"A...wait, where is the record...ah. It was 'A guide to creating computer viruses that affect Porygon'." Chaos replied proudly.

"Why the hell would I have wanted that?" Fear asked seriously. There was a very long silence.

"You're self destructive?" Chaos said hopefully. "Fine, I'll load more paper..." The Rotom reappeared, floating over to another device and after a few moments disappeared into the computer again. Several seconds later, a piece of paper slid out from the device and Tarot took it and studied it before handing it to me.

"What is this?" I asked, looking at the words blankly. It seemed to be a list of some sort, but what its nature was, I wasn't sure.

"It's a list of techniques we can supply you." Chaos explained cheerfully as he reappeared. "It's based off of human technology, but I've been working on it so it works on wild Pokémon without too much special equipment."

"I'm going to just nod as if I understand. So this is a list of techniques that you can teach me?" I said.

"Ya got it!" Chaos replied. I examined the list for several minutes. I needed moves that could make me stronger, give me the abilities needed to be respected by all. My eyes paused on one item and I smiled before tearing a tiny scratch in the paper to mark it. I did this to a few other techniques and handed the list back.

"Metal Claw...Dragon Claw...Shadow Claw...Brick Break?" Tarot read, glancing up curiously. I shrugged, not quite sure why I chose Brick Break. I think I just wanted to be able to smash through things.

"You're a close range fighter." Fear said monotonously.

"Ooh, my mistake. We don't have Metal Claw available." Chaos admitted. I shrugged, not really caring. "Those 3 will suffice? Good." He disappeared into the computer again and proceeded to mutter to himself for a minute or so. After a short wait, part of the nearby wall opened up, revealing a hidden room, where several circular computer disks were concealed.

"What are those?" I asked curiously.

"The boss' TM supply. Not sure where he got them or why he has them, but I take care of them and distribute them. The supply can only be accessed with a password, and Fear's been trying to crack that password for the last month or so." Chaos replied. The Rotom floated into the hidden chamber and selected three disks before coming out.

"What do I do?" I asked, looking at the disks warily. How could computer disks teach me new moves?

"He downloads it into the system while you don't move. Then he fires a concentrated burst of radiation which affects your genetics ever so slightly so your body accepts the data. Then you just need to practice the techniques, same as all moves you learn," the Porygon explained.

"Nodding and pretending I understand." I replied. The Rotom has disappeared into the computer again and several seconds later I felt a strange tingling feeling as a small burst of energy struck me.

"What are the side effects, if any?" Tarot asked suddenly as a second burst hit me.

"Small increases in power, which can be tiring on the body if given too quickly. She shouldn't fight for a day or so, just to let her body adjust to the new energy levels." Fear explained. Tarot nodded calmly as a third burst hit me, this time the impact knocked the wind out of me and I fell to one knee, breathing hard. It felt like my energy had been sucked away for a moment.

"Are you okay?" the Sableye asked cautiously. I nodded slightly, still panting.

"Such a sensation is normal. You need to rest now, but your body has access to the data of Dragon Claw, Shadow Claw, and Brick Break." Fear reported as Chaos reappeared.

"I do?" I muttered. "How do I use them?"

"Same way you use all your special techniques. Focus and then lots of practice." Chaos explained. Tarot's chest gem glowed again and he frowned.

"I have to go." he said quickly and disappeared. I shrugged and gave it a try, focusing on using Dragon Claw, but nothing happened. I growled to myself and looked up at the Porygon and Rotom.

"What else do I have to do?" I asked and Chaos disappeared into the computer a moment. Before long, several pieces of paper slid from the device used earlier and I picked them up.

"Detailed instructions on how to use the attacks, and signs if you're improving." Chaos explained. I nodded and began reading the instructions.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That's it?" Blaze asked skeptically.

"Yeah. That pretty much covers everything." I said.

"But...you got all crazy and tried to kill us. Nothing bad happened to you, though!" Blaze insisted. I sighed bitterly and stared at the ground.

"I didn't notice anything wrong until the end of the fight with your group. It was then I noticed how angry I was, and how close I had come to hurting you all, but I didn't feel...anything...no remorse, not guilt, nothing." I said quietly.

"Did you notice anything before that?" Dragonair asked seriously.

"No," I said bitterly. "I didn't notice anything at all. I left the shrine the next morning and practiced the techniques for hours until I had finally mastered all 3, although Brick Break wasn't particularly powerful yet. Can we stop talking about this?" I pleaded. Everyone nodded and backed away a little, eating another doughnut or two. Blaze kept shooting nasty looks at Dragonair, who had stolen the last doughnut that was smothered in whipped cream. I personally had no idea how he could eat that much whipped cream.

"Well, we were planning to do some sort of relaxing activity for a while, to recuperate from the past few difficult days." Sapphire explained. "So what are the ideas for today?"


	70. Phantom Gathering

_"Master? Why are we holding this meeting in a human building?"_ Nightmare asked as he materialized in the room.

"Does it matter? You're a ghost, so you can avoid being seen." I replied coldly, seated at the head of a large table. "You're the first to arrive, so make yourself...comfortable, why don't you?" The Gastly looked around anxiously before settling in the corner of the room, watching the closed door. "Did you enjoy your vacation day?" I asked sarcastically, and Nightmare blinked.

_"Can't complain, it was a day off."_ he said reasonably. _"I'm assuming something went wrong?"_

"Why would you assume that, Nightmare?" I asked with mock interest.

_"You aren't possessing the Arbok as intended." _he pointed out nervously. I scowled, scratching the wooden table with a sharp claw.

"Compared to this Sneasel, that snake was a worthless host. I'll discuss the rest of this matter when the others arrive."

_"Who else is coming?"_ Nightmare asked seriously. I chuckled.

"Just a few others. Ah, Doom's just arrived." I replied as the Duskull materialized in the room, still recovering from the wound the damned Charmander had inflicted.

"Master..." Doom said reverently before hovering over a seat halfway down the table. "I see you acquired a new host."

"Indeed." I said lazily, tracing another scratch in the wooden surface. "Now where are the others? Ah, Tarot...I see you've arrived as well."

"Of course, Diablos." Tarot said calmly, seated at the opposite end of the long table, preparing a tarot spread. I rolled my eyes both at the Sableye's choice of hobby, as well as the use of my name over a respectful term. "It took me half an hour to convince Chaos to stop reprogramming his computer so it would play Solitaire on its own against Fear. They have an unhealthy rivalry, you know."

"No we don't!" came the dreaded response from the Rotom as it popped into the room. "And I finished. It will send a virus to Fear's hard drive every time he wins. The virus will then give him a set up in all future games that is unwinnable. Plus, if I win, it'll wipe out his stored memory of the last game, so he won't notice he's getting the exact same set up every time."

"See my point?" Tarot asked, as every ghost in the room stared at Chaos in disbelief.

_"Chaos...you need a new hobby."_ Nightmare said seriously.

"Enough!" I snapped, ending the inevitable argument before the Rotom could reply. "This meeting is not about Chaos' bizarre use of time, or anything else you fools could possibly argue about for longer than thirty seconds." Everyone quieted down immediately and Nightmare joined the group at the table, floating across from Doom while Chaos floated around aimlessly above the center of the table.

"Nice Sneasel, by the way." Tarot said, flipping over a card. I rolled my eyes.

"Now, let's get you all up to date, shall I?" I said coldly. "Doom and I went to assist the Ekans clan with their little rivalry with our old friend Dragonair. When the leader fell, I possessed him as planned, and came very close to finally ridding ourselves of him. Now who should happen to get in the way, but the Charmander who has an insane amount of luck as far as last second interfering?"

_"Again? But Tarot had taken care of her!"_ Nightmare protested, looking mortified. The Sableye looked up and gave Nightmare a piercing look. I glanced at the clock near the door, determined the argument didn't exceed thirty seconds.

"I was helping her, not 'taking care of her'. I was summoned for another task after my assistance was completed, and therefore shouldn't be held accountable for anything she did following the acquisition of the TMs, since I was called away." Tarot said firmly, but calmly.

_"You were told to ensure she stayed out of the master's way!"_ Nightmare insisted. The thirty seconds were up, and I raised a paw to silence them.

"My point isn't the person responsible for the slip up, I merely pointed out there was a slip up, despite efforts to prevent it. Not the worst mistake, either, more of a triviality. Tarot accomplished his task." I said silkily.

"What do you mean a triviality?" Doom demanded, gesturing to his partially healed wound.

"You never did report which TMs you gave her...I assume they were Dragon Claw, Shadow Claw, and Brick Break?" I continued, ignoring the Duskull for now. Tarot nodded seriously, and I smirked. "Did you even stop to wonder why she chose those techniques?"

"No, boss." Chaos said cheerfully, and I blinked at him.

"Ember is a claw fighter, so she chose close range attacks, especially claw and paw attacks." Tarot replied reasonably. "Her choices would reflect her desire to be respected, as they are upgrades of her regular claw attacks."

"Good point." I said quietly, tracing another gouge in the table. "Regardless, she used Shadow and Dragon Claws to defeat my Arbok host and Shadow Claw took out Doom. Had we known she had those techniques, we could have avoided that scenario."

_"But...I thought Tarot mentioned that the Charmander attacked Dragonair as well as you two."_ Nightmare insisted. _"Whose side is she on?"_

"I think she attacked the master because he was possessing a familiar enemy, the Arbok. She attacked me because the master ordered me to engage her. After dispatching us, I was aware of her battle with her former allies because Tarot bailed her out of the battle." Doom explained.

"Why did you do that?" Chaos asked the Sableye who sighed slightly.

"I've gone over this several times now. My goal was to help her gain the confidence she lacks. I aided her acquisition of the new techniques, as per your suggestion, Diablos. There seemed to be an added little side effect, however." Tarot replied. "She was fighting a losing battle and her emotional difficulty would have endangered her. I stepped in, and that is all."

_"Side effect?"_ Nightmare muttered and I laughed, causing the ghosts to stare at me.

"When she received those techniques, her body wasn't yet used to their power, which is why you are recommended to rest after receiving them, allowing the body to adjust to the new energy. Should the energy fail to stabilize, it will wreak havoc on the emotions." I explained quietly. "Her darkness is nothing more than emotional instability, but this works to our advantage..."

_"How so?"_ Nightmare asked curiously and I smirked.

"Because her violence towards her allies was a mixture of exaggerated emotions and true feelings of animosity. Once her body stabilizes, she will be more or less back to the irritation she was, except now a genuine threat. I have a plan to use this to an advantage, but no spoiling the surprise yet." I said.

"So her anger and rage..." Doom muttered and I nodded, grinning maliciously.

"All because of the spike in energy levels. Mood swings are dangerous things, just ask a hormonal female."

_"Is your host hormonal?"_ Nightmare asked and there was a dangerous silence. _"I said that out loud, didn't I?"_

"Actually, Nightmare, this female Sneasel was in heat. Amazing how easy their subconscious is to overpower when the mind is distracted." I said indifferently. "Easy instincts to block as well...that's beside the point, however."

"So, her anger and hatred was an emotional instability combined with lesser feeling of said emotions?" Doom asked and I nodded to him.

"Her potential for true darkness is great, so she still has a use." I said softly. "Then we can continue with our other objectives. I grow weary of hunting these prey, for we make no progress. Soon, we shall go after different targets. Anything to add?"

"No, master." Doom replied. Tarot shook his head.

"Nuthin' boss!" Chaos replied.

"By the way, nice work with the slot machine." I said and the Rotom nodded. "Those fools suddenly have money, so they'll stick around. Then we'll make our move."

_"Why did you help them acquire money, master?"_ Figures, the Gastly would second guess me.

"My concern, Nightmare. Yours should be to ensure everything is working. There's a reward for all of you should we succeed."

"I have no need of rewards, Diablos." Tarot said calmly.

"Of course not." I sneered, slamming the Sneasel's claws into the table, amused by how easily the claws cut through. "No matter...easier for me, anyway." I stood up and calmly walked to the door. "Best to be prepared...it's almost time..."


	71. Leaving Celadon

**Sapphire POV**

"And then we could go shopping!" Blaze finished happily. Dragonair looked like he was about to kill the Flareon, prompting me to wrap my tail around him to calm him down.

"Now next time, maybe you shouldn't go on for ten minutes about why we should go to the department store, when you finish with the obvious statement of 'we can go shopping'." Aura suggested. Blaze tilted his head thoughtfully at this remark and shrugged.

"How the hell can you talk that long about nothing?" Ember demanded. "With all the little side notes, I forgot what the hell you were talking about."

"I was talking about what we could do today!" Blaze said irritably. "How can you get confused?"

"Blaze...you started by saying we should go to the department store because you wanted to check out the various stores, and then continued to prattle on about each store, followed by details of a product you think shouldn't be on the market, eventually followed with the point that we can go shopping." Dragonair said in a tone of forced calm. I nuzzled him gently, and he relaxed slightly.

"Ok...so should we go?" Blaze asked.

"We'll add it to the list of things we can do, but let's figure out what anyone else might want to do." I suggested and Blaze nodded cheerfully.

"I want to stay far away from human buildings." Dragonair said. "I hate buildings. I'd Hyper Beam them all, but that idea's already been taken in about 30 clichéd movies."

"I thought you didn't watch movies." Ember said and Dragonair rolled his eyes.

"I don't too often. But seriously, there's an entire series of movies involving Dragonites, Salamence, Tyranitars, et cetera all attacking Saffron City and humans trying to fight them using weak human weapons, like tanks and helicopters as the Tyranitar climbs Silph Co. How did they finally stop the threat? They told the Pokémon that they weren't evil and that the Pokémon were loved, and just like that the Pokémon stopped." Dragonair said seriously.

"Holy shit, what is wrong with the movie industry?" an unfamiliar voice sneered and a small, but elegant cat-like creature stepped forward. It was completely black in color, except for silver colored eyes and a gemstone on its forehead that was also silver in color. The only other remarkable thing about it was a forked tail.

"A black furred Espeon?" Dragonair remarked, surprised. The Espeon in question flicked its tail, but otherwise didn't react. Blaze and Aura stared at it in near awe.

"How the hell did you end up black?" Blaze blurted. The Espeon rolled its silver eyes.

"If you must know, I evolved at nightfall." it said. "In case you don't know, an Eevee becomes either an Espeon or an Umbreon based on what time they evolve. I evolved right on the border, you can say. So I became an Espeon with some Umbreon-like characteristics, namely, the black fur."

"It's very handsome, and kind of cute." Aura said and the other Eons stared at her, confirming my assumption that the Espeon was male. The Vaporeon blushed slightly, looking extremely awkward.

"He's not cuter than me!" Blaze whined. "Is he?" he asked Aura, who now looked even more uncomfortable. The Espeon was staring at the other Eons with an odd expression.

"I shall be leaving now. Good day." he said, turning to enter the city, his tail flicking in an arrogant manner. Immediately after the Espeon vanished from sight, Blaze continued whining about how the Espeon was trying to out-cute him and various other comments. Once again, I had to restrain Dragonair from attacking the Flareon.

"I can't compete with that!" Blaze whined to Ember, who obviously didn't care. Aura was looking around awkwardly, and Ember finally got tired of listening to the Flareon whine and punched him in the face, only dazing him, it but got the message across.

"Thank you!" Dragonair said gleefully. I sighed, and Dragonair nuzzled me briefly, taking my sigh as his cue to help me relax. There is so much irony in that, but I wasn't complaining. I kissed his cheek and released him, no longer needing to prevent him from attacking Blaze.

"Anyway, what are we going to do?" I asked, desperate to change the subject back to the original topic.

"We could go stalk a black furred Espeon. I know Aura would enjoy that." Blaze said bitterly.

"No, I wouldn't!" Aura protested and the Flareon smirked at her.

"So he's not cuter than me?" he said hopefully.

"I don't like you that much!" the Vaporeon said irritably.

"But if you had to pick, which is cuter?" Blaze insisted. Ember yawned pointedly, but didn't say anything. Aura was looking extremely annoyed at this point and answered by spraying Blaze with a jet of water. "Aww...my fur's all wet! Now how can I compete with the black Espeon?" He let out an anguished wail which was cut short by Ember punching him again.

"How about we just go into the city and do whatever appeals to us?" Ember suggested irritably.

"So I can go to the department store, Aura can go stalk the Espeon...Ack!" Blaze said, and another jet of water struck him, bowling him over. Dragonair was watching with amusement. "I bet you wouldn't drench the Espeon...Ack!"

"Learn when to shut up." Ember suggested dryly, smirking as the Flareon scowled at his triple drenched fur. "Any arguments against my suggestion?" she asked. Dragonair and I shook our heads, and Aura shrugged, not really caring, I suppose. Blaze didn't reply, too busy watching the Vaporeon warily. "No? Good. Let's go, then."

"Good idea." I said gently as we entered the city, looking around for activities that would appeal to us.

"I can't go in the department store wet!" Blaze complained abruptly. "Now what can I do?" he muttered.

"Dry yourself off, you idiot." Dragonair snapped and Blaze blinked awkwardly before using a carefully controlled stream of fire to dry himself off. Immediately, Aura drenched him again, smirking slightly.

"Aww...my fur!" Blaze wailed.

"You can stop soaking him now," Ember said wearily as Blaze warily dried himself off again. Aura nodded and the Flareon grumpily entered the department store. "One down." Ember said casually, looking around.

"He could be in there for hours." Dragonair grumbled and I nuzzled him comfortingly.

"He gave me some money, so we can still find something else to do." Aura said, walking down another street, the rest of us following her.

"Oh hell no..." Dragonair suddenly moaned and I turned to look anxiously at whatever he was looking at. Aura and Ember turned their gaze in the direction he was staring at and they frowned as well. "Just our luck, too."

"I don't see the problem. What's wrong?" I asked, feeling confused.

"Those humans loading the truck are Rockets. My bet is they're moving towards one of their nearby bases." Dragonair explained.

"How can you tell they're Rockets?" I asked seriously.

"I recognize one of them." he explained. "Dr. Gravel, you saw him when you were bailing us out of the facility."

"Ah, yes. That explains a lot." I said, now recognizing the man in charge of the loading. "Do you think it's the same facility?"

"No doubt about it. And by now they know we're in the area. Let's move out of here." Dragonair said urgently, backtracking before the humans could spot us.

"Just promise you won't get involved unless necessary." I said seriously and Dragonair sighed.

"Fine. I won't do anything." he said, looking me in the eye without flinching. I nuzzled him lovingly, causing him to blush slightly, but he didn't react otherwise. "Now what are we supposed to do?"

"We can't really do anything, and we have no reason to risk our lives fighting the Rockets again." Ember said seriously.

"Since when have we needed a reason?" Dragonair asked. Ember blinked at him.

"Since about a week or so, when we abandoned them." she said seriously. "We've always had a reason to invade a base. Whether for information or rescue attempt. None of that exists here, save for perhaps a lingering grudge."

"All the more reason to destroy that blasted base." Dragonair said.

"Dragonair, do you remember what you said less than a minute ago?" I asked wearily. Dragonair paused, reddening slightly. "I actually think it's better to avoid a conflict and just leave Celadon."

"Are you serious?" Aura asked, surprised. "How bad is the situation?"

"Dragonair's one of the most wanted Pokémon, and you and Blaze escaped as well." Ember explained.

"Blaze isn't going to want to leave, he'd want to spend more money." Dragonair said, scowling.

"Money is good in more cities than just Celadon." I pointed out with a small smile. "Let's go find him. Wait...he's right there." I gestured to the Flareon right outside the department store.

"Hey Blaze! We'd have thought you'd be spending money. What's wrong?" Aura called and the Flareon ran over, looking absolutely terrified.

"I saw Rosa!" he said, cowering behind Aura.

"In the store?" I asked, understanding the Flareon's panic. He nodded, shuddering in terror. "Did she see you?"

"I don't know!" he wailed, practically hyperventilating.

"Calm down." Aura urged him. "We're leaving Celadon anyway. There are Rockets floating around. Not literally." Blaze nodded, still twitching. "Let's go, then."


	72. Disturbing Discovery

**Dragonair POV**

For once, Blaze had no objections to leaving the city, and had already dashed outside of Celadon before the rest of us could catch up. It might have had to do with his understandable but intense fear of that Ekans. "Come on. Let's go!" the Flareon wailed worriedly, looking around anxiously.

"Calm down a little. No need to panic right now." Aura said seriously. "The snake's not even near us."

"But she could be following us! And then sneak up on us! And then do unspeakable things to me!" Blaze wailed. His panic was both amusing and...No, just amusing. "Stop laughing!"

"Oops, didn't realize I was doing that out loud." I said quickly, earning a reproving glare from Sapphire, and a hateful glare from the Flareon. "Let's get going, then." I said hastily, leading them down a path. Of course, Blaze decided to continue whining about random things, including how of all the girls that could have become obsessed with him, it had to be a scaly snake with a fetish for biting with poison fangs. That was the only legitimate thing he had to whine about, possibly excluding him grumbling about whether or not an Espeon was cuter than he was.

"Shut up, Celebi damn it!" I snapped after about ten minutes of non-stop complaining. "You don't hear us complaining about every little thing." The Flareon's ears drooped and he stared at the ground miserably. I almost felt bad, but managed to ignore it. Ember sighed in mild frustration.

"Wait...where the hell are we going?" she asked abruptly, looking around. Everyone stopped moving at about the same time. "You were just going in a random direction?" she asked incredulously.

"We were more concerned with getting out of the city than a destination." I admitted. "Any suggestions?"

"Not yet. I guess we should just keep going until we have an idea." Ember said, scratching her arm for a moment before she continued walking. Blaze followed, still hanging his head, which was somehow more annoying than his ramblings. Sapphire was staring at me pointedly, which told me that she wanted me to cheer up the Flareon, and there was no way that was going to happen anytime soon.

"Uh...guys?" Aura suddenly said, sounding freaked out about something. "Please tell me I'm imagining this..."

"You're imagining it. What is it?" I replied promptly, following her gaze. "Holy Celebi...you're not imagining it unless I am, too. And I ordinarily don't hope that I'm imagining things."

"Hm? What is it?" Ember asked, turning towards us, looking perplexed. Sapphire narrowed her eyes and suddenly flinched when she saw what had attracted our attention.

"Ack! It's a dead body!" Blaze wailed, backing away from the stone wall the body was propped against. It was a human male, probably middle aged, and he had clearly been killed recently, judging by the bloodstain on his chest. I winced, averting my gaze from the wound. Ember twitched slightly, looking around the area.

"Is this near the Rocket facility? There's no other nearby human buildings..." she muttered, then glanced at the wound. "Claw wound...so a Pokémon of some sort killed him. What Pokémon in the area have claws like that?" she asked.

"Nothing wild, that's for sure." Sapphire said, cautiously examining the wound. "But whatever did it must have snuck up on him, because there's no shock or fear on his face."

"Urgh...what could be more disturbing right now?" Blaze asked nervously.

"Rosa's behind you." I said, and the Flareon fainted. "Damn, ruins the joke if they aren't conscious." I muttered, prodding Blaze with my tail, but he didn't even stir. Sapphire gave me a brief glare while Aura fired a jet of water, hitting Blaze in the face, almost immediately rousing him.

"Aww...my fur!" Blaze whined, staring at his drenched fur.

"Rosa's going to bite you!" I yelled, tapping Blaze's shoulder with my tail, causing him to pass out again. Ember, who was used to my type of pranks, was trying not to laugh, but Aura and Sapphire both sighed in annoyance as the Vaporeon awakened Blaze again.

"My fur!" Blaze wailed, then sent a concentrated stream of fire to dry off, flinching in anticipation of getting drenched afterwards.

"Finding a dead human is sort of disturbing..." Aura muttered, looking away from the body. "Oh hell..." she grumbled, pointing her paw further down the path.

"Another one?" Ember asked, looking really anxious as she ran towards it. "Yeah...same type of wound, but this one in the back." She glanced back at us. "And this guy was another Rocket, the facility isn't far from here."

"So either we have something targeting all humans in the area, or targeting Rockets." I muttered thoughtfully. "But it's so senseless..." I said with a scowl of rage. "Who or what did this?" I snarled. Sapphire glanced at me worriedly, nuzzling against me in an attempt to calm me down.

"Perhaps we should keep going..." Blaze said slowly. "We might find the creature that did this."

"Perhaps..." Ember muttered, looking even more anxious. "The closest humans would be at the Rocket facility..." she said worriedly.

"Then that's where we'll look." Sapphire said and I glanced at her strangely, but she nodded to me, confirming she was willing to investigate. "Let's go..." Sapphire led down the path leading towards the dreaded facility where I had been imprisoned along with Aura and Blaze. After a few minutes, we reached the entrance, where there were two human guards, both slumped over against the entrance gate, bleeding wounds in their chest.

"Shit...this was recent..." Blaze said, shuddering at the sight. "Whatever did it is closer than we thought..." he said, a panicked note in his voice."Are you sure we have to do this?" he pleaded.

"You could always wait outside and hope it doesn't catch you alone." I said seriously. "Of course, it's also the risk of Rosa or another dangerous creature showing up. It's always best to stick together when there is danger."

"Dragonair's right." Aura said, using a powerful jet of water to break open the security lock, allowing us to open the door into the facility. Blaze was panting nervously, and even I felt anxious. Whatever had attacked was close, and we all knew it. The entrance of the facility looked almost barren, save for one human, who was also dead, killed in a similar fashion to the others.

"This is so methodical..." Sapphire commented, a slight waver in her voice. It was my turn to give her a comforting nuzzle, and she relaxed slightly, smiling at me briefly before turning her attention back to the present situation. "Let's continue." she said, breaking the lingering silence to her previous comment. We went through the door in front of us, looking around the passage way. I led the way forward, briefly glancing in the direction of the staircase that led to the basement where the cells were located. I wonder whether the other Pokémon had escaped, or had they remained?

After a few minutes of silently traveling down the deserted corridors, we reached an enormous room, where a few Rockets sat around, surprisingly alive. I concluded that either the killer hadn't gotten this far, or had chosen a different passage. The humans gasped when we entered, all three of them pulling out Pokeballs. "Oh great, just our luck." I said sarcastically, readying myself to fight. Sapphire, Aura and Blaze spread out from me, also ready to battle the Rocket Pokémon. "Wait...where the hell did Ember go?" I muttered, glancing back towards the passage we had come from, the Charmander nowhere in sight.

"She must have taken a different path." Aura said seriously. "Worry about that later." she said as the Rockets threw their Pokeballs forward. "Deal with them, first."


	73. Ember's Route

**Ember POV**

As we walked through the door, I glanced around carefully, looking for some signs of any recent activity. I glanced towards the stairs Sapphire and I had taken when looking for Dragonair and I noticed a strange shadow near the end of the hallway leading in that direction, but when I blinked, the shadow was gone. I narrowed my eyes and walked down the hallway, intent on determining whether or not I had been seeing things, yet I neglected to mention it to the others. I turned around the corner, seeing another deserted hallway, but I had a feeling there was someone or something nearby.

I walked down the new corridor cautiously, alert for any signs of danger, claws ready to attack should any danger present itself. I turned another corridor, coming upon another murdered human, although this killing appeared to have involved a brief struggle. I shuddered slightly as I passed the corpse, my feelings of anticipation increasing with every quiet step I took, all thoughts of the rest of the group momentarily banished from my mind. At the end of this corridor, I saw the body of a Machop, which had been slashed at the throat, and another Rocket, who had been stabbed in the back, most likely fleeing his attacker. I felt momentarily queasy at the sight of the blood, but pushed it from my mind.

"What the hell are you?" I demanded to thin air. Something was doing random, but incredibly methodical killings of humans and any Pokémon nearby, hinting at high intelligence and, strange as it sounds, sanity. It was cold and efficient murder, and whatever was responsible needed to be stopped. Every killing seemed almost planned, and a frightening thought of a trail came to mind. What if the entire trail was intentional? I despised the Rockets as much as Dragonair did, but I saw no justification for the deaths, least of all in the fashion they were being executed, anyway.

I stepped over another body, pausing as automated doors slid open in front of me. The idea of a trail seemed even more likely, but I didn't hesitate long before walking through the doors boldly, still alert for danger. I could almost sense the presence of whatever being was roaming through the base, and my anticipation increased. I felt a pang of regret at failing to notify the others where I was going, but at the same time wondered whether they even noticed my absence. I still felt ignored, despite their efforts to ask me about my wellbeing. The doors led to a small staircase, which I ascended, my heart pounding in my chest. At the top was a single door, which slid open at my approach.

I looked around the new room, eyes darting for signs of a hidden foe. I appeared to be in a large office, almost obscenely large, on further examination. The floor was decorated with an oddly ornate carpeting, which looked out of place in the bare looking facility. There were three new bodies here, two being humans, both slashed in the chest, the last being a Bulbasaur, which looked like it had put up a tremendous fight, to no avail, as it had still been killed.

I scowled and the sight and looked to the rear of the room, where there was a large chair that reminded me of a throne, and seated upon back of the throne, sat a weasel like creature with dark red eyes and a feather on its head, as well as wicked looking claws on its paws. In one paw, it dangled a human, who was surprisingly still alive. The Sneasel glanced at me and a strange smile appeared upon her face. It was definitely female, which was completely irrelevant, but worth noting. I stared at the Sneasel for several seconds, unsure on what to do now.

"I wondered when you'd get here. My supply of humans to mark the path was running low, and they actually started fighting back, although with Pokémon, all of which were flavorless opponents. Even the Bulbasaur was pathetic, and he put up the best fight." the Sneasel said quietly, gesturing to the killed Bulbasaur.

"What did they ever do to deserve that kind of death?" I snarled. The Sneasel glanced at my claws, which I noted had glowed with a purple aura, and I flinched in surprise. I didn't intend to use Shadow Claw.

"They're all insignificant beings, and they need only become a nuisance to justify their demise." the Sneasel said with a chuckle, the human she was holding whimpered piteously, and I narrowed my eyes slightly. The human had definitely understood her, despite there was no translation device of any kind upon her. "Hm? Oh yes, I can make humans understand me if I wish. Like he can understand how I'm going to execute him...should a throat slash do it? Quick and painless, but messy? Perhaps a simple stab in the chest to end his life? Much more painful, but just as fast?"

"Enough!" I snapped angrily, readying my claws to attack and the Sneasel laughed a cold laugh that didn't seem to suit her at all, and her red eyes flashed with malice.

"You're right, he's suffered enough. Quick and painless it is." she hissed and her claws struck, the human letting out an agonized gasp and the Sneasel threw the body aside dismissively. "Hm, my bet is it hurt, so I guess I missed my goal. No matter..." she examined her bloody claws with fascination before dipping them into a jar of water on the desk, swirling them in the water until the water was stained a dark red and the claws gleamed in the light. Her eyes met mine and she smiled pleasantly. I was shaking with horror and rage, which seemed to amuse her.

"You're a sick, twisted little..." I spat, but she cut me off with a dismissive gesture, which caused me to growl furiously.

"Enough stalling, time for the matter at hand. I am tired of your constant interference at the last moment. This time, there are no distractions, no timely rescues. Just you and me..." she whispered and her eyes blazed with a strange emotion, but the expression had soon vanished.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded. The Sneasel laughed in that same, cold laugh, which was frighteningly familiar. "Greta..." I muttered and the Sneasel laughed again, shaking her head in amazement.

"Close, I am the phantom that dear Rattata spoke of. My name is Diablos, and our history goes back quite a distance. You defeated my Weepinbell at the Ancient Shrine; you saved your little friend Dragonair when I possessed Venomoth. You personally overcame me with my Rattata host, and most recently, you saved Dragonair again when I used the Arbok known as Fang as a host."

"What the hell do you want, Diablos?" I snapped, using the phantom's name with deep loathing, but the Sneasel was unfazed.

"I grow weary of making plans only to have you interfere. You are mediocre, even weak...yet you manage to overcome me every time we encounter each other, so I arranged a way to face you alone, with nothing holding either of us back." Diablos replied, and I recognized the venomous tone Greta had used once we had realized she was evil.

"You killed random people just to fight me?" I demanded and the Sneasel chuckled cruelly.

"I wanted to fight you personally, but your little friends aren't going to be able to interfere either. My associates are in position to deal with them."

"Associates?" I whispered quietly, confused. Diablos smiled coldly.

"Don't worry about them, worry about me." she hissed, readying herself. "Prepare yourself, claw to claw combat, but all other techniques and tactics are fair game. Begin!"

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	74. Dual Duel part 1

**Sapphire POV**

The Pokeballs the Rockets had thrown burst open, releasing three Pokémon from within them. One was a Sandslash, another was a Ledyba, and the third was a Zubat. "Hm, I'd have thought it would have been tougher opponents, but being unique is good, too." Dragonair mused thoughtfully. "Better than the usual boring Pokémon they normally use. Like Koffing and things like that."

"Well, it's clear the attacker that was murdering the humans isn't here, so let's hurry and beat these guys and keep looking." Aura said, firing a powerful jet of water at the Sandslash, but it dove to the side, slashing its claws quickly. Blaze spat a stream of fire at the bug Pokémon, but it also leapt to the side to avoid, but Dragonair's Ice Beam intercepted it, freezing it solid and enabling the Flareon to redirect his Flamethrower to engulf the ice block. One of the Rockets scowled and raised their Pokeball, a beam of red firing from the ball and pulling the scorched Ledyba back into it.

"One down, two to go." Dragonair said with a smirk, watching Aura and the Sandslash dodge each other's attacks with impressive speed. I turned my attention to the Zubat, which, like me, wasn't doing anything yet. It reacted almost instantly to my gaze, letting out a loud screeching noise that made me wince, and then flew forward, biting me with its small fangs. I twitched in mild pain, thankful that my scales were so adapted to harsh conditions, otherwise that bite would have really hurt. Fortunately, Dragonair didn't see the attack, or the Zubat would probably be very badly injured as a result.

"Aura, duck!" Blaze yelled and the Vaporeon obeyed, looking confused. The reasoning for the warning became clear as the Flareon sent a stream of fire where Aura's head had been moments before, catching the Sandslash, which had dove forward to tackle the Vaporeon. Aura sent a jet of water, striking the shrew Pokémon and launching it across the room, where it slumped against the wall, struggling to get back up. Dragonair fired an Ice Beam, but before it could hit, a beam of red light pulled the Pokémon back inside a Pokeball.

"Spoil sport." Dragonair muttered, then glanced at me and stiffened, looking like he was about to snap. Apparently, the Zubat hadn't realized that it wasn't hurting me and was just latching onto me with its fangs. "Oh, so you like biting my mate, do you? Well, I'll kill you." Dragonair muttered darkly.

"Uh...Dragonair, don't attack it while it's on me, okay?" I said quickly.

"You want it as a pet or something? A pet can bite you all it wants and I won't kill it, but a freaking Zubat?" Dragonair grumbled. I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to figure out if he was just rambling randomly or not.

"I got it!" Blaze said, spitting a massive stream of fire at the Zubat, managing to hit it without touching me with the flames, which was fairly impressive. A third beam of light hit the scorched bat Pokémon and the Rockets all looked at us anxiously.

"You're a dead Flareon!" Dragonair snapped, slamming his tail against the fire Pokémon. Blaze managed to move before impact, but the blow still made him lose his balance, knocking him over. Dragonair began charging a Hyper Beam, so I hastened to intervene.

"Wait, why are you attacking him?" I demanded, positioning myself between Dragonair and the equally confused Flareon. Dragonair blinked, tilting his head thoughtfully.

"He almost burned you." he explained after a second. I sighed.

"But he didn't, so leave him alone." I said firmly and he sighed, but turned towards the Rockets, grinning slightly. "And don't hurt them unless necessary." I added quickly. Suddenly, all 3 humans simply fell to the ground unconscious and Dragonair flinched.

"What the hell?" he blurted, while Aura helped Blaze back to his feet.

_"Good, they didn't wear you out too much."_ a voice spoke and Dragonair's head snapped up, looking around suspiciously. _"Let's see...there's the infamous Dragonair, his mate, and a Flareon and Vaporeon."_

"Really, Nightmare? We never could have figured that out without your comments." said a somewhat more familiar voice, but I couldn't place it. "At least the Charmander isn't here..."

_"Just as the master said..."_ the first voice spoke again.

"Who's there, damn it?" Dragonair snapped, eyes narrowed to slits. Aura and Blaze seemed similarly perplexed, but then again, they knew no more than I did.

"Oh, of course...you can't see us, can you?" the second voice sneered and two creatures appeared. One was the Duskull encountered earlier, still bearing the mark of Ember's Shadow Claw, although lessened by a great amount. The second was a Gastly, who smirked at us coldly.

_"Your nightmares are riddled with feelings of doom!" _the Gastly spoke, its voice echoing slightly as it spoke, giving the illusion of telepathy.

"Shut up, Nightmare! I hate being introduced like that." the Duskull snapped. Dragonair glared at them coldly, and Aura frowned at the Duskull.

_"Aw, they aren't happy to see us."_ the Gastly said mockingly. _"I am Nightmare, while my associate is Doom, who you all have met before. Oddly, the Charmander is the only one who met us all, although not Doom so much."_

"Where is she?" Dragonair snarled and the two ghosts blinked. "Where's Ember, damn you?"

"The master ordered us to take care of you. He's dealing with her." Doom said coldly.

"Let's go find her." Blaze said, running towards the door we had arrived from, but a thick security door closed before the Flareon could reach it and Blaze growled in frustration.

_"You didn't honestly think we'd go through the trouble of challenging you if you could just turn around and leave, did you?"_ Nightmare hissed quietly, and a strange looking plasma creature appeared, with lightning bolts sticking from its body, which had a blue electric current surrounding it.

"The boss told me to lock the doors!" the new arrival said cheerfully, the description matching the Rotom Ember had mentioned in her story.

"Yes, well done, Chaos." Doom said indifferently. "Now shall we continue with the task assigned?"

_"The master wasn't very clear about our job. He was more interested in fighting the Charmander alone."_ Nightmare said quietly.

"What's your master want with Ember? I know he's the reason she went insane!" Dragonair snarled. The ghosts turned to stare at him, all looking amused.

"Not quite." said a fourth, unfamiliar voice. "Her insanity was caused by a side effect of the TMs acquired, and should have mostly stabilized by now." we turned to the speaker, which was a purple humanoid creature with gemstone eyes and a red gem on its stomache. It carried a small deck of cards in its paws and casually shuffled the cards while staring at us.

"Tarot, I presume?" I asked calmly and the Sableye nodded with equal calmness.

"Can we start the battle now? The master wanted us to defeat you, ensuring no interruptions with his own duel. Begin!" Doom snapped and the four ghosts nodded before turning to us. Our four members tensed, ready for the fight.

"I'll make the first move," Tarot said, picking up one of his cards, which glowed and he threw it towards us, striking Aura in the chest, causing her to cry out in surprise.

"What the hell?" Blaze yelled, glancing at the card thrown, which had done almost nothing to the Vaporeon. "These aren't even weapons!"

"I use the Major Arcana in my tarot reading, dear Flareon." Tarot replied. "And this card represents the Vaporeon, it's the High Priestess, representing calmness and sensitivity. She is surrounded by such an aura, and her name further exemplifies this."

"You have a weird liking for puns also." Chaos pointed out. "After all, the Major Arcana are also known as trumps."

_"Let the battle continue. Confuse Ray!"_ Nightmare hissed and glowed brightly, but Dragonair and I turned away in time, and the two Eons weren't looking in the Gastly's direction. _"Curses, it didn't work."_

"Good idea, Nightmare. CURSE!" Doom shouted, glowing with a strange light, and Aura grunted strangely, while Doom chuckled. "At the cost of my own energy, you'll be slowly drained of strength until you pass out. Now Tarot, if you will..."

"Certainly. What else is teamwork for?" the Sableye replied, glowing brightly for a moment, but nothing happened. "There's a miracle in the future, and a surprise waiting as well." he said calmly, and threw a beam of energy forwards. I moved to the side, but suddenly a strange vortex like portal appeared and absorbed the beam.

"What was that?" Dragonair asked, confused. Tarot smiled.

"You'll see soon enough. Your future's looking pretty grim right now, but I guess we'll see..."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	75. Dual Duel part 2

**Ember POV**

I glared silently at the Sneasel, which casually studied its claws. "Not going to attack first? No problem, allow me to motivate you." she said, raising one paw and a ball of black energy formed. With a smirk, she flung it at me, forcing me to dive to the side to avoid it. The Shadow Ball exploded harmlessly and I retaliated with a fireball, but she raised her paw, conjuring a barrier of light to reflect the projectile. "Your real strengths lie in claw combat, so perhaps we should just get to that." Diablos suggested coldly, her claws glinting in the light.

"Fine with me!" I snapped, baring my claws. Diablos chuckled coldly, watching me carefully before darting forward quickly, swinging her claws. I ducked, the claws narrowly missing, and jabbed my claws at her chest, but her other paw blocked my blow, lashing out with a foot and kicking me backwards. I grunted as I hit the ground, rolling quickly to avoid a jab from the Sneasel's claws.

"Is that all you've got? I expected a challenge, but you haven't met that expectation yet." Diablos said in a bored tone and I growled angrily, which caused her to smirk for a moment before I leapt back to my feet, running forward and slashing. Diablos blocked the slash, counterattacking with her free paw, but I blocked that attack with my left paw and we locked eyes for a few seconds before the Sneasel jerked backwards, forcing me to lose my balance. I cursed myself for leaning forward, and cursed her when I felt a sharp stinging pain flare across my left arm.

"Ah! Mew damn you!" I yelled, clutching the wound, which was surprisingly minor compared to what I expected from the amount of pain I was experiencing for such a small wound.

"First blood mine." Diablos said softly, examining her claws and chuckling malevolently. I growled and jabbed my claws at the Sneasel, but pulled back before she could block, and used my left paw to slash from the side, ignoring the throb of pain received for this attempt. The Sneasel was thrown off by my feint, but managed to put up a Reflect technique, my claws bouncing off the barrier harmlessly.

"Coward...can't even take a hit when you earned one. In true claw to claw combat that would be illegal." I muttered darkly and Diablos laughed. "Well take this, you bastard!" I pulled back my paw, which glowed for an instant as I slammed it forward, shattering the film of energy and striking the Sneasel, flinging her across the room, where she slammed into the throne-like chair.

"Nice trick..." Diablos said, recovering her poise quickly and smiling. "You rendered my Reflect and Light Screen all but useless, but you'll still need to rely on your skills to even stand a chance against me. Let's continue, it's too much fun to stop now." The Sneasel climbed to her feet and narrowed her red eyes at me, watching for my next move.

"Don't keep me in suspense." I said irritably. "With your bravado, I expected you to attack with some awesome technique or tactic to cause me great fear or something."

"It will come soon enough, Charmander." Diablos replied, walking slowly towards me, my eyes narrowing suspiciously at the approaching Sneasel. She darted forward, jabbing her claws at me, but I slashed in retaliation, my claws scratching the Sneasel's forearm, causing her to recoil in shock. "Not bad..." Diablos commented emotionlessly, diving forward, raking her claws across my face. I recoiled, the claws doing only minor damage, but it hurt like hell all the same. Before I could react, she kicked me in the stomach, forcing me into a hunched over position and she followed through with a kick to the face, throwing me backwards to the ground, my fall cushioned slightly by the carpet.

"Damn, that freaking hurt!" I snarled. The Sneasel didn't wait for me to get up, instead running forward quickly, claws ready to strike again. I kicked my own foot, striking the Sneasel in the gut and rolling to my feet, slashing at the clawed weasel, but she blocked that blow with her own claws, snapping her head forward and hitting me in the chest, flinging me to the ground again.

"Tired of being on the ground yet? Then get up and fight back!" Diablos sneered and I slowly got back to my feet, only to be hit in the chest with a ball of black energy, knocking me back to the ground, a throbbing pain where the Shadow Ball had hit. I groaned softly, hurrying back to my feet and readying my claws to continue the fight. I sidestepped another blob of black energy, rolling forward and slammed my claws into the Sneasel's chest, but to my alarm, Diablos leapt into the air, flipping her body over me and slashing me in the back. I gasped in pain, falling to my knees, feeling a small amount of blood trickle down my back.

"You...bastard..." I panted and Diablos laughed as I struggled back to an upright position.

"Odd, you use an insult typically reserved for males, yet I'm possessing a female body. Just thought I'd point that out while you recover from your wound." Diablos sneered and I turned around to glare at her, slashing quickly, but she blocked the blow, using her free paw to strike at me. I jumped backwards, the claws missing by an inch, and spat a quick fireball. The Sneasel grunted irritably as the fire struck her in the face, distracting her long enough for me to close the distance between us, but the Sneasel ducked, sweeping her leg and knocking my feet out from under me. I grunted as I tumbled to the ground.

"Mew damn it!" I growled, now thoroughly sick of the floor. Diablos laughed coldly, grinning.

"And you're the one in my way? I guess I'll never have to fear another interference, for I'll add you to the list of the dead!"

"Not yet you won't!" I growled, getting back to my feet, with a trace of a smirk on my face. "Don't count me out just yet. I've got plenty of fight left!"

"Good, let's see some of it," Diablos sneered, her expression changing to one of shock as my fist connected with her face, slamming her to the ground, but she flipped back to her feet, countering my claw stab and kicking her foot. I was prepared for the tactic and leapt to the side, but instead of using claws, I spun around, my tail flame brushing against the Sneasel, who let out a surprised yelp, clutching the burn with one paw.

"I was just warming up." I said, in perfect imitation of Dragonair's snide tone. The Sneasel blinked at me and then slowly grinned maliciously. It assumed a fighting stance and I mimicked it, our gazes locked on each other and then we both moved at the same time, running forward. I blocked a jab and bit at her wrist, but she kicked me in the gut, head butting me quickly and throwing me back to the ground. I rolled back to my feet, dodging a Shadow Ball in the process, and slashed at the Sneasel. However, she did a flip over me, slamming her foot into my back as she descended, the throbbing pain from the earlier back wound coming back in full force. I grunted in pain, and Diablos kicked me from behind, shoving my face into the desk.

"I see my analysis of you was accurate. You are weak and mediocre at best..." Diablos whispered. I put my paw to my nose, then looked at the blood on my paw when I pulled it back, the sight of the blood causing me to growl in frustration. "I'd say the only difference between you and a Magikarp is that Magikarps have mates...and you never will."

"What?" I snarled angrily, getting back to my feet.

"You make attempts to appear more confident than you are, but you hide nothing from me. You are afraid, Ember...you fear that no one will ever love you, and your fear is one of truth." Diablos' voice became strange, almost hypnotic, but the malice remained. "Love is a falsehood, a ruse. Believe me...the only reason any male would ever be interested in you is for physical reasons only, and you don't really have much going for you in that department either."

"SHUT UP!" I raged, and the Sneasel chuckled.

"It's difficult to hear the truth, but the sooner you accept it, the sooner you can move on. You have great power, and the only way to tap into it is to give up that fool ideal of love, for it is holding you back! You tasted power, now embrace it! Stop holding yourself back and use the power I gave you!" Diablos hissed.

"That...you gave?" I demanded.

"Tarot is one of my associates, as are Nightmare, Doom, and Chaos!" the Sneasel sneered. I jerked in shock, disbelief flooding my mind. Tarot and Chaos worked for the evil phantom? But they had helped me...hadn't they?

"You lie!" I snapped, but Diablos laughed.

"You know it's true...and why don't I tell you a little thing about Tarot's reading for you...the Moon was dominating, with Lovers, Chariot, and Magician in reverse? Tarot once told me that the Magician in reverse can also symbolize a manipulator's presence. Tarot was trying to help you, but I gave him the idea for going to the shrine to get those TMs...My personal supply."

"Why would you help?" I demanded, eyes narrowed furiously. The Sneasel laughed quietly.

"Everyone has a darkness within, it's all a matter of releasing it." she whispered. "This battle is to push you to your limits, and it seems like you failed. You will die as you lived, alone with no one who cares for you. A pity you didn't even put up a real fight, but like all insecure fools, you don't have much of a fight to put up."

"SHUT UP!" I bellowed, feeling my anger rising to the surface rapidly. I was sick of being mocked about my life, about all the little jabs and insults people could think of to poke fun at the same thing. "You want a real fight, damn it? I'll give you a Mew damned real fight, you bastard!" I hissed, my claws taking on a purple aura.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	76. Dual Duel part 3

**Dragonair POV**

"Okay...that's a little strange." I said slowly and the Sableye chuckled.

_"Moving on!"_ Nightmare snapped impatiently, a pulse of black energy flying from him, narrowly missing Aura, who sent a jet of water in retaliation, then grunted in pain. Nightmare faded out, the water missing him entirely.

"The Curse will take effect at regular intervals." the Duskull explained smugly. "And soon you will be too weak to do anything but twitch."

"I hate ghosts." Blaze muttered angrily, looking at Aura anxiously before launching a powerful stream of fire at Doom, who faded out, the flames passing through him harmlessly. The Flareon growled in annoyance, then yelped as a small bolt of electricity struck his paw.

"That was fun!" Chaos said gleefully and I stared at the Rotom in astonishment. That thing was really weird, but according to Ember's detailed description of what arguments it started, I wasn't that surprised. I spat a stream of fire at the Rotom, but Chaos conjured up a wall of light, negating my Flamethrower. "The boss taught me that move," he said cheerfully.

"And where's Ember and her Brick Break?" I muttered without thinking. The ghosts all sighed.

_"She's fighting the master. We told you that at least twice."_ the Gastly said irritably, eyes glowing brightly. _"Sleeeeeep!"_ I closed my eyes quickly to block the Hypnosis and the Gastly groaned in exasperation.

"Nightmare, try using it now. Trick Room!" Doom shouted and I felt the sluggish pull on my body, preventing my regular speed. I scowled in annoyance, looking around the room and noticing everyone else seemed to be suffering the same problem, except Aura, strangely. Of course, she wasn't doing much other than struggling against whatever effects the Curse was doing to her. The Rotom seemed slower as well, and was looking fascinated by the effects.

"I'm faster than most of you?" he asked Doom, who was moving at great speed.

_"You're the fastest of the four of us. I'm second fastest, although Tarot is close."_ Nightmare replied, moving faster than Blaze, Sapphire, and me, but slower than Tarot and Doom.

"And now, let's see..." Tarot said, pulling the top card of his deck, which glowed brightly and he flung it at Sapphire. I scowled angrily, failing to move fast enough to intercept the card, and Sapphire was too slow to dodge, thanks to the Trick Room effect. Sapphire let out a gasp of shock, the force emitting from the card stronger than the one that hit Aura. "The Empress...how appropriate, for it symbolizes many things, such as mothering, beauty, and romance in general. This is the card that symbolizes her."

"You're so weird, Tarot." Doom said, moving towards me with great speed, glowing with dark energy before slamming into me, the force of the attack throwing me backwards. I grunted from the impact, the attack itself not very powerful. Doom chuckled, but his amusement was cut short as a powerful stream of fire engulfed him, causing him to yell in pain.

"Take that!" Blaze said with a low growl of anger. I smirked slightly, taking note that the sluggish feeling was starting to subside a little, but still nearly in full force.

"The miracle of the future has arrived." Tarot said seriously, and a small orb of golden energy descended upon the scorched Duskull, who flashed briefly. When the light subsided, Doom was completely healed; even the mark from Ember's claws a while back was gone.

"Impossible!" Blaze protested, his mouth falling open in shock.

"Wish. It's a miracle that occurs in the future, healing the target completely." Tarot explained quietly. "And now for the surprise." As he said this, the vortex-like portal reappeared, a beam of energy flying from it, striking Blaze in the face and knocking him forcefully to the ground. "Future Sight sends an attack into the future."

_"You're a little future obsessed."_ Nightmare said blandly. Tarot shrugged indifferently, shuffling the deck casually. _"Now let's complete this battle. By the way, Trick Room is wearing off."_ It was true, but it still had enough effect to it to enable the Gastly to hit Blaze with a Dark Pulse, the Flareon groaning as he struggled to stand back up. Nightmare chuckled, but a powerful jet of water silenced him rather quickly, slamming the Gastly into the Rotom. Upon contact, the electric type discharged a burst of electricity, causing Nightmare to curse angrily from the shock.

"Oops!" Chaos said with a wince. "Couldn't get out of the way in time. I hate Trick Room."

_"Whose idea was it to use Trick Room?"_ Nightmare spat, glaring at Doom, who snickered.

"Nightmare, it's our normal strategy is to use Trick Room when facing faster opponents." The Duskull explained. "It backfires sometimes, but we're facing four opponents with four of us here, so setbacks are expected."

"You might want to stop arguing and continue fighting." Tarot said serenely. He lifted another card from his tarot deck and it glowed briefly before he threw it at Blaze, who had slowly crawled back to his feet. The card struck him with noticeably more energy than the previous cards, and Blaze was thrown backwards, slamming into the wall. Aura winced at the impact.

"Hey, how is that getting stronger?" Aura asked the Sableye, who blinked its gem-like eyes at her.

"Trump Card gets progressively stronger the more times it's used." he explained seriously. "And the card that represents him is...the Strength in reverse. The card represents impulse and pride while in reverse."

"Why are we having a conversation during a fight?" Doom asked, perplexed. I noticed at that moment that the effects of Trick Room had completely faded and Sapphire and I simultaneously fired Ice Beams at the ghosts. The Duskull grunted in surprise, my beam finding its mark and freezing part of its body. Sapphire's hit Nightmare, who didn't have time to react before becoming encased in the ice.

"The Wheel of Fate, this card symbolizes a turning point..." Tarot muttered, examining the top card of the tarot deck. He flipped another. "The Tower, an unexpected event. Not too promising, is it?" He waved one paw, another burst of energy flying from it into another vortex portal. Aura gasped, clutching her chest again, wincing from the unseen effects of Doom's Curse.

"It's getting worse..." she muttered, panting slightly."It's not getting stronger, just worse."

"The boss is not gonna be happy if we lose." Chaos said anxiously, discharging a bolt of electricity, shattering the ice on Nightmare and Doom, both of the ghosts glared at the Rotom.

_"Thank you for the assistance. I'll be sure to sabotage your internet connection as repayment."_Nightmare said dryly. _"I do not wish to anger the master, so I agree that we should pull out the stops."_

"You were holding back?" Tarot asked, and the Gastly blinked awkwardly.

_"Of course not. I always do my best."_ Nightmare replied and groaned quietly when Chaos chuckled.

"So you're just not good?"

_"Shut up, Chaos! You haven't done a thing all fight!"_

"Enough arguing! The cards warn us of possible failure and arguing is a sure fire way to bring us down from within." the Sableye said firmly. The other ghosts nodded simultaneously as Tarot drew another card and smiled. "Temperance. This card symbolizes balance and unification. Then...the Chariot. This card represents victory, so my interpretation is that by uniting we will win."

_"Can't hurt."_ Nightmare said thoughtfully, smirking slightly.

"Works out logically." Chaos said cheerfully. "Let's do it then!"

"Weren't they united before?" Blaze whispered to Sapphire, who smiled slightly.

"Yes, but after the issue with Trick Room they fell apart a bit." she whispered back. "We should team up as well."

"I'll...try..." Aura whispered, wincing as she stepped forward. Blaze glanced at her anxiously as he joined the line Sapphire and I had formed. The ghosts followed the lead and formed their own battle line. There was a tense pause and Aura spat a jet of water, catching Doom by surprise and propelling him backwards before he could fade out. Sapphire and I charged Thunderbolts, launching them at the startled Duskull, hearing him cry out in pain as the water on his ectoplasmic body conducted the electricity. Tarot glowed brightly, and I knew he was casting Wish to heal the Duskull, and the best option would be to take the Sableye out quickly.

"Burn!" Blaze shouted cheerfully, launching a stream of fire at Tarot, but the vortex portal reappeared in front of the flames, the energy beam flying from within and striking the fire, causing a large explosion. "Aww, bad luck!" the Flareon whined. Aura grunted once more, collapsing to the ground. "Aura?" Blaze muttered, concerned.

"The Curse has taken its toll. She's out of the fight." Doom said, still smirking. "Four against three, now."

"Mind if I even the odds?" a slightly familiar voice called from the doorway and the four ghosts blinked in confusion, turning towards the door, which was still tightly sealed.

"Aww! Not you!" Blaze whined at the black furred Espeon, who blinked its silver eyes at the Flareon, his tail flicking indifferently.

"I could always just leave and let you get beat to a pulp. I don't need to help you, but I am helping." the Espeon said coldly.

"Psycho?" Chaos blurted, upon examining the Espeon.

"That's one name I am known by, yes." the black Espeon said sharply. "Now, I believe we were having a battle? Should we win, you tell me the location of your boss."

_"You won't win!"_ Nightmare snarled._ "Four against Four! Resume!"_

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	77. Dual Duel part 4

**Ember POV**

I glared at the Sneasel with intense loathing, my claws glowing with the purple ghostly energies of Shadow Claw. Diablos smirked at me, as if silently challenging me to attack her. "Well? Where's the real fight?" she hissed softly, readying her own claws. I didn't hesitate, lunging forward quickly, ducking under Diablos' swipe and stabbing the Shadow Claw towards the Sneasel's chest. Diablos flipped her body over me, and I sidestepped quickly, spinning around and slashing. The Sneasel blocked my claw strikes swiftly, doing another flip over me, but I smashed my fist upwards, catching the weasel Pokémon in the gut as she descended, flinging her to the side of the room.

"How's that for a real fight?" I snarled, feeling a brief thrill of satisfaction at the small triumph. Diablos got back to her feet, chuckling. The sign of amusement made me grit my teeth in anger, and I launched a fireball at her, but the barrier of light blocked with ease.

"Let me show you how it's done." Diablos sneered, darting forward and swinging her claws. I blocked, pushing the paw away forcefully and struck with my free paw, but the Sneasel ducked, kicking me in the gut and shoving me back. The flash of pain made my temper rise again, and my claws glowed with the blue fire aura. Diablos blinked, her red eyes flashing with glee, an expression that remained longer than the other flashes I'd seen before. I closed the distance between us, raking my claws, but the Sneasel flipped backwards, dodging the strike and flinging a Shadow Ball at me. I leapt to the side, the attack missing by several inches.

"I thought you'd show me how it was done!" I spat angrily, darting forward once more, slamming my claws into the Sneasel's arm, causing her to recoil in pain. My claws took on the blue aura once more and I slashed viciously, which she barely blocked, but her eyes showed delight and glee at my assault, rather than a sign of fear or respect. I growled angrily, punching the Sneasel's nose, smiling to myself at the blood trickling from the nose. She felt the wound gingerly and smiled at the sight of the blood before leaping forward, striking me in the face with her foot, throwing me backwards against the wall. I scowled, climbing to my feet once more.

"You're still too weak! Hold nothing back, or you'll die right here!" Diablos sneered, lunging at me and striking with her claws. I reacted instinctively, slashing the Sneasel across the face, deep scratches forming. Diablos recoiled in shock, and I took the opportunity to punch her in the face, the nosebleed worsening from the blow. I smirked triumphantly, my claws taking on the purple aura and jabbing them forward. Diablos blocked quickly, flipping over me, but I whirled around, stabbing at the landing Sneasel, who flipped backwards, out of range of the stab.

"How's that?" I growled, advancing upon the weasel. She responded by conjuring a Shadow Ball in her paw and flicking each claw in my direction, a smaller Shadow Ball launching towards me with each flick. I ducked, avoiding the first two, which exploded with strangely more force than regular Shadow Balls. The third struck me, flinging me backwards limply, an intense burning sensation flaring up where the orb had hit me.

I grasped the burn with one paw, gasping from the intense pain I felt. Diablos watched with cold indifference before firing another Shadow Ball. I reacted quickly, rolling to the side and getting back to my feet. I was getting worn out from the long fight, but I could ignore the need to rest a while longer. My anger flared up from the lingering agony and I ran forward, dodging the various Shadow Balls that she launched at me. Her eyes widened in surprise and hastily switched her strategy back to claws, blocking my first two strikes. She pushed me away, slashing at me quickly, another flare of pain shooting through me, causing my claws to glow a dangerous purple as I growled in fury.

"You're dead!" I snarled, slashing both paws rapidly, the Sneasel struggling to block or dodge each attack, an odd glimmer in her eyes. With each strike that was blocked or dodged, my thirst to have another blow connect grew stronger. Diablos grinned at my frustration, lashing out a foot at me, but I jumped over it, taking advantage of her momentary imbalance to slam the Shadow Claw into her face. She shrieked in shock, the gash bleeding steadily, and she backed away.

"That's it...now use your anger to defeat me!" she hissed, leaping forward and striking at me with one claw, but I ducked, unfortunately right into the path of her second blow, which knocked me to the ground. I winced as new pain flared up across my chest, thankfully only a minor gash. I climbed back to my feet, glaring at the Sneasel, my claws taking on the blue aura of Dragon Claw. After a moment of hesitation, I ran forward, ducking under her claw swipe and raking my claws upwards, catching her in the gut. She cried out in pain, falling backwards to the ground, but managed to flip back to her feet, dodging a jab in the process.

"Stay still, damn it!" I muttered in annoyance, and Diablos chuckled coldly, darting forward and swinging her claws quickly. I blocked with my claws, spitting a fireball into the Sneasel's face, and she jerked back, giving me an opening. I hastily jabbed my claws, but Diablos recovered quickly from the fireball, blocking the blow, chuckling quietly. I growled and bit her paw, startling the Sneasel so much that I was able to close the small gap between us. She made no move as I struck her twice in the face with my fists, forcing her backwards. I bared my claws once more, dodging a retaliatory claw swipe and jabbing. Diablos flipped backwards, landing on the throne-like chair.

"You're so close, just a little more...or perhaps you're once more feeling a bit unsure of yourself. No one will respect you if you back down. You'll never find a mate." she whispered cruelly, lazily examining her claws. Her red eyes flashed with malice as she spoke, and I felt frustration boiling up inside me.

"How's this for a little more?" I snarled, spitting a fireball at the Sneasel, who calmly jumped from the chair onto the desk, the projectile missing. I seized the opportunity to leap onto the chair and immediately onto the desk, slamming my Shadow Claw into the Sneasel's gut. She had made no move to resist, but her eyes showed no surprise. She stumbled backwards, standing on the edge of the desk and I struck again, knocking her off the desk to the ground. As she started to stand up, I hit again with my fists, blood flowing from her nose. She was completely helpless against my barrage. I grabbed her by the throat and readied my claws for a final strike, but stopped for a second at her expression.

"Go ahead...kill me." Diablos urged, grinning wickedly. "Make me pay for what I said! Make me suffer, destroy me. You earned the pleasure. The only 'pleasure' you'll ever have..." she continued mockingly. I snapped, slamming my fist into her once more, still not using the claws. The Sneasel's nose was now broken, but she still grinned maliciously. "Finish me, you know you want to. Or keep beating me, enjoy my suffering..." My claws took on the blue aura and I released my grip on her neck, staring at my paw in shocked horror. Why was this happening?

"What?" I muttered, staring in confusion. Every time I grew angry, I would use Shadow or Dragon Claw without consciously attempting to. There was something very terrifying about this realization. Diablos laughed sinisterly.

"Embrace it...don't be weak..." she hissed and I staggered backwards in horror. There was something seriously wrong here, and it worried me. I stared at my claws in confusion and, without a backwards glance, fled for the door, leaving the Sneasel behind. I didn't stop running until I was outside of the facility. After a few moments of walking aimlessly, my exhaustion caught up with me, and I collapsed underneath the closest tree, falling into a deep sleep.


	78. Dual Duel part 5

**Sapphire POV**

The black Espeon, who seemed to be named 'Psycho', joined the line we had formed, and stared at the opposing ghosts critically. Dragonair gave me a slightly worried look, which I responded to with a small smile. I think he's a little too worried about my well being. I'd have to talk to him about that sometime, because it gets a little annoying that he's _that_ protective. Blaze kept shooting dark looks at the Espeon, which was slightly amusing since the rivalry was all in his head. Psycho's silver eyes and gemstone glowed momentarily and Chaos was engulfed in psychic energy before being thrown against the wall. The Rotom cried out in surprise at the psychic throw, and the other ghosts stared at Chaos for a moment before turning their attention back towards our group.

_"Well that sucked."_ Nightmare said dryly, firing a pulse of energy at Psycho, who vanished before impact, confusing Blaze, who had been glaring in that direction for the past thirty seconds. _"What?"_ the Gastly's expression was almost an exact duplicate of Blaze's, although the Flareon decided to spit a stream of fire at the baffled ghost Pokémon. Dragonair fired an Ice Beam at Doom, and I sent a Thunderbolt at Tarot, who also happened to be the only alert ghost of the four, as he hastily conjured up a reflective film of light, negating my attack. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Psycho sitting calmly in a corner, indifferently watching the battle.

"Next!" Tarot said loudly, drawing yet another card from his tarot deck (I think that's the term for it). It glowed brightly once more, and he threw it towards Dragonair, striking him with shocking force, flinging him against the nearest wall. I winced, remembering what the Sableye had said about Trump Card getting stronger. Dragonair seemed alarmed by the strength of the attack as well. "The card that represents you...the Emperor. This card symbolizes a desire for control and authority."

"Enough tarot reading!" Doom said irritably, breaking free from the ice that he was semi-encased in, no doubt from Dragonair's handiwork. "Let's hurry up and finish these..." he paused in mid sentence as a golden orb floated down upon him, engulfing him in white light for a moment, but it was slightly different from the last Wish, as he grew bigger. The light faded, and the former Duskull examined its new shape. It had one glowing red eye, and was now bipedal, its appearance resembling a bandaged figure. He flexed his hand with interest and seemed to be grinning.

"Cool! You evolved!" Chaos said cheerfully and the Dusclops nodded before turning its attention back to us. Dragonair almost immediately spat a Flamethrower at Doom, but the ghost Pokémon punched, its fist burning with fire. "And you know Fire Punch!" Chaos said as the Dusclops negated the Flamethrower. Dragonair grumbled slightly, and I launched an Ice Beam at Doom, who countered it with another Fire Punch. Blaze spat a Flamethrower at Nightmare, who was so distracted by Doom's battle that he neglected to pay attention to anything else.

"Ha-ha! You got burned twice by me!" Blaze said happily, and the Gastly irritably sent a pulse of dark energy at the Flareon, who dodged quickly. Nightmare scowled, but before he could launch a second attack, Chaos was psychically thrown into him, courtesy of Psycho, who decided to step out of the shadows he was sitting in. "Stupid Espeon..." Blaze muttered, and the Espeon in question blinked at Blaze.

"Oh, so you didn't want my help? Had I known that, I would have just sat back and watched you get hurt." he said coldly.

"I wasn't going to get hurt!" Blaze retorted. Psycho shrugged indifferently, turning to other ghosts and his eyes glowed, engulfing Doom in psychic energy and throwing him into the wall with enough force to shatter a hole in the wall.

"How'd you do that with a ghost?" Dragonair demanded, looking slightly impressed. Psycho smiled slightly.

"Foresight. Makes them as solid as us." Psycho explained with a smirk.

"So you took down those three..." Tarot said slowly, looking at the other ghosts, all of which were unconscious. "I'm almost impressed." As he spoke, he drew another card. "The World! This card symbolizes the end. And it will also be the final Trump Card." The Sableye stroked the card with one finger, and it glowed with intense energy. Psycho released a beam of psychic energy, hitting Tarot with impressive force, but doing absolutely nothing.

"Oh yeah, he's a Dark type, immune to psychic energy." Psycho muttered, eyeing the card in Tarot's hand warily. Tarot glanced at each of us thoughtfully, before finally raising the card into the air. There was an enormous burst of light, and several beams of energy flew from the card, the beams firing towards each one of us. One of the beams hit Dragonair, propelling him backwards with even greater force than expected, and the wall Dragonair hit partially shattered, the male Dragonair slumping to the ground, barely conscious.

I barely had time to register this development when the second beam struck Blaze, flinging the Flareon aside with ridiculous ease, and he slammed into a different portion of the wall, yelping in surprise before falling to the ground, definitely unconscious. The third beam struck me, and I felt myself soar through the air before impacting with a wall, doing a similar amount of damage as Dragonair's impact did. I winced in pain, thankful that Dragonair hadn't seen that. A fourth beam struck the Espeon, who was likewise thrown backwards into the nearby computer console, shattering it completely. The card Tarot held no longer glowed and he looked at us all with slight interest.

"I've done enough." he said calmly. He suddenly paused, his red gem on his chest glowing. "Hm? All good things must come to an end, and our battle is done. Farewell." He nodded to Psycho and me, the only ones that were still conscious, and he and the other ghosts vanished.

"Ah, that freaking hurt!" Psycho growled, crawling out from the rubble of the computer he had blasted into. "No matter. I'll take us out..." His eyes glowed and I blinked in shock, disoriented by the abrupt scenery change. I looked around and saw Aura, Blaze, and Dragonair lying nearby. I noticed the sky was darkening, and looked around to determine our whereabouts. "We're not that far from the facility." Psycho said, his gem glowing slightly.

"Are you using Moonlight?" Dragonair asked, opening one eye to stare at the Espeon, and I noticed the small injuries the black Espeon had taken seemed to be fading quickly.

"Yes. Same reason I have black fur, my evolution enabled me to use both Morning Sun and Moonlight. I also know Recover, which I already used to heal the Vaporeon." Psycho replied in a monotonous voice.

"I hate you." Blaze muttered, struggling to his feet. Psycho glanced at the Flareon indifferently.

"Do you? Because I helped your far more injured friend before offering the assistance to you? Well, I retract any non-existent offer to heal you. Not like you have serious injuries. You probably sustain far worse injuries daily by acting like an overzealous flirt."

"What?" Blaze asked blankly. Dragonair grinned slightly and went into what I call 'dictionary mode'.

"Non-existent means it didn't exist. Overzealous refers to having excess zeal. Excess means more than necessary. Necessary means needed. Zeal refers to a tireless devotion. Tireless means it doesn't slow down. Devotion..."

"Shut up, Dragonair." Ember said, and everyone in the vicinity jumped slightly, for none of us had noticed the sleeping Charmander nearby. She had several scratches, some of which looked rather deep, and was obviously exhausted. Only the Espeon seemed unsurprised by her presence. "Get to the point."

"That takes the fun out of obnoxiously defining words." Dragonair said seriously. Psycho rolled his eyes and stood.

"I shall be taking my leave now." he said dismissively, flicking his tail slightly before vanishing. Dragonair stared at the spot where the Espeon had vanished and then turned to Ember.

"So...what happened to you?"

**Too...many...battles...**


	79. Social Conflicts

**Dragonair POV**

Almost immediately after I asked the question, Ember yawned and muttered something about being exhausted, and rolled onto her side. This didn't concern me too much, as everyone was tired from the battle we had just fought, especially Aura, who had been cursed and things like that. Blaze was muttering under his breath about how all Espeons should be set on fire, especially annoying black furred ones. I was able to ignore this for the first five minutes, but ten minutes into his long winded comment about how Espeons were the least cute of the Eevee line, I got annoyed.

"Blaze, no one cares." I said sharply and the Flareon glared at me. "We can all hear you and none of us want to hear you. So shut up."

"Dragonair, calm down, please." Sapphire said, coiling up near a nearby berry bush, examining the berries critically. I sighed and floated to the bush, picking a few berries for myself. Sapphire raised an eye scale at me and I hastily offered her a few, which she accepted with a small smile, and then laid down a short distance away, nibbling at the berries.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her. "Not hurt, are you?" She tilted her head at me thoughtfully for a moment before replying.

"No, I'm fine. I trust you are also mostly uninjured?" she glanced at me critically, as if searching for injuries.

"No, just very tired." I murmured, eating a few more berries before coiling up next to her, resting my head on her coils. I was so tired that I didn't even notice I had done that until Sapphire moved slightly, resting her head on my neck. I yawned and gently fell asleep.

Unfortunately, I was awakened in the morning by a very annoying fire Pokémon arguing with a slightly less annoying fire Pokémon of the opposite gender. I opened one eye and stared at them oddly. Blaze, from the sounds of it, had tripped and fallen on Ember, apparently agitating one of her injuries, of which she had several. She was understandably unhappy at being awakened in such a manner and the Flareon was trying to convince her it was an accident.

"Guys...what the hell are you arguing about?" I demanded. I obviously had already figured out what they were arguing about, but I was hoping my question would make them shut up. This plan backfired as both started talking at once to tell me, and they had to talk louder to be heard over the other, and I wasn't catching anything either of them was saying.

"Mew damn it, I was talking first!" Ember snarled, and I noticed her claws had glowed purple for an instant, something the Charmander apparently noticed and she immediately fell silent, allowing the Flareon to announce smugly that he had accidentally awakened her, and she was being unnecessarily rude as a result.

"Blaze...how would you like to be awakened by someone falling on your injuries?" I asked rhetorically.

"I don't have any injuries!" Blaze retorted smugly.

"You will if you don't shut the hell up!" I snapped. The Flareon shrugged and walked away, humming some random tune quietly. Ember turned away without a word, sitting down under a tree and gazing skyward. Past experience told me that she was thinking and didn't want to be disturbed. I sighed, trying to go back to sleep, without success.

"Good morning." Sapphire said, also awake and she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before floating back over to the nearby berry bush, taking a few. "What's going on?" she asked, glancing at Ember and Blaze curiously. Aura had also just woken up, stretching and yawning before looking around.

"Just Blaze being stupid again." I replied calmly, taking a few berries that the female Dragonair offered to me. She sighed quietly. "What's wrong?"

"You should try to get along with him a little better." she said simply. "By the way, I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Hm? About what?" I asked nervously. She hadn't shown any signs recently that would clue me in to whatever it was she wanted to talk to me about, so I was unusually edgy. Sapphire noticed my tenseness and smiled, nuzzling against me consolingly.

"Nothing that serious. Just I worry that you're a little overprotective of me." she said kindly and I flinched slightly. "I know part of it is instinctual, but you take it a little _too_ far, don't you think?"

"Uh...not really. I don't see what the problem is." I said slowly, confused by what she meant. Sapphire sighed and moved closer to me, looking into my eyes. I returned the gaze with some hesitance and neither of us said anything for a few minutes. I was starting to feel strangely anxious by the silence, and I couldn't think of anything to say.

"I'll give an example. You get very hostile and angry whenever there's any risk of injury to me. While I appreciate your concern, you go overboard." she said finally. "You become unnecessarily aggressive. You may forget that I am capable of taking care of myself, and your overreaction makes me feel like you don't think I can take care of myself."

"But..." I protested, but she cut me off with a comforting nuzzle.

"I know you don't actually think that, or at least not consciously. However, I want you to remember that I'm not helpless, and don't need to be watched over constantly. I really do appreciate your concern towards my well being, but it gets annoying when you overreact anytime I'm in any slight danger." I nodded, averting my gaze awkwardly. Sapphire sighed slightly. "I hope I didn't upset you." she said softly.

"No...I'm fine." I said. "Just still a little tired." Sapphire nodded understandingly, and floated back to the rest of the group. I followed almost immediately afterwards, ensuring Aura was alright. Blaze had almost immediately questioned her about her health from the instant she woke up, and the Vaporeon seemed flattered, but was getting slightly irritated by the obsessive attention.

"Blaze, relax. I'm fine." she insisted, taking a drink from the nearby stream. The Flareon nodded, backing off slightly. He began humming again, and I recognized the tune with sudden horror. It was one of the most annoying songs I've ever heard in my life, although the song name was evading me.

"Blaze, please don't hum." I said quickly and Blaze shrugged.

"This is the song that doesn't end..."

"Well that answers the question what the song name is, but shut up. No one will ever like you if you annoy the hell out everyone." I said harshly. Sapphire winced at my rudeness and Blaze looked slightly hurt by my comment, his ears drooping.

"Oh...I'm sorry..." he muttered sadly, walking away from the group and lying down, looking away from us all.

"Blaze..." Aura called softly, but the Flareon didn't respond, other than his ear twitched slightly. "Thanks, now I have to go cheer him up." she said to me with slight irritation, walking over to Blaze, sitting down next to him and attempted to talk to him.

"That was harsh." Sapphire said and I winced.

"I know, I didn't mean to say that." I admitted uncomfortably.

"Just leave me alone for a minute!" Blaze suddenly said irritably, running out of the clearing, Aura staring after him in confusion. The Vaporeon walked back to us, looking surprised.

"All I know is you really upset him." she said with a sigh, taking another drink from the stream. "He'll be back in a few minutes."

"Where'd Ember go?" I asked, looking at the spot where the Charmander had been lying before, which was now unoccupied.

"I think she took a short walk." Sapphire said calmly. "Well, we should start thinking about where to go next. We're still a little close to the facility, and that could be problematic."

"Well, it'll pass time before those two get back, anyway." I muttered.


	80. Guess Who's Back?

**Ember POV**

I had left the clearing a few minutes ago, wanting to be free from distractions while I tried to calm down. My anger at the Flareon had worried me because I had felt a sudden, abrupt urge to attack him. Plus, I had started to use Shadow Claw without thinking, which was really concerning me. I was still a little tired from my battle with Diablos, and not in the least interested in telling the others about my fight. This last detail was bothering me because Dragonair had already asked about it the night before. I'm not surprised he asked, considering my number of scratches, but it wasn't a topic I was in any mood to discuss.

I stopped walking and lay down under the nearest tree, glancing up at the cloudless sky. I usually find that lying in such a position helped me think, or just cool off after getting frustrated. Occasionally, it helps me relieve stress, although this is rare. I winced as I brushed against a loose stick, which poked one of my deeper cuts, causing the pain to flare up for a moment. The small flash of pain wasn't very helpful as far as easing my frustration, but I pushed the irritation from my thoughts. The point of the walk was to calm down after Blaze's rude awakening. A few moments later, I saw the Flareon run past me, oblivious to my presence. He seemed upset about something, which was evident by his posture as he laid down about a hundred feet away, his back to me.

"Blaze?" I called to him and he flinched, glancing behind him and noticing me.

"Oh...hi." he said moodily. I raised an eye scale at him curiously and he sighed before turning his head away from me once more. An awkward silence fell between us, but I didn't let it bother me, instead stretching out and looking at the sky once more. "Am I annoying?" Blaze asked suddenly, and I turned my head towards him.

"Uh...what?" I asked, startled by his question. Plus, I had no idea why he was asking the question, nor how honest I should be when answering.

"Am I really that annoying?" he asked, walking towards me miserably. I stared at him blankly. "Dragonair said that no one likes me because I'm annoying. I want to know if I'm really that annoying. I don't try to be..." he muttered.

"I'm not exactly the best person to ask that sort of question." I said with a sigh. "I'm not good at the whole 'cheering people up' thing. Knowing Dragonair, he probably didn't mean it as harshly as he said it."

"Oh..." Blaze said, still looking upset, but slightly more cheerful than earlier. "I'm sorry about waking you. It really was an accident."

"I got over it." I said, returning my gaze skyward as the Flareon walked back to his previous spot. I yawned, turning over slightly to a more comfortable position, and was about to doze off when I heard Blaze cry out in shock. I grunted in annoyance and glanced over at the Flareon before flinching. His reason for crying out was quite apparent, as an Ekans had just ambushed him.

"Surprised to see me, Blazey?" purred the Ekans, her tail wrapped around one of Blaze's legs, preventing him from running. All I could do at the moment was stare in shock at the abrupt predicament.

"L-leave me alone!" Blaze whimpered, clearly scared out of his wits.

"Oh, don't be like that." Rosa said, moving closer to the Flareon until she was only a few inches away. Blaze shuddered in terror as she grinned at him. "You're so cute." she said, tilting her head at him. I spat a fireball at her from a distance, but my aim was a bit off, missing her completely.

"Get away from him!" I growled at the Ekans. Blaze looked towards me hopefully, but the Ekans was unimpressed, coiling herself around him lazily.

"Why? You jealous?" she taunted, licking Blaze's ear, causing the Flareon to flinch. "Relax, Blazey...I won't bite you until we're ready."

"Uh...I'm not ready." Blaze said hastily. "In fact, I don't think I'll be ready for a very long time."

"All in good time..." Rosa hissed seductively, and Blaze shuddered again.

"I'm not jealous, I'm telling you to get away from him!" I snarled. Rosa chuckled softly and licked Blaze's other ear. "Knock it off, damn it!"

"Why? Blazey enjoys it...don't you, Blazey?" she said quietly, licking her fangs. Blaze whined quietly, but didn't respond.

"He obviously hates it, you idiot." I said coldly. "Now get away from him."

"Blazey doesn't want me to go, do you, Blazey?" Rosa asked, flicking her tongue out and licking the Flareon's neck suggestively, Blaze whimpering quietly, but still not responding. Talk about putting him on the spot. If he says he likes it (even if lying, check that, especially if lying), I lose my argument for her leaving him alone. If he says he hates it, she'd probably kill him. The real trap was he had a low survival rating as it was, from what Dragonair told me about her intentions.

"Get away from him NOW." I snarled, getting extremely annoyed by the virtually unwinnable situation. Rosa ignored me, nuzzling against Blaze's fur.

"You're so warm, Blazey..." she purred, licking his throat, which was rather disturbing to watch. Blaze quivered in terror. "Relax, Blazey. Just lie down and rest..." she whispered. The Flareon promptly fell to the ground, although I think that was more his legs shaking so much he lost his balance than him obeying her suggestion. Rosa purred loudly, which is an absolutely terrifying sound, by the way, and rubbed against Blaze. "Your fur is so soft, too..."

"Get the hell away from him!" I shouted, my claws glowing purple, much to my alarm. I recoiled and Rosa raised an eye scale at my reaction.

"Very threatening, to suddenly run away from the person you're attempting to intimidate." she said with a cold smirk. "Now where were we, Blazey?" she asked, snuggling up next to the Flareon, who continued whining. "Don't worry, I won't let that mean Charmander take you from me." she assured him and I snapped, lunging at the Ekans. Before I could get within striking range, a splash of a dark liquid hit me, seconds later an incredible wave of pain shot through me, the liquid I had been splashed with burning my scales. I cried out in agony, falling to my knees, staring at the sizzling liquid in horror.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" hissed the assailant as he slithered into view. "Still not dead, try as you will."

"Fang..." I spat in fury.

"How'd you guess?" the Arbok sneered, slithering towards me. "Continue as you were, Rosa. Be sure he eats the berry within 5 minutes after biting." he added, nodding his head towards a nearby berry bush. "You might actually get two uses out of him, then. Also don't bite too hard or he'll bleed to death. Do more of a nibble." Rosa nodded in reply and continued rubbing against the terrified Flareon, whose terror had increased upon the arrival of the Arbok.

"Why the hell are you here?" I growled, readying my claws to strike. I hated this snake above all other snakes, and I loathed snakes above most other creatures. Fang chuckled sinisterly.

"To help ward off interferences." he replied, baring his fangs at me. "Rosa will never stop annoying the clan if she doesn't produce an heir soon, and she's obsessed with the Flareon. Not to mention the chance of revenge against a Charmander that injured me, the great Fang. I think a fitting revenge is death."

"I'll be sure to kill you for good this time!" I growled. Fang chuckled in reply.

"You will try." he said simply, baring his fangs and then lunging at me.


	81. Fang vs Ember

I dodged quickly to the side, the Arbok's lunge missing. I counter attacked with a fireball, but the snake's scales protected him from the brunt of the attack. Not like my fire attacks are worth much anyway. Fang snickered as he turned back towards me, spitting another burst of the burning dark liquid, and I dodged the majority of it, a few droplets landing on my already injured arm and I cried out in pain as the acid made the scratches sting fiercely, in addition to its already formidable agony. "Enjoying it, Charmander?" Fang sneered softly.

"I'll enjoy this more!" I snapped angrily, slamming my fist into the Arbok's gut, the large snake grunting from the force of the blow, but otherwise took no notice of the attack, instead swinging its powerful tail around, knocking me off my feet. Fang hissed in triumph, darting its head towards me, his fangs poised to rip into me, but I rolled to the side, the fang scraping against me, tearing a gash into my side, which throbbed painfully. I gasped as a new pain seemed to flow through my body, and I hastily examined the small wound.

"You've been poisoned..." Fang sneered, as I stared at the odd fluid that was trickling from the wound, along with the blood. "Soon, the venom will spread through your body and kill you painfully. Unlike Rosa, I don't have pleasure of any form accompany the poison. Unless you enjoy being beaten to a pulp while you slowly die." He laughed harshly and slammed his tail into me, flinging me painfully to the ground. I growled in annoyance, gasping as a spasm of pain hit me. "It's fast acting as well, Charmander."

"Good for it..." I muttered, my claws taking on the friendly purple aura, and I lunged forward, slamming my Shadow Claw into the Arbok's face. Fang yelled in shock, the scales around the fresh wounds slightly burned, but I didn't wait to give him a chance to counter attack, instead slamming the claws into his chest, smirking slightly as he snarled in rage and pain. I dropped back to the ground, grunting as another spasm of pain, stronger than the last, tore through me.

"Still not good enough, Charmander!" Fang sneered, slamming his tail into me, throwing me backwards, and I tumbled across the ground limply, struggling to stand. The triumphant Arbok spat a large dose of Acid, the full spray catching me in the chest, and I writhed in absolute agony, too exhausted and injured to try to dodge. Pain beyond anything I had ever experienced tore through me, my nerves felt like they were on fire, and the burning sensation made my eyes burn, hot tears falling involuntarily from them. Then it was gone, save for the small sizzling noise and the smell of burning scales in the air.

"Damn you...why won't you die?" I snarled, pushing myself to my feet, ignoring my protesting body. Another spasm shot through me and I clutched my chest instinctively, crying out as I pressed against the acid burns.

"Looks like someone doesn't know when to give up and die." Fang sneered, an amused grin upon his face. "You only have about three minutes left until you're dead."

"I'll take you down, first." I snarled, lunging at the Arbok, who spat another stream of acid, but I rolled forward, the projectile soaring over my head, missing by an inch. I got back to my feet, ignoring my aching legs and seized Fang's tail. Fang hissed in amusement, but I raised my paw, which glowed blue before I slammed it into his tail. The Arbok hissed in shock and pain, snapping his jaws at me, but I responded with a Shadow Claw to his neck, blood streaming from the wound. Still, Fang wasn't slowing down. "Why won't you die, damn it?" I demanded in sheer shock.

"_This is the snake that doesn't die! Yes it lives on and on, my friend. Some people, tried to murder him, not knowing who he was. And they'll continue trying to forever, just because this is the snake that doesn't die! Yes it lives on..._" Blaze sang abruptly in an incredibly obnoxious tune. Fang, Rosa, and I all turned and stared at him silently, our mouths hanging open. I was first to recover, thanks (yeah right) to the flare of pain from the venom that I was afflicted with.

"Rosa, either shut him up or I'll kill him." Fang said coldly and the Ekans hissed angrily.

"My Blazey!" she snarled, coiling tightly around the once again terrified Flareon. I took advantage of the Arbok's distraction to strike him again, claws glowing purple. Fang cried out in surprise and I struck him with my other claws, smirking to myself as the Arbok attempted to get an angle to attack me from, but to no avail. I ignored the most painful spasm of pain, this one coming from somewhere near my chest, so I knew I was running out of time. I roared in rage at the accursed snake, striking him once more in the chest, and Fang hissed, writhing slightly, flinging me from him. I flew through the air and landed next to a berry bush.

"Ember!" Blaze yelled worriedly. "One of the berries!" It took me a few seconds to understand what he meant, but I briefly remembered Fang commenting on using one of the berries to keep Blaze from dying after being bitten. I summoned what was left of my remaining strength to pluck one of the berries from the bush and brought it to my mouth. My claws lost their grip on the berry and it landed on the ground, a mere inch from my jaw. I heard Fang's cold laughter.

"Pathetic..." Fang sneered and my anger flared up almost immediately. I darted my neck forward, seizing the berry in my mouth, biting it once and swallowing. The effect was almost instantaneous; I felt the spasms of pain subside. I crawled back to my feet before turning to face the cobra, which was no longer looking in my direction. I hissed under my breath, my claws glowing purple as I approached the Arbok. Rosa noticed me and her eyes widened in shock.

"Master!" she shouted, but it was too late. I leapt onto the Arbok's back, slashing him viciously with my Shadow Claw. The attack was so abrupt that he was unable to react in time and after another swift series of slashes, he collapsed to the ground, twitching in agony. I raised my paw once more, and slammed the claws down into the cobra's back. The Arbok's twitching subsided almost instantly, blood flowing freely from the wound.

"What?" I suddenly blurted, the strangeness of the situation setting in. I staggered backwards, stepping off of the snake's back, looking around in confusion. How had this all happened? I stared at my claws, which had just stopped glowing and were covered in the snake's blood. I hated that snake, but I hadn't really meant to kill him...had I? I turned towards Blaze and Rosa, the Ekans hastily uncoiling from the Flareon and slithering away from us.

"You killed him..." she hissed quietly, but she was more fearful than aggressive. She shot me a hateful glare and disappeared out of the area. Blaze didn't seem frightened at all, but was smiling happily. I averted my gaze, shaking slightly. My anger had gotten out of control, and this time I hadn't stopped myself. I could barely remember anything about the fight at all, aside from constant anger.

"Thanks Ember!" Blaze said cheerfully, practically bouncing in his glee. "Let's go back to the others now. I don't want to go alone." I merely nodded, my mind completely blank as I followed the Flareon back towards where the rest of the group was waiting. This was not going to be fun to talk about, at least not to me it wasn't.


	82. Changing Targets

I scowled as I pushed myself to my feet. The Sneasel body was exhausted beyond what I had expected, but it made no difference to me. The host without my influence would have passed out long ago. No doubt the Charmander was in a similar state of exhaustion. I gazed around the room impatiently. Tarot should have received the summons by now, and I was not in the least bit interested in the reason for his delay. As soon as this thought came to mind, the Sableye in question appeared before me, accompanied by Nightmare, Chaos, and a Dusclops I'm going to assume is Doom, the latter 3 ghosts unconscious.

"Yes, Diablos?" Tarot asked passively and I glared at him.

"Heal my host." I snarled, and Tarot nodded, glowing brightly for a moment. I scowled in irritation. I never could understand why Tarot uses so many delayed action techniques. "And what the hell happened to them?"

_"Urgh...what happened?"_ Nightmare muttered, regaining consciousness. The Gastly looked around the room, puzzled. _"Where are we?"_

"The human facility, the main office, where I had my duel." I replied coldly.

_"You lost, master?"_ Nightmare asked cautiously.

"The duel was not to win, although killing her would be just as beneficial." I replied.

_"Just as beneficial? What benefits did losing have?"_ Nightmare demanded. I chuckled and the Gastly blinked in confusion. _"There actually are benefits?"_

"Just a few. Her self-confidence is at an all-time low, amplified by a strong fear of her aggression caused by the acquisition of the techniques, and she's about to enter a seasonal stage of depression. If she survives another week, I'd be surprised." I said with a smirk. Nightmare flinched, realizing my implication. Our conversation was cut short by the arrival of the Wish, which almost instantly healed all my injuries, the minor twinges of pain fading.

"It may not be as severe as you think, Diablos." Tarot said, studying a few cards. "The Moon confirms her continued doubt. However, the next card is the Hermit, symbolizing reflection."

"And the next card?" I asked sarcastically. Tarot blinked and flipped it. Nightmare looked over the Sableye's shoulder and shuddered.

_"Death?"_ the Gastly said quietly. I tensed abruptly, an unusual, but familiar sensation flowing through me.

"He calls..." I muttered and both Tarot and Nightmare froze, staring at me anxiously. "We must go, immediately." I said with a hint of annoyance. They nodded and Chaos chose this time to awaken.

"Where are we going?" he asked cheerfully. I gave him a serious glare and he nodded understandingly. He floated over to Doom and sent a jolt of electricity into the Dusclops, who awoke with a start. "We gotta leave, Doom."

"What? Where?" Doom demanded and I fixed them with a fierce glare. "Oh...of course, master." He, Nightmare, and Chaos all faded out while Tarot sighed.

"I guess I'm bringing you along, assuming you want to remain in your host."

"You think?" I replied sarcastically. Tarot smiled slightly and there was a flash of light.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We reappeared at the entrance to the lair, so to speak. I took the lead, stepping into the cave, dimly aware of unseen ghosts studying us. "Fools, I've been summoned here. Be gone." I snarled to thin air, noticing that the ghostly energies in the air thinned, to my momentary delight.

_"How long do you think this will take? I hate being here..."_ Nightmare muttered nervously.

"Oh look, Jumpluff." Chaos said and the Gastly flinched, his expression changing to one of absolute terror. I chuckled at his reaction, and then focused my attention on navigating to the meeting place. There wasn't actually a Jumpluff anywhere nearby.

_"That wasn't funny!"_ Nightmare protested angrily.

"You have a fear of Jumpluff, Nightmare...how is that not funny?" Doom asked, chuckling quietly.

_"Shut up."_ Nightmare grumbled.

"Enough. We've arrived." I said coldly, stepping into a large room, glancing around indifferently. The room was almost pitch black, lit only by torches of some sort, but I knew who was standing at the other end of the room, although he was mostly hidden in shadows. A towering draconic figure, whose powerful aura was almost tangible, stood in the rear of the chamber, where the light from the torches barely touched. Most details of his appearance were concealed by the darkness, not that I needed to see him. I stepped forward, my red eyes darting around the room, alert for any signs of other inhabitants in the room.

"No one else is here. Even Darkrai is gone." the figure hissed. I scowled furiously at the mention of the unholy demon. That thing was a curse, and if I had my way, I would exterminate it personally. Of course, my hatred of the demon was common knowledge, and precautions were taken to ensure I never encountered it long enough to initiate a fight.

"You summoned me?" I said with a touch of respect in my voice, which was sincere despite my aloof tone. The ghostly lord nodded.

"I did. I am growing concerned about your activities."

"Are you?" I said with a hint of a challenge in the words. From behind me, my associates were all deathly silent. Which activities could he be concerned about?

"Yes. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"I am satisfied." I said vaguely, eyes narrowed. There had to me more to this conversation than obscure lines of questioning.

"Are you really?" The question was practically whispered and I scowled briefly. So he knew the truth, after all. Not a very difficult truth to uncover, as I was making no real progress.

"I am frustrated at the lack of progress, of course." I admitted. "I am changing my target, regardless. I knew I would need to eventually, and I already intended to after the most recent task."

"You're giving up?" Giratina asked, and I could sense his amusement. I chuckled sinisterly.

"For the time being, yes."

"What about Fang?" Giratina asked and I blinked, confused by the abrupt shift in topic.

"What about him?" I asked. The legendary ghost sighed slightly.

"He was recently killed." Giratina replied. He would be on top of that knowledge, being the lord of the dead and all that.

"Good riddance, he was useless." I replied with cold indifference. "No doubt he bit off more than he could chew. He never did know when to give up."

"And you do?" Giratina said, amused.

"Of course, as I'm taking a break from my current target in order to be of greater use." I said calmly. "I shall return to them when the time is right, but that time is not now. I am not making enough progress, and I may as well back off them for now."

"You've done plenty of damage, I'm sure." Giratina said. "You're dismissed." I nodded respectfully before turning to leave, my underlings following silently. No one else spoke until we were out of the cave.

"I'm going back to the shrine, boss!" Chaos said cheerfully, vanishing.

"You two are also dismissed." I said, gesturing to Doom and Nightmare, both of which faded out promptly. I turned to Tarot. "What happened with your battle?"

"It was evenly matched, the Vaporeon was down." Tarot began, one of his tarot cards spinning in the air. I recognized it as the High Priestess, but saw no significance in its presence. "However, Psycho showed up."

"Giratina damn it, he's still tracking me." I muttered darkly. "At least I'll be rid of him for a while."

"He used psychic attacks coupled with Foresight to defeat Chaos, Nightmare, and Doom, who had recently evolved. I had reached the 5th Trump Card and defeated them all with it. You then called me, and my delay was teleporting our entire group," the Sableye explained.

"You won?" I murmured in slight surprise. "Congrats. Now then, you're dismissed as well until needed once more. Enjoy the break." I added sarcastically while Tarot vanished. I smirked to myself. "Enjoy your break as well, my foes. You haven't seen the last of me..."


	83. Tortured Memories

**Ember POV**

Blaze and I found our way back to the clearing where Aura, Dragonair, and Sapphire were waiting. It didn't take them too long to spot us, but Aura seemed alarmed by the blood on my paws and my newer injuries, especially the acid burns. "Are you okay?" she asked, staring at me. I merely grunted in reply, dreading the inevitable moment when someone asked what happened.

"What happened?" Dragonair asked. Figures, he would be the one to ask. I remained silent, instead walking over to the stream and washing the blood off my paws, also trying to carefully wash the wound in my side.

"Well, Ember and I were talking and Rosa showed up and attacked me." Blaze began.

"She's still obsessed, huh?" Dragonair interrupted, undoubtedly smirking, although I didn't bother looking behind me to check. I very carefully splashed small amounts of water on the acid burns, wincing as the contact caused some flashes of pain.

"More than before." Blaze said, and I saw him shudder out of the corner of my eye. "Ember told her to go away, but that idea wasn't working, and Ember was attacked by the Arbok."

"Him again?" Dragonair muttered irritably. "He never seems to die, damn it!"

"He is now." Blaze said cheerfully and Dragonair blinked in confusion. "Ember killed him."

"Did she?" Dragonair asked, glancing towards me with an odd expression. I glared silently back at him and after a few seconds he finally averted his gaze. "I didn't expect that."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I snapped and he turned back to me, looking slightly surprised at my reaction.

"I don't think he meant anything insulting, Ember." Sapphire said softly, but I continued to glare at the male Dragonair.

"I meant what I said, simply that I didn't expect that." he said calmly.

"Why not?" I growled. "You must think I'm not capable simply because YOU haven't done it!"

"Bit early this year, isn't it?" Dragonair muttered and my eyes narrowed. Sapphire winced, seeing the danger of his statement. I was about to retort, but I noticed my claws had taken on the purple aura again, and a powerful terror gripped me. Without a word, I fled the clearing, ignoring the confused shouts from the two Eons. I continued running for several minutes, finally stopping in a small clearing, trying desperately to control my emotions.

"Why does this keep happening?" I snarled to no one in particular, staring at my claws. Anytime I got upset it happened, and I was getting upset more often. Not that anyone really cared about my emotions, now did they? I scowled bitterly as memories and thoughts flashed before me.

---------------------------------------------------------

"Hey Ember, I need you to help me with my next prank." I glanced up as Dragonair entered my room, raising my eye scale at him.

"What is it this time?" I asked cautiously. Someday, I'm sure we'll get caught pulling these weird pranks.

"I need you to help me get into the kitchen and paint the room black." Dragonair said with a small grin. I stared at him blankly.

"I don't think so." I replied, turning my gaze to the ceiling.

"No? Well, it would be a shame if I also happened to leak a certain Charmander's secret attraction to that Machop..." Dragonair gave me a strange grin and I glared at him.

"I don't like him!" I protested.

"Well, it'd still be good for a laugh. I'd hate to use it instead of a far more promising prank, but I'll take what I can get," he said as he turned to leave.

"Mew damn it! Fine, I'll help." I replied angrily.

--------------------------------------------------------

The prank itself had been amusing, and the blackmail was forgotten. I slammed my fist into a tree, fuming at the memory of the low blow blackmail. Dragonair may have been a reason why no one was ever interested in me, even slightly. I had managed to ignore the lack of interest for a few years, and diverted my attention to claw training. Then there were holidays, notably Luvdisc Day. I closed my eyes, trying to hide from the memories of those accursed holidays. I was always alone on those days, despite all efforts to secure some form of company.

There were good memories, but several more consisted of depressing times of being alone. I couldn't even go out and attempt to socialize because I was never invited. I felt a few small tears roll down my face at the thought.

----------------------------------------------------------

It was Luvdisc Day, two years ago...I had progressed in my claw training and decided to take a day off. As usual, no one had asked me out, and anyone I was interested in was taken or uninterested. I was lying in my room, feeling distinctly left out. No one ever visited me on holidays, and it was starting to become routine to me. I was used to it, but I never enjoyed it.

"Ember?" I glanced up when my name was called and saw Dragonair at the door.

"What?" I asked.

"What the hell? Why are you in here?" Dragonair asked, slithering into the room.

"It's my room, where else would I be?" I asked, glancing at the Dratini curiously. Dragonair stared at me in disbelief. I rolled onto my side, raising my eye scale at him.

"You weren't invited? Oh, that Slugma is dead! How could he invite the entire base and leave you out?" Dragonair demanded. I shrugged miserably, upset by the revelation that everyone else was having a good time and I wasn't.

"It's probably couples only." I muttered. Dragonair shook his head.

"No, I was invited and you know I have about a good a chance of having a partner as a Muk does."

"The Muk does have a partner." I growled slightly.

"He does? Who?" the Dratini asked curiously, but also slightly repulsed.

"The Magnemite." I replied promptly, expecting the question. Dragonair blinked thoughtfully.

"Do you want to come? I'd love to see what excuse that sorry fire slug has for excluding you."

"No...I don't want to..." I said miserably. Dragonair sighed and nodded.

"I guess I'll talk to you later." he said, slithering out of the room.

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It was the Christmas following that incident, and I was lying in my room, same as every holiday. Dragonair had been gone on business for the Thanksgiving holiday, and that holiday I had actually been out of my room, looking for some chance to socialize. I never did find anyone else, and I had spent the rest of that weekend in my room. The Christmas holiday was worse, because I knew there was a party somewhere that I wasn't invited to, and no one had visited me all day, not even to wish me a happy holiday. Not that I expected anyone to, they never did. I've never even received a gift for anything, although Dragonair had given me chocolates to make up for missing Thanksgiving.

"Ember, you better not be in your room again." Dragonair's voice called from the other side of the room's door.

"Why not?" I muttered. Dragonair pushed the door open with his head and slithered into the room.

"Were you invited?" he asked. I didn't respond and the Dratini scowled.

"Flare's dead. This settles it. I chewed him out for excluding you on Luvdisc Day, and he promised he'd invite you. Should have known he wasn't trustworthy enough."

"Why are you here?" I asked with a hint of impatience. I've seen Dragonair randomly rant for hours, and I was down enough as it was.

"Uh...I came to wish you a Merry Christmas." he studied me for a moment. "Although next year I should do this at the beginning of the day, as my wish comes a bit late. I'll be sure Flare has a 'happy' New Year, though. How could he exclude my favorite 6 year old Charmander?"

"I'm 7." I replied and the Dratini flinched uncomfortably.

"Erm...did you have a birthday recently?" he asked nervously.

"Last week." I replied vaguely. Dragonair cursed under his breath. "No one ever knew my birthday. No one cares, and you know it." I said darkly.

"Ember..." the Dratini began, and I rolled over.

"I'm fine." I said. "I'm used to it."

"That makes it worse!" Dragonair insisted. "Please, come with me to the party."

"I'm not wanted there." I said and ignored all further attempts to coax me.

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My fists clenched as I seethed in fury at the memory, my claws glowing purple. "Why do I suffer like this?" I demanded. "Why do I continue allowing myself to? What's left for me?" I studied the glowing claws with slight fascination, almost entranced by the glow. The pain could be over quickly, easily. I wouldn't be missed, and my suffering would be over. I had no promise for the future other than more pain, more suffering, more insults. I was tired of it, of enduring the constant jabs and pokes about my life. No one had ever cared for me, and the ones who claimed to care were just as bad.

_"The difference between you and a Magikarp is that Magikarps have mates, and you never will. No one will ever respect you. Love is a ruse, and the only reason a male would ever be interested in you is for physical reasons, and you don't have much going for you there..."_

Diablos' words flashed before my mind's eye and I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my face. Her words made sense, and the dark truth was too much for me to bear. I couldn't go on like this, I needed to be free from it all. All I felt was anger and grief; it had been perhaps years since I tasted happiness. I opened my eyes, looking at the claws, the glowing that seemed to beckon me into action. I didn't need to fear their power, as through their power I could be free from the pain.

**insert cliffhanger**


	84. Reality Check

**Dragonair POV**

"Celebi damn it!" I cursed loudly. "I didn't mean it that way!"

"She already left." Aura said with a sigh.

"I only meant she was acting depressed and irritable earlier this year than normal! Although, I think she gets depressed because of that time of year, so I see where I upset her..." I muttered.

"Maybe not the best time to ask...but why does she get depressed this time of year?" Sapphire asked, slightly confused.

"She hasn't had any love life. Ever. So when it reaches around Luvdisc Day and the mating season, she gets very depressed, most likely worsened by any hormone related effects." I explained awkwardly.

"How bad is it?" Blaze asked nervously. "The depression and all that?"

"Usually, nothing too serious, although a pain to try to coax her to do anything other than mope. However, her emotions are messed up from that TM thing those ghosts did, so perhaps significantly worse. Plus she was upset about something when you two came back. Any clues?"

"She almost died," Blaze suggested tentatively.

"Wait, describe her battle strategy," I urged, thinking hard. Blaze blinked in confusion.

"I was sort of distracted by the Ekans that was trying to seduce me, but I remember she mostly just used claw attacks."

"Calm and collected or reckless and violent?" I interrupted impatiently.

"Violent." Blaze replied promptly.

"Was she using regular claws or Shadow and Dragon Claw?" Sapphire asked abruptly and I glanced at her curiously.

"Shadow Claw...a lot." Blaze said with a moment of thought.

"She's afraid of them." Sapphire said quietly. Everyone looked at her questioningly. "She's scared of that technique. I've been noticing her reactions recently, and she is afraid of the attacks."

"Why?" Aura asked.

"I don't know," Sapphire admitted. I sighed.

"I'm going after her," I said, floating out of the clearing. "Stay here." I went in the direction I had seen her going in, traveling quickly. Ordinarily, I'd wait a few minutes for her to calm down, but I didn't trust her current mindset. No one knew what was upsetting her about her battle with Fang, and no one knew what happened when she battled Diablos alone. We didn't know much about that phantom, but it was clear he was an evil manipulator, and the fact Ember had fought him alone while his underlings were sent to delay us only increased my concern.

I continued moving, scanning the surrounding area carefully for any clue of where the Charmander could have gone. Knowing her, she would have stopped in a small clearing with several trees, and possibly a stream of some sort. Fortunately, I didn't have to look further as I noticed a flicker of fire to the right of the path I had taken. I stopped, looking in that direction and saw Ember muttering to herself. What troubled me was how she was gazing at her claws, which were glowing an eerie purple. She was staring at them with a mixture of fear and hope, and the way they were positioned struck me as curious. It was as if she was about to strike with them, but they were pointed almost awkwardly. The only way she could damage anything with them held like that was if she struck backwards, towards herself.

"Ember? What are you doing?" I called cautiously, moving towards her swiftly. I was hoping my interpretation of the situation was wrong, but the clues all added up. The Charmander didn't spare me a glance, still studying her paw, a strange gleam in her eyes.

"The only thing left for me." she replied, still not looking at me.

"Slashing yourself with your own claws?" I asked venomously. Ember didn't so much as flinch and my eyes narrowed angrily. "Do have a good reason for doing that?"

"No one cares about or respects me, and I've had enough." she said dully. I felt a massive surge of emotion and I lashed my tail, striking her forcefully on the cheek, knocking her to the ground. It wasn't enough to actually do harm, but it had to be one hell of a shock.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" I shouted, wrapping the Charmander in my coils, restraining her arms and glaring at her. "Maybe you need a freaking reality check, because I'm getting tired of this whole damn thing you're trying to pull! What's so terrible about your life that you need to kill yourself? What could possibly be that bad?"

"Get off me!" she snarled.

"I'm around you, not on you. I think I'd like to give you a few doses of a reality check. No one cares about you? Well, that's a load of crap and you know it. I freaking care about you, always have. You're one of my only true friends, and I'm one of your friends! I'm not the only one who cares about you, either. There's Spark, Sapphire, Aura, and probably Blaze. There's got to more to this whole thing than just thinking no one cares, so what's wrong!"

"I...I don't know..." Ember whispered miserably. "Why am I suffering like this?"

"Like what?" I snapped. "No one knows what the hell's eating at you because you won't tell us! So talk to me."

"You don't understand...I'm always alone! No one ever cares about me, and..." Ember began, but she abruptly stopped, averting her gaze bitterly.

"It's about the holidays...isn't it?" I asked. "I tried to help with that, but I was busy a lot and that Slugma was a bastard. And about your depression, you worry too damn much about having a mate. Do you think I would have a mate if it weren't for my incredible luck with Sapphire?"

"I don't have a chance...no one will ever be interested in me..." Ember muttered, and I saw genuine fear and pain in her eyes.

"Says who?" I demanded suspiciously. I had an idea I knew who might plant that thought in her head. "It wouldn't happen to have been that damn phantom, would it?" Ember glanced up in shock and I saw the truth in her expression. "What did he say?"

"That the only reason any male would be interested in me is for physical reasons, and I don't have a good chance there, either..." she muttered. I rolled my eyes.

"And you think that's true? You believed what a person you're fighting tells you? A common strategy is to insult or mock your opponent, so how did you fall for it?" I demanded, "Is that why you were so upset when you got back?"

"No...I...lost control of my emotions...I couldn't control myself and I nearly killed her."

"Her?" I repeated, puzzled.

"Female Sneasel..." Ember explained miserably.

"Ok...what happened? I must have missed the serious problem."

"She told me to kill her...to use my anger to defeat her..." she whispered."When I get upset...I start to use them..."

"Dragon Claw and Shadow Claw?" I asked and the Charmander nodded sadly. "You're afraid of them...why?"

"I can't stop myself..." she said sadly.

"It's starting to make sense...you're afraid of them because whenever you get upset, you start using them and get aggressive..." I muttered thoughtfully. Ember half nodded. "I still think that's a side effect of the emotional issue. You need to relax, and you'll probably be fine. Not to mention you've got some nasty injuries. Is it safe to let you go?"

"Yes," Ember muttered. I slowly unwrapped from her and she stumbled a little. "I don't know what was wrong with me..."

"Ember...you need to talk to us, not just bottle it up," I said seriously. "We're your friends. You can talk to us. Now we know, and now we can help you. By Celebi, this is sounding clichéd. I'm sorry if my teasing has upset you, I really don't mean it," I continued, Ember blinking in surprise.

"Thanks..." she said, still sounding a little depressed. Of course, if she had cheered up to normal that quickly, I'd be weirded out. "I know it's asking a lot...but can you not tell the others about the...you know..." she gestured with her paw and I tilted my head at her, understanding her question, but not sure how to respond.

"Only if you swear you'll never consider killing yourself, and you talk to us when something's bothering you," I said. Ember nodded awkwardly and I smiled briefly. "Let's go back to the others now."


	85. The Breeder

For the first time in a long time, we actually managed to relax a little bit. To ensure that Rockets from the facility, assuming any had survived, didn't encounter us, we moved further from the Celadon area, to an area I like to call 'the middle of nowhere'. The downsides of being there included Blaze whining about not being able to spend money, Blaze whining that there weren't fish in the stream, Blaze whining that there was nothing to do, and Blaze whining that everyone kept hitting him for no reason. On the plus side, Ember was recovering from her emotional issues fairly well, and her injuries were much better than they were a few days ago.

Sapphire also seemed to be getting restless, although I'm fairly sure she was so used to traveling that she found it difficult to remain in a less than ideal location for more than a few days. I didn't really have any ideas on what to do or where to go, and Ember's emotional wellbeing was my main priority at the moment, and I was pleased that the reduction of stress seemed to be helping a great deal. "Any thoughts on where to go, if anywhere?" I asked roughly a week after the incident with Ember. I had admittedly lost track of the days that past, and didn't really care about the human calendar.

"Somewhere where I can buy stuff," Blaze grumbled. I rolled my eyes at this.

"Thank you for the specific information. Anyone have other ideas?" I asked. Sapphire shook her head wearily, and Aura shrugged. Ember considered it for a moment, but she also shrugged. "No one? Okay then, where specifically do you want to go, Blaze?"

"I don't know," the Flareon replied cheerfully. Everyone stared at him blankly for a few seconds. "What?" Blaze whined, looking at us nervously.

"You basically won the vote paws down, but you have no idea where we should go," Ember pointed out, smiling slightly. It was the first sign of amusement she had shown for a few days, and I interpreted that as a good sign. Blaze was about to retort, but he suddenly stiffened, growling slightly, staring behind us. I followed his gaze and saw a young human male, perhaps a very young adult, walking towards us. The youth stopped when he saw us, looking at our group curiously for several seconds before reaching into a bag and pulling out a book, which he opened and began reading quickly, his eyes skimming the page.

"Oh look, a human who knows how to read," I muttered to Ember sarcastically and she chuckled. Sapphire was watching the human warily while moving further away from him. The human glanced up from his reading and resuming his visual examination of the group. After a brief pause, he reached into the bag again and pulled out a notebook and some form of writing utensil and began writing. He was still far enough away from us not to pose a threat, but everyone was starting to feel uncomfortable by his presence.

"Don't mind me," the human said, still scribbling upon the paper.

"Why is he talking to us?" Ember asked, blinking at the youth.

"Because he's a stupid human," I replied indifferently. At this, the human glanced at me and I winced slightly; I had completely forgotten about the collar I still wore. For a prototype, it sure was long lasting.

"I'm not that stupid, although I can't explain why I understood what you just said," the youth said, giving me an appraising look.

"You just walked into the territory of several wild Pokémon, two of which are Dragonairs, and began writing and talking. You can't possibly justify the intelligence of that decision," I pointed out snidely.

"Sure I can. I'm a breeder," the youth replied and I stared at him.

"Not sure I want to know what he's talking about," Ember muttered.

"I'm not sure how that justifies anything..." I said slowly.

"It's quite refreshing to talk directly to Pokémon. I travel the area and capture Pokémon, and help them acquire mates, while taking notes on behavior and the sort," the youth explained.

"He's an idiot," I muttered to the group. "So you capture Pokémon, breed them, and then what? You split up the couples again?"

"No, I either capture or release them," the youth explained in a completely serious tone.

"Definitely an idiot," I whispered. Sapphire rolled her eyes. "So what kind of notes are you taking on us?" I demanded to the human, who blinked momentarily.

"Behaviors mostly," he replied vaguely. He reached into the bag again and pulled out a Pokeball, examining it for a moment before pressing the center button. The ball popped open and a Charmeleon appeared in a flash of light. "Let's see...male Charmeleon best match for female Charmander."

"Huh?" Ember muttered, looking confused. The human took out a book from the bag, and read quickly. The Charmeleon looked around the area for a few moments before noticing Ember. He glanced at her curiously, while she gave him a disgusted look. I half grinned, having a slight hint at what the human was going to try to do, and that he had absolutely no chance of succeeding.

"Basic courting techniques..." the youth muttered, while the Charmeleon continued studying Ember, who glared at it irritably."Charmeleon, try this..." the larger fire lizard glanced at the page the human was pointing it before nodding.

"What's he doing?" Sapphire whispered to me and I grinned.

"Trying to have a Charmeleon court Ember. Now, ordinarily I'd say that Ember would jump at that opportunity, but she hates Charmeleons with a passion," I whispered quietly.

"Why?" Aura whispered back. I shook my head to tell her I didn't know. Blaze was looking confused, but didn't seem to have anything to say. Meanwhile, the Charmeleon had approached Ember, who was watching him warily, growling slightly.

"Let's see...I think that growl is a mating call..." the youth muttered, studying the book. Ember's expression changed to a mixture of anger and disbelief. I immediately started laughing, prompting the Charmander to stare at me.

"It's a common mistake, I guess," I said with a wink. Ember rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the Charmeleon, who was studying her warily.

"Assert your dominance, Charmeleon," the human said helpfully. I snickered at the expression on Ember's face, which showed pure and absolute shock. "Don't hurt her, though."

"Not exactly a bright human, is he?" Ember muttered, eyeing the Charmeleon dangerously, the male lizard preparing to fight. "Touch me and I'll kill you," she growled, baring her claws, prompting the male to back up slightly.

"Don't back down. Aggression is a common reaction," the youth said calmly. He truly is a complete idiot, and probably doesn't realize it.

"Humans aren't smart, Ember. Not at all. I've been telling you this for years. Let's face it, their idiocy continues to grow each day," I said seriously. The Charmeleon seemed like an idiot also, since he was about to try to 'assert his dominance'. If memory serves, that means the male tries to prove he is strong enough (and therefore worthy of being the female's mate) by fighting the female. Not only do I think he would lose, but that's not the best thing to attempt to do anyway if the female is uninterested.

"Can I kill him? Please?" Ember asked Sapphire.

"Uh...no," Sapphire replied, surprised by the question. The youth had pulled out a different Pokeball and threw it forward, the ball releasing...a female Flareon.

"Female Flareon good match for male Flareon..." the human muttered.

"Master of Logic there," I whispered to Aura, who I abruptly realized was looking very pissed off at the appearance of the female Flareon. Blaze was staring with a little too much interest at the other Flareon, and Aura was obviously pretending not to be jealous.

"Aww...she's fluffier than me!" Blaze whined when he was finally capable of intelligent speech (Debatable whether he actually USED intelligent speech in that last comment). The female blushed slightly and Aura growled under her breath, unnoticed by either Flareon.

"How amusing," came the flat emotionless voice of the black furred Espeon as he abruptly appeared nearby. Aura glanced at him, but looked away quickly. "Don't even try hitting on me, Vaporeon. I'm not interested."

"Hello cutie..." the female Flareon said to Blaze, brushing her tail against his face. He grinned slightly and I chuckled. Aura glared at Blaze before walking to the other side of the clearing, facing away from them. I think I was the only one who noticed, though.

"There is about to be a serious problem now..." Sapphire whispered to me and I nodded.

"Ember is probably going to beat up that Charmeleon, and I'm not sure about Blaze, but Aura's pissed off," I whispered back. Sapphire glanced back at the Vaporeon and frowned.

"I recommend just watching the show," Psycho said emotionlessly. "It'll amuse me for a few minutes, anyway."


	86. Conflicting Attraction

Ember glared at the Charmeleon, who had seemingly decided to go along with the idiot human's advice and engage her in battle. Pity the human didn't realize Ember hated Charmeleons and that his charitable act (all humans think they're doing good for the world, even when they're not) was going to backfire. I turned my attention back onto Blaze for a moment, who was still staring at the female Flareon with interest. Aura, on the other hand, had moved to the rear of the clearing and was probably sulking. Great way to hide jealousy, isn't it?

"Go ahead, Charmeleon..." the youth said, taking notes rapidly. The Charmeleon hesitated for a moment, watching the aggravated Charmander nervously. "You aren't going to impress anyone by backing off."

"He is such an idiot, its lost most of its amusement," I muttered. The black furred Espeon smiled for only a fraction of a second before his expression became impassive once more. "Oh good, the action's starting," I said as the Charmeleon stepped closer to Ember. Ember growled warningly, but the Charmeleon chose to ignore it, prompting Ember's eyes to narrow to slits.

"Last warning," Ember snarled, readying her claws. "Go away or I'll hurt you."

"She's feisty..." the human muttered, making a note and then checking something in one of the several books he had out."So far that's a good sign."

"No, it's not!" Sapphire said, staring at the youth in disbelief.

"Told you he's an idiot," I pointed out with a smirk. "He thinks all this because he interpreted her earlier growl as a mating call. Let's just see how stupid the Charmeleon is."

"Very stupid from the looks of it," Psycho said in a semi-monotonous voice, which was really starting to annoy me. I took a second to calm down before returning my focus to the two fire lizards. The Charmeleon darted forward, striking a fast blow to Ember's head, knocking the smaller lizard to the ground. She cursed, climbing back to her feet, her eyes blazing with anger.

"Okay, you just pissed me off," she growled, lunging at the Charmeleon, punching him in the gut and following through with an uppercut when he hunched over from the first blow. Before he could recover from this fist combination, she bit his arm and then scratched him across the chest with her claws. The Charmeleon let out a roar of pain, trying to retreat, but Ember swung one foot around, knocking his legs out from under him. The Charmeleon hit the ground hard and Ember took a pace backwards, nodding in satisfaction.

"That was fast," I said with a smirk and Ember shrugged.

"If he's stupid, he'll get up and try again," she muttered, leaning against a boulder lazily, turning her attention on to the Flareon pair. The female had moved closer to Blaze, who was starting to look a little uncomfortable by her behavior.

"Uh...hi?" Blaze asked, backing up a pace. The female cocked her head to the side, regarding him curiously. "Uh...how are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you," the female replied, brushing against his chest, making a slight purring sound. Blaze blushed, backing up awkwardly.

"Erm...maybe slow down a little. I'm not that interested..." Blaze said nervously. The female Flareon paused, smiling cutely at him. I was trying not to laugh at the surreality of the situation, and Sapphire was watching with an eye scale raised.

"I understand," the female said, sitting down and looking around. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable. Though you really are kind of cute." She abruptly dove to the side as a large jet of water soared past her. "Hey, what was that for?" she demanded to Aura, who glared at her silently. Blaze's expression was one of awkward confusion, and Ember was smiling slightly.

"If I had to guess, I'd say that the Vaporeon is jealous, but can't bring herself to admit it due to her frequent protests that she wasn't attracted to the male Flareon," Psycho said monotonously. Aura flushed angrily, firing a second jet of water at the black furred Espeon, who reflected it calmly with a psychic barrier.

"So...you do like me?" Blaze asked, looking confused. The female Flareon hissed slightly, glaring at Aura. "Aww...now I'm confused!"

"And how is that different from normal, Blaze?" I asked, smirking. Ember chuckled and then ducked as the Charmeleon tried to punch her, retaliating with a punch to the stomach. The Charmeleon grunted, stumbling back. Ember smirked, lunging forward and biting the Charmeleon's other arm. Meanwhile, the two female Eons both glared daggers at each other, while Blaze looked between them nervously.

"Is it normal for females to fight over you?" he asked. Psycho's silver eyes flashed for a moment.

"In my experience, yes. However, just because they make a wager among themselves doesn't mean I'll be interested in the winner. Like one time there were four females fighting over me. Well, the Ekans won, but I sure wasn't interested in her. Creepy snake, that one was."

"An Ekans?" Blaze repeated, looking faint. Psycho glanced at him for a moment.

"Rosa, her name was," the Espeon's eyes glowed. "So she's currently after you? Probably because I slammed her into a tree a couple times. Who knew it only took 32 hits to make her change her obsession? Oh look, they're making their wager now."

"If I win, you get lost!" Aura hissed, arching her back as she glared at the female Flareon.

"Is he taken already?" the Flareon asked, more calmly. "Because if you're that interested, I'll back off." There was a long pause as Aura hesitated.

"It doesn't matter. I win, you get lost," Aura snapped. The Flareon rolled her eyes.

"Fine, and if I win, I can stick around."

"And if I win, Blazey is all mine..." at the sound of the newcomer's voice, Blaze whined loudly, even as the Ekans slithered into the clearing. "No ifs, ands, or buts," Rosa hissed.

"Why am I being offered as a prize again?" Blaze whimpered.

"You weren't that upset by it until Rosa showed up," Psycho said, smiling slightly.

"I was still confused by what was going on," Blaze protested quickly. "I don't like being the prize!"

"Stop whining, Blazey. I'll win quickly so we can be together," Rosa assured the Flareon, licking her fangs. "Pity I'll dirty my fangs with this trash first, but I'll do what I must for Blazey."

"Ugh, this took most of the amusement out of watching..." I muttered, watching as Ember knocked the Charmeleon to the ground with a punch to the face. The human youth was staring at Blaze, the female Flareon, and Rosa with an extremely confused look upon his face. It fit him quite well, to be honest. Just another clueless human who thought they had a clue what was going on.

"No interferences," Aura announced, narrowing her eyes at the Flareon and Ekans. "Just the three of us. Same wager applies to the snake. I win and you two get lost. Fire Girl here wins and she can stick around while the snake leaves. Snake bitch win, and Blaze is hers."

"That's not cool, Aura!" Blaze whined, only receiving a dark look from the Vaporeon and Rosa in response. The Flareon merely growled in reply to the wager. "Don't I get a say in this?" Blaze complained.

"Only if you're psychic and can keep the undesired females away from you," Psycho said helpfully. Blaze glared at him.

"Do I need to set you on fire, you stupid Espeon?" he growled.

"You can try," the Espeon replied dully. "If memory serves, you despise me because the Vaporeon showed interest in me. The same rule seems to apply here where she hates the Flareon because you have interest in her."

"Shut up!" Blaze growled, spitting a stream of fire at Psycho, who calmly teleported out of the path of the fire.

"Another fight?" Ember asked, knocking her opponent out with a quick blow to the face.

"Sure looks like it," Sapphire said with a sigh.

"Cool," Ember replied, sitting down on a rock to watch. "So Blaze vs. the Espeon and Aura vs. Rosa vs. the Flareon? This should be interesting."


	87. Double Brawl

Blaze growled and turned around to face the location where the Espeon had teleported to. Psycho stared back calmly. "Are you sure you wish to go through with this battle?" Psycho challenged quietly. "Perhaps it would be wiser to rethink this...after all, only three beings have ever bested me in battle."

"Then I'll be the fourth!" Blaze growled. Psycho's expression didn't change, but his silver eyes flashed briefly.

"We'll make our own wager. Should you win, I disappear from your life for good. But should you lose, you do me any one favor that I should demand of you," the Espeon's tail flicked and Blaze nodded, eyes narrowed. I studied the Espeon for a moment, wondering what type of favor he would use Blaze for when he won. I sincerely doubted the Flareon had a chance against the psychic type that defeated three of the four ghosts we fought at the facility.

"He's done for," Ember muttered, turning to watch the three way battle. Rosa launched her body forward, fangs bared at the female Flareon, who dodged nimbly, the Ekans missing. Aura sent a jet of water at the airborne Flareon, striking her forcefully and blasting her into a tree. The Flareon shook off the impact, sending a stream of fire at Aura in retaliation. Aura countered with a jet of water, extinguishing the flames. Rosa's tail glowed purple and she slammed it into Aura, the Vaporeon grunting in pain as she was shoved roughly to the ground by the impact. Rosa hissed triumphantly.

"Blazey will be mine..." Rosa sneered, slithering closer to Aura, fangs bared to strike. Aura leapt back to her feet, glaring at the Ekans hatefully.

"You'll pay for that!" she growled, dodging another Poison Tail, exhaling another jet of water, this time aimed at Rosa. The Ekans twisted her body out of the way, grinning wickedly. Aura redirected her aim hastily, shoving the Ekans backwards with the high pressured water jet. Before Aura could celebrate, Rosa managed to break free from the water, striking the Vaporeon with a Poison Tail. Aura groaned, growling furiously as she skidded a few feet from the Ekans.

"You're tougher than I expected, but I was trained by Master Fang, and I won't lose as easily as he did," Rosa sneered. "As powerful as he was, he wasn't very graceful with his attacks. And I have...practice...with flexibility," Rosa grinned.

"How did you get captured by the Rockets if you're so strong?" Aura snapped, sending another jet of water, but Rosa dodged easily. The female Flareon dodged as the Ekans spat a splash of acid in her direction, retaliating with a spiral shaped stream of fire, creating a ring around both Rosa and Aura, both trapped females blinking in surprise.

"Fire Spin," Ember said with a small nod. Sapphire was watching this development in surprise. I glanced back to the male Eons. Blaze ran forward recklessly, probably attempting a Take Down attack, and the Espeon calmly waited before teleporting at the last second, the Flareon tripping and hitting the ground painfully. Psycho reappeared a few feet away, his eyes glowing brightly before Blaze was surrounded with a psychic aura and hurled across the clearing, tumbling across the ground. The Flareon growled angrily as he got back to his feet, spitting a stream of fire at the black Espeon, but the fire was reflected with a psychic barrier.

"Wow, he's tough," I muttered, not really that surprised by how effortlessly the psychic Eon was winning. Blaze seemed aggravated by his inability to make contact, but rather than backing down, he seemed more obsessed with continuing the battle. Psycho blinked at the silent decision to continue fighting, but made no comment. Blaze spat a stronger Flamethrower, but once again it was blocked with the barrier. Blaze kept up the attacks, and I was momentarily impressed by how quickly he caught on, as the psychic barrier was weakening from the constant barrage.

"Almost impressive, but I'm afraid it's not," the Espeon remarked emotionlessly, allowing the barrier to fall in favor of teleporting clear of the line of fire, no pun intended. Blaze grinned, turning around and spitting another stream of fire, although weaker than his previous. Psycho reappeared directly in the path of the fire. Strangely, he didn't so much as flinch or act surprised as the fire engulfed him.

"Ha! Take that!" Blaze said happily. When the fire faded, Psycho's fur was scorched, and had several burns. However, the gem on his forehead glowed and he seemed to be absorbing the sunlight. Within a few moments, his injuries had faded.

"Morning Sun. Nice try, but the other reason I almost never lose is I recover from my injuries very quickly. It's handy to have several recovery techniques available. To beat me, you have to win with one attack," Psycho replied emotionlessly, and Blaze stared in disbelief at the fully healed Espeon. "Are you sure you wish to continue?"

"It's very hard to justify him continuing, but he'll probably continue anyway," I said, shaking my head. In the female's brawl, Aura had escaped the fiery circle by using her water attack, but Rosa appeared to still be trapped. The female Flareon was trying to repel Aura's attacks with her blasts of fire, but they were almost perfectly matched. Aura managed to close the distance between them and bit the Flareon's neck, which was protected by the fur. The Flareon hissed, spitting a close range Flamethrower into Aura's face, forcing the Vaporeon to release her grip.

"Your motivation doesn't make sense, Vaporeon. If you're not interested in him, what is the problem? I already said if he's taken, I'd back off as the newcomer. So I don't see what you're upset about, since neither factor was been satisfactorily answered," the Flareon said with a small growl. Aura didn't reply, except to send a powerful water burst at the Flareon, shoving her backwards.

"Actually, that's a fairly good point," I whispered to Sapphire. "Why are they fighting in the first place? If Aura's interested, the Flareon would back off, and if Aura's not interested, she shouldn't be upset."

"I don't quite understand it, either," Sapphire admitted. "It's not the best time to ask about it, either."

"Blazey is mine!" Rosa hissed, launching herself free of the fire circle, landing a few inches from Aura and snapping her fangs at the Vaporeon, but before the strike was completed, she was knocked to the side by Aura's tail. I'm not entirely sure that was intentional, however. The Flareon dodged a second jet of water, spitting a powerful wave of flames into the Ekans. Rosa hissed in fury, but her scales seemed to have repelled most of the damage.

"Back off, snake!" the Flareon snarled, quickly dodging a splash of acid and another pulse of water. Aura was visibly tiring from using so many powerful water attacks, the Flareon was damp from getting hit by several of the attacks, but otherwise unharmed, and Rosa's scales were slightly scorched, but was also otherwise unharmed. Rosa took advantage of Aura's tiring and hit her with a Poison Tail and then bit at her. Aura groaned in pain as the tail hit, but managed to leap away from the fangs. Rosa hissed in frustration, lunging at Aura again. The Vaporeon dodged again, panting from the effort of dodging and fighting. Rosa hissed in triumph, noticing her quarry was tiring.

"You've lost!" Rosa hissed, lunging forward at Aura, who tripped while trying to jump away. Rosa chuckled darkly before striking. Before the fangs could hit Aura, the female Flareon rammed her head into the snake, flinging the Ekans away from the fallen Vaporeon.

"This isn't a battle to the death, so that sort of attack is cheating and uncalled for!" the Flareon snarled. Rosa smirked cruelly.

"All's fair in love and war! This is both love and war!" Rosa retorted. The Flareon narrowed her eyes furiously at the Ekans.

"Trying to kill is not fair, Ekans," the Flareon said coldly. "You forfeit the battle."

"Try to make me forfeit! I'll kill you first!" Rosa hissed, lunging at the Flareon, but psychic energy surrounded her, pausing her strike and then Rosa was psychically thrown to the ground limply. "No interfering!" Rosa hissed at Psycho. Blaze was looking thoroughly confused at this point.

"The rules barring an intervention only apply if you continued to fight fair. You are disqualified and are being forcibly removed from the area," the Espeon said emotionlessly and his eyes glowed, Rosa hissed angrily before vanishing. "I returned her to the Ekans clan, which is located quite a far distance from here."

"Is the battle over?" Sapphire asked hopefully. Aura struggled back to her feet, nodding reluctantly, although she shot the female Flareon a venomous glare.

"Good, that means I can stick around, according to the terms of the wager. But seriously, if you're not interested in him romantically, why are you so interested in preventing me?" the female asked Aura.

"I don't know," Aura grumbled.

"So you don't like me?" Blaze asked, still confused.

"Not quite like that..." Aura admitted uncomfortably.

"Oh..." Blaze said, now looking at the female Flareon. "But I'm not sure how much I like you..."

"It helps that you just met her like 10 minutes ago," I pointed out seriously and Ember chuckled softly. "What's her name?"

"Oh, good question. Er...what's your name?" Blaze asked and the female Flareon paused uncertainly for a moment.

"Well, the Breeder was thinking of naming me Hydra for some reason, but my name's Crystal," she replied.

"Why Hydra?" Aura asked, looking confused.

"He's a human, they're not smart. Why is it so hard to get that?" I replied, rolling my eyes. Crystal giggled slightly, brushing her tail against Blaze slightly. The male Flareon shifted his weight, a little uncomfortably. "Hm, that looks familiar for some reason..." I said thoughtfully. Both Sapphire and Ember laughed quietly at the comment. "No, it really does. What's funny?"

"Are you kidding?" Ember asked seriously. I blinked at her for a moment. "You're not kidding..." she whispered disbelievingly.


	88. Research

I was about to ask what Ember meant, but my attention was diverted by the 'Breeder' withdrawing his unconscious Charmeleon into his Pokeball. "Hm, I have no idea what happened there..." the youth muttered and I rolled my eyes.

"You're a human so such confusion is understandable, although still annoying. She wasn't interested, and the Charmeleon wouldn't back off. He wouldn't back off because you told him not to back down, and you told him not to back down because you had no idea what you were doing," I said, smirking. The human paused, taking a few notes quickly.

"I'll keep that error in mind..." he muttered to himself, and I sighed slightly.

"You can go away anytime now," I said and the Breeder paused, glancing at me with a curious expression.

"Maybe there's a better match for the Charmander," he said, looking at a different page in the notebook. Ember seemed to consider this idea for a moment, but ultimately spat a fireball at the human in response. He ducked to avoid it. "I'll take that as a no."

"You're a genius. A fireball to the face means 'no'," I replied sarcastically and the Breeder rolled his eyes, reaching into his bag and pulling out yet another book, opening it and reading quickly. While reading, he put the other books back into the bag. After a few moments, he glanced up at Sapphire and me. I was uncomfortably aware that Sapphire had her tail slightly wrapped around me. It sometimes amazes me how I don't notice her doing that.

"Interesting...so you two are mates, and are currently on a relatively minor level of affection," the Breeder said, taking a note. I blinked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" I demanded. The youth looked up from his notebook.

"According to this book, when a female Dragonair has her tail partially wrapped around the male, in such the fashion as that," he pointed at us before continuing, "it not only informs all around that both are already taken, but it also is a sign of affection, although a minor level," the Breeder explained.

"What book is that?" Sapphire wondered and I repeated the question, but more aggressively. The Breeder blinked before showing me the title.

"Signs of Affection - Dragonair Edition..." I read.

"I've heard of that book series before. It's a collection of research about the evolution line, expressions of affection, and a lot of other details about the species," Ember said thoughtfully. I blinked at her, but shook my head slightly.

"What other editions do you have?" I asked the human, who opened his bag. "Is it typical to carry a library with you?" I asked him, examining a few titles. "He's got a Charmander Edition...a Magikarp Edition? I've got to read about Gyarados," I muttered, using my tail to seize the book. The Breeder seemed unbothered.

"You can keep that if you want. I don't study Magikarp or Gyarados," he muttered. Ember picked out the largest of the books.

"Eevee Edition? Why is this one so damn big?" she asked, and I smirked. The book was about as large as the dictionaries I stole from Rocket bases, maybe even larger. Psycho chuckled at Ember's question.

"Because there's the information on Eevees and also on all of their evolutionary forms," he explained, actually with emotion in his voice. Ember glanced through the Eevee section for a few moments.

"Eevees have 7 evolutions? Since when?" she demanded. Blaze, Aura, Crystal, and Psycho all stared at her like she was crazy. "What?"

"You only just now knew they had 7? Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon and Glaceon," Psycho explained.

"I drew a blank on the last two," Ember grumbled. She flipped through a few more pages. "Explains a lot. Flareons primarily show affection by nuzzling or brushing their tail against their mate."

"Because we're fluffy and soft," Blaze said cheerfully, blushing as Crystal demonstrated this detail by brushing her tail against his face as Aura looked away pointedly.

"I always wondered about Jolteons. They're spiny, wouldn't that hurt?" I asked seriously.

"The quills can flatten so they aren't as sharp, if memory serves," Psycho said. Ember nodded absently, still reading. I quickly read through the Magikarp section of my book and grinned before looking through the Gyarados section.

"This explains a lot as well. Gyarados rarely crossbreed because they bite, and few species have scales hard enough to survive," I announced. The human flinched at this comment, and I grinned at his discomfort. Seriously, he calls himself a breeder, stocks himself with books about Pokémon affection, but can't stand hearing some of the information in them.

"What is it with so many species and using their tail?" Ember asked abruptly. I raised an eye scale at her in confusion. "Well, Flareons, Eevees, Espeons, Dragonairs, Raichus, Charmanders, and many others wrap their tail around their mate affectionately."

"It's a universal sign of affection. Everyone knows what it means," I replied thoughtfully. "I think most species have that as an instinct."

"Did you do that on purpose?" Ember asked me. I raised an eye scale at her. "I see your point. Definitely instinctual."

"What?" I asked, now confused. Ember pointed and I blinked. "I'd say instinct," I muttered, somehow having failed to notice I had wrapped my tail around Sapphire slightly, the female Dragonair laughing gently at my confusion. "Anyway, you done memorizing how to flirt with the Eevee line?"

"Almost..." Ember muttered, clearly not listening. Everyone in the proximity (except the human, who couldn't understand Ember's response) started laughing. Ember glanced up, puzzled. "What's funny?"

"You didn't hear his question did you?" Aura asked. Ember shrugged in reply. "He asked if you were done memorizing how to flirt with the Eevee line and you said 'Almost'," the Vaporeon explained and Ember laughed slightly.

"You handled that better than I thought you would," I admitted, surprised by the reaction.

"It's funny," Ember replied simply, glancing at the book again before throwing it back to the human, who caught it, struggling for a moment with its weight before replacing it in his bag.

"Can you go away now?" I asked the Breeder wearily. The youth paused for a moment before sighing.

"I guess I have enough notes. Flareon, is he reciprocating or not interested?" he asked Crystal, who glanced at Blaze questioningly. Blaze shifted uncomfortably for a moment before rubbing against her cautiously. Crystal purred softly, and the Breeder wrote a note. "So you wish to stay with him?" Crystal nodded in reply, and the Breeder smiled. "Good luck, then." He knelt down next to the female Flareon and patted her on the head before walking out of the clearing.

"Good, he's gone," I said promptly. Sapphire rolled her eyes before nuzzling against me gently.

"You sure put me on the spot with that," Blaze grumbled to Crystal, who looked down uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, and now Blaze was looking uncomfortable.

"Aww, don't be hard on yourself. I hadn't really been too open, so you weren't sure. It's okay!" he pleaded and Crystal smiled at him. Aura smiled slightly at the Flareon pair.

"You okay, Aura?" Sapphire asked the Vaporeon cautiously.

"I'll be fine. I wasn't really that attached to Blaze, in that sense anyway. I liked him, but not sufficiently, I suppose."

"Now about that favor, Flareon," Psycho began and Blaze looked at the Espeon irritably.

"Yeah, fine. What?"

"I could use an assistant with a task I am doing tomorrow. I'll give more details when the time comes," Psycho replied monotonously. "I shall teleport us there, and return you here when we're done."

"Where is it?" Crystal asked curiously. Psycho blinked at her for a moment, his silver eyes flashing in annoyance at the interruption.

"It doesn't really matter to anyone else," he said coldly. Crystal growled dangerously and the Espeon took an instinctive pace backwards. "Johto," he answered quickly.

"Can we come, too?" I asked sarcastically. Either Psycho missed the sarcasm, or he's a jerk, because there was a bright flash of light and when the light faded, we weren't in the same clearing as before. "Where the hell are we?"

"I'd guess Johto," Ember said, looking around. "I have no idea where."

"We are indeed in Johto, a short distance from where the task will take place," Psycho said.

"Hi Dragon!" called a familiar cute voice.

"What?" I said, spinning to face the speaker. The Pichu kit smiled up at me, waving his paw. "Spark?"


	89. Back in Johto

"Hi Dragon!" Spark said again, hugging my coils happily. I smiled at him, looking around the area we had been taken to. Sure enough, this location was very close to where the rescued Raichus had decided to stay.

"Hello Spark," Sapphire said and the Pichu smiled cheerfully, running over to her and hugging her coils as well.

"Hi pretty dragon!" he said and Ember smirked, just as Spark noticed her.

"Ember! You back! How you? Me miss you cuz you no here and me no say bye and me no get hug but me happy cuz me have Mommy and Daddy!" Spark said enthusiastically, hugging Ember around the waist. Ember blinked a moment before patting the kit on the head awkwardly, looking guilty for a few seconds.

"Uh...I'm fine. Haven't been that great lately, but I'm good now," she said carefully. Spark smiled and ran over to Blaze next.

"Hi! You fur soft! Me like fluffy!" Spark said, hugging the Flareon. Crystal blinked at the Pichu in confusion, and Blaze smiled at Spark, patting him on the back gently. Spark raced over to Aura, hugging her next. Aura nodded, hugging the Pichu cautiously. Next, Spark noticed the Espeon and looked extremely confused. "Me no know you. Me Spark! Me hug?"

"No, do not hug me," Psycho said with a hint of coldness in his voice and Spark stepped back, looking upset.

"Oh...me sorry," the Pichu said before noticing Crystal. "Hi! Me Spark! Who you? You fluffy? Me hug?"

"Er...hi. My name's Crystal, and I guess I'm fluffy. Sure, you can hug me," the female Flareon said, still a little surprised by the kit. Spark smiled and hugged her tightly, sparks flying from his cheeks in his happiness. When he finally let go, one area of her fur was fluffed out from the static electricity. "Easy to fix..." Crystal said, using a paw to flatten the fur again.

"So why you here?" Spark asked. "You see me?" he asked hopefully.

"Not exactly, but we can visit for a while," I said.

"YAY! Me tell Mommy and Daddy. You no go," the Pichu said, running down a small path as a blur.

"How do you know him?" Crystal asked the instant the Pichu was out of earshot.

"Long story. We helped him find his parents, who were captured by Rockets," I said, then turned to glare at the Espeon. "And you're a jerk to him. He's a kit, so be nice!"

"I see no reason to soften a demand not to hug me, as firm commands get the point across much better than a softer, less direct comment..."

"Shadow, there you are!" said an unfamiliar, but cheerful voice and the Espeon immediately turned his gaze to the speaker. I blinked upon seeing the speaker, as it was a strange tan feline creature with what appeared to be plants on its body, including some sort of sprout on its forehead. Its tail was reminiscent of a leaf. In all honesty, I have no idea what it was.

"Leaf," Psycho said with a trace of irritability.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are there two Dragonairs, two Flareons, a Charmander, and a Vaporeon with you, Shadow?" the strange creature asked, walking closer. I glanced at the Espeon with an eye scale raised.

"Shadow?" I repeated. The Espeon slowly turned to glare at me.

"Only my brother can call me that. I don't have a name from birth, and Leaf is the only one I tolerate calling me that," he said coldly.

"What if you get a girlfriend? Psycho isn't exactly a name that inspires romance," the strange creature said.

"Pity that I have to disagree. Females won't leave me alone," Psycho said wearily. "And for the non-Eons here, Leaf here is a Leafeon."

"So that's a Leafeon. Kind of cute..." Ember muttered and everyone turned to stare at her. She flinched. "Was I talking out loud?"

"Thinking loudly, also," Psycho said coldly. The Leafeon shifted his weight uncomfortably and I smirked.

"Good to know you're almost back to normal," I whispered to the embarrassed Charmander. She shifted her gaze to avoid looking at anyone else and I rolled my eyes.

"I don't think fire and grass would mix too well..." Leaf muttered.

"Leaf, what's the news?" Psycho said with a snarl. The Leafeon flinched slightly.

"No good, Shadow. Jolt's still with the Sinnoh issue, Darkness...I think she is investigating the last attack on the Kanto problem, and Frost couldn't be reached. Just you and me, bro," Leaf replied quickly.

"I recruited the fool Flareon, and the rest are tagging along. We can use them if needed," Psycho said and I finally got irritated at the pair of them.

"Either tell us what the hell you're talking about, or shut the hell up. Don't talk like we're not here."

"The kit's back," the Espeon replied dismissively and I turned to see the Pichu stop in front of Sapphire.

"Me back! Who you?" Spark asked, pointing at the Leafeon and giggled. "You look funny."

"Story of my life," Leaf said. "And I'm going to agree that we should discuss this matter elsewhere. Let's go, Shadow." The Espeon nodded and both Eons vanished in a flash of light.

"Stupid Espeon..." Blaze grumbled.

"That Leafeon seems okay, though," Ember said and several of us stared at her again. She blinked and scowled. "I meant personality wise!"

"Personality is one of the best things to look for. If they're attractive, that's just a bonus," I said, nuzzling Sapphire as I spoke, and the female Dragonair blinked in surprise, but didn't comment.

"Mommy and Daddy say you can come cuz you nice and you no mean rock," Spark announced.

"What?" Crystal said blankly.

"You no mean rock," Spark repeated cheerfully. The female Flareon stared at him in confusion, but the kit didn't elaborate. "Me go now!" he said, gesturing for us to follow before shooting down the path, pausing every few feet or so for us to catch up, but then running ahead again.

"They must have moved their living location," Aura said as Spark led us up a large hill.

"Either that or he's lost," Blaze said. After another few moments, we reached the top of the hill and almost immediately saw the two Raichus we had rescued what felt like so long ago. They waved to us as we approached, the mother holding the excited Pichu in her arms. "I guess the first option is right."

"Hello again," the male Raichu said kindly and we all nodded in reply, except for Crystal, who was looking slightly uncomfortable, most likely from being the stranger in the group. Ember was also a slight stranger, although they had seen her during the first rescue attempt. "Good to see you again."

"This is a nice area. Do you live here now?" Sapphire asked and both Raichus nodded.

"Yes, we found it recently, and there aren't too many other Pokémon around, so it's very safe," the mother replied, placing Spark back on the ground. Spark raced over to Ember, pulling the Charmander forward by the paw.

"This Ember. She nice, but she no here," Spark explained to his parents. I sometimes wonder how they understand him so well, but then again it doesn't take too long to get used to his speech. Ember smiled uncomfortably at her 'introduction'.

"Yes, I remember you from the Rocket lab. You fought the Mudkip, if I remember correctly," the male Raichu said. Ember nodded, a little surprised at being remembered at all. "Thank you for your help."

"Uh, you're welcome," Ember replied awkwardly. Spark released her paw and hurried over to me, quickly climbing over my coils and hopping onto my neck before climbing, to my surprise, all the way to the top of my head.

"YAY!" Spark said. "Me climb!"

"Spark, be careful," his mother said, slightly anxious. I lowered my head so it would be closer to the ground and the Pichu hopped off.

"Ok! Me sleepy so me nap now," Spark said before promptly falling asleep on my coils.

"How does he do that? Have you ever figured that out?" I asked the Raichus, both of which shook their head, smiling in amusement. "Hm, it's getting dark out..." I said, glancing at the rapidly darkening sky.

"You're welcome to stay for a while," the father Raichu said, carefully taking Spark from my coils and placing him in a makeshift bed of grass and leaves. Both Raichus then sat down next to the bed. "Pick a spot, any spot. There's a river near the rear of the clearing, and several fruit trees and bushes growing around here."

"Thank you," Sapphire said, and she led me towards the river and coiled up next to a few bushes. I looked around curiously for a moment before coiling up next to her. Ember had chosen a more isolated area, and she was already sleeping. Aura curled up at a different section of the river, while Blaze and Crystal had found a sleeping spot near the exact center of the clearing. I amused myself for a moment by watching as Crystal randomly began grooming Blaze's fur before curling up cutely next to him. The male Flareon seemed confused by the amount of attention he was receiving, but was otherwise unbothered.

"Good night," I said, before drifting into a deep sleep.


	90. Night Ambush

**Ember POV**

I awoke abruptly, and yawned before opening my eyes. It was still too dark to see anything beyond a few inches, and that was only enabled due to the light of my tail flame. I wasn't even sure what had awakened me, and my sluggish brain was refusing to offer possibilities. I shrugged, turning over to my side in an attempt to go back to sleep, but by now I was picking up a strange feeling of dread. I considered using a fireball to shed some more light, but I couldn't remember any of the rest of the group's positions, and the risk of hitting someone by mistake was too great to take.

I stood up, flaring up my tail flame by a small amount, enabling enough light to see about a foot in front of me, and eyed the area carefully. I listened carefully and heard movement from nearby. I carefully walked towards the sound, freezing as I heard a voice. "Hi Ember! Why you up?" Spark asked. I looked down at the kit and hesitated. I didn't want to worry him, but if there was danger, I didn't want to put him at risk, either. I still wasn't sure how to respond when I heard the movement again. Throwing caution to the wind, I spat a fireball in that direction, and heard something yelp in pain.

"Who's there?" I demanded and Spark whimpered, hiding behind me.

"Female Charmander accompanying primary target? This must be...Ember. Initialize recommended battle strategy!"

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded, spitting fireballs in the direction of the speaker, but I grunted in pain as something struck me from behind, throwing me forward.

"Over here, Ember..." the voice hissed softly."We cannot allow you to stand in the way, so we'll take you out, too." My eyes had begun to grow accustomed to the minimal light, and I could make out my attacker, which was a Sneasel, although I think it was male, so it wasn't Diablos again. A second figure stood nearby, the darkness around us preventing me from determining its specie. I got a clue a moment later as a powerful thunderbolt struck me, forcing me to my knees as the shock raced through me.

"Me scared!" Spark whimpered, clinging onto me, seemingly unaffected by any discharge I may have given off. I pushed myself back to my feet, glaring at the two beings.

"What do you want?" I growled, shielding Spark with my body. The Sneasel chuckled humorlessly.

"I think you know, Ember. However, you know of us, so we have to take you down, too. Nothing personal, just doing the job given to us. You're an expert at claw to claw combat, if the data is true, therefore..." the Sneasel took an offensive battle stance. "...I'm not your opponent."

"What?" I said, startled by the strange twist. I was snapped out of my surprise by a wave of electricity striking me, and I felt paralysis begin to take effect.

"You can't fight us if you can't move, so Thunder Wave will take you down easily," the unseen attacker said, and I growled at his smug tone. I forced myself to my feet, struggling outside of the Thunder Wave's range. I had only been hit with a small wave, so I was only slightly paralyzed. I counted myself lucky as far as that went, but I wasn't in any condition to fight for long.

"That's persistence, but you move slower, while your techniques require speed," the Sneasel said from my right, and I felt its paw connect with my side, forcing me to stumble backwards. I shook my head to clear it from the daze of the impact, and this time tried to block the next strike. The Sneasel seemed to have expected this, and swung his leg out, knocking my legs out from under me and sending me to the ground.

"Me get Mommy and Daddy!" Spark cried and I assume he ran, because a bolt of electricity flew past and I heard Spark grunt, followed by a small thud. "Me trip! Me hurt," the Pichu whimpered.

"Get the kit! I'll finish this battle!" the Sneasel demanded, striking me in the face as I tried to stand up again. I growled, swinging my claws at the weasel Pokémon, but he leapt out of range, my momentum causing me to stumble right into a kick to the face. I was hurled backwards, tumbling to the ground painfully. "You have potential, but you don't have the strength to overcome your disadvantage," the Sneasel commented.

"I've had worse disadvantages," I spat, climbing slowly back to my feet. The Sneasel smiled slyly.

"Then show me, best me in battle," he said, readying his claws. "I'd hate to wreck your pretty looks, but I still won't go easy on you."

"You're flirting with your opponent?" the unseen Pokémon said skeptically. "I have the kit. Now what?"

"Wait for me, Shock," the Sneasel said. "Ready?" he whispered to me.

"Uh...yeah, I guess," I said, a little startled by the Sneasel's comment.

"Good, be on guard," he said, winking his red eye at me before moving forward as a dark blur. I ducked, slashing my claws in an upward arc, striking the weasel Pokémon in the face. He yelped in surprise, but recovered quickly. "Not bad," he praised with a slight smirk. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he moved towards me quickly, swinging one claw in an outside arc to the left. I pivoted to block easier, but the Sneasel smirked in triumph, slamming his second paw into my gut.

"Damn it..." I wheezed, clutching my stomach in pain. The Sneasel hit me with an upper cut, flinging me backwards into a tree. I pushed myself back to my feet and the Sneasel appeared from the darkness into my line of sight once more.

"I wasn't too rough, was I?" he asked. I growled at him angrily and he smiled. "Good, you're tougher than most."

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded, slashing at the Sneasel, but he blocked with one paw, smirking at my frustrated expression.

"Relax, precious," he said slapping his other paw against my head, knocking me off balance. I slashed at him, but he stepped backwards, my momentum once again tripping me up. "If you surrender, I can avoid the whole 'knock you unconscious' part. It would pain me to have to be so rough to a pretty girl such as yourself."

"Is she blushing?"

"Only a little, Shock. Only a little." the Sneasel said to the unseen Pokémon.

"Shut up!" I growled, swinging at the Sneasel with my claws, but the weasel blocked my paw, grinning.

"Lighten up, precious. I just wish we met under more...civil circumstances." the Sneasel said thoughtfully. I bit the Sneasel's wrist, smirking in triumph until I realized the Sneasel wasn't crying out in pain, or reacting at all. "I wear gauntlets on my wrists. Sorry precious, no biting until the third date."

"Nightslash, what the hell are we waiting for?" Shock asked impatiently and the Sneasel glared in the direction of the speaker, giving me the opportunity to head butt him in the chest, throwing him to the ground. The Sneasel blinked up at me before crawling back to his feet, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

"Sorry precious, got to cut this date short, but I've had a good time. Here's how I got my name sake. Night Slash!" the Sneasel's paw glowed with black energy and he moved in a blur of motion. I felt his claws strike me across the chest and I was flung backwards, skidding several yards across the grass. I winced in pain and slowly returned to my feet.

"Mew...damn it..." I panted, trying to see through the veil of darkness surrounding me. There was a quick surge of movement and I felt something strike me from behind, and I fell forward into darkness, barely aware of hitting the ground.


	91. The Mission Begins

**Dragonair POV**

I was awakened that morning by an anxious Raichu mother's frantic calling for her kit. "What's going on?" I muttered sleepily, and I jerked awake when I heard the reply. "Run that by me once more. I'm hoping I heard wrong."

"Spark's missing!" the Raichu repeated, wringing her paws in agitation.

"What?" Aura called, hurrying over. "What happened?"

"We woke up in the morning and Spark wasn't here!" the male Raichu replied, in a similar state of distress. "He never wanders off without waking someone first."

"What do you think happened, then?" Crystal asked, as she and Blaze woke up (the latter with some prodding from the former).

"I don't know, and that was what worries us," the male Raichu replied gravely. "For all we know, something came in the middle of the night and killed him."

"Without anyone noticing?" I asked skeptically.

"Not necessarily. Ember's not here, either," Sapphire said quietly. Everyone turned to look at where Ember had slept and noticed the Charmander was absent.

"That could actually be a relief, not a cause for alarm. Perhaps Spark went somewhere with Ember," I suggested.

"Where would they go?" the female Raichu demanded. "There's food and water here, and keep in mind it's early in the morning, so anything that happened had to have happened at night. Spark hates the dark."

"That could be why he took Ember along, because she has a tail flame for light," Blaze suggested cautiously. "That does still leave the problem on where they would have gone, though." We all began scanning the clearing around us, searching for any clues or signs of where the two missing Pokémon were.

"This looks weird, doesn't it?" Aura called from an area a few yards away from the clearing, towards the hill. Blaze and Crystal both hurried over to the spot Aura was pointing at and the three Eons stared at whatever it was the Vaporeon had found.

"You might want to take a look at this..." Blaze said finally and Sapphire and I flew over to them, followed by the anxious Raichus.

"What is it?" I asked, unable to get a clear view at the 'clue'.

"The ground here is disturbed, like there was some sort of scuffle or battle here," Aura explained. "That wasn't here when we arrived."

"Nor was this," Crystal said, picking up a small piece of cardboard. I stared at the card blankly and raised an eye scale.

"A trading card is suspicious? Oh wait..." I muttered, looking at it more carefully. "That's just creepy."

"What's wrong?" Sapphire asked and looked at the card. "A Pichu Pokémon card?" she said, raising an eye scale at it. "Seems a little odd..."

"It's a calling card," Psycho said emotionlessly as he appeared next to us, his Leafeon brother next to him. Leaf blinked at the card, taking it in one paw and turning it over.

"Calling card?" Crystal repeated.

"There's a small group of Pokémon that kidnaps other Pokémon, and leaves the calling card at the scene, in this case, a trading card depicting which Pokémon was captured," Psycho explained in a tone of indifference. The Raichus growled both at his words and his tone.

"Maybe I should do the talking, Shadow. Not too many people appreciate your lack of sensitivity," Leaf said seriously.

"It's better than giving false hope or softening the blow," Psycho replied indifferently.

"F-false hope?" the mother Raichu repeated with a stammer. "Is...Is he going to be alright?"

"My point exactly. We don't know, so simply saying we don't know is better than saying he'll be fine, when he may not be fine," Psycho said coldly. "Now, we came only to collect the favor debt from the Flareon, not to fret over this new matter."

"So what, you're not going to help us out with this one?" I demanded and the Espeon's tail flicked as he glanced at me, his silver eyes flashing.

"It is not a priority to me," he replied flatly. The Raichus took a step forward aggressively, but psychic energy surrounded them, forcing them backwards. "That is my final word on the matter."

"And if I refuse to pay up?" Blaze demanded.

"That is not a valid option, in which case we continue our duel, but my annoyance at you backing out of the wager may cause me to use a little too much force, possibly resulting in a serious injury," Psycho replied. "Need an example?"

"Don't you dare!" Crystal snarled, baring her teeth at the Espeon, who stared back at her without flinching.

"Shadow...the only place nearby capable of holding a captive is the same place we're going. We can help them a little, can't we?" Leaf asked hopefully. Psycho frowned, and after a moment of indecision, nodded.

"Fine, but we're not letting them all come with us," Psycho said emotionlessly.

"I'm going," I said firmly and Psycho rolled his eyes.

"And I'm being forced to go," Blaze said, looking at the rest of the group.

"Hold on...if Spark was kidnapped, where's Ember?" Aura asked and there was a brief silence. "Did she get captured also?"

"Most likely. If she was seen as a detriment to the attack, any intelligent attacker would have taken steps to ensure she did not alert anyone else to the attack until after they made their escape," Psycho said monotonously. "And the leaving of a calling card is a sign that the attacker was a member of the group, so I have no doubts of the attacker's intellect."

"So our group consists of Shadow, the Dragonair, the Flareon, and me?" Leaf asked.

"I'll go, too," Aura said and Psycho scowled briefly.

"Fine. Now let's go!" he said coldly.

"You're okay with staying behind?" I asked Sapphire and she nodded, smiling briefly.

"I try to stay out of fights, anyway. I can try to comfort the parents. And Crystal from the looks of it." The female Flareon seemed a little upset that she wasn't going with us to wherever the Espeon and Leafeon were going.

"Aww...don't worry, I'll be back!" Blaze whined. (Why is he the one whining when trying to comfort someone?)

"We're going now," Psycho said irritably, and there was a flash of light. When the light faded, I looked around, noticing that we were just inside some form of human building, reminiscent of Rocket bases. "We're at a nearby Rocket base," Psycho said, almost as if he read my mind. "I did read your mind."

"Don't read my mind then!" I snapped.

"I consider it a necessity to know what my companions are thinking. Less betrayals this way," Psycho said indifferently. Leaf, Blaze, and Aura looked around the building.

"Is this...?" Blaze began.

"The same base you bailed your little Pichu friend's parents from? I guess so," Psycho interrupted. "Most of the Rockets have left, but they still have a presence here, and I need access to their information system."

"Why did the Rockets leave?" Aura asked.

"The police raided the base about a week ago. They failed to break into the inner defenses, but they still forced many executives and grunts to flee," Leaf explained. "Shadow thinks there are still a few Rockets guarding the place, hoping to regroup here again."

"Why did you need me?" Blaze asked the Espeon, whose eyes flashed with annoyance.

"Because I like to be prepared. Another addition to the group makes it more likely we'll succeed," Psycho said, leading the way down a corridor. "Be on guard. If you get distracted, it's your loss."

"Anyone else notice Dragonair is the only non-Eon?" Blaze asked randomly and everyone winced at how loudly he had spoken.

"You idiot!" Psycho snarled, turning on the Flareon furiously. "Be quiet!"

"Sorry..." Blaze muttered.

"There are two corridors here. It'll pain me to do it this way, but the Flareon, Vaporeon and I will go this way, you two go the other way," Psycho said. Leaf and I nodded and turned down the right hand path while Blaze, Aura, and the Espeon took the left hand corridor.

"Blaze is going to drive him crazy," I said with a smirk.

"Uh oh..." the Leafeon said, stopping dead in his tracks. Two Rockets were standing a short distance away, and they had both seen us, already pulling Pokeballs from their belts. "Guess we'll have to deal with them first..."

"I look forward to it," I replied with a smirk.


	92. Ember's Release

**Ember POV**

"Urgh...what happened?" I muttered to myself as I slowly regained consciousness. My whole body ached, and my head throbbed painfully. I opened my eyes slowly, wincing in the bright light. Wait, wasn't I outside? Why were there artificial lights around? I shielded my eyes from the bright glare, trying to get an idea of where the hell I was. My tail bumped something behind me, and I flinched.

"Ow! Me burn!" Spark suddenly cried out, wailing loudly. "Why you burn me mean fire?" I felt a small foot connect with my tail.

"Ow!" I grumbled, turning to glare at the Pichu, who recognized me.

"Me sorry! You fire mean and it burn me," Spark said, tears flowing from his eyes in his distress.

"Where are we?" I demanded, looking around as my eyes slowly adjusted to the amount of light. We appeared to be inside some sort of cage, definitely inside a human building. The cage was large enough for Spark and I to move around comfortably, and there were apples and fresh water in dishes nearby. Dragonair would compare our situation to being a pet, which wasn't the most encouraging thought. I took the time to examine the cage door, which was composed of very strong wire or metal bars, and I doubted they could be broken or bent, at least not by me, which ruled out an escape attempt.

"So you've awakened. Hope you're feeling well," a calm voice spoke and I jerked my head up, searching for the speaker. "I'm not in the room, Ember," the speaker continued. "I can see you from the cameras in the room, however." I glanced up, noticing a few security cameras around the room, at varying angles.

"Who are you and what the hell do you want?" I demanded angrily. The speaker chuckled, and I continued searching the room for some clue as to either how to escape, or at least whether there was anyone in the room.

"My reasons are my own, and my identity is irrelevant, at least to you, but you can call me 'Lava' for now. I trust that your stay will be comfortable enough," the unknown captor said, sounding amused.

"Why were we captured in the first place?" I demanded, knowing I was unlikely to actually get a response that would clear anything up.

"The only reason you were captured is because you were protecting the kit and because you knew of the attack, it would not do to allow you to possibly alert or pass critical information to the others in your group. Whether or not you possessed critical information is debatable," Lava said calmly. I finally saw the speaker system from where his voice was coming from.

"Why were you after Spark?" I growled.

"Calm down, precious," the Sneasel from the other night said as he entered the room. I glared at him furiously. "Forgive me for being so rough, but I was in a hurry."

"Do I want to know? Probably not, come to think of it. Again, my reasons for ordering the capture of the Pichu are not to be disclosed. I'm going to assume you wanted something, Nightslash?"

"Yes. You paid me and Shock for the Pichu, but not for her," the Sneasel began, pointing at me.

"Is there a point to this?" Lava asked with a hint of impatience. "If so, get to it."

"Since we weren't paid for her capture, I ask that she get released to me," Nightslash continued, unfazed. I raised my eye scale in confusion. What the hell did he mean by that?

"Why would I release a captive that can jeopardize the entire objective? More importantly, why would I release her to you, and why are you so interested in having her released to you?" Lava's voice asked, with a slightly amused tone. "Is this perhaps another attempt to woo a female? I'd have thought you learned your lesson from your last two attempts."

"What the hell are you two talking about?" I snarled.

"Relax, precious," Nightslash said. I narrowed my eyes at him and he winked. "The reason for doing so is that it simplifies matters for you. My reasons are not important."

"And can we trust that you won't mess this up?" Lava asked. The Sneasel paused for a moment before nodding, which I assume got picked up by the camera. "Fine. But keep her under control. Any difficulties will not be forgiven easily."

"Yes, sir," Nightslash said, walking over to the cage and taking a key from a loop of cloth around his waist before unlocking the door, carefully opening the door. Spark looked up hopefully, but the Sneasel frowned at him, causing the Pichu to cringe. I cautiously exited the cage, still glaring at the Sneasel. Nightslash quickly closed and relocked the door, replacing the key in a small pocket on the loop of cloth. "Let's go, precious," he said, gesturing to me and walked towards the door.

"Where?" I snapped, following reluctantly. The Sneasel shrugged.

"Wherever, I guess," he said. "Need something to eat or something?"

"I'd like to just get the hell out of here with Spark," I muttered, and the Sneasel sighed.

"No can do, precious. It was my job to capture him, and I take it seriously. I can't let either of you two leave," he said. "I was lucky to be able to have you semi-released."

"And that's a good thing?" I snapped irritably. "Why did you want me released to you?" I demanded, baring my claws aggressively.

"Calm down, precious," Nightslash said slyly. "We started off on the wrong foot, so I'd like to start over. I'm Nightslash, and I already know you."

"How?" I asked, confused.

"We have access to all of the Rocket's data in this facility, plus our own intelligence network. We know almost everything about you and your associates, including background, battle strategies, counters for said strategies, personality, and several other details," Nightslash explained casually

"Oh really?" I said sarcastically. "Test time, then."

"Do your worst, precious," Nightslash said with a smirk.

"When's my birthday?" I asked. The Sneasel blinked at me in surprise, and I scowled. Did nobody know when my birthday was?

"December 17," Nightslash said after a moment of thought, and I gaped at him.

"How the hell did you know that?" I demanded. The Sneasel chuckled.

"Told you we know almost everything," he said, winking at me. He was really starting to annoy me, and I'm sure my expression showed this, because he frowned slightly. "What's wrong, precious?"

"Isn't it obvious? You attacked me last night, knocked me and a Pichu kit unconscious, took me to this building, had me locked up in a cage, then came back and had me removed from the cage, but I still can't leave the damn building! And where the hell are we anyway?" I shouted.

"You need to relax, precious. We're in the eastern portion of a Rocket base not far from where we met. Most of the humans have left, so it's a nice location," Nightslash said, attempting to calm me, with little effect. I was too agitated by the whole situation to even appreciate that a male appeared to be interested in me. I growled under my breath and walked down the corridor, entering a random room and flopping down on a couch.

"Wait, what is this?" I muttered, looking around in confusion. Last I checked, most bases didn't have couches, much less a large room with several articles of soft furniture.

"I think this was an executive's break room," Nightslash said casually, sitting on the same couch, and moving to place a paw on my shoulder.

"Touch me and I'll hit you," I warned. The Sneasel shrugged, but stayed several inches away. "I'm taking a nap. Touch me when I'm sleeping, and I'll kill you."

"Fair enough, precious," Nightslash said, moving to a different couch while I curled up to take a brief nap. I needed to think of some plan to escape, but the best option now was to lie low and seize the first opportunity presented.


	93. Tough Battle

**Dragonair POV**

The Rockets threw their Pokeballs into the air, and the balls burst open, releasing their occupants in a flash of light. I blinked in surprise as I gazed at the two opponents. One was a large, short Pokémon whose entire body seemed to be one large boulder, but with stubby arms and legs protruding from the rock, as well as a head on the top. "Golem?" I muttered, looking towards the second Pokémon, which was a blue duck with a gem on its head, which I recognized as a Golduck, as rare as it was to see.

"Tough fight," Leaf said, smiling slightly. I considered my opponents briefly and launched a Thunderbolt at the Golduck, but to my surprise the Golem managed to intercept the bolt, the electricity doing absolutely nothing to the giant boulder.

"That's not going to work. Okay, try this!" I said, firing an Ice Beam at the boulder Pokémon, but the beam as intercepted by a multicolored beam of psychic energy, originating from the Golduck. "Tougher than I expected, I suppose..." I grumbled, seeing as this was going to be a much tougher fight thanks to the tag team efforts of the Rocket Pokémon. The humans themselves looked rather smug at the situation. I scowled and spat a stream of fire at them, but to no one's surprise, the Golduck countered it with a burst of water, extinguishing the flames.

"Take this!" Leaf said and I glanced at the Leafeon as several leaves flew from his body, their razor edges gleaming in the light before launching themselves towards the Golem. The Golduck's eyes and gem glowed and the leaves scattered in midair, veering away from the boulder Pokémon. I scowled irritably and charged another Thunderbolt, releasing the electricity at the distracted water Pokémon, but the Golem was less distracted and intercepted the attack once again, slamming its fist into me, the force of the blow knocking the wind out of me, as well as throwing me backwards into the wall, where I slumped down to the ground.

"Damn, that hurt..." I groaned, floating back into the air, still wincing from the throb of pain the punch had inflicted. The Golem grunted, almost as if laughing. Leaf suddenly smirked, and one of the weird plants on his body extended, wrapping around the Golem's leg and latching onto it. The rest of the vine wrapped around the Golem's other leg, no longer attached to the Leafeon. The Golem hadn't noticed, and Leaf sent another flurry of razor edged leaves at the Golduck, who almost dismissively scattered them with another psychic wave. I charged yet another Thunderbolt, firing it at the Golduck. The Golem leapt up to intercept it, but the vine around its legs abruptly tightened, pulling the massive rock Pokémon to the ground with a loud crashing sound.

"Grass Knot. Very useful for the big heavy foes, don't you think?" Leaf asked me, smiling slightly. The Golduck noticed the Thunderbolt and leapt out of the way just in time, to my disappointment. The Golem struggled to get back to its feet, but the vine had tightened to the extent where its legs were completely useless. Leaf formed yet another flurry of the razor edged leaves and sent them at the retreating duck Pokémon, but the Golduck once again countered with psychic energy. Leaf didn't seem remotely bothered by the constant countering of his techniques, in fact, he seemed to be grinning widely. "Finish off the Golem, I'll finish this one," he told me, walking towards the blue duck.

"Uh...ok," I said, blinking at the Leafeon before readying an Ice Beam. Before I could send it at the practically crippled boulder, the Golem pulled its limbs into its rocky shell, snapping the Grass Knot in the process, and rolled towards me like a tank. "Oh crap..." I muttered, firing the Ice Beam hastily. The pale white beam struck the rolling boulder, but the speed at which the Golem was rolling caused the ice to shatter before doing sufficient damage. I twisted out of the way as the Golem approached, the Rollout's momentum too great to shift direction and it slammed into one of the walls with a tremendous crash, bits of plaster and other debris flying through the air.

When the small amount of dust faded, there was a massive hole in the wall, leading into an office of some sort. The Golem had returned to its bipedal form, and was looking around in confusion. I sent another Ice Beam in its direction, but it side stepped with far more speed than I'd have expected a creature of its weight and size. The Ice Beam encased the desk in ice, and the Golem withdrew its limbs and head into the rock shell and rolled towards a portion of the wall that was intact. I stared at it in confusion before my eyes widened in realization. The Golem was about to slam through the part of the wall where Leaf was positioned, and it would take too long to warn him of the threat. I turned my attention towards the Leafeon, who was still directing Razor Leaves at the psychic duck, who continued to counter them, but definitely seemed to be losing its enthusiasm for the fight, finally releasing a wave of psychic energy at the Leafeon.

"Good one!" Leaf said, but he disappeared before the psychic energy could strike him, reappearing next to the Golduck. The blue duck's eyes widened in shock at his opponent's disappearance, and hadn't noticed the current whereabouts of the Leafeon. Leaf grinned and his tail glowed a vibrant green before he spun around, the tail striking the Golduck in the back, the duck quacking in shock and pain as it was thrown forward, just as the Golem smashed through the wall, the Golduck slamming into it, and both Rocket Pokémon struck another wall, smashing a massive hole in that wall as well, but not passing through it. There was a moment's pause, and then a massive explosion took place, the shock wave blasting several craters into the other walls, floor, and ceiling, several portions of the walls collapsing from the force of the blast. I, fortunately, was not within the blast radius, but the horrified Rockets were, and they were flung backwards, hitting the floor and collapsing limply. When the smoke cleared, the area looked like a bomb had been dropped, which was actually a pretty realistic description.

"Explosion," I commented, slightly shaken by the amount of damage the Golem had done, and thanking Celebi that neither of us had been caught in the blast.

"Golduck was already unconscious," Leaf said thoughtfully, glancing at the two unconscious Rocket Pokémon, the water type harboring several burns and bruises. "Good battle, by the way."

"Same to you. Why were you so patient with the Golduck?" I asked, leading down the demolished corridor. Leaf chuckled slightly.

"There are so many things I've learned by training with the rest of our group. Repelling attacks psychically is mentally straining, and it takes a short time to ready any attacks. Therefore, as long as I kept pressing my attack, the Golduck couldn't counterattack. If the Golduck did attempt to counterattack, I can get through its defense with Quick Attack and hit it with a Leaf Blade. If it didn't try to, I would keep pressing my attacks until the mental strain got too much, and it would mess up," Leaf explained.

"Rest of your group?" I repeated, slightly curious.

"Oh yeah, I'm part of a small group that trains together. There's me, Shadow, Jolt, Frost, and Darkness. Frost is a Glaceon, Jolt's a Jolteon, Shadow's the Espeon, of course, I'm a Leafeon, obviously, and Darkness, she's an Umbreon," Leaf explained as we turned a corner.

"Are you all related?" I asked, slightly curious.

"Shadow and I are brothers, but the rest aren't related to us or each other in any way. Frost is the strongest of us, Shadow's the second best, Darkness is third, but she's beaten Shadow before. Jolt is fourth, and I'm last," Leaf continued cheerfully.

"Why are you happy about being last?" I asked, puzzled.

"I've got the potential. I have 4 potential mentors. I learned about how to fight psychic types by facing Shadow, although I've never beat him. Actually, only 2 people have ever beaten him."

"Three," I corrected. Leaf blinked at me.

"What?" he asked.

"He told Blaze that three people have beaten him," I said.

"Who beat him other than Frost and Darkness?" Leaf asked, confused.

"I wonder whether he counted the Sableye as the third..." I muttered, more to myself.

"Tarot? Baou? Gem? Which one?" Leaf asked and I stared at him in confusion. "Those are the only Sableyes we have current records on," Leaf explained.

"Tarot," I answered. "He beat my entire group with one attack."

"Sableyes are Dark types. Frost is the only non-Dark type to ever beat Shadow," Leaf said. "They've got a bit of a rivalry because of it." Leaf paused thoughtfully. "I think we're almost there."

"Where?" I asked. Leaf smiled.

"Shadow sent us this way because he's after the information hub. Our job is to find your missing friends."

"Psycho said that?" I asked skeptically.

"No, but I do. Shadow's not here to yell at me for getting off track a little. Besides, I bet I know where they are, assuming they're here," Leaf said with a grin.

"Lead on, then," I said, feeling slightly hopeful. "Good to know you're not a jerk like he is."

"I never knew why he's like that so often. He's not always like that. I say it all the time, he'd be happier if he lightened up and actually tried to get to know one of the females that are perpetually interested in him," Leaf said. "This way..."


	94. The Other Route

**Blaze's POV. You heard me.**

"So where are we going?" I asked for the third time since leaving the rest of the group. The stupid Espeon ignored me, prompting me to repeat the question. Aura sighed from behind me, and I glanced back at her. "You know where we're going?" I asked the pretty Vaporeon. Yes, she's pretty, even if she isn't attracted to me, and I'm with someone else. It's just an observation. "Speaking of observations..." I began, but the annoying black furred Espeon glared at me.

"No one's said a word in the last five minutes other than you. Who said anything about an observation?" Psycho demanded coldly.

"Didn't I just say something about an observation?" I asked, smirking. I actually one upped that stupid fur ball. He was one down, and I was one up. "By the way, when you one up someone, what are you one up of?" I asked. Both Eons groaned and didn't reply. "How come no one's talking to me?" I asked maturely. Fine, I was whining a little. Just a little, though.

"Because you're annoying, you won't shut up, you whine too much, you're obnoxious, you don't listen, you don't realize that no one wants to listen to you, you don't realize that no one wants to talk to you, and you aren't listening to a word I'm saying right now," Psycho said, speaking in his annoying monotone. Does he ever speak with emotion? Does he even feel emotion? I mean, the guy supposedly has females swarming over him, and he talks like everything is extremely boring. How come the jerks have all the luck?

"Blaze? Blaze? BLAZE!" Aura yelled and I blinked at her.

"You don't have to shout," I said calmly. Fine, I was whining again. I just don't like being yelled at.

"Stop whimpering," the stupid Espeon said irritably.

"I wasn't whimpering!" I complained and the Espeon growled before his stupid silver eyes glowed and my entire body felt weightless for a moment before I soared through the air, striking the wall painfully, gravity taking hold of me once more, sending me crashing to the ground. "Ow! Why did you do that?" I asked maturely. Maybe my voice just always sounds like I'm whining. Fine, I really was whining.

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you? Of course not, your blank expression is proof enough of that," Psycho said monotonously. I glared at him, more over the continued use of monotone than what he actually said. I wasn't really listening. It's very tricky to pay attention to what people say if they talk without any enthusiasm. It reminded me of when I lived in a small Eevee clan with my siblings. One of the leaders, a Jolteon, always told us "important" things in that sort of tone, except add in an elderly wheeze to the voice. Something about not leaving the clearing or something, or don't touch something just because it's shiny. Well, my sister and I decided to go explore the area, and she found this weird orange shiny thing, and I touched it because it was shiny. Now I'm a Flareon. This just proves that ignoring the person speaking in monotone is more likely to make you happy than if you listened, and you won't be bored by paying attention.

"Hm? What are we talking about?" I asked and Aura groaned, burying her head in her paws for a moment. I blinked at her, prodding her with one paw. "Huh, you okay?"

"I'll be fine..." Aura grumbled, pushing my paw away. I nodded and continued walking behind the annoying Espeon.

"This place is boring. Where are we going?" I asked, getting bored of staring at the blank walls of the hallway we were walking down. We weren't even going fast, which would have at least added some excitement to the completely unknown task. "Why did you even need me along?"

"I wonder why I even brought you along, rather than psychically snap your neck when I had the chance," Psycho replied emotionlessly. I shivered slightly, because I was cold. "I doubt you're cold, Flareon. You're a fire type with lots of fur."

"Stop reading my thoughts!" I shouted, growling at the stupid Espeon, who completely ignored me. I scowled and prepared to set the stupid fur ball on fire, but before I could unleash the fire attack, the Espeon turned into a room, distracting me long enough to give up on the burn idea. He'd just recover and then beat me against the wall again, anyway.

"Blaze, you're supposed to turn," Aura said and I nodded, backtracking a little bit to follow the Espeon into the room he had gone into. I looked around the large room, a welcome change from the boring hallways, but this room was similarly empty of interesting things.

"Why are we here?" I asked, not even bothering to hide my frustration about the whole situation. Psycho glared at me briefly before he continued walking to the front of the room, Aura and I following behind him.

"Calm down, Blaze," Aura whispered. I grumbled to myself about how annoying the stupid Espeon was, only stopping when Aura fired a jet of water at me, completely soaking my fur and shoving me backwards.

"Aww, my fur!" I whined loudly. Why does she hate my fur so much? It's so soft and fluffy and everyone likes it, but she seems to enjoy drenching me. "Stop drenching me!" I wailed and suddenly felt myself slam into the wall, stunning me for a moment.

"Shut up, Flareon!" Psycho snarled. "You're supposed to be quiet!"

"You never said that!" I growled in reply. "And you're not the boss of me!"

"Nice stealth tactics, Shadow..." a new voice spoke and Psycho stiffened, turning back towards the front of the room, where a sleek, blue-white furred creature sat calmly on a slightly raised platform overlooking a computer system. Where this creature had come from, I wasn't sure, and didn't care. As a member of the Eevee line, I recognized the specie as a Glaceon, although I had never seen one aside from a picture.

"Frost," Psycho said coldly, staring back at the ice Eon without any emotion upon his face. The Glaceon nodded calmly.

"Good to see that you well, Shadow..." Frost said casually and Psycho hissed angrily.

"Don't call me that!" he snapped. "Only Leaf can!"

"And Darkness, right? How is she, by the way?" Frost interrupted and Psycho flinched visibly, but quickly recovered.

"What do you mean?" Psycho asked suspiciously.

"I've been out of touch for a while. Simply asking how Darkness is doing," Frost explained seriously, but a slight trace of a grin appeared on his face. "You seem rather nervous."

"Why would I be nervous?" Psycho retorted impassively.

"You seem so defensive about a casual question, so maybe you can answer that for me," Frost continued casually. "Jolt recently contacted me, so he's fine, I'm sure. Leaf failed to connect to me, but I got his message, so he's fine. And you stand before me, so you're fine. Now what about the female of our group?"

"There's more to the question than that, isn't there?" Psycho asked emotionlessly and Frost chuckled softly.

"Well, Psycho, I got quite a reaction out of you to get enough clues to confirm my recent suspicion. Never imagined you'd actually reciprocate a female's affection. That's a good thing. It finally contradicts that question we've all wondered about you..."

"Drop dead, Frost!" Psycho said with a snarl.

"Can you blame us? You avoid females like the plague itself," Frost continued calmly. "So, what was the mission for this location?" I looked between the two Eons with slight interest. Not only was Psycho showing emotion, apparently he actually was in a relationship. Two things I never thought possible of the stupid black furred Espeon.

"We don't need you for this one, Frost," Psycho said, once again using monotone.

"Your loss. I'll just continue what I was doing, then," Frost said, turning around and exiting through a door that I hadn't noticed earlier. Psycho's eye twitched momentarily and he glared at Aura and me, silently daring us to make a comment. I try not to disappoint.

"So a female likes you even though she knows about your personality?" I asked, before psychic energy flung me into the wall again. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Are you really that stupid?" yet another unknown voice asked, this time from behind us. There was a crackle of electricity and Aura cried out as a thunderbolt struck her, the power of the bolt knocking her unconscious. "That was too easy. Two to go."

"Shock," Psycho said irritably, turning towards the door we had come through and glaring at the attacker. "I don't suppose you'll just go away?"

"No can do. Lava said either take you down, or be taken down trying," the attacker said. "Shall we battle?"


	95. Ambush in the Corridor

**Dragonair POV**

The Leafeon led the way through a few corridors, pausing now and then to double check our location. "There's several possible locations, but it would be somewhere in this area," Leaf explained thoughtfully.

"How do you know?" I asked him, and he smiled.

"When we prepare for a mission, we usually have a floor plan of the base," Leaf explained. "I don't study it much, but I remember a few details. It could be inaccurate, because we don't know with certainty that your friends are here, or even that they might be held in the probable holding areas used when the Rocket presence was larger. And I'm not too interested in checking the lab areas, so that's a last resort."

"Yeah, I agree with that," I muttered, glancing around the corridor with slight anxiety. I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched by someone or something, but I didn't see anyone or even security cameras around. Leaf turned a corner, leading me down a different corridor, which was as empty as almost every corridor we'd gone through so far. "Why is there never security?" I asked.

"In this case, because about 85 percent of the Rockets originally stationed here are on the run. The rest are probably lying low somewhere in the base, hoping for a communication of some sort so they can regroup," Leaf said after thinking about it for a little bit. I nodded, agreeing that it made sense. "Makes it easier for us, anyway."

"I think not, Leafeon," a smug voice whispered from the shadows and a burst of fire flew at Leaf. Before the fire could strike him, I dove forward, taking the blow myself. My scales repelled most of the damage from the fire, and both Leaf and the attacker seemed started by my action. "Interesting..." the smug speaker said, stepping from the shadows, revealing it to be a Houndour, a black dog-like Pokémon.

"Not as interesting as this," I retorted, charging up a Thunderbolt and releasing it at the hound, which leapt to the side, grinning nastily. His distraction by my attack enabled Leaf to body slam him, knocking the Houndour off balance. I followed up with another Thunderbolt, but the hound ducked its body, my bolt striking the wall behind him, shattering parts of the tiled wall.

"You aren't as tough as the rumors," the Houndour said casually, spitting a stream of fire at Leaf, who disappeared, reappearing a few inches away from the black dog, and unleashing a flurry of razor edged leaves. The Houndour saw the threat, redirecting his aim to engulf the leaves in fire, incinerating them. I took this new opportunity and slammed my body against the Houndour's back with enough force to knock him to the ground. The hound growled in annoyance, struggling back to his feet, but Leaf darted forward, biting the Houndour's front leg before leaping out of the way of the retaliatory snapping of his opponent's jaws. I fired another Thunderbolt and the Houndour tried to dodge, but limped on his bitten leg, unable to evade the attack completely.

"We seem to have beaten you," I commented as the hound struggled to remain standing, still fighting against the electrical charge. The Houndour growled in fury, lunging towards me. What he hadn't noticed was the vine latching to his leg, pulling him down to the ground with a crash. "And that's that," I said smugly, floating past the entangled Houndour with little more than a backwards glance. "Nice work with the Grass Knot, by the way."

"Thank you, I do what I can," Leaf replied cheerfully. "Thanks for the living shield earlier."

"Not a big deal," I said dismissively. "Now where are we heading?"

"A few corridors down, I think," the Leafeon replied casually. "We should probably keep our guard up. That Houndour is a recent member of that group we mentioned earlier. That means that this base seems to be their current headquarters, so other members might be around. It also confirms my theory about the possibility of your friends being taken here."

"I think that's good..." I said slowly. "How many members are there?"

"We don't know for sure. Quite a few, a bunch being former Rocket Pokémon, like that Houndour," Leaf replied with a shrug. "There are other similar groups in the other regions, some just being individuals or small groups that want a few bucks."

"I hate people like that," I said angrily and the Leafeon glanced at me warily.

"Don't we all?" he asked simply. "We're almost to the first spot where I think they might be. Hm?" Leaf suddenly paused, listening carefully. I stopped as well, staring at him for a moment.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to listen as well, but not sure what I was listening for.

"Voices," Leaf said, turning down another hallway.

"There's no one around, though," I muttered to myself. I hadn't heard a thing, but I decided to trust the Eon on this one. I followed him until he stopped, looking around cautiously. It was at that moment I heard the voices. I peered in a doorway, and saw a Sableye whispering urgently to a bored looking Sneasel, the latter of which was reclining on a couch, the former was standing next to said couch. Why are there couches in a Rocket base? Upon quick inspection, the room seemingly had several couches and recliner chairs scattered throughout the room.

"Why aren't we leaving yet? We could be hunting more quarry!" the Sableye hissed. The Sneasel rolled his eyes irritably.

"We still need guards in the base, and I'm satisfied with staying," he replied seriously. The Sableye scowled. "No more on this topic. I'm not leaving, and several members need to stay as guards. It's only a matter of time until they get here, anyway."

"Is it because of the chick?" the Sableye sneered, gesturing to a couch nearby, which was facing away from the doorway, so I couldn't see the occupant. I didn't really care either. The Sneasel's eyes flashed with annoyance. I glanced back at Leaf, raising my eye scale at him.

"That's Gem, one of the most unusual members. He steals jewelry, and when ransoms are paid for captives, he always wants it in jewels. I heard he actually keeps the jewels, he doesn't eat them," Leaf whispered. "The Sneasel is Nightslash, he's one of the highest ranking members, but he has a reputation for flirting with his female opponents. Rather effective strategy, actually."

"Really? How so?" I asked curiously. Leaf chuckled softly.

"Imagine this; I'll reverse the genders for this example, obviously. Suppose you're fighting a female and while fighting you, she's flirting with you. Are you going to be distracted and confused? Hell yeah. Are you going to fight less effectively as a result? Most likely. Are you going to lose, even if you'd ordinarily win? Most likely," Leaf explained quietly.

"That's my business, Gem," the Sneasel snarled, and I peeked in the room again. The Sableye smirked slightly.

"Is that a yes?" Gem asked with a slight sneer. "You know she doesn't like you, so why do you insist on remaining here?"

"Not your business, Gem. I just told you that," the Sneasel replied coldly. The Sableye chuckled.

"She's awake now and listening to every word we say," the ghost glanced at the unseen couch occupant.

"Awake already, precious?" Nightslash asked, and I noticed his voice was almost gentlemanly when he spoke.

"No, I sleep with my eyes open," Ember's voice replied coldly. I chuckled and Leaf winced, causing me to realize how loudly I had laughed.

"Ah, I wondered when you'd arrive, Dragonair," Nightslash said softly. "A pity all good things must come to an end, eh precious? You join the fight, and I'll be forced to take you out again." He stood calmly, readying his claws.

"Have fun, Nightslash," Gem said with a smirk and faded out, leaving the Sneasel alone. Ember glanced over the back of the couch, smiling slightly at me before baring her claws at Nightslash.

"Who's first?" Nightslash asked, still smiling calmly. "Dragonair, dragon type with overaggressive battle style. Speed coupled with ice techniques will defeat him. Ember, skilled at claw combat. Long range and disabling attacks recommended. Flirting unbelievably effective." he recited. Ember's eye twitched slightly. "Come now, precious. That was an observation made after our duel."

"Shut up!" Ember growled. I smirked at the Sneasel.

"You think you can take us both?" I mocked slightly. "Show me what you've got!"


	96. Battles with Nightslash and Shock

Nightslash chuckled with good humor, which was actually sort of creepy. "If you insist, I shall take you both on. A pity, but not unexpected," he said quietly. He moved quickly to the side, striking Ember in the side of the head with his paw, knocking her off balance and then he kicked her in the gut, throwing her off the couch, and to the ground. I spat a Flamethrower at him, but he dodged nimbly, smiling calmly. "My apologies, precious," he whispered to Ember, who glared at him as she stood up.

"Stop calling me that!" she snapped, slashing at him, but he blocked, sweeping his leg to knock her feet out from under her, dodging a Thunderbolt that I released in his direction. I scowled slightly as his continued avoidance of my attacks. The Sneasel smirked at me and then tapped his gauntlet on his left wrist. Why was he wearing a gauntlet?

"Shock, report in," he said quickly. There was a moment's pause and then a crackly voice replied.

"Nightslash, I'm a little occupied right now!"

"What's going on?" Nightslash demanded, dodging another Thunderbolt from me, and countering two successive slashes from Ember, who was likewise getting more frustrated by the Sneasel's techniques.

"I'm fighting an Espeon and a Flareon!" the reply came, sounding agitated. "I wish you were here to finish off that accursed Espeon!" There was a small explosion over the communication and Nightslash blinked at the communicator in surprise before returning his full attention to us. Unluckily for him, he had been distracted a moment too long and my Hyper Beam struck him in the chest, slamming him forcefully against the back wall. The Sneasel grunted, slumping to the ground, clutching his chest.

"I expected you to do that..." he panted, and grinned wickedly."You're going to wish you saved that energy." His claws glowed with white energy and he leapt at me, slashing quickly. Where the claws struck, I felt an intense chill mixed with the regular pain from the slash. I recoiled, panting from the energy expense from Hyper Beam.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded. Nightslash chuckled softly.

"It's a variation of Ice Punch, which I call Ice Claw," Nightslash explained calmly. "Hurts dragon types like hell, I'm sure."

"Just a little..." I muttered, gritting my teeth against the freezing pain that seemed to flow through my body. Ember lunged at the Sneasel, stabbing him in the back. Nightslash grunted, punching backwards and hitting Ember in the face, forcing the Charmander to stumble backwards, blood trickling from her nose. The Sneasel flinched as he realized what he did, but his claws glowed white once more and he slashed at me. I jerked backwards, just as Ember threw herself at the Sneasel, slamming her weight against his wound, forcing the weasel Pokémon to the ground.

"Damn it!" Nightslash snarled, trying to throw Ember off his back, but she hastily held her claws to his neck and his struggling stopped. "You beat me, precious..." he said, reverting back to his gentlemanly tone."Now what?"

"This," Ember replied and slammed a white glowing fist against the side of his head, and he went limp. "He's only unconscious, right?"

"Looks like it," I said indifferently. "Nice work. If you don't mind me asking...what the hell happened?"

"Last night, Spark and I were attacked by this guy and another attacker named Shock. I was partially paralyzed and ultimately lost. I woke up in a cage with Spark, but this guy," Ember kicked the Sneasel in the side. "...asked to have me released to his custody, his reasoning not really making much sense. Anyway, I took a nap, and woke up to him taking to a Sableye, and then you showed up," Ember explained.

"Nice job," Leaf said abruptly from the corridor and I glared at him.

"Nice help you gave us, there," I said and the Leafeon flinched awkwardly.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure that no backup arrived. How are you?" he asked Ember, who shrugged.

"I'm fine, I guess," she said, surreptitiously examining the Leafeon. Leaf apparently noticed because he shifted his weight uncomfortably and looked around aimlessly. "Oh, I know where Spark is. Come on..." she said, leading us down the hallway until we arrived at a door.

"Odd, this is the place where we were heading," Leaf said as we pushed the door open, entering a large, mostly empty room. There were a few scattered security cameras and I hastily fired a Thunder Wave, the wide range of the wave neutralizing almost all the cameras in one shot.

"Dragon!" Spark's voice called from the other side of the room. He appeared to be in a fairly large, reinforced wire cage that was positioned in the rear of the room. Leaf, Ember, and I hurried over to it, but the Sableye from earlier blocked our path.

"Uh uh...not today. Congratulations on defeating Nightslash, but I can't let you release the captive. I brought you an opponent," the Sableye hissed. Appearing next to him was a yellow Pokémon with a head reminiscent of mine, with black stripes on the neck and tail, and a red orb on the forehead and tail. It was fairly unimpressive looking, but I knew that it was a powerful electric Pokémon. Interestingly, the Ampharos seemed slightly worn out. The Sableye then faded out, disappearing from the room.

"I couldn't stop the Eons...but I can delay you..." the electric Pokémon panted.

"What good is a delay?" I asked mockingly, tensing for the fight, but Leaf stepped forward.

"I'll be your opponent, Shock. Just you and me," Leaf said seriously. Shock nodded irritably.

"Alright then..." he said tiredly."Let's get this over with." The Ampharos raised one paw and a surge of electricity fired from it, striking the Leafeon's body, but Leaf simply shook off the voltage, startling the electric type.

"Grass type," Leaf explained calmly, releasing a flurry of Razor Leaves from his body, but Shock released a wave of electricity, repelling the leaves from his body.

"Leaf...a Leafeon. Strategy involves constantly pressing an attack while using a variety of grass and speed based techniques. Fire Punch!" the Ampharos said and darted forward, his fists ablaze. Leaf ducked his body, lashing out a vine from his body, which he attempted to loop around the electric type's legs, but Shock leapt over the vine, using his other paw to unleash a surge of electricity, stopping the grass Eon from using another Razor Leaf technique. The electric Pokémon swung its fist and Leaf disappeared quickly, reappearing a few feet away and unleashing another flurry of leaves, which hit their target, forcing the Ampharos to its knees, the fist no longer ablaze.

"You can't beat me with your speed until you recover, Shock. Leaf Blade!" Leaf said seriously and his tail glowed a vibrant green before he darted forward, striking the Ampharos with the glowing tail. Shock was thrown forward, grunting in pain and apparent exhaustion.

"I'm not done yet, Leafeon!" Shock growled, his fist once again blazing with fire. He charged Leaf and struck the Leafeon with the fiery fist, slamming the grass type into the nearest wall, where he collapsed, badly scorched. "All I need is one..." the Ampharos began, but stopped as the sprout on Leaf's head glowed white, and then the rest of his body glowed, the injuries fading rapidly.

"Synthesis...good thing I spend a lot of time in the sun," Leaf said, smiling at the electric type. Shock staggered backwards in disbelief, unable to react in time to counter another flurry of razor edged leaves, which sliced his body, leaving several cuts upon the Ampharos. Leaf ran forward and slammed his body against Shock, slamming the electric type against a small computer console, cracking the system. Shock struggled to stand, but ultimately fell back limply.

"Nice work," I complimented and the Leafeon nodded humbly, hurrying over to the cage where Spark was locked in, examining the wires and lock carefully.

"Take this!" Ember called, throwing a small silver key to the Leafeon, who stared at the Charmander in confusion. "I swiped it from Nightslash. It's the key to open the lock," she explained. Leaf nodded and quickly unlocked the cage, Spark hopping out of the cage.

"Yay! Me safe!" Spark cheered, sparks flying from his cheeks.

"Don't celebrate just yet," a voice spoke from the doorway. "You'll have to get past me first..."

**To be continued...**


	97. The Eon Duel

We all turned to the doorway, staring as a fox-like creature with sleek, blue-white fur entered the room. I narrowed my eyes at this new arrival, uncertain of what specie it was, having never seen it before. Ember blinked at the arrival, growling slightly. Leaf had stiffened indignantly, glaring at the new creature. Spark whimpered slightly and hid behind Ember, sparks flying from his cheeks.

"Frost?" Leaf said, staring in disbelief. "What the hell?"

"That's Frost? The Glaceon member of your group?" I asked and the Leafeon and Glaceon both nodded. "Ok...what the hell? You lead these thieves?"

"Lead them? Hardly. I am the one who hired them to capture the Pichu, but don't worry, we wouldn't have harmed him," Frost said calmly.

"Then why the hell did you have him kidnapped?" I demanded furiously. The Glaceon rolled his eyes, making me even angrier. "Answer the damn question!" I snapped.

"What's going on, Frost?" Leaf demanded, but he seemed extremely nervous now. I couldn't exactly blame him. From what the Leafeon had told me, Frost easily outmatched him, not to mention Leaf was a grass type, and Frost was an ice type.

"I do not see any good reason to answer that question," the Glaceon said seriously. Ember spat a fireball at the ice type, and I sent a Flamethrower towards it. Frost's mouth opened and a blue ball formed. The ball then stretched out, forming a beam of water, which neutralized both of our fire attacks and striking me in the face, causing me to recoil in surprise. "Error: two different attackers using the same type attack. Can be neutralized with one," Frost said calmly.

"He knows Water Pulse?" Ember asked in disbelief. Leaf nodded, still glaring at the Glaceon.

"That's pretty clever, it lets him fight fire types without much difficulty," I said grudgingly.

"Frost? What are you doing here?" Psycho asked as he teleported into the room with Blaze and a semi-conscious Aura. Blaze looked around curiously, and Aura was wincing in pain.

"Oh, there's that stupid Ampharos!" Blaze said, pointing at the unconscious Shock. Psycho glanced at the Ampharos indifferent before returning his gaze to Frost.

"He's the one who hired them to capture the Pichu," Leaf explained to the black furred Espeon. Psycho narrowed his eyes at the Glaceon, who stared back calmly.

"So you turned on the rest of the group to fulfill some desire to commit crimes?" Psycho sneered at Frost, who chuckled.

"Desire to commit crimes?" Frost repeated with a hint of skepticism in his voice. "You're suggesting I have a desire to commit crimes when I fought against the likes of Team Rocket? Crimes are petty and unnecessary."

"Then why don't you explain why you paid for a kidnapping of a Pichu kit?" Leaf demanded, and Frost shook his head, amused.

"I don't see a need to explain anything to you. It's all for the greater good, after all," Frost said and Psycho snorted. "Yes? Something you wished to say?" the Glaceon asked Psycho.

"You, working for the 'greater good'? You're a self-centered, egotistical jerk that works for no one but himself," Psycho said emotionlessly. "All those missions you ran for, you always did it for something other than what the mission was about."

"Let's face it, Shadow..." the Glaceon smirked as Psycho scowled momentarily."...those missions were unnecessarily tedious. There's no challenge in it, no thrill. After a while, it became nothing but a routine. I've become the strongest of the group, so it's time I work on my own objectives, and if they conflict with yours, so be it!"

"So this is thrill seeking for you?" Leaf snapped. "Kidnapping kits? Fighting former allies?"

"Thrill seeking? I think not," Frost said. "But it's much better to work on my own than with some idealist Eons that despise my company," the Glaceon's gaze paused on Psycho, who stared back emotionlessly. "You hate me because I'm better. A rival who stands in the way of your own ego. You got your wish, now you're the best of the group. How does it feel?"

"I'll feel better when we take you down," Psycho replied. "Leaf, let's do this, bro." Leaf looked at Psycho with surprise, but smiled and stepped forward.

"I'm ready, Shadow," the Leafeon said and Frost watched impassively.

"You team up with the same one you insisted wasn't related to you?" Frost asked indifferently.

"You've got the rep, but he's got the potential. Together, we can beat you," Psycho replied monotonously.

"Aww...I wanted to fight!" Blaze whined, helping Aura to move away from the start of the battle.

"Because you have a chance to win, right?" I asked the Flareon sarcastically. "You lost to the Espeon, and apparently the Glaceon is stronger.

"But he's an ice type!" Blaze insisted. "I'm a fire type."

"He knows Water Pulse," I said, getting annoyed at the fire Eon. "Now shut up." I turned my attention to the 3 Eons, neither of which had moved yet. Leaf nodded to Psycho confidently and released a flurry of razor edged leaves towards the Glaceon. Before they could connect, a sudden flurry of snow appeared, concealing the ice Eon in a vortex-like storm of hail. The leaves were torn to pieces by the shards of hail as a howling wind filled the room.

"Error: predictable opening move easily countered," Frost's voice announced from within the vortex. Psycho's eyes and gem glowed and a pulse of psychic energy fired towards the vortex, but a black ball of energy fired from the vortex, neutralizing the psychic force and narrowly missing the Espeon.

"Ooh, he's tough," Ember said, wincing slightly. She stopped and blinked as the vortex of hail abruptly released small chucks of the frozen ice, which struck both Leaf and Psycho. Leaf frowned, clearly unsure of how to proceed with the battle. His main attack, Razor Leaf, was useless against the hail vortex, and he obviously couldn't try to get close to use his other close range attacks without being in risk of being torn to pieces by the swirling hailstorm. Psycho fired a Psybeam towards the vortex, but it refracted upon striking the hail, missing the semi-visible Glaceon within.

"Don't give up, Leaf. The first trick is figuring out how to get through his defense," Psycho said seriously, narrowing his eyes at the Glaceon as a white beam fired at the Leafeon, who quickly dodged, the ice beam freezing a small portion of the wall where it struck. Leaf formed a green ball of energy in his mouth and spat it towards the hailstorm but this time, the Glaceon moved, avoiding the attack with ease.

"The problem is that stupid hailstorm!" Leaf grumbled as another chuck of the hail struck both him and Psycho, although the Espeon tried to deflect the ice chucks with psychic energy, without success. A powerful gust of wind roared around the room, with snow accompanying it, and both Eons were blown off balance, grunting from the force and chill of the wind. Ember tried to shield Spark from the gust, which practically blew her tail flame out. Spark whined in terror and even I felt the chill and strength of the wind. A pity I wasn't that talented at weather control, I might be able to help out in the battle, or at least neutralize the hailstorm.

"Then our goal is to eliminate the hailstorm," Psycho said emotionlessly, glaring at the vortex of hail. He fired another Psybeam, but Frost dodged from within the vortex, countering with another Shadow Ball, which flung the Espeon against the wall.

"Shadow!" Leaf yelled worriedly, and the Espeon's gem glowed, healing a few injuries, but not nearly enough.

"That snow storm is also messing up our weather based recovery techniques..." Psycho growled. Leaf nodded in reply, turning back to the hailstorm and launching a flurry of razor edged leaves. Once again, the leaves were torn to shreds by the whirling hailstones, and Frost chuckled briefly.

"Hey coward! Stop hiding behind your little shield and fight us!" Leaf snapped furiously. "You could never beat us both without it!"

"You don't think so? Then I will stop using it as soon as it wears off or is neutralized," Frost replied confidently.

"Then I'll neutralize it! Sunny Day!" Leaf cried and his body glowed brightly. Psycho stared at the Leafeon in surprise, and after several seconds the hail storm faded, and the room was lit by a bright light.

"Thanks, Leaf," Psycho said and his gem glowed again, healing the remainder of his injuries. The Glaceon looked mildly surprised, but didn't comment.

"As agreed, no more Hail. I didn't know you knew Sunny Day. Now we'll see which of us is truly stronger," Frost said. "Let's continue, shall we?"

**To be continued...**


	98. Battle of Elements

"No Hail?" Psycho repeated. "Why so generous?" he asked monotonously.

"I didn't need Hail to defeat you, Shadow," Frost replied seriously and the Espeon scowled angrily before resuming his impassive expression. The Glaceon inhaled and blew out a powerful gust of wind, the strength of the gale throwing the Espeon off balance, but there was a small flash of light and Psycho vanished, reappearing behind the ice Eon. The psychic Eon's eyes and gem glowed and the Glaceon was engulfed by psychic energy before being flung across the room, slamming into the wall.

"Nice one, Shadow!" Leaf said, lashing out with a vine, which made to ensnare the Glaceon's legs, but Frost spat a blue-white beam, encasing the vine in ice before jumping clear of Psycho's Psybeam. The black furred Espeon formed another beam, firing it at the ice Pokémon, but Frost dodged again. Leaf darted forward, slamming his body against the Glaceon, throwing the ice Pokémon to the ground.

"Error: must keep eyes on both opponents," Frost said solemnly, climbing back to his feet and blowing another gale of wind, this time with small amounts of sleet and snow mixed in. The Icy Wind struck Leaf head on, knocking the grass Eon backwards across the ground. The Glaceon hastily avoided another wave of psychic energy from Psycho, retaliating with an Ice Beam, which Psycho avoided by teleporting to a different area of the room. "Error: taking too long to counter evasive maneuvers," Frost muttered to himself, watching the Espeon carefully. Leaf slammed his body at the Glaceon, but shards of ice shot from Frost's fur, striking the Leafeon in midair, causing him to collapse to the ground.

"Ouch..." Ember muttered, spitting a fireball at the Glaceon, who calmly sidestepped the attack, forming a blue orb in its mouth and launching a pulse of water, shoving Ember backwards and extinguishing her tail flame. She hastily reignited it and checked to make sure Spark, who had been cowering behind her, was unharmed.

"Me okay!" Spark announced, still shivering worriedly. Psycho fired a Psybeam at Frost, who hastily countered with a Shadow Ball, which sliced through the psychic attack easily, throwing the Espeon backwards. Before Psycho could react, a flurry of ice shards flew towards him, slicing at the black furred Espeon's body. Leaf launched another flurry of razor leaves, but the Glaceon moved in a blur of motion, striking the Leafeon twice in the face with its paws, clamping his teeth into the Leafeon's shoulder. Leaf whined in pain, and Psycho teleported over to the two Eons, his gem glowing brightly before a powerful psychic beam struck the Glaceon, easily flinging it into the nearby wall.

"You're finished, Frost. Just give in," Psycho said coldly, but the Glaceon slowly returned to his feet, smiling slightly.

"Give in? You haven't beaten me that easily," he said with a small laugh, exhaling another Icy Wind, the gust distracting Psycho long enough for the Glaceon to lunge forward, slamming his weight into the Espeon and knocking Psycho to the ground painfully. "Error: Focus on the opponent," Frost said, shaking his head pityingly. Psycho growled in annoyance as both he and Leaf climbed back to their feet.

"Synthesis!" Leaf said cheerfully, but before anything could happen, a Shadow Ball blasted him in the face, exploding on contact and hurling the Leafeon backwards. Psycho's gem glowed, but another Shadow Ball struck him, with a similar effect to the first. Both Eons twitched, slowly climbing back to their feet. Frost formed a large Shadow Ball in his mouth and spat it forward, striking the ground between the two Eons, the black orb exploding and throwing them to the side limply.

"That's the end of that chapter," Frost said indifferently. He was forced to leap backwards as a jet of water flew at him, Blaze blinking in surprise at the Vaporeon firing the jet. "Oh? Another challenger?" Frost asked, smiling. Blaze also stepped forward, spitting a stream of fire at the ice Eon, but Frost formed a Water Pulse and launched it at the Flareon, negating the fire attack. Before the rest of the Pulse could hit Blaze, Aura intercepted the attack, smiling as her previous injuries began to fade. Frost stared in surprise at this turn of events, but shrugged. "Error: Overlooking tag team combination," he muttered to himself.

"Why does he point out all errors?" I asked, getting annoyed by the commentary.

"Just be glad he isn't bragging like almost every other opponent does," Ember whispered. I had to agree with that point, even if it was replaced by the fact that the Glaceon pointed out everyone's "errors" with unceasing seriousness while doing so. Blaze lunged at the ice Eon, but Frost dodged quickly, retaliating by biting the Flareon's neck, which was protected by the fluffy fur. Blaze took this opportunity to hit the Glaceon with a close range Flamethrower, Frost crying out in surprise and pain, releasing Blaze's fur.

"Leave my fur alone!" Blaze said, spitting another Flamethrower attack at the Glaceon, who dodged quickly. Aura slammed her head into the airborne ice Eon, slamming him against one of the scattered computer consoles in the room.

"Error: Losing focus," the Glaceon chided himself fiercely, breathing out an Icy Wind attack, pushing Aura back enough to break away from her attack, and firing an Ice Beam at the Vaporeon, encasing part of her legs in ice, preventing her from moving out of the way of a Shadow Ball, which exploded on impact, flinging her backwards, shattering the ice. Blaze leapt at Frost and attempted to bite him, but the Glaceon ducked his body closer to the ground, the Flareon overshooting his leap. Frost formed another Water Pulse, blasting the Flareon with the pressurized burst of water.

"Aww! My fur!" Blaze whined loudly. Aura struggled back to her feet, and spat a semi-transparent multicolored beam, which hit Frost with no visible effect.

"Error: Ice move on ice type is not smart," Frost said seriously, slamming his paw into the Vaporeon's gut and spitting an Ice Beam at the Vaporeon. Blaze quickly spat a Flamethrower to counter attack, and Frost launched a Water Pulse to counter the fire. Aura calmly absorbed the water attack and Frost's eyes widened. "Error: not thinking things through enough," he grumbled.

"You're really slipping up there, Frost," Leaf said, struggling to stand without success. The Glaceon released several shards of ice at the Leafeon, but I countered them with a Flamethrower. Attacking someone when they're already down is a cheap tactic, and I had no interest in just watching it happen. Blaze took the moment of distraction to lunge forward, slamming his weight into the Glaceon.

"That's for making my fur wet!" Blaze said, using a quick Flamethrower to dry himself off. Frost scowled briefly, watching his opponents carefully. Aura ran forward, but was stopped cold (no pun intended) by the recreation of the hailstorm vortex, which formed a shield around the ice Eon. Blaze smiled slightly, blowing a large Flamethrower at the vortex. At first, nothing seemed to be happening, but after a moment, the hail seemed to be melting, clearing away large chunks of the shield. Aura smiled encouragingly at the Flareon, and watched Frost carefully, alert for signs of retaliation, but none came. After several moments, the majority of the hail storm had melted away, and Aura fired a jet of water at the ice type, whose fur suddenly gleamed silvery, the jet of water rebounding towards Blaze, striking the fire type in the face. "MY FUR!" Blaze wailed.

"Calm down, Blaze!" Aura urged.

"Mirror Coat. Very valuable technique," Frost said simply, and shards of ice flew towards Aura, who moved quickly, narrowly avoiding them. She landed, turning quickly to aim an attack, but a Shadow Ball struck her in the face, detonating with great force and throwing her to the ground limply. "That's another one down," the Glaceon announced, a blue orb forming in his mouth. Blaze tensed, prepared for the attack, but Frost snapped his jaws shut around the orb, and a ring of water surrounded the Glaceon, splashing outwards like a tidal wave. Blaze stared in disbelief at the large wave of water, easily being swept aside by the torrent, and I noticed the water drained into special drains in the floor, explaining why the place wasn't flooded by now.

"Me scared!" Spark whimpered, now hiding behind me. I blinked at the Pichu for a moment before turning my attention to Frost, who was smirking triumphantly, but he looked tired out.

"That's the end of that chapter," Frost panted slightly, staring at me with interest. I stared back at him coldly. "Pity...I wanted to see if the mighty Dragonair was really as strong as they say, but I have another engagement. Rain check on our battle?" he said and the Sableye materialized next to him.

"Why you running?" I challenged. "We still have a score to settle. You kidnapped Spark. And no one messes with kits, least of all him." I glared at the ice Eon, who paused, considering this new development.

"So sorry, rain check this time. But the next time we meet, I'll get the chance to test you," Frost said, nodding to Gem, and they both vanished in a brief flash of light. Psycho groaned, climbing back to his feet, blinking around blearily.

"Damn it. He left..." he muttered. "Least we got what we came for. Let's go." There was a bright flash of light and when it faded, we were back outside. "We're about 100 yards from the clearing where the rest of your group are," the Espeon said emotionlessly.

"Couldn't get us closer?" I asked sarcastically, leading the group towards the clearing.


	99. Short Stories of the Past

We returned to the clearing around when the sun had reached its highest point. By human time, I'd estimate it to be about noon, although it could be later. I never was very good with measuring time by the sun. Early afternoon gets the point across. "Mommy! Daddy! Me back!" Spark cried, jumping from Ember's tail where he had been perched and running the remaining distance to his Raichu parents. Crystal was giving Blaze a strange look, and upon glancing back, it wasn't that hard to see why, as the male Flareon was supporting Aura, who was having trouble walking.

"What? She was hurt!" Blaze protested, noticing how the female Flareon was staring at him. Crystal raised her eyebrow at me and I nodded to confirm (I was tempted to deny his story, but I finally decided not to), and she settled down a little.

"Are you alright?" Sapphire asked us gently. Leaf and Psycho had both used their respective recovery techniques to heal their injuries, and Ember and I were mostly unharmed, and we told her so. "Good to know," Sapphire said, nuzzling me gently. Crystal helped Blaze lead Aura to the stream and the Vaporeon nodded in thanks, resting by the water.

"Me want eat!" Spark said, clutching his stomach, which growled slightly. "Me eat?" he asked and his father smiled and nodded, the Pichu running over to the nearest berry bush and happily beginning to eat. Psycho's eyes glowed and he plucked berries across the clearing using psychic powers.

"Show off," Leaf muttered, snatching a few berries in midair and eating them. The Espeon gave him a dirty look, but didn't say anything.

"Who's Darkness?" Blaze asked Leaf abruptly and Psycho made a strange choking sound, fixing the Flareon with a dangerous glare. Leaf also seemed confused by the sudden question.

"Darkness? The Umbreon member of our group?" the Leafeon asked.

"Shut up, Leaf," Psycho said emotionlessly.

"What?" Leaf asked, looking at the Espeon suspiciously. "What's wrong? I can talk about our group, can't I?"

"It's a topic I rather avoid, what with the situation with Frost," Psycho replied monotonously. I immediately got the impression he was hiding something.

"You don't have to join in," Leaf said, still giving the Espeon an odd look before turning back to Blaze. "There were 5 members in our training group: Frost, Shadow, Darkness, Jolt, and me. Frost is the Glaceon, Shadow's the Espeon, Darkness is the only female, and is an Umbreon, Jolt's a Jolteon and I'm a Leafeon."

"How did your group originate?" I asked. "Only you and Psycho are related, if I remember correctly." Leaf nodded, thinking a moment.

"Well, Shadow was about a year or two old when I hatched, and our parents died, so he took care of me," Leaf explained.

"How'd your parents die?" Sapphire asked cautiously and Psycho twitched slightly.

"Don't want to talk about it," he said firmly and Leaf nodded, showing he understood.

"Well, he eventually evolved into an Espeon, with the unique coloration, and I called him Shadow because of his dark color and how he could blend with the darkness," Leaf continued. "We were living in Sinnoh, in a forest, and one day I evolved into a Leafeon. Shadow named me 'Leaf' when that happened," Leaf explained, then glanced at Psycho in confusion. "What happened next?"

"Why not just tell our life history and work from there?" Psycho asked sarcastically.

"Uh...we were just doing that," Leaf said, missing the sarcasm. The Espeon rolled his eyes.

"I grew up in an Eevee clan," Blaze said randomly and everyone turned to stare at him, most of us appearing slightly interested. I personally was just worried where this conversation was going to go. "Just a small one, but I left after getting in an argument with the clan leader. Something about disregard for safety or something like that, I didn't really care."

"What happened?" Ember asked, raising an eye scale at the Flareon.

"There were these dumb rules like 'don't leave the clearing' and 'don't touch shiny things' and 'eat your vegetables' and other dumb things. Well, my sister and I went to explore outside the clearing and I touched this shiny orange thing and evolved," Blaze explained seriously. "My sister liked me as a Flareon, but the clan leader got mad about it, so I just left. Then I kinda got caught by one of those Rocket jerks..." Blaze grumbled under his breath and stopped speaking (which was a relief to me).

"I was raised by the Breeder, and I was given the option to evolve or stay an Eevee longer, and I wanted to be a Flareon, so I took a Fire Stone. Nothing too interesting, I'm afraid," Crystal said, brushing her tail against Blaze casually. Blaze stopped grumbling, but shifted a little uncomfortably.

"I was a wild Eevee, and I evolved when I stepped on a Water Stone that was on the bottom of a stream. Unfortunately, I got caught by a Rocket almost immediately after evolving," Aura said. "Most of my life was uneventful, just the occasional squabbles with random wild Pokémon over food."

"How old are you all?" Ember asked, staring at the Eons.

"I'm three years old," Blaze said. Aura and Crystal both stared at him in surprise.

"So am I!" both said simultaneously, then stared at each other in disbelief.

"I'm about...two? And Shadow's about four years old, right?" Leaf asked, glancing at the Espeon, who nodded indifferently.

"Am I the oldest one here?" Ember asked, staring around at everyone, including the two Raichus. "I'm eight," she explained.

"Seems like it," Sapphire said thoughtfully. "Both Dragonair and I are six years old, which is still considered fairly young for dragon types, but we mature faster than most species."

"Hm, come to think of it, I don't know very much about your past, Sapphire," I said, looking at her expectantly. Sapphire blinked at me in surprise.

"No? Alright then...I was raised by my parents until I was about 3 years old, and then I set off on my own. I was rather fond of traveling, although as a Dratini, I couldn't travel very far outside of a body of water. I evolved when I was about 4 and traveling became much easier for me. I practiced weather control a lot, so I'm pretty good at it, I guess..." she began

"You're the best I know," I pointed out and she blushed slightly.

"Thank you. I met you about a year later, and you know the rest," she said, recovering quickly. I nodded.

"I didn't really know my parents. Are yours still alive?" I asked her and she smiled.

"Yes, I visited them shortly after evolving, and again after the two of us met. They're still Dratinis, believe it or not. They never evolved," Sapphire replied. "We should go see them sometime, they want to meet you."

"Eventually," I said vaguely. "I only knew my parents for about a year, then I got caught and was raised by Ethan. I met Ember about a year after getting caught, and we got along okay. I spent the last few years as a Rocket executive Pokémon, and when I evolved I was able to help with the operations more. I recently learned about the organization's true nature, and I've fought them ever since. Hm...it's been about a year since I met Sapphire...early to mid March, wasn't it?"

"Early March," Sapphire replied, and Ember twitched slightly, but I was the only one who noticed this slight movement. "What about you, Ember?" Sapphire asked the Charmander.

"Um...I was caught by a Rocket when I was about 3, and I practiced claw combat for about 5 years up until now," Ember said vaguely and I raised an eye scale at her.

"What about before you got caught?" I asked curiously and Ember scowled briefly.

"Nothing too interesting. I was raised for a year by my dad. We had to leave where we lived because of weather issues," she said, growling slightly. Everyone backed away a pace, sensing that either it was a touchy subject, or she was annoyed at something.

"Me story! Me with Mommy and Daddy and mean people steal Mommy and Daddy and me meet Dragon and Dragon nice cuz he know special word. Dragon help me find Mommy and Daddy!" Spark said, hugging his parents happily.

"Can you tell me more about Darkness?" Blaze asked Leaf, the question causing Psycho to stiffen briefly. The Leafeon didn't notice the Espeon's reaction and nodded.

"Not sure how we met, but she's what humans call a 'shiny', and..." Leaf began.

"A shiny?" Blaze repeated blankly. "What's that?"

"Shiny is a term humans give to Pokémon that have a different, almost unique coloration. These type of Pokémon are unbelievably rare, and valued by many," I replied.

"Is he a shiny?" Blaze asked, gesturing to Psycho.

"Technically, he's rarer than a shiny," Leaf said. "He was a regular Eevee; his color change was a result of evolving, which is almost unheard of."

"Except in the case of the red Gyarados," I said, remembering a file I studied back in the Rocket databanks. "But that was a forced evolution."

"I'm right here, you know," Psycho said emotionlessly. "I never asked Dark if she was shiny as an Eevee, as logically she would be. If memory serves, shiny Eevees are white."

"White?" Ember repeated, raising an eye scale.

"That's what I said, wasn't it?" Psycho replied monotonously.

"On another side note, shiny Pokémon often have extremely ugly colorations. Isn't a typical shiny Espeon green?" I asked.

"So are Jolteons. Vaporeons are purple, same as Dratinis and Dragonairs. I think Leafeons just have a different green color, and Glaceons have more white," Leaf added.

"Humans are often weird like that; they like ugly over beauty," I said dismissively.

"What's a shiny Umbreon or Flareon look like?" Blaze asked cautiously.

"I believe Flareons' fur is a brown-red color," Crystal supplied. Blaze shuddered.

"A shiny Umbreon is black with blue rings, rather than yellow. In Dark's case, her rings are almost a midnight blue," Psycho said emotionlessly. Leaf suddenly stared at Psycho oddly.

"Did you just refer to her as 'Dark'? She nearly ripped my head off for doing that once," Leaf said. "Something about not liking affectionate nicknames from casual friends..." Leaf let his sentence trail off, grinning slightly at the Espeon's abrupt discomfort. "So how serious is it?"

"Shut up, Leaf. I already put up with the comments from Frost..." Psycho muttered. Leaf's grin widened.

"So you actually like her? You wouldn't have put up with the comments otherwise. I thought she was still pissed off about the whole 'you never show emotion' thing. How the hell did this happen?"

"Shut up or I'll tell her that you're the one who swapped her soap last April Fool's Day," Psycho said with a growl and Leaf paled.

"You knew? I got away with that because everyone thought Jolt did it!" Leaf said in shock and the Espeon smirked.

"So you admit doing it?" Psycho asked. Leaf winced.

"I didn't know she'd get that upset over it!" Leaf protested. I sighed, turning away from the arguing Eons.

"They'll probably be like that for a while..." I said, and the rest of them nodded and moved away as well.


	100. Dark Blackmail

"Please...I don't know anything!" the insignificant human struggled in my grasp. I grinned and leaned close, my red eyes gleaming as I quickly examined the human's subconscious to determine whether he was lying or not. Seconds later, I determined he was honest and my grin widened.

"If you don't know anything, I have no use for you alive," I hissed, the human's eyes widening in terror as I slashed my claws quickly, throwing the body aside dismissively. Only then did my grin change to a scowl of fury. "No one here knew a thing," I said to no one in particular.

_"Perhaps your information is unreliable,"_ Nightmare suggested, the Gastly materializing before me, but I barely spared him a glance. I didn't need him to make excuses for the lack of progress.

"Hey! I resent that!" Chaos complained, also materializing nearby. "My sources are always accurate! Right, boss?"

"I trust your information, Chaos, but something isn't adding up," I said, betraying a hint of irritation. It was true that the Rotom's information was usually reliable, so he was either mistaken or something else was amiss.

_"Fine, then humans just aren't good collectors of information,"_ Nightmare said grudgingly. _"Which reminds me; Doom asked me to tell you that he believes that Charmander is back to her normal mental state. He also admits that he has no freaking clue where the hell they are right now."_

"So, she managed to escape that fate," I mused. "A pity, for I would have liked her to finally die, but for now it's irrelevant. We did not move our focus to Sinnoh to discuss our adversaries in Kanto."

"Johto," Chaos interrupted cheerfully. Nightmare and I swiveled to face the Rotom, who smiled cheerfully at the attention.

_"Johto? How the hell would you know they're in Johto?"_ Nightmare demanded. I wasn't surprised by this revelation. Chaos was always on top of information that like, although I can scarcely fathom where he gets all his data.

"I saw them," Chaos explained. I blinked at the Rotom.

"How?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes.

"The Espeon recruited them to help him access the Rocket databanks in the Johto facility," Chaos explained, then grinned. "Pity they don't have what they needed due to an abrupt memory failure of a few files…" he said smugly.

_"What kind of information are we talking about?"_ Nightmare asked, concerned.

"The same kind that damn Espeon and his little allies are always hunting for," I replied coldly. "They need to get a life. Tracking me for 2 years, those fools." It seemed no matter how many times their schemes produced naught but wasted effort, they refused to abandon the pursuit. It was so pathetic.

"Frost is a traitor to the group," Chaos continued and I stopped, staring at the Rotom.

"How do you know that?" I asked, genuinely interested in the answer. Frost…he was different from the other four. He was the sole among them whose efforts aimed to serve himself. If he finally was shedding the others, well…then it could prove to be beneficial in the end.

"Security footage and records," Chaos answered cheerfully. "Frost hired the Dark Organization to kidnap the Pichu kit. Then he fought his former allies. No word on his motives for doing so, boss."

"Nor do I care," I said indifferently. Of course there was no word on the motives. Only Frost himself would know of them and I doubt he'd ever let it slip to another. I paused, narrowing my eyes at a security display that Chaos was monitoring lazily. "He's here," I whispered, my grin returning. Nightmare examined the display and blinked in confusion.

_"What's he doing here?"_ the Gastly asked, but I ignored him, instead navigating my way back to the entrance of the facility that I had attacked. This room was fairly large, with two security officers dead, slumped across the table they had been seated at when I had struck, the table laden with a few scattered sandwiches and various fruits. The fools never got to enjoy their lunch break, what a pity. The arrival seemed to be looking around cautiously, anxiously approaching the corpses.

"They're dead, don't bother trying to help them now," I said calmly to the newcomer, who flinched, the quills of his fur stiffening into needles. "Hello, Jolt," I sneered to the Jolteon, who scowled briefly.

"Diablos," he snapped. I grinned, stepping into the light, showing him my present Sneasel body, my eyes focused upon him.

"In the flesh. Pretty specimen, isn't she?" I replied casually, gesturing towards my host body. "A lovely Sneasel, well suited to my present needs, wouldn't you say?" The Jolteon growled slightly, prompting a quiet chuckle from me. "What's wrong, Jolt? No small talk? I expected you to be far more talkative," I sneered. Jolt said nothing, only glared daggers at me. "Very well. On to business, then," I said, stepping nearer still.

"I'm looking forward to it," the Jolteon snarled, sparks leaping from his fur.

I chuckled. "I must know, Jolt. What do you have against me? What reason do you hunt me? I've done nothing directly to you, thus far. We won't count instances of mutual enmity here. I understand Psycho's obsession, but what reason do you have to resist me?" I asked, grinning at the electric Pokémon.

"Because I know how much of a monster you are!" Jolt snarled and I chuckled.

"Do you? I'm the monster in this equation? I only did what you were unable to do. If you despise me for that, it's your own fault," I whispered. Jolt flinched, his body tensing and preparing to attack. I remained at ease. "You know of a few things I've done in the past and take it as a personal attack. You're far too naïve to think that I've done the worst to you yet. The worst is yet to come."

"What the hell does that mean?" My grin widened at the Jolteon's annoyed scowl. I was going to enjoy this immensely.

"I'll affect you in a way you'll never recover from. Tarot, Chaos, Nightmare, come. It's time," I hissed. The Sableye, Gastly, and Rotom appeared behind me, the Sableye reluctantly holding a female Eevee in his claws. Jolt's eyes widened in shock, and he stepped back a pace. I gently took the Eevee from Tarot's arms, and stroked her head gently. Despite this, she whimpered in fear, her wide eyes staring at Jolt, silently pleading for him to help her.

"Kira..." Jolt whispered, and then glared at me furiously.

"Such a pretty girl, isn't she?" I asked dismissively, still petting the Eevee's head. I glanced at the indignant Jolteon and smirked. "You already know that, of course. But I wonder how you'd react if she..." I trailed off and held a claw to the Eevee's neck, gently tracing it across the throat, without any sort of pressure. The Eevee whimpered and Jolt stiffened, horrified.

"Leave her alone, bastard!" Jolt snarled, finding his voice again.

"Oh dear...how easily upset you are..." I mocked quietly, handing the Eevee back to Tarot and gesturing to Chaos, who floated behind me, using an electric field to levitate two objects. At my gesture, the Rotom dropped the two objects into my paw. One was a gauntlet, which I fit onto my arm. The other was a collar, which I carefully placed around the Eevee's neck. A red light lit up on both objects and I smiled.

_"Master...please don't..."_ Nightmare pleaded, but I ignored him. He better not be getting cold ectoplasm. He knew what was expected and intended, yet at the moment of truth he tries to dissuade me? What a weak fool.

I smiled. "This is for his own good, Nightmare. Now then, I'll make you a bargain, Jolteon. Your little mate won't be harmed if you do me a little favor. Or, you can fight me and lose. Both have consequences, but more about that later. Go ahead, one free shot," I taunted, stepping to the center of the room. Jolt didn't hesitate, his fur spiking up into needles as he released a Thunderbolt towards me. I didn't move, allowing the bolt to strike me, wincing as the electricity spread through my body.

"Take that!" Jolt snarled, but stared as I began to laugh. "What's funny?!" he demanded and I held up my left arm, where the gauntlet was attached to my wrist. He stared at it with a blank look on his face.

"You are. Whenever I am harmed, this lovely device sends out a signal, measuring the damage I just took, and inflicting an electrical shock to the receiver of the signal, which is the collar, which is attached to your darling Kira!" I explained, savoring the horrified expression on his face. Jolt swiftly turned his gaze to the Eevee, just as another light, blue this time, lit up on the collar and the Eevee cried out, sparks flying from the collar. She writhed, tears falling from her eyes as the shock spread through her body. Jolt gasped, then whirled on me.

"You Palkia damned bastard!" Jolt snarled, lunging at me and clamping his jaws onto my shoulder. I ignored the flash of pain, shoving the enraged Jolteon from me and punching him in the face.

"You just attacked me, so another shock!" I sneered. The collar light glowed blue again and the Eevee whined in pain. Nightmare was looking deeply discomforted by this, but I ignored his expression. Whether my associated approved or not was entirely irrelevant.

"Kira!" Jolt cried out, tears forming in his own eyes, and he glared venomously at me. "I'll kill you!" he growled and lunged at me again. He was a slow learner, wasn't he? I allowed him to strike me, and he bit at me with impressive anger, drawing blood from the bite wounds. The collar light glowed again and the Eevee cried out in pain, the strength of the shock greater than the previous ones. The Jolteon let out a whine of anguish and frustration, confused about his options. I chuckled maliciously as Tarot glowed brightly, casting a Wish for me. Even the Sableye looked unhappy about the events, but unlike Nightmare, he hid this much better. Chaos was fiddling with a computer in the corner, and Nightmare was staring in horror at the Eevee, which was twitching in pain.

"Do you see the consequences yet, Jolt? Do you see what anyone can become with the right trigger? Your actions are regulated by a desire to hurt, to get vengeance. Hate and anger fuel you, and it only proves that life requires you to make a sacrifice," I whispered. "If you do nothing, you lose your chance to end your mission. If you continue, your 'loved one' gets hurt."

The Jolteon backed away, horrified. "I won't fight!" Jolt said firmly. I chuckled again. What a weak fool, unable to make the appropriate sacrifice to accomplish his dreams and all because of some stupid little Eevee.

"Then you agree to do the favor?" I asked. Jolt hesitated. "No?" I challenged and raised a claw, slashing myself viciously. I ignored the rush of pain, and the collar's light glowed, transmitting another shock to the Eevee. A golden orb came from the sky and touched me, my wounds healing instantly. Jolt's eyes lost their fire. He knew he couldn't win. I could hurt myself to hurt his prized Eevee and the damage wouldn't even accumulate for long. He was giving up.

"I'll do it, just let her go!" he pleaded. Although his determination had weakened, his glare never softened.

"I thought you might..." I hissed, tossing the Jolteon a small notepad. "Follow the instructions. Should you decide not to follow them, we'll be back, and your little mate will die. No questions asked. Tarot, release her."

The Sableye nodded, placing the Eevee down and Chaos floated back over, glowing slightly and the collar's lock disengaged. Considering that Chaos built the device, it was not surprising he had also made it so he could turn them off. As soon as the collar dropped to the ground, the female Eevee ran over to the Jolteon, still sobbing quietly.

"Farewell, Jolteon," I sneered, nodding to Tarot, who proceeded to teleport both of from the base.

_"Master...please don't do that anymore,"_ Nightmare begged as he materialized once more.

"Don't be weak, Nightmare. Show some spine," I said coldly. "It had the desired effect, so get over it. Weaknesses must be exploited, and that was one of his. Now, we must continue with our task at hand."


	101. Short Lived Relaxation

**Ember POV**

After Dragonair's comment, most of the group split up to do their own thing. Dragonair coiled up under a tree, attempting to relax in the shade. Blaze continued watching the Eons argue, which I found odd, but decided not to comment. Spark was sleeping, his parents keeping watch over him, conversing to each other quietly. I walked over to the stream where Aura was resting and took a drink, plucking a few berries from a nearby bush to satisfy my hunger.

"How are you doing?" I asked the Vaporeon casually and she looked up in surprise, but smiled.

"I'm doing fine, just a small injury," she replied calmly, turning her gaze towards the main clearing. Dragonair was smirking to himself as he watched Blaze, the Flareon still transfixed by the Leafeon and Espeon's random argument. The source of Dragonair's amusement was probably the female Flareon slowly inching closer to Blaze, who remained oblivious to this movement.

"He's not exactly alert, is he?" I asked, gesturing to Blaze and Crystal. Aura smiled briefly.

"He is very easily distracted," she said with a small shrug. "If he's not flirting, he's oblivious to it altogether."

"He's not the only one," I said with a small grin. Aura blinked in confusion until I pointed at Dragonair, who had somehow failed to notice Sapphire casually moving closer to him. Unlike Crystal's subtle movements, the female Dragonair was making no effort to disguise her approach. This didn't surprise me, based on Dragonair's stories about their relationship, but it was amusing nevertheless. "Ok...now I'm not happy," I grumbled and Aura tilted her head at me questioningly.

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked. I sighed and lay on my back, staring at the sky aimlessly while the Vaporeon calmly waited for my reply.

"Everyone seems to have someone but me," I muttered. "I guess I'm just jealous."

"I don't have anyone either," Aura pointed out, then paused. "Except it doesn't really bother me. Sure, I didn't mind the attention I'd get, but I rather not worry about relationships until my life is a little more settled."

"Good luck with that," I said sincerely. "I get the feeling my life is never going to be settled. I don't think it ever was."

"You worked for the Rockets? What was that like?" Aura asked curiously. "I've always wondered why anyone, human or Pokémon, would want to work for the Rockets."

"Well, most didn't know about the darker aspects of the organization. I didn't really work for them, anyway. Most grunts found me too...rebellious...to actual bother trying to get me to follow orders. Now that I think on it, now that I know what kind of work they do, I wonder why they didn't just send me to one of those facilities..." I said, furrowing my brow in thought.

"They considered it, Ember," Dragonair said cautiously from his position. Apparently he had been listening to our conversation. "Around the time you started going nuts anytime someone told you to use Ember attack."

"That was because of you!" I shot back, aggravated at the reminder.

"So was why you weren't sent to a facility," Dragonair added. I blinked at him. "While I didn't know the nature of the facility, they were definitely going to send you to one, and I sent an email to Ethan saying that if you were ever transferred, they'd have one hell of a protest on their hands. It wasn't long after they first tried a restraining collar on me, so I think it was an effective threat, since they didn't transfer you."

"How'd you send an email? You have trouble using keyboards," I asked, raising my eye scale at him. He grinned slightly.

"I blackmailed a Machop to help me out. I can be very persuasive," he said, trailing off and glancing at Sapphire. "What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously. The female Dragonair had wrapped her tail around him, apparently drawing attention to her presence for the first time in the last few minutes.

"Is there something wrong with what I'm doing?" Sapphire asked, and Dragonair seemed momentarily lost for words. Sapphire rolled her eyes, nuzzling her head against the male Dragonair's neck, which certainly didn't help Dragonair's ability to talk coherently.

"That's the end of that conversation," I whispered to Aura, who giggled, turning her attention back to Blaze and Crystal. Blaze was still watching the other Eons' argument, and the female Flareon seemed to have grown bored with being covert because she poked Blaze in the side. He jerked in surprise, turning towards her.

"Ow! Aww...why'd you do that?" Blaze whined, rubbing his side with one paw.

"I didn't poke that hard," Crystal said, rolling her eyes. "And it was to get your attention," she added, brushing her tail against him.

"What?" Blaze whined, seemingly not aware that she was flirting with him. The female stared at him in disbelief and Blaze whimpered quietly. "What'd I do wrong?"

"You're clueless!" I called across the clearing and both Flareons glared at me silently. "What? He is!"

"Shut up or I'll bite you!" Crystal said irritably, exposing her fang-like teeth to make her point. I decided to stop talking, because I wasn't willing to put it past her to go through with that threat. According to the Breeder's book about the Eevee line, Flareons can be quite aggressive when pushed, though Jolteons and Umbreons have the shortest fuse, and this applies to anything, not just mates or relationships.

"Clueless about what?" Blaze asked, confused.

"Flareon, she's flirting with you," Psycho said emotionlessly.

"Shut up, stupid Espeon!" Blaze growled, and then paused. "Wait, she is?"

"You're an idiot," Dragonair said and Crystal's eye twitched for a moment. Dragonair grinned obnoxiously at the female Flareon, and Blaze glanced at everyone in confusion, as if hoping someone would fill him in on what was going on.

"Leave them alone, Dragonair," Sapphire said firmly and Dragonair sighed in disappointment. Blaze flinched as Crystal rubbed her head against his chest, the male blushing slightly. Leaf chuckled slightly at the Flareon's reaction.

"Leaf, considering you have no experience with relationships, I doubt you're in much of a position to laugh at another's discomfort from a show of affection," Psycho said monotonously. Leaf flushed, no longer laughing.

"Ember thinks you're cute!" Dragonair called to the Leafeon, who promptly froze up. I growled angrily at Dragonair, but Aura shook her head.

"Not worth it," she whispered and I slowly settled down a little, glaring at Dragonair for another moment before glancing back at Blaze and Crystal. Blaze shifted a little uncomfortably, finally lying down in a comfortable position. The female Flareon shrugged and curled up next to him, yawning briefly before closing her eyes. I glanced at the sky, surprised at how late it had gotten in what felt like a short time. It was maybe early evening, but the day seemed to have worn several of us out (me excluded, since I had a nap earlier).

"Maybe someone should keep watch over the area from now on," Dragonair suggested. "We don't want a repeat of that incident."

"Good idea, but Leaf and I are leaving now, so we're not available for guard duty," Psycho said indifferently. Leaf blinked, but didn't argue. Both Eons vanished in a flash of light and Dragonair sighed slightly.

"Who wants the first shift?" he asked. I shrugged, and he nodded to me. "Ok, you then. Good night!" He floated closer to the stream and coiled up next to Sapphire, who was already preparing to sleep.

"Thanks, jackass," I muttered under my breath. Aura shrugged.

"I'll keep watch with you, if you want," she suggested and I smiled gratefully at her.

"Thanks, that'd be great," I said, and we walked over to the hill and sat down, overlooking the slope. From the looks of it, there wasn't anyone nearby for the next mile. Actually, that wasn't quite true, and Aura's sudden gasp and pointing brought this detail to light. A pair of humans was heading towards the hill with a sense of purpose about them. "Ah crap..." I muttered. Even by the darkening sky, I was able to recognize who one of them was. "Aura, get everyone here quickly," I said urgently. The Vaporeon nodded and ran back towards the clearing to alert the others. I scowled to myself and readied my claws to fight.

**To be continued…**


	102. Return of the Hunter

It only took a few moments for the humans to spot me, what with my tail flame burning brightly, and the area darkening, I'm amazed they didn't spot me sooner. While I would have liked nothing more than them to turn around and leave, I knew it wasn't going to happen. "What's going on?" Dragonair asked, floating over from behind me and looking down the hill. The approaching humans hesitated for only a moment, continuing their approach. "Ah..." Dragonair muttered, yawning briefly.

"You know them?" Blaze asked, walking over sleepily.

"If by 'know' you mean 'am hunted by', then yes," Dragonair said. "That's the Hunter who owned Venomoth, isn't it? The one from Kanto?"

"Looks like it," I said. "Not sure who the other one is, though."

"Another Hunter is my bet, and they apparently knew we were here," Dragonair grumbled. He grinned briefly and spat a Flamethrower towards the approaching humans, but the unfamiliar one threw a Pokeball, which burst open, releasing a large armored purple creature with a powerful tail and a large horn on its forehead. The Flamethrower struck the creature, whose armored chest seemed to deflect the fire easily. "Nidoking?" Dragonair muttered, disappointed in the interception of the attack.

"We meet again, Dragonair!" the Hunter sneered. Dragonair nodded curtly. "Surprised?"

"Not really. I didn't really remember you from Kanto," Dragonair replied in a bored tone, that weird collar translating his words so that the humans could understand him. "And you have a friend. How nice," he added sarcastically. The Hunter chuckled, gesturing to his partner.

"Yes, where are my manners? This is Fred, another Hunter. I decided to team up with an old ally to bring you in," the Hunter said.

"And your name is...?" Dragonair prompted and the Hunter smirked.

"My name is Hunter. Not like it matters, does it? Veenomoth!" Hunter said, throwing a Pokeball.

"Veenomoth?" Dragonair repeated. "Odd nickname, don't you think?" The Pokeball burst open, revealing a familiar looking purple venomous insect, although this one was male. It flapped its wings in a flashy way before hovering next to its master.

"Veenomoth, take them," Hunter ordered and the insect flew forward, flapping its wings and releasing purple dust from them. I acted quickly, spitting a fireball and igniting most of the poisonous powder. Blaze followed my lead, except he aimed at the Venomoth, which dodged easily, the Flareon growling in frustration. Dragonair fired an Ice Beam at the Nidoking, but it countered with a burst of fire, neutralizing the attack.

"Nidoking knows Flamethrower?" I asked in disbelief. Dragonair wasn't as surprised, but he was definitely annoyed about it.

"Nidoking can learn almost any elemental attack," he replied irritably. "Focus on the Venomoth, I'll deal with this," he said. I wasn't going to argue, since I knew my attacks would be all but useless against the armored Pokémon. I turned my attention back to the venomous insect, which was dodging waves of fire from Blaze and Crystal, the latter having just arrived at the scene. I watched the bug carefully, aiming a fireball at it as the Flareons continued their assault. I spat the fireball, but the insect split into three, my attack only destroying one of the copies. Blaze redirected his aim quickly, vaporizing the second clone.

"We can't ever catch a break, can we?" I growled, spitting another fireball at the irritating insect, which dodged, releasing a cloud of orange powder, which ignited as Crystal launched a Flamethrower at it. "Stun Spore would be rather nasty..." I said thoughtfully. I saw Dragonair firing Ice Beams at the Nidoking from the corner of my eye and I shook my head briefly to regain my focus. Getting distracted while fighting the Venomoth would complicate things a bit. I spat another fireball at the Venomoth, but it dodged again, causing me to growl in frustration.

"Good work, Veenomoth!" the Hunter said, grinning. I spat a fireball at him instead, but he ducked, glaring at me furiously. "Veenomoth, eliminate the Charmander!" he snarled. The insect nodded and formed a beam of multicolored psychic energy, firing it at me. I rolled to the side quickly, the Psybeam narrowly missing. I stood up, glancing back at Dragonair, who was still launching attacks on the Nidoking, the armored being countering each attack with either Flamethrower or its body. Of course, my distraction allowed a second beam of energy to strike me, throwing me backwards roughly.

"Oh, now that wasn't very nice, Veeno," a soft, familiar voice spoke from the darkness and the Venomoth stiffened, turning towards the speaker. The Hunter followed the insect's gaze and his expression changed to one of anger and hatred.

"Veenomoth, attack the traitor!" he snarled. The Venomoth looked uncertain. "Do it, damn you!" Hunter shouted.

"Tsk, he never learned to respect his Pokémon," the soft voice spoke again. "You're not actually going to attack me, are you, Veeno?" The Venomoth hesitated, still uncertain of what to do.

"Veenomoth, attack her now!" Hunter ordered fiercely and the Venomoth sighed before charging a Psybeam and firing it at the unseen speaker, but seemed to have missed, as it fired another one several feet to the left of his first one. A Psybeam lanced from the darkness and struck the poisonous insect, causing it to tumble through the air, catching itself before it hit the ground.

"You're as strong as ever, Venomoth," Veenomoth said, sounding disappointed, no longer making any efforts to attack. The female Venomoth fluttered into view, shaking her head almost pityingly. Hunter scowled and pulled a golden Pokeball from his belt and threw it at Venomoth, but she split into 3, the Hunter Ball passing through one of the illusions, destroying it in the process.

"You haven't kept up with practicing, Veeno. You can't improve without practice. My Hypnosis is getting quite good now, because I practiced," she replied and I stared at the insects blankly from where I lay on the ground. The Hunter named Fred seemed amused by the turn of events, although he kept an eye on his Nidoking while watching the Venomoth reunion.

"Screw this!" Hunter snapped, pulling out another Pokeball and clicking the button on the front, releasing a Beedrill from the ball. "Beedrill, attack the Venomoths!" he ordered and the bee Pokémon moved forward, the stingers on its legs poised forward to jab the two Venomoths. Before it could actually strike, a stream of blue fire engulfed the insect, and when the flames subsided, the Beedrill was unconscious. Hunter gaped at the Beedrill, then turned his gaze to the source of the Dragon breath attack, which was Sapphire. "Another Dragonair?" he muttered stupidly.

"Can't say you expected that, huh?" Fred asked, grinning at the startled expression on Hunter's face. "Nidoking, finish this off with Blizzard!" he ordered. The Nidoking nodded, but before anything could happen, Venomoth fired a large Psybeam, striking the poison type in the chest. The Nidoking groaned in agony, clutching its chest where the beam had struck, glaring at the poison insect. Dragonair shot an Ice Beam, hitting the Nidoking in the face, causing it to roar in pain, stumbling backwards. "Ah crap..." Fred muttered, withdrawing his Pokémon into its Pokeball, even though it obviously could still fight.

"Backing out?" Dragonair mocked and the human chuckled.

"Not yet," Fred said with a smirk, taking out another Pokeball. Venomoth glowed blue and the human blinked as the Pokeball he held floated out of reach, suspended by psychic energy. Hunter took her distraction to throw another Hunter Ball, but Dragonair intercepted the ball using a Thunderbolt, shattering the golden Pokeball into two pieces.

"This is so freaking not our day," Hunter muttered.

"In our defense, we didn't expect two Dragonairs, 2 Flareons, a Vaporeon, a Charmander, two Raichus, the traitor Venomoth and the Pichu. We only expected 1 Dragonair, a Charmander, the two Raichus and the Pichu," Fred pointed out.

"And who gave you that expectation?" Dragonair sneered. The question was actually a good one, considering that anyone who was after us probably knew who was actually with us. The exclusion of several members of the party (but inclusion of the Raichus) seemed rather strange. The humans exchanged looks, but didn't reply.

"They got an anonymous tip off," Veenomoth said wearily, then turned to Sapphire. "Can we kill them?"

"What?" Sapphire asked, puzzled. "No."

"Simplify," Venomoth said serenely and released a small amount of blue powder into their faces. Both humans promptly fell to the ground, asleep. "The problem is that they know you're here, so you can't stay here."

"Oh great," Dragonair said sarcastically. "Aura, wake up the Raichus and tell them they have to find somewhere else to live tonight."

"Hell no! I'm a water type!" the Vaporeon protested. Crystal rolled her eyes.

"I'll do it," she said, walking back towards the clearing.

"Killing them would have simplified," Veenomoth said bitterly. Venomoth shook her head wearily.

"You spent too much time with the Hunter, Veeno," she said. "Now help find a new place for them to go, then we can work on getting you resettled. Trust me, freedom is much better than serving the Hunters."

"So we have to leave in the middle of the night and find them a new place to live?" I asked skeptically.

"Yes, walking candle," Dragonair said, grinning at me. "Guess who has to lead us?"

"I hate you," I muttered.


	103. Seeking Shelter

**Dragonair POV**

"So where are we going?" Blaze whined for the third time. Ember glared at him briefly from her position as the leader of the group.

"I told you...I don't know!" the Charmander replied through gritted teeth. "Ask Dragonair, I'm just the walking candle," she said, shooting me a venomous look. Apparently she had taken offense to that joke, but I didn't let that bother me. I glanced back at the Raichus, who had taken the news of being forced to move surprisingly well. They were walking at the rear of the group, the father carrying the sleeping Spark, conversing quietly with the female. Sapphire was floating beside Ember, and Aura and Crystal were walking behind me and in front of the Raichus. I'm a little surprised at how well they seemed to get along now after the incident of their meeting.

"Ok..." Blaze said, turning his head to face me. I scowled to myself, annoyed that I had positioned myself next to the Flareon. "So where are we going?" he asked.

"I don't know, I didn't exactly plan this out. It was sort of short notice!" I said irritably.

"You can try staying with my friend," Venomoth suggested from my right, where she had been flying with the male Venomoth. From what I could tell from their behavior, they were close friends, and nothing more. A pity, because I'd have loved to tease them for the hell of it, and to pass time. "That's what I've been doing for the last week or so."

"Wouldn't that be a burden?" the female Raichu piped up and Venomoth shook her head.

"Not really. He gives shelter to all who need it," she replied with a shrug. "Not too far from here, actually. Turn left, Ember," she called to the Charmander, who obediently changed course, leading us down a worn path. Why I noticed the state of the path, I don't know. After all, it was almost pitch black out, and I was looking forward to the sunrise.

"Can your friend help us find a new place to settle in?" the male Raichu asked hopefully.

"He might know of a few places, yes," Venomoth replied. "He was going to tell me a place tomorrow, so maybe he can help you out. Same with you, Veeno." The male Venomoth grunted slightly, but didn't reply. "Turn right here," Venomoth called to Ember, who changed her course once again, leading us through a narrow path through a small thicket of trees. Several minutes passed in silence, until the trees parted and we arrived at a small cave.

"Is this it?" Ember asked, glancing back at Venomoth.

"Yes. Boris! I'm back, with a few guests!" she called towards the cave and a bipedal creature stepped out. It was yellow with a long mustache, and in each hand it held a silver spoon.

"Welcome," the Alakazam said in a wheezy voice. He quickly studied each of us and a small smile appeared upon his face. "It is nice to see you all in good health," he continued, gesturing for us to approach the cave and he led us inside. Despite the outer appearance, the interior was massive, easily large enough for maybe fifty Pokémon to lie down comfortably.

"Very nice place," Sapphire said politely and the Alakazam nodded to her. "And thank you for the lodgings."

"Thank you, and you're welcome," the psychic type replied with a small wheeze. "It is my pleasure to help those who need shelter. It is good company, as well. I am Boris, and who are each of you?" he inquired, placing his spoons on a small table made from rocks. He sat in a meditative position, although his eye remained opened and focused on each of us.

"This is Veenomoth, one of my oldest friends," Venomoth began, gesturing one of her legs towards the other Venomoth, who shifted slightly under the Alakazam's gaze, although the psychic type said nothing in reply, only nodded.

"I'm Sapphire, and this is my mate, Dragonair," Sapphire said, pointing to me with her tail, coiling up on the ground. I followed suit, noting that the ground was surprisingly softer than expected.

"I'm Ember," the Charmander said, sitting down near Sapphire. The Raichus introduced themselves, but I missed their names, and also introduced the still-sleeping Spark. Boris, I guess his name is, nodded to each of us kindly as we either introduced ourselves or were introduced.

"I'm Crystal, and this is Aura, and he's Blaze," Crystal said, gesturing to the other two Eons, brushing her tail against Blaze when she introduced him. The Alakazam nodded to each of them.

"Nice to meet you. I only ask you keep all displays of affection to an appropriate level. There are occasionally younger guests," the psychic type wheezed and everyone nodded.

"Do you have any other guests at the moment?" Veenomoth asked, slightly curious.

"Yes, there is one other. I think she just woke up about now," the psychic type said, pointing a finger towards the rear of the cave. I glanced in that direction, more from hearing a quiet yawn in the shadowy corner than the Alakazam pointing there. "As you can see, we have more guests," Boris wheezed to the back of the cave. There was a small anxious whimper which changed to a squeal of surprise.

"Blazey?" a quiet female voice asked and the Flareon flinched for a second, but almost immediately relaxed. "Is that you?" Before anyone could respond, a small blur shot from the corner and what appeared to be a ball of brown fur tackled the Flareon. "Blazey! I found you!" the voice squealed.

"Sis?" Blaze asked as he tried to pry the Eevee off of him, which was difficult as the Eevee seemed to have attached herself to his neck. "Can you get off of me? I can't breathe," he gasped after several seconds. The Eevee obediently let go, her tail wagging furiously.

"Who is this?" Aura asked, puzzled. The Eevee glanced at Aura with interest, but returned her gaze to Blaze.

"Is she your girlfriend?" the Eevee asked teasingly and Aura flushed slightly. Blaze blinked in confusion and Crystal growled slightly. "Oh wait, she just growled, so is she your girlfriend?" the Eevee asked, pointing at Crystal, grinning cutely.

"Kind of, yeah..." Blaze replied awkwardly and the Eevee giggled. "This is Sis, my sister," he explained, petting the Eevee's head with one paw. Immediately, the Eevee tackled Blaze in a hug, though the point seemed to be more being close to his fur than actually hugging him.

"I finally found you, Blazey! I missed you! Why'd you leave? I kept hoping you'd come back, but you never did!" she wailed, tears falling from her cheeks as she gazed up at the Flareon. Blaze shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry, Sis. Don't cry...I missed you, too," he said scratching the Eevee's ears gently. The Eevee almost immediately stopped crying, although her eyes still shimmered with a mixture of happiness and sadness.

"So...who's your girlfriend? And who's the Vaporeon? And who're they?" Sis asked, gesturing to all of us. Blaze yawned and Sis giggled. "Ooh, you're sleepy. Sleep first, then talk! Or sleep talk!"

"Uh..." Blaze replied dimly. "Talk tomorrow. I'm very tired." Sis nodded understandingly and curled up next to her brother, yawning as she wrapped her tail around herself. Blaze smiled down at her, placing his tail around her comfortingly as he lay down. "Don't look at me like that! She's my sister!" Blaze whined, noticing Crystal's envious stare. Aura laughed, lying down near the back of the cave. Crystal shrugged and lay down a few inches from Blaze. Ember yawned and rested her head on Sapphire's coils, surprising the female Dragonair a little, but she smiled and remained still.

"Your coils are comfortable," I said with a grin, resting my head on Sapphire's coils as well. She laughed gently, resting her head on my neck. I sighed, yawning once before falling asleep.


	104. Morning Begins

**Blaze POV**

"Blazey! Wakey wakey!" a cheerful voice called.

"Five more minutes..." I muttered sleepily, not really paying attention. The voice was familiar, but I couldn't place it immediately. I shifted my position slightly, hoping to doze off quickly, but then I felt a sharp, playful poke to my side. "Ow, let me sleep!" I whined, hoping whoever it was trying to wake me would stop trying to wake me.

"Come on, Blazey!" the voice wailed, and I reluctantly opened one eye, finding my face less than two inches from my sister's smiling face. "Wakey wakey, Blazey!" Sis said cutely. As annoyed as I was at being awakened, seeing Sis made the annoyance fade quickly.

"Fine, I'm up," I said, making no effort to move. Sis tilted her head at me slightly, still grinning cutely.

"Your sister's annoying, by the way," Dragonair said wearily. I'm guessing Sis woke almost everyone up, which is what she used to do by accident back at the clan.

"No she's not! Leave her alone!" I said angrily, glaring at the Dragonair, who blinked at me in surprise, but didn't reply. I was a little surprised myself at my sudden anger, but Sis distracted me by hugging me tightly around the neck, cutting off my air supply. "Sis...can't...breathe!" I gasped, trying to pry her off me, with little success if any.

"But I like your fur!" Sis whined, reluctantly releasing her vice grip hold on my neck.

"Me like fluffy too!" the Pichu said abruptly and I felt the little mouse seize my tail and hug it, the sparks flying from his cheeks causing some of my hair to stand up on end. Sis giggled at the electric type before playfully poking him. "Ah!" Spark cried out, falling backwards on his back, giggling.

"He is so weird," I muttered as the Pichu went on to tackle Sis playfully. They'd be doing that for a while, no doubt. Sis was one of the more playful Eevees back at the clan. I shook my head slightly; I didn't want to think about that stupid clan. They just didn't like that I was a Flareon, probably worried that I'd be a bad example for the other Eevees to follow, since I broke rules and became happier because of it. Stupid Jolteon leader, I could probably have helped the clan more as a Flareon than an Eevee.

"More just very hyperactive," one of the Raichus said calmly, watching the playful wrestling with amusement. I slowly stood up, and Crystal came over, brushing her tail against me casually. One thing I realized is how uncomfortable Aura must have been when I kept doing that in the past.

"Good morning," the female Flareon said cheerfully, sitting down in front of me. "How are you doing this morning?"

"I'm fine, why?" I asked nervously. Crystal blinked at me, tilting her head thoughtfully.

"Just asking. Why are you so nervous?" she asked.

"I don't know. Sis, let him up, you won," I called to my sister, who had successfully pinned the Pichu with one paw.

"Kay, Blazey!" Sis said, running over to me and rubbing against my fur. "So, who's your girlfriend?"

"I'm Crystal," Crystal said, but Sis growled.

"You're too pushy! I was talking to Blazey! You don't let her control you, do you, Blazey?" Sis asked me. Crystal looked rather taken aback and I'm sure I was blushing, because Dragonair was staring at me while grinning broadly.

"Uh..." I said, and that was all I was able to say for at least a minute, although it felt like an hour. Thankfully, Sis got distracted by Aura, who seemed interested in talking to the playful Eevee. I decided to slink out of the area before Sis remembered talking to me. I don't think she would, anyway. I exited the cave, blinking in the bright sunlight.

"Good morning, Blaze," Sapphire said and I jumped slightly. She was coiled under a tree not far from the cave entrance, but I hadn't noticed her there. Or even her absence inside the cave. Then again, I was distracted by my sister.

"Uh, yeah. Good morning," I mumbled, careful to avoid looking at her. Despite Dragonair hadn't recently threatened me, I wasn't taking chances of him deciding to hit me randomly, since he does that enough already. Why does everyone hit me? It's not like I'm mean to them or anything like that...

"Are you okay?" Sapphire asked in concern. "You're sort of zoning out a little."

"Just tired," I said quickly, looking around the area awkwardly. The female Dragonair watched me for a few seconds before going back to doing whatever she was doing before I came out.

"What are you doing?" Dragonair asked from behind me, and I glanced at him anxiously. He was watching me suspiciously. Wow, did I call that or what? I'm a genius.

"No you're not, Flareon," an irritatingly familiar monotone voice said and I growled slightly, turning my head towards the black furred Espeon (and his less annoying Leafeon brother).

"What do you want?" I demanded angrily. Psycho laughed humorlessly.

"Nothing from you, Flareon. I learned my lesson last time," he said. Leaf winced slightly, but didn't say anything. I glared at the stupid Espeon, but before anything else could happen, Sis ran out of the cave and tackled me in a hug again.

"Sis...warn me before you do that!" I gasped, prying the overenthusiastic Eevee from me and setting her down on the ground. Aura, Crystal, and the Venomoth pair also came out of the cave as Dragonair floated over to Sapphire.

"Kay, Blazey," Sis said happily. "I'm going to tackle you!" she said, tackling me while speaking. She giggled happily, chewing on my ear playfully. I laughed, swatting at her playfully. She squealed, dodging my swipe and giggling madly.

"Leaf, what brings you two here?" the Alakazam wheezed as he stepped out of the cave alongside Ember. The Leafeon blinked in surprise, as if he was not used to being addressed. He looked up at his brother, who shrugged irritably. Leaf sighed.

"We warned Jolt about Frost's...deception, and he suggested we get a new member." Leaf explained. Aura glanced up with interest.

"Can I be the member?" she asked hopefully. Psycho looked taken aback at the eagerness, and scowled.

"I don't know about that," he said emotionlessly.

"Why not?" Leaf asked. "She's an Eon and has some experience with fighting. She could be useful. Plus, she wants to."

"Fine, whatever," Psycho said irritably. "It'll save time, anyway. We're going to Sinnoh. Jolt gave us...disturbing information." I didn't hear anything else, though, because Sis decided to go chase after a Butterfree, and I ran after her. She always used to have a habit of wandering off and getting lost, even if she's still in the clearing. I learned to always stay with her because of this. Unfortunately, she had a large head start, and it was several minutes before I caught up to her.

"I lost it!" Sis wailed, looking around for the Butterfree, and I'm guessing she had no idea where we were.

"It's okay, Sis. We'll find another one for you," I said and she nodded miserably.

"Ooh! What's that?" she asked, pointing towards a strange building. I looked at it quickly, and whined slightly. It was scary looking, give me a break! Before I could say anything, Sis ran up a small staircase to the entrance of the building. "Let's look, Blazey!"

"Sis!" I whined loudly, but she giggled and waved at me to come.

"What are you doing?" Dragonair asked, as he, Sapphire, and Ember caught up to us.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, confused.

"Wondering where you were going," Sapphire replied calmly. "Where are we?" she asked thoughtfully. I glanced back at the entrance to the building and noticed Sis had gone inside.

"Wait!" I called, running after her.

"Blaze, what are you doing?" Crystal asked as she caught up with the group, panting slightly.

"I'm getting my sister!" I shouted back as I reached the entrance and went inside. "Sis? Where are you?" I asked. I heard a giggle and turned towards it, seeing the Eevee bolt between two pillars placed on the right side of the building's interior. "Come on, don't play hide and seek!" I complained.

"Come find me, Blazey!" Sis teased and I sighed, smiling at her antics. She was too playful sometimes, but it had been over a year since I saw her, so I might as well play her game. After a few moments of looking, I finally spotted the ball of fur in a corner and I darted forward, tagging her with my paw.

"Tag!" I called cheerfully.

"You found me!" Sis said with a happy squeal, hugging me tightly.

"Can we go now?" I pleaded and she giggled.

"Are you scared of the dark, Blazey?" she teased. Abruptly the whole room went dark. "Blazey!" Sis wailed, clutching me tightly, crying. Aw, my fur was getting wet. Sis' grip suddenly loosened and she let out a wail of terror. "Help!"

"What is it?" I asked worriedly, spitting a Flamethrower in the air to light up the darkness. "Sis?" I called worriedly. "Where are you?"

"She's over here..." a voice whispered quietly from the other side of the room. I spat another Flamethrower, and I saw a figure clutching Sis, who seemed to be sleeping.

"Let her go!" I growled angrily, my fur fluffing up slightly.

"And why would I do that?" the speaker mocked and a few Pokémon seemed to appear out of nowhere, surrounding me. "Take him!" the figure ordered and the Pokemon attacked.


	105. The Hidden Path

**Dragonair POV**

"What the hell is going on?" I asked after a minute or two after Blaze had run after his sister. "What are they doing?"

"You're too impatient," Sapphire said gently, nuzzling her head against me. In truth, she was probably right about that. Not like I'd admit that out loud.

"What if there's something wrong?" Ember asked anxiously. "That looks like one of those shrines we came across, two in my case. And both were run by that phantom and his cronies," she added with a growl.

"Diablos is in Sinnoh, and his minions are also," the Espeon said as he appeared near us in a flash of light. I glanced at him indifferently, noticing that Spark and his parents were with him. "I'm only dropping these 3 off, because they seem to want to be with you," Psycho added monotonously. He then vanished in another flash of light, leaving the Raichus and Spark with us.

"Hi! What you do?" Spark asked cheerfully, then noticed the building. "Me want see!" he told his parents.

"I don't know if it's safe, Spark," I said hastily. "Blaze and his sister went in there a few minutes ago and haven't come back yet."

"Shouldn't that be a sign to find out what's taking so long?" the female Raichu asked. "If they're in danger, they might need help."

"Me help!" Spark said happily, racing towards the entrance, oblivious to his parents' attempts to stop him. I sighed and hurried after the Pichu kit, intent on ensuring he didn't hurt himself. Or, in case of the danger theory being accurate, that something didn't hurt him. I caught up to him at the entrance and froze in disbelief. From what I could tell, Blaze was fighting some Pokémon that were intent on attacking him. One of them appeared to be a Machoke, another was a Tangela, and a third was a Cubone.

"Ah crap," I muttered, launching an Ice Beam at the Machoke, striking it in the chest and hurling it backwards against the wall of the shrine. The muscular Pokémon grunted, flexing its chest muscles and shattering the ice that had begun to form on its chest. Blaze glanced towards me in shock, but didn't say anything, instead spitting a stream of fire at the Tangela, but the vine Pokémon latched one of its vines on a small rock, pulling itself out of the range of the flames. It was then that I noticed a solitary figure in one corner, watching the battle with interest, Blaze's sister clutched gently in its paws. "Who the hell are you?" I demanded to this figure, who glanced at me from the shadows.

"Lava warned me you were here..." the figure said quietly."My name is Sketch, and that's all you'll hear from me."

"Let the Eevee go," I demanded, but Sketch ignored me. A fist connected solidly with my face and I was thrown to the side by the Machoke, who had taken advantage of my distraction. Damn, I'm way too easily distracted.

"You mean!" Spark cried, biting the muscled Pokémon's leg. The fighting type winced slightly, lashing its foot and flinging the Pichu off of its leg.

"I wonder..." Sketch murmured, glancing at me as I floated back towards the Machoke, spitting a Flamethrower into its face. The Machoke grasped its face, groaning in pain. I followed up with a Thunderbolt, smirking as the Machoke clasped its hands in agony. Lastly, I slammed my body against the fighting type, knocking it to the ground, although the impact hurt a little bit. My body was not accustomed to being slammed against muscle. Although oddly, it is used to being slammed against walls, since most fights seem to involve me hitting a wall at least once.

"Let my sister go!" Blaze snarled, sinking his teeth into the Tangela, his teeth burning with fire somehow, the grass type igniting, making a strange shriek of pain as it burned. The Cubone darted forward, slamming Blaze in the face with the club, knocking the Flareon to the ground limply.

"Oh, you're dead!" Crystal snarled as she ran into the shrine, spitting a spiral shaped vortex of fire, which surrounded the bone masked Pokémon. The Cubone seemed unfazed by being trapped in the flames, instead it pulled back its arm and flung the bone club at the female Flareon, who dodged in nimbly, snarling at the Cubone. She ducked quickly, dodging the bone as it made a return pass, and the Cubone caught it. Spark clung to me worriedly, seemingly afraid of Crystal's Fire Spin.

"Are you alright, Spark?" Sapphire asked as she entered the shrine, looking around at the battle in surprise. "Do you think she needs help?" Sapphire asked, pointing her tail at Crystal. I shook my head, deciding that Crystal was more than capable of beating the pulp out of the Cubone. I turned my focus onto Sketch, who seemed to be hiding in the darkness of the room, out of range of the light of the Fire Spin. I moved closer to him (I'm assuming he's male from the voice. If not, that's sort of weird...), trying to find an angle to attack without risking the Eevee, but I found nothing, not even an angle to see what specie he was.

I scowled, turning my attention briefly to the Cubone, which threw its club towards me. I dodged the bone quickly, and one of the Raichus released a bolt of electricity, which unfortunately had no effect on the Cubone, but I wasn't surprised by this. I was surprised by the thud of a blunt object colliding with my head, dazing me and I'm sure I almost passed out. Damn that Bonemerang. Those things hurt like hell. Crystal lunged forward into the circle of fire and bit the Cubone's neck, scratching at its chest with her paws. The Cubone growled, punching its fist at the Flareon, but she leapt out of range, spitting a large burst of fire at the bone Pokémon. The bone helmet repelled most of the damage and the Cubone head butted Crystal, throwing her from the ring of fire, where she skidded across the shrine floor, whimpering quietly.

"Ouch," I muttered, launching an Ice Beam at the bone Pokémon, which dodged, leaping free of the circle itself and landing next to the shadowy form of Sketch.

"Nicely done," Sketch whispered quietly as the Cubone seized its fallen club, watching us warily. "Now we shall take our leave," he added and the Cubone stomped its foot on one of the floor tiles, revealing a dark opening in the floor several feet away from them. Sketch and the Cubone both dropped into the hole, and I caught a glimpse of a green tipped tail, the only part of the unknown figure that entered the light.

"Sis!" Blaze wailed, getting to his feet and also jumping down the opening after the retreating Pokémon. Crystal moved to follow, but tripped on a loose tile, landing on her face. Spark also moved to follow Blaze, but his mother scooped him up in her arms quickly.

"Me want help!" Spark whined, squirming from her grasp and running after Blaze.

"Spark!" the male Raichu called, both Raichus running after the Pichu kit, which had already jumped into the opening. Crystal and Ember looked at me uncertainly. I glanced at Sapphire, who sighed slightly, but nodded.

"Might as well try to help," she said. Crystal and Ember dropped down the hole as well, and Sapphire carefully followed. I glanced around the shrine for a moment before following the rest of the group, emerging in what appeared to be an underground cave. There was only a path leading forward, and stair-like rocks positioned beneath the hole we had come from. The path was lit by low powered artificial lights. I blinked in surprise as I examined the area. Who knew there was an underground cavern beneath a shrine? What purpose did it have? I moved forward quickly, intent on catching up with the rest of the group, all of which had gone ahead other than Ember, who seemed to be waiting for me.

"Hurry up!" she urged me and I scowled slightly, picking up my pace by a tiny amount. "We shouldn't get separated, because we have no freaking clue where the hell we are," she explained, and I nodded as we turned a corner and both of us stopped dead in our tracks.

"What the hell is this place?" I demanded, noting the various cliff levels and paths that could be taken, each leading to other, unknown areas. To add an extra element of terror, many of the paths were suspended over a large pitfall, which seemed to end in a black body of water.

"I don't know, but I already hate it," Ember said with a sigh.


	106. Regrouping

"So where did the others go?" I wondered, staring at the multiple paths, silently debating which one would most likely have been traveled by Blaze and the ones he was pursuing. Strangely, I was more concerned about Spark, since he wasn't the most capable of defending himself.

"Dragonair, over here!" Sapphire called, and I looked around for the dragoness for a moment before spotting her near the end of the path directly in front of us. "Hurry up, or we'll lose track of them!" I nodded in reply, floating quickly towards Sapphire while Ember moved quickly over the path, although careful not to lose her balance. Being on a rock path suspended over a long drop to a black lake is bound to make anyone nervous. Thankfully, she didn't take too long and we reached where Sapphire was waiting.

"Where did they go?" I asked Sapphire as she hurriedly led us down a steep incline.

"So far, other than that last spot, there haven't been any forks in the paths, so they all went this way," Sapphire replied. We continued moving, mostly in silence, looking around for signs of the others. The passage we were traveling through was mostly bare, the walls composed mostly of stone, and artificial lights lit up the area. Where the hell did those come from, anyway?

"I hear something," Ember said abruptly. "Up ahead!" she explained, pointing a claw ahead of us, towards a small group of Pokémon, including Spark and his Raichu parents, who seemed to be engaged in battle with the Cubone from earlier and another Machoke. Not the best match up, since their electric attacks were useless against the Cubone, and the Machoke wasn't helping matters. I stopped moving, charging up a quick Thunderbolt and launching it at the fighting type. Unfortunately, I missed because of the distance between me and the target, but it had the desired effect of distracting the fighting Pokémon for a moment, allowing one of the Raichus (gender is very difficult to determine from a distance) to hit the Machoke with a powerful electric attack.

"Me scared!" Spark whined loudly as the Cubone swung its club at him, narrowly missing the Pichu kit. I growled in aggravation, hurrying towards the small battle. I'm guessing Blaze and Crystal had evaded this battle, and were still following after Sketch. The best bet for catching up to them would be to quickly beat the opponents that the electric types were battling. One of the Raichus seemed to be having a fit of anger, for it was bashing the Cubone furiously with its fists. As I approached, I spat an Ice Beam at the bone Pokémon, hitting it in the head, encasing part of its bone mask in ice. The Raichu's fist glowed white as it smashed the Cubone, the ice shattering as the masked Pokémon was slammed into the rock wall with a loud crack.

"Wow," I commented, unable to think of anything else to say without sounding too impressed. The most impressive thing about it was that the Raichu hadn't used Megapunch until the final blow, and hadn't broken its hand. I also was able to determine that it was the male Raichu, and the female was hugging Spark closely.

"Don't go running off anymore," the female gently scolded Spark, who whimpered guiltily.

"Me want help. Me try help cuz me want be nice," Spark explained sadly.

"I know, but it's too dangerous to go running off without thinking," the male Raichu said. "You almost got hurt."

"Me sorry," Spark said sadly, and the female hugged him comfortingly.

"Let's just find Blaze and Crystal quickly," Ember suggested, half running down the path again. We followed the Charmander quickly, and we emerged in another large chamber with multiple paths to take. "Damn it!" Ember snarled.

"Kit nearby, don't swear," I commented promptly and Ember glared at me briefly before we all examined the various paths for marks or signs of recent travel. At least these paths weren't suspended over death traps, but actually had floors. Before anyone could offer a suggestion, two Pokémon emerged from two of the three passages in front of us. One was a Zubat, the other a Golbat. I half expected a Crobat from the third passage, but I was disappointed (What? I like funny things like that).

"Intruders!" the Golbat shrieked (very loudly, but that's to be expected when you're almost all mouth. How the hell do those things live?). The Raichus hastened to charge an electrical shock, their cheeks crackling as they released a pair of Thunderbolts at the bat Pokémon, both of which dodged the shocks with ease. The Zubat flew forward, fangs bared to bite, but Sapphire swatted it aside with her tail. Ember watched the stunned bat carefully, and I focused on the Golbat, spitting a Flamethrower attack towards it, but it flapped its wings rapidly, fanning the fire away from its body (which is very small compared to its giant mouth).

"Take that mean thing!" Spark yelled, sending a small thunder shock at the Golbat, which spasmed slightly when struck, but was mostly unharmed by it. Spark, on the other paw, had shocked himself in the process, and was now crying quietly, twitching from the shock he had given himself.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" the Golbat sneered, exposing its large fangs at the Pichu. Spark wailed in terror. "I could swallow you whole!" it continued.

"And then he'd walk out, since you have no stomach," I added. "Seriously, how the hell do you guys eat?" The Golbat stared at me blankly (and facial expressions are extremely noticeable with this thing) for a moment before flying out of the way of a pair of Thunderbolts from the angered Raichus, both of which were no doubt pissed off at the threat to eat their kit. I noticed Ember fighting the Zubat, which seemed to have recovered from its daze of getting tail swatted, and was intent on biting the Charmander. I fired an Ice Beam at the giant bat Pokémon, but it dodged, right into the path of a Dragon breath from Sapphire, the blue fire practically scorching the entire inside of the bat's mouth. I wonder whether it can even close that mouth. I really need to stop getting distracted during a fight.

"Gotcha!" Ember said triumphantly as she swiped the Zubat with her claws, flinging the small bat into the cave wall, where it slid down to the floor limply, undoubtedly unconscious. I turned back to the Golbat, which was flying around in a panic, as if its entire body was on fire. I quickly charged a Thunderbolt and released it at the Golbat, striking its left wing and it tumbled limply to the ground, the struck wing paralyzed by the electricity.

"That wasn't that hard," I muttered. "And I bet this path is the one they went down," I pointed at the far left path, the only one a bat Pokémon hadn't come from. "Otherwise, Blaze and Crystal would have had to have fought these things."

"It's our best bet," the female Raichu said as Sapphire and I led the way down the path, emerging in another chamber, where I was surprised to see both Flareons battling a Crobat, which for some reason has a very small mouth, but four wings.

"Hey mutant!" I called, catching the Crobat's attention for a moment, although my distraction was inadequate to enable the Flareons to take advantage of the bat's surprise. "Damn, guess we have to do this the hard way and actually help out. Ready everyone?" I asked, and everyone else nodded, except Spark, who was clutching his father's tail nervously. Why the tail, I don't know.

"Hopefully it won't take too long," Ember muttered, readying her claws as we moved forward to assist the Flareon pair. The Crobat let out a strange shrieking sound and within moments, two more Crobats entered the room. "Why do I get the feeling it's going to be hard?"

"Let's just get this over with," I said, grinning broadly.

"You enjoy this too much," Sapphire remarked calmly.


	107. Batty Battle

**Ember POV**

I watched the three bats carefully, wary for any sudden attacks that such bat Pokémon were known for. I had never actually fought a Crobat before; they weren't exactly common, even though the Rockets often employed Zubats and Golbats. Blaze and Crystal kept their focus on the Crobat in the center of the trio, the one that they had been fighting before. Dragonair was a little too amused by the appearance of two new opponents, and he and Sapphire focused on the far left bat. The Raichus were trying to keep Spark out of the fight altogether, as he was showing signs of wanting to join in (and it was taking the combined efforts of both parents to prevent him), so I was left with the third Crobat.

"Bring it on!" Dragonair announced, spitting a Flamethrower attack at his target, but the bat moved with great speed, easily avoiding the fire attack. Blaze lunged at his own opponent, snapping his teeth at the bat, but it merely flew into the air to avoid the attack, the Flareon growling angrily as he missed. I quickly spat a fireball towards my Crobat, but it dodged easily, although slower than Dragonair's target had, and then dive bombed me, its wings glowing white before striking me with the wings, the force of the impact throwing me to the rocky ground. I winced as pain shot through me, but I climbed to my feet, glaring after the Crobat as it circled around for another pass. As it approached, I sidestepped and slashed my claws at the bat, but I only succeeded in hitting one of the glowing wings, ultimately doing nothing to the bat and the impact hurt my paw.

"Damn it!" I growled, spitting fireballs after the bat as it circled around again, dodging my projectile attacks. I watched carefully as it approached and I allowed myself a small smile, making no efforts to dodge until it was only a few inches away. I fell backwards, jabbing my claws upwards as I fell, the Crobat passing over me, right into the path of my claws, which stabbed it in the belly. It let out a shriek of surprise and pain, tumbling from the air and bouncing across the cave floor, lying dazed for a few seconds, blood trickling from its fresh wounds. It managed to take off from the ground again, this time keeping its distance from me. I watched it warily, not backing away. After a moment it flapped its wings quickly and a gale of wind filled the room, striking me and throwing me backwards. I hastily got back to my feet, glaring at the bat.

"You okay?" Sapphire asked me, and I nodded, spitting a fireball towards the Crobat which was grinning slightly as it approached. Sapphire charged a Thunderbolt and launched it towards the bat, but it dodged.

"I've got this, don't worry. Might want to help Dragonair, he's getting annoyed," I said, pointing towards the male Dragonair, who was definitely getting pissed at his opponent, which seemed to be doing nothing more than dodging. Sapphire laughed slightly and went to go assist her mate with his battle. I dodged quickly as my Crobat opponent attempted another Wing Attack, and I managed to scratch it slightly as it passed, but not enough to actually harm it. It turned back towards me, but rather than approach, it flapped its wings rapidly, a white ball formed in front of it. I stared at this ball in surprise, reacting too slow to dodge when it was sent towards me, hitting me in the chest, the force of this wind energy throwing me backwards into a large boulder and I heard a crack as intense pain flowed through my back.

"Ember!" Spark wailed as I struggled to stand. I knew nothing was broken, thank Mew, but it hurt like hell to move, and I sincerely doubted that I could continue fighting for long, if at all. I glanced towards the Pichu, who was struggling harder than ever to break from his father's grasp.

"Stay there, Spark," I said urgently, panting slightly from the effort of trying to stand. The Crobat seemed to have noticed that I was down and was doing a weird aerial victory dance. Then it slowly began to approach, its small mouth opening, revealing its fangs. A pang of terror flooded my mind, but I forced myself not to panic, still pushing my body to try to get up, with no success. Spark wailed loudly and the Raichus sent a bolt of electricity towards the Crobat, but it dodged nimbly, moving still closer to me, grinning excitedly. I watched its approach with increasing panic, my mind devoid of any plan to get out of the situation.

"Tasty..." the Crobat whispered, lunging towards me. I forced myself to move, and the fangs struck my arm, leaving a small gash. A sharp pain shot through me from my back as a result of my sudden movement, and I gasped in pain.

"Spark, don't look. You don't want to see this," I yelled and the Pichu wailed, hiding his face in his dad's chest. The Crobat chuckled slightly at Spark's reaction and lunged again. This time I was ready, and my claws glowed with a fiery blue aura before I rammed my claws into the bat's chest. The bat shrieked in shocked agony, and I grunted from the pain in my injured back, but managed to ignore it. It twitched, semi-impaled upon my claws, and after a moment it fell to the ground lifelessly, blood still flowing from the wound. I winced in disgust, looking away from the body. Dragonair and Sapphire were both battling their Crobat, which I noticed was looking particularly injured now.

"Take that!" Blaze snarled and I turned towards him in time to see him take down the third Crobat by biting its wing, causing it to tumble to the ground. Crystal then hit it with a stream of flames, taking it out of the fight. "Stupid bat," Blaze grumbled, using his own jet of fire to finish off the last Crobat.

"Are you okay, Ember?" Dragonair asked me, noticing my injury. I shrugged, gasping as a spasm of pain shot through me at the movement. "Is that a no?" he asked with slight sarcasm.

"I just need...to rest," I panted. "Can someone help me move?"

"Did you break something?" Sapphire asked in concern, studying me critically. I shook my head, grunting as another wave of pain flowed through me.

"Ember!" Spark wailed, running over to me, followed closely by his parents. "You okay?" he asked worriedly, hugging my leg.

"I'll be fine," I grunted. "Just need to rest and I'll be fine after a while," I explained. Spark nodded, releasing my leg and looking up at me happily.

"That good," he said cheerfully, then looked up at his father. "Me nap now," he announced and almost immediately curled up on the ground, asleep. Dragonair blinked at the Pichu, no doubt wondering how Spark could fall asleep so fast.

"Can we get going now?" Blaze demanded irritably and Dragonair's gaze shifted to the Flareon, giving Blaze an annoyed glare. The male Flareon glared back angrily, eyes narrowing. "You know what? Screw you!" he snarled at Dragonair and then ran out of the room down another passageway, disappearing from view. Crystal hastened to follow, calling after Blaze urgently.

"Nice one," Sapphire said with a sigh. "In case you forgot, he's trying to find his sister."

"What was that?" the female Raichu suddenly asked, her ears twitching slightly. I looked around carefully, not sure what the Raichu had heard. "We should probably move..." she whispered anxiously, scooping the sleeping Spark in her arms.

"Too late," a voice hissed and we turned towards the voice. I had already recognized the voice and groaned softly. "Hello, precious," the Sneasel said, sounding slightly amused. Next to Nightslash was the Ampharos from the base.

"No damned Eons to mess me up this time," the Ampharos said smugly.

"Kit nearby, don't swear," Dragonair pointed out, and the Ampharos made a rude gesture with its paw. "Fascinating, you made a hand gesture. Was it supposed to offend me or something? Does it actually mean anything?" Dragonair asked mockingly.

"Relax, Shock. Aggravation tactics are part of his game," Nightslash said calmly. "Now let's begin, shall we?"


	108. Hell Hounds

**Blaze POV**

I grumbled irritably to myself as I ran down the passageway, dodging the small rocks that littered the ground, careful not to trip and fall, because that would probably hurt. Why was Dragonair always acting like such a jerk to me? What did I do to earn so much hostility? I'm just trying to find and save my sister, and he treats me like I'm just a nuisance. I stopped as I reached a fork in the paths and I glanced down both of them uncertainly. Neither seemed any different, but I couldn't just guess and hope I got lucky, could I? After a few seconds of wondering, I noticed a small green arrow painted on the wall of the left branch and I blinked at it in confusion. Why was that there? Was it a clue, a message to go that way? And if so, why was it placed there at all?

"Fine, whatever," I growled, running down the marked path, using short bursts of fire to light the darker passages. Although the corridors were lined with electrical lights, it was still very dark in some areas, and I didn't trust that there weren't more bats or something hiding in the darkness. And I sort of don't like the dark, something Sis would always tease me about. Just because I was older didn't mean that I couldn't be a little afraid of the dark. I lost this line of thought when I reached the end of the passageway, reaching a small chamber.

"Glad you could make it, Flareon," a voice hissed and I scowled, turning towards the shadowy form of Sketch. I spat a burst of fire at him and he dodged, the light of the fire revealing a strange bipedal creature with a long flexible tail which had green ooze on the tip that looked sort of like paint.

"What the heck are you?" I asked, staring at the Pokémon, who grinned slyly.

"My name is Sketch, and I am a Smeargle," he said with a laugh.

"Where's my sister?!" I demanded furiously and Sketch laughed.

"She's not far past here, but you have to get her yourself," he said seriously. I narrowed my eyes at him, baring my teeth threateningly. "Oh, she's unharmed, not to worry."

"What are you doing to her?" I demanded, spitting another stream of fire at the Smeargle, but it dodged quickly, its tail swishing as it leapt to the side. It was very distracting to try to focus on Sketch with that tail moving around so much.

"Nothing at all," Sketch replied calmly, seizing his tail with his left hand and absently passing the tip to his other hand and back again. For some reason I couldn't take my eyes off the tail. "You're so easily distracted," Sketch commented and I felt something collide with my back, knocking me to the ground. I growled, turning my head to see what had hit me and saw a black dog Pokémon on my back, stupid Houndour. I rolled over, the tactic surprising the Houndour as it slid from my back and I crawled back to my feet, glaring at the dog. It too had returned to its feet and almost immediately lunged at me, jaws snapping at me. I spat a stream of fire into its face, causing it to yelp slightly, but otherwise it didn't do much.

"I'm also a fire type!" the Houndour boasted, demonstrating this by spitting its own burst of fire at me, which I happily allowed myself to be hit by, feeling a warm surge of energy, my fur fluffing out a little bit as the fire hit me. The startled hound stepped backwards, staring at me in confusion. "How did it not hurt you at all?" he demanded.

"Flash Fire makes all fire do nothing and makes my fire stronger!" I announced, spitting another stream of fire, which burned a brighter red. The hound Pokémon ducked the flames, lunging towards me with its teeth again. I ducked my head and then darted forward, snapping my own jaws at the dog's neck, but I only managed to catch the shoulder in my teeth, biting down powerfully regardless. The Houndour yelped in pain, scratching at me with its paws, but my fluffier fur absorbed the worst of the damage, and the scratches were too minor to hurt much.

"Focus, Houndour, or you'll mess up like you did at the base. Yes, I heard of that incident. Isn't it embarrassing to lose to a grass type?" Sketch asked. The Houndour gave the Smeargle a confused glance.

"What, do you lead those idiot thieves?" I demanded, snapping at the Houndour again, which was now backing away from me worriedly. Sketch laughed, shaking his head at me.

"The Dark Organization? Hardly. Lava is their leader, but I'm the leader of a group that exists beneath the regions, within this cave. We've had alliances in the past, but we usually work individually of each other," Sketch replied, dodging as I spat a Flamethrower at him. The Houndour took this moment to tackle me, biting ferociously at my neck, but my fluffy fur protected me, and all he got was a mouthful of fur.

"Leave my fur alone!" I growled angrily, scratching at the dog with my paws, trying to dislodge him from my fur, finally succeeding by slamming against the cave wall. The Houndour yelped in surprise, releasing me and falling to the ground. As it attempted to regain its balance, I snapped my jaws on its leg and the dog wailed in pain, the leg losing its ability to hold the hound's weight. "Next time, don't touch my fur!" I snapped angrily. Suddenly, something struck me in the side, shoving me roughly to the ground, and I felt hot (and rather unpleasant smelling) breath on my face.

"And you, Flareon, shouldn't have done that!" a harsh voice rasped in my ear and I whimpered quietly, glancing at my attacker, which was also a hound-like Pokémon, but larger with sharp horns on its head and a tail which was shaped like an arrow at the end. The Houndoom licked its lips for a moment, staring at me hungrily. "You better pray you didn't break my brother's leg, because if you did, I'll rip you into 7 pieces! If you didn't, I'll only rip you into 3 pieces!"

"Can I stay in one piece?" I whined hopefully and the Houndoom laughed sinisterly.

"No," he replied simply, shifting its sinister glare to instead examine the whining Houndour's leg. After a tense moment, he straightened up triumphantly. "It's broken," the Houndoom announced gleefully, grinning wickedly at me. "Bye bye, Flareon!" the large hound whispered and opened its jaws to snap at me, then suddenly grunted, stumbling slightly to the side. "What the hell was that?"

"Leave him alone!" Crystal growled, head butting the Houndoom in the leg. The hound stumbled again, glaring furiously at the female Flareon, who I was now extremely happy to see. Well, I'm normally happy to see her anyway, but I was really happy now.

"I'll rip you apart, too!" the Houndoom snarled, snapping at Crystal, but she leapt backwards, the jaws missing her by inches. I shakily got back to my feet.

"Help me out, Blaze!" Crystal said urgently. I nodded, slamming my body into the Houndoom's leg, causing it to lose its balance again, although it quickly recovered. "We'll take him together!"

"Good idea," I said nervously as we faced the Houndoom, who regarded us angrily.

"You're both dead!" he hissed sinisterly.

**To be continued...**


	109. Nightslash and Shock's Rematch

**Ember POV**

Dragonair smirked at the Ampharos, which glared at him angrily. "Shock, ignore him. He'd never be able to defeat Venom if he didn't use aggravation tactics, so don't fall into his trap," Nightslash warned and Shock blinked. Dragonair gaped at Nightslash in disbelief.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Dragonair snapped. "I beat Venom all the time!"

"You only won after using aggravation tactics, according to the various records and recordings of your battles. You shouldn't rely on such methods, but it makes it easier for us," the Sneasel said calmly, then gave me a sly grin. "How are you doing, precious?" I growled at him angrily and he chuckled.

"Didn't Lava chew you out enough for messing up the operation?" Shock asked dryly and Nightslash snickered, his red eyes shining with amusement as they shifted from me to the Ampharos.

"Enlighten me twice: How was it my fault, and how does that relate to this situation at all?" he asked and the Ampharos paused thoughtfully.

"I don't know, I only heard that Lava was pissed off at you, and the release of the Charmander was the only issue that was controversial," Shock pointed out, and Nightslash rolled his eyes, ducking as Dragonair spat a Flamethrower at him.

"Oh good, you're ready to fight," the Sneasel said calmly. "Stay on guard," he said to Shock. The Ampharos narrowed its eyes at Sapphire, regarding her thoughtfully. The female Dragonair watched him warily, her aura orb glowing brightly, extremely noticeable in the dim lighting of the cave. Shock charged his fists with electricity, launching an arc of lightning at the dragoness, who countered with her own burst of electricity. The bolt collided in midair, exploding forcefully, the noise awakening Spark, who immediately began whimpering in terror. Dragonair slapped his tail at Nightslash, the Sneasel leaping backwards to avoid the attack, his claws gleaming in the dim light. Dragonair spat a Flamethrower at the airborne Sneasel, but Nightslash twisted out of the way, stumbling slightly as he landed.

"Graceful," Dragonair sneered and Nightslash shrugged indifferently.

"No one's perfect," he said seriously, his claws glowing with pale white energy as he darted forward, leaping over Dragonair's tail slap and slashing Dragonair with his glowing claws. Dragonair gasped in pain, shivering slightly. "You remember Ice Claw, don't you?" Nightslash whispered softly. The Sneasel ducked hastily as a burst of fire, courtesy of Sapphire, nearly engulfed him. "Too close for comfort," Nightslash muttered, raising a paw and shards of ice formed at the ends of his claws before flying towards Sapphire. Although Sapphire tried to dodge, the ice swarm was too fast and several shards hit her.

"You're dead!" Dragonair snarled angrily, slamming Nightslash in the face with his tail, throwing the Sneasel to the ground, but Nightslash recovered quickly, grinning slightly as he leapt back to his feet. Shock took advantage of Sapphire's momentary distraction and punched her coils, his fist crackling with electricity. Sapphire winced slightly, and a sudden gust of cold wind struck the Ampharos, knocking Shock backwards. Sapphire fired an Ice Beam, hitting the electric Pokémon squarely in the face, and ice rapidly formed on the Ampharos' body, trapping it inside a block of ice. Sapphire nodded in satisfaction, but the block shattered moments later, Shock emerging from the icy tomb, the gem on his forehead glowing brightly, a ball of energy forming in his paw.

"Power Gem is very useful!" Shock said with a slight snarl, his shivering subsiding as he held the energy ball close to his body before throwing it at Sapphire. The female Dragonair twisted out of the way, retaliating with a jet of blue fire, striking Shock in the face, the Ampharos letting out a shriek of pain, falling to the ground, writhing as the dragon fire burned his body. Spark was still whimpering, hiding his face from the fight, which was probably better at the moment, anyway. I, on the other paw, was still virtually crippled and unable to help out even if I wanted to.

"You lost your focus, Shock," Nightslash said, shaking his head with slight amusement as he dodged Dragonair's Thunderbolt. "Really Dragonair, don't you have anything new? Lava holds you in high esteem, and Frost paid a large sum to try to arrange a battle with you. Yet all you have is the same techniques and tactics. I wonder how you even think you can fight us," Nightslash said seriously, leaping out of the way of a Flamethrower.

"I have a lot of experience with opponents like you," Dragonair replied coldly. The Sneasel grinned slightly, slashing Dragonair's tail with his Ice Claw, the male Dragonair wincing. Sapphire frowned and a cloud appeared over Nightslash, sending raindrops upon the Sneasel. Nightslash glanced up at the cloud in alarm, ducking in time to avoid both dragons' Thunderbolts.

"That would have hurt. Luckily we have records on you as well, Sapphire. Tsk, and you don't think that those weather combos make you almost as predictable as Dragonair?" Nightslash asked calmly, launching another flurry of ice from his claws, this time hitting Dragonair, causing him to recoil slightly.

"Predictable? I rarely ever battle, and therefore never would have expected my battle style to be well known, so no, I never thought I'd be considered predictable," Sapphire replied calmly, sending another Thunderbolt at the rain-soaked Sneasel, but Nightslash dodged once more, this time into the path of Dragonair's Hyper Beam, the force of which threw the Sneasel across the chamber. I grinned slightly, but was still surprised when Nightslash staggered back to his feet, shaking his head slightly, one paw massaging his neck.

"Clever..." the Sneasel muttered, slowly moving back towards Dragonair, who was now panting from the energy expense. Ignoring Dragonair completely, he walked towards me. Due to my back injury, I was unable to move away from him or risk attacking him. I could tell he fully expected me to attack him, judging by his cautious approach. "Now then, precious...we need to have a tiebreaker match. I won once, and you won once. Now this will be the third match," he said calmly. Dragonair and Sapphire exchanged puzzled glances and I glared at Nightslash.

"Uh, let me think...uh, no. I can barely move, so I don't think it'd be a fair fight," I said with a slight growl. I found the Sneasel to be incredibly annoying not only because of his ridiculously polite manner whenever talking to or about me, or his pet name for me, or the fact that he knocked me unconscious, or even the fact that his voice was annoying...actually, everything about him was rather annoying.

"Back injury? Hm, I can help with that," Nightslash said, and before I could respond, he stepped behind me, placed one paw on my back and pushed forward while pulling my shoulder backwards slightly. There was another cracking sound, and a brief flash of pain, but my back actually did feel better. "That better, precious?" he asked in a gentlemanly tone. I slowly tested my mobility and then punched the Sneasel as hard as I could in the face, practically knocking him unconscious.

"Take that as my thanks," I growled to the stunned Sneasel before turning to the others. "We can go now."

"Ok!" Spark said cheerfully, walking towards the passage Blaze and Crystal had gone through, the Raichus following closely, watching the kit anxiously. Dragonair glanced back at Shock and Nightslash, but followed behind the Raichus. I went next, with Sapphire nearby, probably to make sure that I was able to move normally. After a few minutes, everyone stopped and I glanced ahead to see the reason for stopping. There was a forked path, one that went left, the other to the right.

"Which way?" the female Raichu asked Dragonair, who considered it for a moment.

"We don't want to get separated, otherwise I'd suggest half going one way, the other half going the other way," he muttered. "We could flip a coin. Anyone have a coin?"

"Me have nice rock!" Spark said, holding up the small stone he had found a long time ago, before we had even found his parents the first time, shortly after his injury. At the thought of his injury, I noticed that he wasn't wearing the bandages anymore, something I had forgotten about until then. "Me want go here!" Spark said suddenly, walking down the right hand passage. Everyone exchanged looks, but couldn't think of a reason to take the other path, so we followed the Pichu, emerging on a pathway that was suspended over two cliff levels.

"Seriously, how the hell does anyone navigate this place?" Dragonair demanded, studying the layout. "I can see how I could, since I can float, but how would anything else find their way around here?" he stopped speaking a moment later, noticing two figures on the path two levels down. Both were Sableye, which sort of interested me. After watching for a moment, I recognized them both. One was Gem, from the base, and the other was Tarot (I recognized the latter because of the cards in his paws). Everyone was silent, and the conversation drifted up to us.

"So your master wants Nightmare stationed here? What for?" Gem snarled irritably, his gem eyes flashing brightly. Tarot's expression remained impassive.

"Diablos is not my master, Gem. I work for him, nothing more," Tarot replied, tapping the deck three times, causing the top three cards to float into the air facing Gem, who glanced at them indifferently.

"The Strength in reverse, the Tower, and the Fiend? Why the hell do you bother with that crap, Tarot? Only one Sableye is more idiotic than you," Gem sneered. "I'll alert Lava, you tell Sketch about this issue."

"Very well," Tarot said, unfazed by Gem's comment and both ghosts vanished.

"What was that all about?" I muttered, but the rest of my group shrugged. "Good, I'm not the only one without a clue. Let's move on..."


	110. Sketchy Duel

**Blaze POV**

The Houndoom lunged towards me, snapping its jaws at me ferociously. I froze, too terrified to move. All I wanted was to save Sis, not fight some demon dog! Crystal leapt into the path of the hound, slamming her head into its leg. The Houndoom tripped over the female Flareon, landing a few inches away from me. I hurriedly backed away from the demon dog, watching it anxiously. The Houndoom growled, pushing itself back to its feet and snapping at Crystal, nearly catching her tail in its jaws. Crystal hissed indignantly, spitting a burst of fire at the Houndoom, who yelped in fury as the fire struck its face.

"That does it, you're freaking dead!" the Houndoom snarled, snapping at me, catching my fur in its teeth. It growled in triumph and I whined in terror.

"Flareon...he's not even biting your flesh, just your fur," Sketch said with a small sigh.

"But I like my fur!" I complained and the Smeargle shook his head in disbelief. "Let go of my fur!" I shouted and the Houndoom snickered sinisterly. "Crystal, help!" I begged and the female Flareon gave me an odd look, but bit the Houndoom's back leg. The demon dog roared in pain, releasing my fur, which I hastily examined nervously. The demon dog glanced between Crystal and me, probably deciding which one of us to eat first. I really hoped he picked Crystal...he might not be as hungry for me...wait, what am I thinking? I breathed a stream of fire and the Houndoom laughed as he dodged, grinning wickedly at me.

"Bye bye, Flareon!" he snarled and lunged at me, but Crystal spat a burst of fire, which burned a brighter red as it hit the Houndoom. "Argh! What was that?!" he demanded, turning his glare onto Crystal.

"Blaze hit me with his fire, so Flash Fire makes my fire stronger. Check this out!" Crystal replied and nodded to me. I sort of had an idea of what she was thinking, but I wasn't sure. The female Flareon launched a burst of fire at me, and I spat one towards her.

"Flash Fire loop," Sketch commented with interest. "Hey, you might want to do something before they get strong enough to spit magma!" the Smeargle shouted to the confused Houndoom.

"Is that possible?" the Houndour asked, wincing as he attempted to stand on his bitten leg. The Houndoom glared at the smaller hound and then snapped its teeth at me, but I jumped out the way, the teeth only catching some of my tail fur. I winced slightly as a little amount of fur was pulled from my tail.

"Ow! My fur!" I said angrily, spitting a Flamethrower at the stupid dog, the flames burning brightly in the dim room, engulfing the black dog Pokémon. When the fire faded, the Houndoom was lying on the ground, twitching slightly, with several serious burns upon its body. I glared at the barely conscious Houndoom before turning my gaze to the Smeargle, which had been watching the fight indifferently. "Now where's my sister?!" I snapped, feeling the comfortable warmth of my Flash Fire fading. Crystal stepped up next to me, also glaring at Sketch.

"Congratulations," Sketch said indifferently, seizing his tail in one hand and smirking. I growled threateningly at him and he chuckled softly. "You don't intimidate me, Flareon. I didn't ascend to the rank of leader by being frightened by non-vocal, or even vocal, threats."

"Then how about action?" I replied, spitting a Flamethrower at him, but Sketch swished his tail in the air.

"Hydro Pump!" he yelled and the ooze on his tail glowed blue, a giant burst of water firing from it and hitting my fire attack, dousing the flames and hitting me in the face. I sputtered as I was pushed backwards by the water attack and Sketch laughed.

"Aww! My fur!" I wailed, wincing slightly at how whiny I sounded. I hate having my fur wet, it makes me feel all soggy and weird and cold and uncomfortable. Sketch seemed amused by my complaint, and Crystal stared at me for a moment and then back at the Smeargle.

"How did you do that?" she demanded, baring her fangs threateningly. Sketch shook a paw at Crystal mockingly.

"A good magician never reveals his secrets and neither shall I," he said with a grin. "I suppose you're his second?"

"What does that mean?" Crystal demanded angrily, bristling. Sketch seemed momentarily confused at her reaction.

"His second...his duel replacement," Sketch explained. Crystal relaxed slightly, but continued glaring at the Smeargle. I stared at her blankly, unsure why she had gotten so upset. "Take your best shot," Sketch added calmly. Crystal hesitated for a moment and Sketch flicked his tail towards her. "Confuse Ray!" There was a flash of light and I shut my eyes to shield them from the flash. I peeked out from my paws a moment later and everything seemed alright. However, Crystal was looking disoriented. After a moment's pause, she lunged forward, slamming into a small pillar protruding from the cave floor. She fell back, dazed and shaking her head slightly before trying again, this time hitting the pillar with her head with a loud thud.

"What's going on?" I asked worriedly and Sketch laughed softly.

"She's confused, so she thinks she's attacking me, but she's not. Confuse Ray is a valuable technique, so I acquired it. Hydro Pump!" he said, arching his tail towards me, but this time I was ready, diving to the side to avoid the powerful burst of water, which splashed loudly against the cave wall behind me, forming a large puddle. I used a controlled stream of fire to dry myself off, and then ran towards the Smeargle, teeth ready to bite him. Sketch seemed to consider this a moment and pointed his tail at me. "Hidden Power!"

"What?" I sputtered, stopping in my tracks as white orbs of energy appeared, circling Sketch's tail, expanding around him. He smiled at my stunned expression and then the orbs flew towards me in a swarm, striking me and throwing me backwards painfully. The attack felt so weird to me...like various elements and strengths mixed into each separate orb, and striking me at the same time. I had never felt anything like that before. I growled irritably as I stood up and Sketch watched me calmly. Crystal seemed to have broken out of her daze and she tackled the Smeargle, catching him by surprise. She bit his tail and he flinched, kicking her off him and seizing his tail, pausing a moment to think.

"I know...Aura Sphere!" he said, raising the tip of his tail to point at Crystal. A blue-green ball of energy formed and shot towards Crystal, who moved to dodge, but the ball honed in on her, striking her forcefully and throwing her backwards into the same pillar she had been attacking earlier. She squealed in pain, falling to the cave floor limply, her eyes closed. Sketch nodded in satisfaction, turning towards me with a grin. "Game over, Flareon."

"Sketch..." a voice spoke and the Smeargle paused, eyes scanning the chamber for the speaker. A purple human-like Pokémon appeared, and I recognized it as the Sableye who had beaten us at the Rocket facility, the one who used Trump Card. Sketch blinked at the Sableye in surprise.

"Tarot? What is it?" Sketch demanded, brandishing his tail like a weapon, which the ghost ignored.

"A bit of news. Gem already knows, and said he was going to tell Lava. Nightmare is being stationed here for a short time. He's coming," Tarot replied and Sketch narrowed his eyes at the Sableye.

"Is he?" Sketch asked with a challenge in his voice. "I shall wrap up this little matter and then we can discuss this request."

"It's not a request. It's going to happen," Tarot said seriously.

"Oh? Is it destined?" Sketch asked mockingly and Tarot blinked his gem eyes at the Smeargle, grinning for a moment.

"In a matter of speaking. But let's make it a formality all the same. We'll "discuss" the matter when he arrives," Tarot said and vanished. Sketch paled momentarily, and turned back to me.

"Looks like we've overrun, Flareon. That passageway will lead you to your sister," the Smeargle said, pointing to the passage behind him, and his tail glowed. "Teleport," he muttered and vanished in a flash of light. I hurried over to Crystal and poked her until she opened her eyes, staring at me blankly.

"We should get going!" I urged quietly and Crystal winced as she struggled to her feet.

"Go on ahead. I can't move very fast right now," she said. I smiled slightly and hurried down the passageway that Sketch had designated.


	111. The Greatest Loss

I hurried through the passageway, excitement growing as I reached what seemed to be the end of the path I had taken. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I went through the opening at the end of the passage, emerging in a narrow corridor which was lined with what could have passed for cages, although they seemed to be made of rocks and various other objects. I walked through carefully, looking for some sign of Sis. "Sis? You here?" I called, my heart pounding as I continued my trek, still no sign either of Sis or anything else.

I scowled angrily as I turned a right corner, the cage like structures absent from this small, narrow pathway, with still no signs of anyone. Where was she? Was she okay? These questions haunted my thoughts for another minute as I half ran down the passageway, stopping where the path branched off, one to the left and one to the right. Which way should I go? I listened carefully, hoping desperately for some sign, some clue as to where Sis was. Hearing nothing, I examined the walls, hoping that damn Smeargle had left another clue. Both passages were dark and empty, but I spat a small fire attack to light the walls up enough to see the green arrow pointing to the left. I narrowed my eyes as I took the left hand passage. It was already odd enough that Sketch was showing me the way, but I didn't have much better options at the moment. My sense of excitement returned as I raced down the passage, taking a turn and finding myself in a fairly large, mostly empty room.

"Blazey?" Sis squeaked nervously and I looked for the source of her voice excitedly. She was okay! I finally spotted her chained to a rock in the corner of the room. I ran towards her, but a large chunk of the ceiling broke, smashing to the ground a few inches away from me, blocking my path. "A-are you o-okay?" Sis asked nervously.

"I am now," I said happily, moving around the rock, glancing at the chamber ceiling in case of other falling rocks that might endanger me. "I'm just glad you're okay," I added. Sis nodded happily, walking towards me as I approached the chain she was attached to. However, before I could go further, a strange piece of paper dropped down to the ground in front of me, and I looked at it blankly. It was a small picture of a castle with lightning striking the top and fire erupting from the tower. I tilted my head at it thoughtfully, wondering where it had come from, or even what it was.

"What's that?" Sis asked cautiously. I shrugged, not sure of the answer. I studied the chain that Sis was attached to and spat a quick stream of fire to weaken the chain enough to snap it with my teeth. Sis cheered happily and bounced towards the passage I had come from. A large red and white ball suddenly rolled into the chamber, and I stared at it in stunned disbelief. An Electrode...in a closed area...with unstable walls and ceiling...this couldn't be happening. My mind blanked, even as I saw the Electrode glow a bright white, my body refused to move. There was a deafening explosion and Sis wailed in terror. The light of the explosion was blinding and I heard the sounds of rocks breaking from the walls and ceiling, crashing down to the ground.

"SIS?!" I shouted in horror, squinting to see where the Eevee was, praying to every legendary I knew of, hoping that she was alright. The dust was starting to settle, and I began searching the pile of rubble for the Eevee, dreading what I might find. "Sis? Please say something!" I begged, pushing rocks aside desperately.

"Blazey..." I heard Sis whisper and I whined at the sad tone in her voice, pushing the last few rocks away, finally finding her. She seemed mostly unharmed, at least from the outward look, but her face held pain, and she wasn't moving.

"Sis?" I said softly, scooping her up in my paws, sitting down miserably as I held her. She seemed so much smaller than normal, and her eyes shimmered with tears as she looked up at me. "You're going to be okay..." I said desperately, more trying to convince myself than her, and she smiled faintly, and my vision blurred slightly as I blinked the forming tears away. "You'll be fine!" I insisted, but the Eevee giggled, breaking off with a cough.

"You're so funny..." she murmured softly, tears falling down her face. I blinked at her and she whimpered quietly. "I'm scared, Blazey," she whined, and then she broke down, sobbing as she buried her face in my fur. I hugged her close, my own tears falling from my face, and I wanted to brush them away, but I couldn't move to do so.

"Sis," I said quietly, unsure of how to say what I wanted, what I _needed_ to say to her. Sis stopped sobbing, and she looked up at me, her face still pressed against my fur. I looked down at her, trying to find the words, but I found my throat had closed up somehow, preventing me from speaking.

"I love you too, Blazey," Sis whispered quietly, rubbing her head against my chest.

"I'm sorry, Sis..." I said miserably. She giggled, then coughed again.

"Don't let Crystal boss you," she said, and kissed me on the cheek. She sobbed once more. "Just hold me..." she begged and I nodded, holding her closely, rocking her gently. "I love you, Blazey...don't forget me," she said.

"Never," I promised and her sobbing subsided, her breathing slowing as I rocked her. After another minute, even that stopped and she went limp, almost as if sleeping. "Sis?" I whispered, knowing she wouldn't answer. "Say something...please," I begged, but there was no answer. I looked down at my sister, who had been curled up cutely in my arms and hugged her to me, crying silently for another few minutes, but it felt like years. Finally, I laid her down gently on the ground, and looking down at her, I felt as if my heart had been ripped in two. We had been separated for over a year, only to be reunited, and separated again...this time forever. I continued to look at her, I don't know for how long, replaying all the memories in my head. Memories of two Eevees playing together in the meadow, of chasing Butterfree, of wrestling and swimming. They were all I had left of Sis now.

I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if I hadn't found the Fire Stone, if I hadn't touched it just because it was shiny. I might still be at the clan, still an Eevee...and Sis might still be alive. I had lost so much from disobeying the clan rules, more than I ever imagined I would lose. I had lost a home and the protection it offered, and now I had lost my sister, who had cared about me more than anyone else ever could.


	112. Memories of the Past

I remained in that chamber for what felt like hours, although I don't know how much time actually passed. I finally stood shakily and slowly walked towards the entranceway of the chamber. "It's heartbreaking isn't it?" a voice asked from the chamber behind me, causing me to jump slightly, turning towards the speaker. A Sneasel stood calmly within the chamber, how she had gotten into the room without me noticing, I don't know, and at the moment I didn't really care. I don't know what I cared about now. The Sneasel's red eyes flashed as she smiled at me patiently.

"What?" I asked blankly, looking down at the ground miserably.

"Look at me," the Sneasel said softly, but with a certain firmness in her tone. I reluctantly raised my head and my brown eyes met her red. Her mouth twitched into a small smile, and her eyes gleamed for a moment. The area around us seemed to blur and dissolve, and I closed my eyes, opening them when I noticed a bright light coming through my eyelids. I blinked in the bright sunlight, looking around uncertainly. I seemed to be in a large meadow clearing, and I fidgeted as I realized where I was. I turned towards the female Sneasel, which was standing several feet away, leaning against a tree casually.

"What did you do? Where are we?" I demanded nervously and she smiled.

"You already know. We are where your clan lived. Now pay attention," she replied coolly. I sighed irritably, looking around the meadow, noticing small groups of Eevees happily playing amongst themselves, whether it was tag, hide and seek, or any other game they could think of. None of them took any notice of the Sneasel, nor of me. I watched the various groups and froze as I saw one other small group. "Yes, Flareon. That's your younger self," the Sneasel said softly.

"But how?" I asked, staring at the Eevee me, which was talking with a younger Sis, and I felt a strange emotion at the sight of her. It was an odd mixture of sadness and happiness.

"This is one of your memories, Flareon," the Sneasel said seriously. "You may find it familiar," she added, pointing towards the Eevee pair. I moved a little closer so I could hear what they were saying.

"...and then he pushed me!" Sis was saying, fighting back tears. My Eevee self moved closer to Sis, wrapping his tail around her comfortingly. Sis slowly settled down a little. "Thanks, Blazey," she said sadly.

"Why do you call me Blazey?" my Eevee self asked curiously. Sis giggled a little.

"I don't know. I like it," she said, smiling a little.

"Okay..." my Eevee self said slowly."It's a better name than what I probably would get named, anyway. Why doesn't the clan just name us at birth or something rather than wait a year or two and then name us?" I took notice of the bitterness in the Eevee's voice. "We just get nicknames anyway and then the clan names are stupid."

"Simple, they don't think you'll live longer than a year or two," another Eevee said snidely as he walked towards us. Sis cringed and tried to hide behind the Eevee Blaze.

"Leave us alone, Luthor," the Eevee Blaze said irritably, glaring at Luthor. My own fur bristled at the sight of that bully.

"Ok Blazey," Luthor replied mockingly. "That's a wussy name, anyway."

"My name is Blaze. She can call me Blazey because she's my sister," the Eevee Blaze said. "I'd like going through life as Blazey a lot more than I would as Luthor, anyway."

"Oh right, your sister Sissy," Luthor replied angrily. Sis hissed indignantly, and the Eevee Blaze bristled.

"Her name is Sis," Eevee Blaze said irritably.

"That's what I said. Sis...sy," Luthor replied with a grin. My Eevee self lunged at Luthor, tackling him and slamming a paw into his face. Luthor let out a yelp, blood trickling from his nose. Eevee Blaze proceeded to punch and bite at Luthor for several seconds before a Jolteon ran over, tackling my Eevee self and pinning him down with one paw.

"What is going on?!" the Jolteon wheezed angrily. I've never been sure whether the Jolteon's old and fit, or middle aged with a wheezy voice.

"Luthor is bullying us," my Eevee self spat angrily.

"He attacked me, and he made fun of my name!" Luthor interrupted loudly.

"You made fun of our names!" my Eevee self snapped back.

"Enough!" the Jolteon wheezed. "You two don't even have names, so Luthor couldn't have made fun of your names. You're in the wrong, here, so you come with me for your punishment!" he wheezed to my Eevee self and practically dragged him away by his ear while Luthor smirked behind the clan leader's back.

"Tough luck, Sissy!" Luthor mocked and walked away, wiping some of the blood from his nose.

The surrounding area dissolved again, and when it reformed, it was the same location, but a different day, a different time. The clan leader was lecturing the clan, sitting on a rock with a Vaporeon and an Espeon, the sub leaders, on each side of him. I noticed my Eevee self wasn't paying attention at all, and the reason for that was obvious. Firstly, the clan leader was deadly boring, and the wheeze certainly didn't make him more interesting.

"And don't leave the clearing, it's dangerous. And don't touch something just because it's shiny. You don't know what it actually is, and it could be dangerous," the leader wheezed. While most of the Eevees were all listening obediently, several others were daydreaming or whispering to the Eevees next to them. Sis was actually sleeping during the lecture, although no one seemed to notice or care. I smiled slightly as I noticed my younger counterpart was sneaking glances at one of the Eevees sitting a few places away from him, a very cute female who had recently been named Lexa. Several other males were glancing at her as well, but not as frequently. It's very easy to get distracted when you're bored and there are cute females to look at.

"Let's fast forward a little," the Sneasel whispered, the sudden speaking causing me to flinch a little. The scene dissolved, and reformed into a pair of Eevees standing near the border of the clan clearing. One was Luthor, the other was Lexa. They were conversing too quietly for me to hear, but it hardly mattered as moments later they broke off as Sis and I approached the border, oblivious to their presence. The younger female Eevee was chatting happily, and my younger self was listening to her, but not paying attention to where they were going.

"Ooh, let's go explore!" Sis suggested excitedly. My Eevee self hesitated for a moment and Luthor chuckled.

"You're such a goody-goody, eh Blazey?" Luthor said mockingly and Eevee Blaze bristled. "Now now, Blazey, no need to start another fight. There's a lady present," he said, gesturing to Lexa. My younger self glared at Luthor, but didn't reply.

"Let's go, Sis," he said finally and they left the clearing. Luthor smirked slightly and brushed his tail against Lexa and they both walked back towards the main area of the clan. The scene changed slightly, showing Sis and my younger self exploring the outskirts of the clearing, including inside a hollow log and the various rocks and trees scattered around there.

"Ooh, what's this?" Sis asked suddenly, staring at a shiny orange rock. My Eevee self hurried over to study it, finally prodding it. The reaction was almost instantaneous as my Eevee self glowed with a bright white light, Sis stepping back nervously. The white light grew bigger and when it faded, a Flareon stood where the Eevee had been, although slightly smaller than I currently was. "Blazey?" Sis asked cautiously and the Flareon looked down at himself.

"Cool," he said cheerfully. Sis prodded the Flareon's fur nervously and squealed with delight.

"You're so soft!" she said, rubbing against his fur. "And you're nice and warm," she added as an afterthought. The Flareon grinned and wrapped his tail around her.

"Ah dang!" he suddenly muttered and Sis looked up at him. "We aren't supposed to be out here."

"We're not?" Sis repeated worriedly and they both ran back in the direction they had come from. The scene dissolved and reformed again, this time to Luthor noticing my new form as we returned from the other side of the border.

"You evolved?" he asked triumphantly. "Ha! Try keeping that evidence from the leader! It's proof you two left the clearing! There aren't any Fire Stones around here."

"So what?" my younger self demanded. "I like this form."

"But you disobeyed clan rules, both in leaving the clearing and in coming into contact with a foreign object," the Jolteon leader wheezed as he stepped forward, the Espeon and Vaporeon behind him. The Flareon glared at the leader irritably.

"So what? Nothing happened!" he said angrily. The Jolteon frowned.

"You also have a shocking disregard for authority," he wheezed.

"Bad pun alert!" Both my younger self and present self said simultaneously and the Jolteon's quills stiffened into needles, but settled down shortly afterwards.

"Your attitude needs a serious adjustment, or else you are no longer welcome here. Is that clear, Flareon?" the Jolteon said coldly and my younger self bristled angrily.

"What is wrong with you? My name is Blaze...fitting for a Flareon, really, but rather than be glad that I'm safe, assuming you care about our safety, you threaten to kick me out of the clan!" he snarled.

"We have no use for an Eevee, or even an evolved Eevee, that refuses to follow rules and has a poor attitude. Either be silent or be gone!" the leader wheezed furiously.

"It was a mistake that turned out okay! But I guess I can't be happy with being a Flareon without being stepped on for it. You're just a bitter old man who can't stand seeing anyone happy. I'm leaving. Good riddance!" the Flareon snarled and turned to leave the clearing.

"Blazey!" Sis cried, running after my younger self.

"Stay here, Eevee!" the clan leader snapped and the Flareon shot the leader a hateful glare.

"Her name is Sis, not Eevee. Now butt out!" the younger Blaze snapped, turning to Sis. "Sorry...I can't stay where I'm unwanted."

"But I'll miss you!" Sis wailed, rubbing against the Flareon's fur. "I don't want you to go!" My younger self winced a little, hugging Sis closely. "Don't forget me..." Sis whined quietly.

"Never," my younger self promised and I felt a jolt of pain in my chest. "I love you, Sis."

"I love you too, Blazey..." Sis said softly, and they parted after a moment, the Flareon leaving the clearing and out of sight. Sis lay down sadly, sniffling quietly. The scene faded away, returning to the chamber where Sis had died. The Sneasel smiled in amusement.

"How touching..." she mocked quietly and I growled at her."It's pathetic, really. You were never a good role model for her, and you tried to look out for her and each time led to disaster, and ultimately her death. You should be so...proud of yourself," she added.

"Shut up! Who are you to mock me? My sister just died!" I snarled furiously.

"You're right. I'm sure Giratina will make her stay in hell especially unpleasant!" the Sneasel whispered. I lunged at her, but the Sneasel swatted me aside with one paw. "And if he doesn't, I'll arrange it myself," she sneered as I struggled back to my feet.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded and the Sneasel grinned maliciously.

"I'm Diablos, of course. Surprise!" the Sneasel chuckled, readying her claws.


	113. Fighting Back

"Who?" I asked, puzzled. The Sneasel blinked in absolute disbelief.

"Are...are you serious?" she asked, staring at me strangely. I shrugged and she shook her head. "Ah yes, I forgot you were a bit distracted when we first met. Rosa was practicing her Attract on you, so you probably didn't notice. Besides, you weren't valuable enough to target personally," the Sneasel smirked briefly, but I ignored the comment.

"So now what?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the Sneasel. Her red eyes gleamed a moment.

"Look at me," she whispered, but I averted my gaze. She hissed softly and her paw connected with my face, knocking me backwards. She held her face up to mine, and her eyes gleamed maliciously. "Let's see what you fear, now that your sister is dead!" she snarled. Images flashed before my eyes and the Sneasel frowned slightly, her face set in concentration and thought. I shuddered slightly, clamping my teeth on the Sneasel's wrist. She winced, and the images faded.

"What are you doing?" I growled at her, spitting a wave of fire in her direction. The Sneasel dodged easily, smiling slightly.

"Your fears are so childish, Flareon. I expected something more personal, some event you dread coming to pass. Fear of the dark, of Umbreons, of snakes...such pitiful worries. No matter, I'll find your trigger. Everyone has a darkness within; it's all a matter of unleashing it. Unlike the rest, I can't prey on your terror...but how about your dreams, your hopes for the future?" she hissed and her eyes flashed maliciously. More images flashed before my eyes, but these were more pleasant than the glimpses of terrifying thoughts earlier. Once again, the Sneasel eyes scanned the images as they flashed in front of me, narrowing her eyes in frustration.

"Stop it!" I growled, head butting her in the stomach and knocking her down. "Get out of my head!"

"You catch on quickly, yet you are often dismissed as unintelligent," Diablos murmured, getting back to her feet, readying her claws.

"It's not too hard to guess you're causing it!" I said irritably, spitting another Flamethrower towards the Sneasel, but a barrier of light appeared, deflecting the fire attack away from her. Diablos scowled slightly.

"You're going to be a tough nut," Diablos commented, her eyes gleaming. "Look at me, show me your anger, the darkness within..." as she spoke, the area around us seemed to vanish entirely, and I looked around anxiously, finding myself in a dark circular room with no entrances in or out of the room. In the center of the room stood a Flareon with bright yellow eyes. I watched this Flareon anxiously, expecting an attack, but none came.

"Who...what are you?" I asked nervously, and the Flareon eyed me with interest. I noticed that this Flareon was female, which was even stranger since it seemed almost exactly like me...except female with yellow eyes, compared to my normal brown. I think they're brown, anyway.

"It's okay, Blaze. Just relax," the Flareon said gently and I felt myself calm down, my breathing and heartbeat slowing to their normal levels. "There's nothing to fear here."

"Where are we?" I asked uncertainly. The Flareon giggled cutely, moving closer to me. I backed away anxiously and she giggled again.

"It's okay, I'm a friend. A real friend, one who won't belittle you or treat you like a nuisance. You can trust me," she said gently. I nodded cautiously, and the female Flareon smiled kindly.

"But where are we?" I asked again, gazing around the barren room.

"This is a sanctuary within your mind. You often visit here when you're deep in thought," the yellow eyed Flareon replied. "Diablos cannot touch you here, and I can help you, because that's what friends do for each other, right?" she asked, sitting down next to me.

"How can you help?" I asked, puzzled and she giggled.

"You can focus your attention here when you want help, and I'll offer some friendly advice, compared to what the outside 'help' might offer. Now focus your attention on the outer world..." she explained. I blinked at her in confusion, and she smiled kindly. "It's like waking up," she said, giving me a playful punch and the area almost immediately dissolved, returning me to the chamber once again. The Sneasel was giving me an odd stare.

"Ok...what the hell did you just do?" she demanded. "I've never had anyone zone out on me like that before, although you aren't very attentive to begin with."

"That's nice," I said distractedly and the Sneasel scowled a moment, raising her paw and hurling a flurry of ice shards towards me, but a quick burst of fire melted the ice easily. Diablos' look of frustration changed to one of interest.

"You don't have the ability to fight me, both mentally and physically. You're too distracted by the demise of your precious little sister to focus properly, but you wouldn't be able to beat me anyway. No worries, you'll join her soon enough. Your usefulness is already at an end, Flareon," Diablos hissed. "Go ahead, pretend like it doesn't matter that everyone considers you beneath them, but you let your sister down, and that's about as low as you can go as far as your worth. Too slow to save the only one who mattered to you."

"Just stop it! Whatever you're doing isn't going to work!" I snapped irritably. The room blurred and I found myself back in the circular room with the yellow eyed female Flareon, who smiled comfortingly.

"Trust me, Blaze. It's not your fault your sister died. You did your best to help her," she said softly. I nodded miserably. "What's wrong?" she asked, rubbing against me comfortingly.

"I feel so alone. No one else helped me other than Crystal, and everyone treats me like I'm a nuisance, even though I was trying to help my sister!" I said, shouting angrily. "It's always been like this, and I'm sick of it!"

"I understand, Blaze," the Flareon whispered, her yellow eyes meeting mine. "I don't treat you like that. You're my friend, and I'm yours. Trust me, you're not weak, and you have worth. Your other friends just don't see it. So show them your worth."

"But how?" I demanded irritably. The yellow eyed Flareon shook her head in amusement.

"Fight back. Don't let anyone treat you badly. Trust me...it's for the best," she replied soothingly and I nodded. "Don't let anyone stop you from achieving what you want," she added.

"What I want?" I repeated, puzzled.

"Don't worry about it," she whispered, rubbing against me again. "Just trust me, and everything will be fine," she said, playfully punching my leg and the room faded, returning my attention to the chamber. Diablos was staring at me oddly again, and the expression on her face irritated me. It was a smug, superior look, and it was the same look Luthor wore the day I left the clan. The sight of it made my blood boil and I spat a powerful Flamethrower at the Sneasel, but a barrier of light deflected it.

"Oh? The Flareon actually tries to stand up for himself? Makes death even more satisfying when they taste despair," Diablos sneered quietly, the Sneasel's aura of calm indifference long gone, replaced by a cold, malicious tone to her voice. "But better do your best, because it's more fun to watch the victim acquire the sense that they tried their best and failed, proving just how weak they truly are!"

"Shut up!" I snarled. "I'm not weak!"

"That's right, defiant to the bitter end, Flareon!" Diablos sneered, mimicking the wheezy tone of the Jolteon clan leader. I lunged forward, clamping my jaws on the Sneasel's arm, but Diablos took her free paw and bashed me on the head, stunning me while she pulled her injured arm free. I ignored the throbbing pain in my head and lunged again, biting Diablos' leg, the Sneasel stumbling backwards from the momentum of my strike, blood trickling from the bite wound.

"Had enough?" I growled and Diablos laughed coldly, slashing my face with her claws. I yelped, releasing my hold on her leg and holding one paw to the fresh wound, glaring at the Sneasel. Diablos raised her paw, a black orb of energy forming in the palm and then firing towards me. I rolled to the side to dodge, and a second Shadow Ball struck me, exploding in my face and throwing me backwards. Before I could stand, another Shadow Ball hit me, exploding with even greater force and I whined painfully, my body twitching from the burning pain that was flowing through my body. I looked towards the Sneasel, who was silently forming yet another Shadow Ball.

"It's over, Flareon. You'll be with your dear Sissy again, and Crystal will join you two shortly..." Before Diablos could finish the sentence, I had darted forward, my teeth blazing with fire as I snapped my jaws on the Sneasel's neck. She gasped in shock, staggering backwards, struggling to throw me off of her. I released my bite for a moment, snapping my teeth again on her shoulder and she cried out as the heat from my Fire Fang technique scorched her body. There was an explosion as she slammed the Shadow Ball she had been forming against my back, and I was blasted away from her, my fur scorched badly. I staggered back to my feet, and lunged again at the dazed Sneasel, biting her viciously on the neck and after a brief struggle, both of us fell to the ground, both of us bleeding from various wounds as she tried to use her claws to ward me off.

"You're the one who's finished!" I snarled, snapping my teeth once more and the Sneasel shuddered in pain. I released her and she lay on her back, gasping, each breath nothing more than a wheeze of pain. Despite the obvious pain she was in, her mouth had curled into a victorious smile, even as she struggled to speak.

"It begins..." she managed finally, and her red eyes glazed over, her body going limp, blood still seeping from the various wounds upon her body. I turned away from the Sneasel, breathing hard. My eyes burned as I struggled against the wave of exhaustion, finally falling towards the blackness.


	114. The Guardians

**Dragonair POV**

After overhearing the odd conversation, we continued our little journey through the cavern. What felt like several uneventful hours later, we reached an area where we could all safely travel downwards to the cliff level below us. Spark whimpered and refused to climb down by himself and his parents couldn't carry him while climbing down the rusty ladder than had been installed in the cliff wall, so Sapphire ultimately carried him in her coils. She and I got off easy as we could simply hover down, while Ember and Spark's parents had to climb down the ladder. I was almost glad none of the Eons were with us, as I couldn't imagine how they could climb down. Can quadrupeds even use a ladder? Anyway, we continued through a small cave entrance in the wall next to the ladder, this passageway also lit with artificial lighting.

"Where do you think they got the power and things needed to light this massive cave?" I wondered out loud. Sapphire, Spark, and the Raichus stared at me blankly, and Ember considered the question seriously for a few moments. Of course, Sapphire and the electric Pokémon had very little experience with lighting technology, so maybe I shouldn't have addressed the question to them.

"Probably electric types for the power, and stole the lights themselves. Who or what lives in this place anyway?" Ember replied. I paused, this question striking me as ominous. We had only a few encounters with other Pokémon, but this place was a complex maze. What purpose did it serve? From the portion of the Sableye conversation we had overheard, I gathered that there was another Pokémon organization located within this massive cavern, and that for some reason the Gastly was being placed here, suggesting Diablos had connections here. I hadn't seen or heard of him since the Ember incident, so I wasn't sure what was going on with that.

"Best be on guard. It feels weird around here..." I muttered quietly and Ember nodded solemnly as we turned around a bend. Sapphire stopped abruptly and I bumped into her. "Ow...why'd you stop?" I asked and she gestured for us to be quiet. Spark whined and hid behind his father.

"What bad?" he asked worriedly as his father picked him up gently. I narrowed my eyes, staring where Sapphire silently pointed to with her tail. There was some sort of cave up ahead, but there were voices coming from that direction, the speakers concealed by the mouth of the cave.

"Why do we guard this spot?" one voice asked wearily.

"Because we're the guardians," a second, female voice replied.

"But this is one of the most unfrequented locations in the cavern," a third voice said gruffly. "I think Tryce meant why are we stationed here?"

"From what I've been told, which is very little, there is a high possibility of the targets coming this way. It is the quickest path to the conference room, after all," the female voice replied.

"There's a meeting soon?" the gruff voice asked.

"Emergency meeting. Something about that phantom trying to station one of his minions here. Sketch won't approve, of course," the first voice said.

"He has to, Tryce. Sketch is only as powerful as he is because of a favor he received from them. Besides, another guard will do us good," the gruff voice said. "Hm? What was that?" Unfortunately, Spark had whimpered loudly, and from the sounds of it, the guards had heard him.

"I heard it too," the first voice said urgently and three figures appeared from the mouth of the cave. The first one was a green insect-like creature with blades for arms and a reptilian shaped head, the second was a butterfly Pokémon with several yellow, red and blue spots on its wings, and the third was a bird Pokémon carrying a small stick. The Farfetch'd glanced around and pointed one wing finger towards where our group was located. "Nice eye," the Scyther commented, and I was able to match the voice to the first speaker we had heard, the one called Tryce.

"We know you're there!" the Farfetch'd said gruffly, holding its leek threatening. "Show yourself!" I glanced at the rest of the group and sighed, moving forward into the light.

"Yes?" I asked and the Farfetch'd blinked a moment.

"Dragonair, is it? What business do you have here?" he asked gruffly.

"You know my name, what's yours?" I interrupted and the Beautifly shook her head in amusement.

"We are the Guardians of this passage. Names are irrelevant at the moment. You are clearly trespassers, but surrender and we won't have to harm you," she said reasonably.

"Don't offer them a way out!" the Scyther said seriously and darted forward, both blades flashing with a bright light as he slashed at me. "Twin Swords!" he announced, striking me with the blades and I winced as the force of the blow threw me backwards, two cuts appearing on my scales. I studied the wounds briefly before refocusing my attention on the guards. The female Raichu launched a bolt of electricity at the Farfetch'd, but it blocked the bolt with its leek, smirking.

"Nice try," the bird Pokémon said, twirling its leek in one wing with a smirk.

"Quick Slash!" the Scyther shouted randomly, swiping the Raichu with one blade, knocking her to the ground unconscious. "Double Blow!" he added, swiping the male Raichu with a similar technique, but the Raichu remained conscious, charging a bolt of electricity to retaliate. The Scyther smirked humorlessly as he blocked the bolt with one blade, swinging it around to hit the Raichu again. "Reflect Swipe!" he sneered as the Raichu fell to the ground limply. Spark wailed, cowering behind Ember now.

"Why the hell are you saying random things, Tryce?" the Farfetch'd demanded. "Those are just made up names for your flashier moves."

"So what? We all have our styles!" Tryce replied irritably. I spat a Flamethrower towards him, but he darted out of the way. "Swift Strike!" the Scyther called, darting under the fire and swiping his blade across my middle, leaving a painful cut. I shook off the throb of pain and released another Flamethrower, but the Scyther dodged again, repeating its previous technique. Ember released a burst of fire, singing one of the Scyther's wings.

"That had to hurt," the Beautifly muttered. "We seem to be out powered. There's a second Dragonair, and if Nightslash's info is accurate, she's better than the Dragonair you're fighting, Tryce. I'm not getting involved in this one. We were ordered to capture the Raichus and get out if outgunned," she said. I gasped in disbelief, even as the Farfetch'd grabbed one of the unconscious Raichus. I charged a Hyper Beam, firing it towards the bird Pokémon.

"Interception!" the Scyther shouted, leaping in front of the beam, allowing itself to be engulfed by the powerful beam. Sapphire gasped slightly in surprise, but I heard a small chuckle as the Scyther glowed brightly as the beam hit him. "And a Substitute prevents all damage to me!" the Scyther said smugly. I panted, annoyed at my reckless use of the Hyper Beam.

"Let's go!" the Beautifly called, using thick strings to tie up the other Raichu and somehow lifting it off the ground. "Tryce, cover us for a minute so we can escape!" she called.

"You're not getting away that easily!" I snarled, moving forward quickly, fighting against the exhaustion the Hyper Beam had left me with. The Beautifly studied me for a moment, smiling in amusement.

"You may want to consider resting before following, otherwise you may tire yourself out excessively, and you'll need your strength," she said reasonably, moving towards the mouth of the cave where they had been stationed. "After all...you're in the dragon's den..." she paused thoughtfully, "And that is perhaps the worst metaphor I could have used for you."

"Get back here!" I shouted as she and the Farfetch'd disappeared through the cave, carrying the Raichus. The Scyther smirked at me, slowly backing towards the cave mouth. I spat a Flamethrower at the insect Pokémon, but the Scyther dodged, still backing away slowly. "Damn it!" I yelled angrily as the Scyther disappeared through the entranceway. I hastened to follow, but a large beam of energy shot from the darkness of the cave mouth, narrowly missing me, hitting the passageway ceiling, several large boulders falling from the ceiling, creating a large obstruction in the way of the cave mouth.

"Ultra Beam of Hyperness!" the Scyther panted, laughing triumphantly.

"Mommy and Daddy!" Spark wailed, tears already flowing from his eyes. "Me sad!"

"We'll get them back...again!" I vowed furiously. "Why the hell did they even do that in the first place?!"


	115. Darkness

"Why? For bait, obviously," Ember said seriously, already working on moving the rocks blocking our path aside. Spark was trying to push the rocks away as well, but wasn't strong enough to move more than the smallest rocks, and not even for very long.

"Bait?" I repeated, using small, powerful charges of electricity to start breaking through the barrier of rocks. Sapphire was calmly using her tail to shift some of the rocks aside, not even using any attacks to crush the stones. I was still seething over this latest trouble, and Spark was whining on an almost obnoxious level, although admittedly this was justified.

"You're a very popular Pokémon, Dragonair. Spark's parents were held as bait because the Rockets knew you were trying to rescue them. Spark was captured as bait, although the purpose of the bait was never actually used. Looks like this group is doing it with the parents again," the Charmander explained. I scowled, but couldn't think of a counter argument, so I remained silent. After several minutes, we finally managed to shift enough of the rock for us to get through.

"Me want Mommy and Daddy!" Spark whined, clinging tightly to Ember's waist, to the Charmander's chagrin. "Why mean meanies steal Mommy and Daddy?!" he wailed. "Why no one talk?" he whined when no one responded.

"We don't know why, Spark," I replied with a sigh. "But we'll get them back!" I growled slightly as we hurried through the cave the guards had gone through, eventually emerging in another network of paths. "Simplicity does not exist, does it?" I muttered, studying the various paths critically.

"I guess not," Sapphire said with a sigh. "And it would do no good to separate. We haven't seen Blaze or Crystal since they left, so they probably took a different path than we did."

"Eh, I'm not bothered by that right now," I replied without thinking, but I realized the error almost immediately. Sapphire narrowed her eyes at me. "I mean I hope they're fine and that we'll meet up with them soon," I added hastily, and her expression softened. I returned my gaze back to the path options and sighed. There were no clues to point us in a certain direction, so it would probably end up being a game of chance with Spark's parents as the stakes. Not exactly the best wager around, but we'd have to take the chance of taking the wrong path and wondering the caverns forever. Damn, that sounds appealing, doesn't it?

"Dragonair, look out!" Ember suddenly yelled and I felt something collide with my back, tackling me to the ground and I felt sharp teeth biting at my scales, not piercing through, but it still hurt quite a bit. Actually, that sort of power in a bite is rare to come by. Enough admiring my attacker, more fighting back. I twisted my body quickly, the attacker slipping off of me. I turned my head and spat a Flamethrower, the fire narrowly missing the attacker, which was a black canine-like Pokémon with dark blue rings upon its body. This unique coloration caught me by surprise, but I recovered from this surprise quickly. The Umbreon hissed slightly, forming a black orb in its mouth and spitting it towards me. I ducked my head, the Shadow Ball exploding harmlessly on the cavern wall behind me.

"No, stay back!" I said hastily to Sapphire, who had moved forward to join in. Ember made no such movement, more occupied in keeping Spark shielded behind her. I charged a Thunderbolt and launched it towards the Umbreon, but it leapt nimbly out of the way.

"What's that?" the Umbreon muttered, pointing at something to my left. I glanced towards where it had designated, but saw nothing there. I turned back towards the Umbreon, and it slammed into me, catching me off guard. I mentally scolded myself for falling for such an obvious ploy.

"No offense, Dragonair...but you're an idiot sometimes," Ember said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Oh, shut up," I muttered, releasing a wave of electricity, ensnaring the Umbreon in the Thunder Wave and it stumbled slightly, partially paralyzed. Before I could take advantage of the paralysis, the Umbreon glowed a moment before I felt my own body become afflicted with the paralysis. "What the...?" I sputtered.

"Synchronize...pays you back if you afflict me...with a condition like paralysis..." the Umbreon snapped, the tone hinting that it was female."Luckily...I have one of these..." she grunted, taking a berry from a small pouch she wore around her neck and eating it. As I watched, she smiled, stretching her limbs slowly, nodding in satisfaction. "Lum berry. A bit hard to eat, but eliminates a status problem quickly."

"Oh, that's nice," I said sarcastically, giving my tail a practice twitch. Good, my Shed Skin was starting to kick in. Soon I'd be back to my normal mobility, but hopefully soon enough to be able to fight back before the Umbreon beat me to a pulp. The Umbreon studied me warily for a second, then lunged forward, clamping her teeth on my neck. I jerked, forcing her to relinquish her grip and forced my body to move as I launched a Hyper Beam in her direction. The beam narrowly missed her and she spat another Shadow Ball at me, hitting my aura orb and exploding, the force of the explosion knocking me backwards. "Oh Celebi damn it, that hurt!" I scowled. I wasn't kidding either; I never realized how incredibly sensitive that part of my neck was.

"Ouch..." Sapphire whispered and Ember gave her a confused look. "The Shadow Ball hit the aura orb. That's perhaps the most sensitive part of a Dragonair's body, but is so hard to hit that few know about it."

"How the hell did you know to do that?" I demanded of the Umbreon, noting that the paralysis had faded, but I hid this detail from my adversary. The Umbreon's blue rings glowed slightly, and she advanced on me, watching Sapphire and Ember carefully.

"I knew of it, but I never was able to deliberately exploit it," she said, baring her fangs and lunging at me. I swung my tail, catching the Umbreon in the side of the head, throwing her to the side. I smiled triumphantly, although still tired out from the earlier Hyper Beam. The Dark Eon got back to her feet, her midnight blue rings glowing brightly, her red eyes glaring at me. In all honesty, I actually felt intimidated by her, although I couldn't explain why.

"Wait...you're a shiny Umbreon?" I asked, the thought suddenly occurring to me. The Umbreon's expression didn't waver.

"That is a term often associated with me. Is there a point to this?" she replied.

"Is your name Darkness?" Ember asked, catching on to what I may have realized. The Umbreon hesitated for a fraction of a second, but nodded, watching us suspiciously. "Okay...why are you attacking us? I think we're on the same side."

"They're friends, Darkness," a voice called and the Umbreon glanced behind her, where a female Flareon was hurrying over. "You move way too fast..." Crystal grumbled.

"Oh there you are, Crystal," Sapphire said, smiling.

"How did you end up over there?" I asked the Flareon, gesturing towards the path she had come from, which was completely different from the one we had come from.

"Well, Blaze and I were fighting the one who kidnapped his sister, and I don't really remember too much, but I was resting while he went on ahead. He never came back, though, so I went to follow and found a fork, one going left, the other going right. I went to the left and found a practically destroyed room, most likely caused by the unconscious Electrode that was in the corridor," Crystal explained. "Darkness showed up at around this time and agreed to help me look for Blaze, since my path was a dead end."

"Judging by the killed Sneasel, however, someone had recently been there," the Umbreon said. "And the scorched bite marks suggest a Pokémon that knows Fire Fang."

"Blaze killed a Sneasel?" Ember asked in alarm. There was an odd expression on her face, but no one else seemed to notice it, and I couldn't interpret it.

"From the looks of it," Crystal said uncomfortably. "We went down the right hand path and Darkness went ahead and I just caught up now. You haven't seen Blaze?"

"No, but Spark's parents got kidnapped," I said wearily. Crystal flinched.

"You're kidding!" she glanced at Spark's miserable expression. "I'm sure we'll get them back," she assured the Pichu.

"There's also supposedly going to be a meeting soon," Ember said and Darkness's expression lit up for an instant.

"Conference room, I know where that is. This way," she glanced at the paths a moment and then chose the far right one, leading us over a narrow path that eventually led to an upwards incline and a downwards incline. "We'll head up, give us a better view with a less likely chance of being spotted by guards or the Pokémon attending," she explained, leading us up the incline, her blue rings glowing faintly.

"You seem to have a lot of knowledge of this area," I said casually, unable to keep a hint of suspicion from my voice. The Umbreon chuckled.

"This cavern, believe it or not, connects Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto in a giant underground network. Although Shadow's teleportation is invaluable for going between those regions, this network is used as well. Perhaps the only ones who know it better than us is the Cave Army, as they are called. That's only problematic as they are our natural enemies, so we try to use teleportation to travel," she explained as the incline leveled out. We moved through a passageway, taking a few turns until we finally reached an enormous cavern chamber.

"Wow..." Ember murmured in surprise. We seemed to be on the equivalent of a balcony area overlooking the chamber, where there was a fairly large crowd of Pokémon, ranging from typical cave Pokémon, such as Geodude and Zubats, to a few ghost Pokémon and many other species I couldn't identify for sure. Darkness gestured for us to stay low as a bipedal Pokémon entered the chamber, gazing out into the crowd indifferently. The Pokémon had a long tail with a strange green slime on the tip.

"That's Sketch, the leader of the Cave Army..." Darkness whispered. I recognized the shape as the one who kidnapped Blaze's sister. Crystal nodded to confirm the Umbreon's comment. "Looks like the conference is about to start. Could be some valuable information from this," she added.


	116. Cave Conference

"Useful information?" I repeated with a slight trace of skepticism, but the Umbreon gestured for me to remain quiet and we glanced out over the ledge, watching the odd meeting of sorts. The Smeargle stopped in front of the crowd, his eyes scanning the area before he spoke.

"It appears as if most of my group is here, and that's the group that actually matters, so we may as well proceed. Assuming, of course, that the issue we gathered for is actually going to be here," he spoke calmly, in a voice loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly.

"He will be here shortly," a voice spoke and one of the Sableye from earlier appeared beside the Smeargle. "He's just wrapping up some business first."

"Of course he is," the Smeargle said sarcastically. "Although I'll only wait five minutes before automatically denying his request for not showing up on time."

"You can't deny the request at all," the Sableye said solemnly, shuffling a deck of cards idly. Sketch fixed Tarot with a cold glare.

"I can, and I will if he doesn't show up, Tarot. The benefits of being a leader are to be able to make decisions involving negotiations with other leaders. I've done it for Lava, I can do it here. Speaking of Lava, he sent a representative for him. Not the best move, in my opinion, but he can do that because he's a leader," Sketch said calmly, but firmly. The Sableye stared back, his gem eyes shining slightly.

"Forgive my tardiness," a gentlemanly voice said and a Sneasel entered the chamber with the sleek, white furred fox Pokémon from the base. I scowled at the sight of him, and Darkness stiffened slightly.

"Frost?" she muttered. "I knew he left the group, but why is he associating himself with them?"

"And there's Nightslash again," Ember growled, the growl causing Spark to whimper slightly. Ember patted the Pichu on the head gently to calm him down.

"We weren't waiting for you, Nightslash. Lava's issue hasn't been brought up, yet," Sketch said dismissively. The Sneasel shrugged and stood to the side of the chamber, leaning against the cavern wall casually. Frost pointedly stood near Sketch, and the Smeargle shot him a dirty look, but didn't comment. "2 minutes until the request is denied," Sketch added loudly.

"You wouldn't dare..." a cold voice spoke and Sketch flinched, his eyes scanning the area for the speaker."What's wrong? Can't see me? My Sneasel was regrettably killed, but it served its purpose," the voice continued in a truly malicious tone that caused me to shiver slightly. Crystal and Sapphire were also discomforted, but hid it better than Ember did. The Charmander had paled noticeably, and Spark was oblivious. Only Darkness seemed completely unfazed and aware.

"Where are you?" Sketch asked irritably, gazing around warily.

"Over here..." the cold voice replied from the side of the room, where a large stone table-like structure stood. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see the speaker. I could barely make out a shapeless black shadow with yellow orbs that seemed to represent eyes. The shadow gave off an aura of power and evil that I had previously associated with the phantom Diablos.

"At least you showed. Whatever business you had should have been dealt with before making a request," Sketch said irritably. The shadow shifted slightly and a dark chuckle rang out, most of the inhabitants of the room shuddering in terror.

"My business was dealt with by the time the meeting was arranged. Your effort will be rewarded," the phantom sneered, the yellow orbs gleaming. "Now then, let's move this along, shall we? Nightmare will be stationed here, and that's that. What is the nature of your objection?" the last word was drawn out with a sneer, almost mockingly.

"Only that you're making arrangements without running them by me first!" Sketch replied coldly. "Your arrangements are complicating our preferred style of running our network. Why did we need that Eevee anyway? Only for bait, but why lure them to our headquarters? What purpose did that serve?" he snapped.

"You ask so many questions, but the result will be known in time," Diablos replied maliciously.

_"I'm here,"_ Nightmare said quietly as he materialized nearby. Everyone's heads turned towards the Gastly for a moment.

"Yes, well done," Diablos said coldly.

"Now then, you all seem to have conflicting goals," Nightslash piped up and everyone turned to the Sneasel. "Wouldn't it be easier to unite our efforts, rather than focus on different, self serving goals? Discuss your goals, your objectives, and your plans to accomplish them." Following this pronouncement, various Pokémon in the crowd began murmuring their agreement.

"Lots of info hopefully coming up," Darkness whispered.

"Since you offered such assistance, I want the Pichu kit brought to me, unharmed, although how long he remains that way is completely up to me," Diablos said and I stiffened. "I haven't decided how to deal with the Charmander yet, but I will..."

"Hold on, what the hell are you trying to do to her?" Nightslash growled.

_"Anyone else find it ironic that the Charmander is resisting Nightslash's advances when she has no better alternative?"_ Nightmare asked. I shot a sideways glance at Ember, who was growling angrily, her fists clenched.

"She'll never have a better alternative, since she's not even that attractive. And you do know she was suicidal about two weeks ago, right?" Diablos sneered. Nightslash scowled and I shot another panicked glance at the Charmander. Ember had paled, looking towards us anxiously. Sapphire was struggling to keep her gaze away from Ember, but it was obvious that she had been completely thrown by this revelation. Crystal was staring at Ember in disbelief, but Darkness seemed completely unfazed.

"Enough!" Frost growled suddenly, catching everyone by surprise.

"Why the hell are you even here?" Sketch asked the Glaceon. "You're an enemy to both me and Diablos."

"Opportunity. Dragonair's here and I'll defeat him," Frost replied.

"See? You're popular," Ember muttered awkwardly, avoiding everyone's gaze. I sighed.

"Why are you all so obsessed with that snake?" Sketch demanded. "He is no more powerful than all dragon Pokémon, maybe even weaker."

_"Have you fought him?"_ Nightmare challenged.

"No, but I fought those Flareons. Simply pathetic opponents, really. Any offspring they have will be just as pathetic," Sketch replied. Crystal hissed furiously, and I tried not to laugh at her indignation. "Probably worse, because the parents would do a terrible job of raising them. Poor genes and poor parenting equals..."

"Ok, can I kill him?" Crystal demanded, turning to Sapphire. The female Dragonair sighed and shook her head. The female Flareon growled, but didn't say anything else.

"And why did Lava want the Raichus captured? They're dead weight!" Sketch continued, glaring at Nightslash. The Sneasel shrugged seriously.

"I don't know the answer to that. I'm highly ranked, but Lava doesn't tell me everything," he admitted. "Ask Elma, she's the one who received the order."

"I didn't ask," the Beautifly said from the crowd. "I just follow orders, not question them."

"Me want Mommy and Daddy!" Spark whined loudly, and a sudden silence filled the room. I cursed under my breath.

"You have to wonder why there's a balcony area and no one guarding it," Frost said sarcastically. "Or sitting up there, for that matter."

"We're in trouble now, aren't we?" Ember muttered.

"Oh no, we're just in a room filled with enemies. Of course we're not in trouble," I replied, already hurrying towards the passageway we had come from. The rest of the group hastened to follow, although the Umbreon seemed the least distressed. While we managed to get out of that passageway, we were quickly intercepted by the Glaceon.

"I've waited long enough to battle you, Dragonair. Now let's begin," Frost said with a small grin. I scowled slightly and the Glaceon's grin widened. "Your friends can leave, I only want you."

"A narrow corridor doesn't seem like the best place for a battle," I said thoughtfully, the ice Eon hesitating for a moment.

"Very well, a slight point. Gem, if you will..." the Glaceon turned to a Sableye that materialized next to him and there was a flash of light. When the light faded, I noticed that the Glaceon and I seemed to be in a large, surprisingly empty, chamber.

"Where the hell are we?" I demanded.

"A neighboring chamber. No interferences this way, least not for a while," Frost replied. "So let's begin!"

**To be continued...**


	117. Cold Battle

Frost's grin widened as he watched me carefully. I scowled slightly, remembering how strong the Glaceon had been at the base, where he had defeated Psycho, Leaf, Blaze, and Aura. "Not getting cold scales now, are you?" Frost asked with a slight sneer. "I haven't even done anything yet..." the Glaceon chuckled and spat a pale white beam of energy towards me, but I twisted my body quickly, the Ice Beam missing. I spat a Flamethrower in retaliation, but Frost formed a blue orb in his mouth, which stretched out into a beam of water, neutralizing my fire attack. Thinking quickly, I charged a Thunderbolt and launched the bolt of electricity towards Frost, the bolt striking his Water Pulse, which conducted the charge down towards the Glaceon's mouth.

"Take that!" I smirked, but the smirk faded as a howling wind filled the room, a vortex of hail appearing around the Glaceon, the icy air freezing the Water Pulse, no longer conducting the Thunderbolt. I scowled, narrowing my eyes towards the vortex. A few shards of ice fell from the vortex, hitting me painfully. "Damn..." I grumbled, thinking quickly. Leaf can countered Hail by using a weather changing technique, but my weather control abilities were subpar at best, so I couldn't rely on that to stop the Glaceon. I spat a Flamethrower towards the vortex, the fire slowly melting some of the ice barrier, but more ice would replace the ones I melted before long, and since I wasn't a fire type like Blaze, I couldn't hold the stream of flames for long.

"Error, you tire yourself out while accomplishing nothing," Frost said seriously. Another few shards from the hail storm fell, striking me again. I launched another Thunderbolt towards the vortex, but all I accomplished was the destruction of a few random shards of ice. "If you take too long to negate a basic tactic, you will be worn down quickly."

"It's a cheap tactic, that's what it is," I muttered under my breath, gazing at the ice storm critically, searching for some sort of weakness or angle to attack. After a few seconds, I smiled slightly. The defense had one flaw, depending on the recklessness of the opponent. While the flaw was not able to be exploited with the Eons at the base, I was reckless enough to attempt it without serious damage. "Well, let's give this a shot, shall we?" I called and the Glaceon blinked at me in surprise as I spat another Flamethrower towards the storm, melting some of the whirling ice shards, but doing little to negate the entire storm.

"Error..." Frost began, but I cut him off.

"Don't count the errors just yet, Icy Boy. I'm not finished," I said, pausing a moment and then darting forward into the storm, slamming my tail at the ice Eon within the vortex. I had timed it well enough to have fit into the small hole I had created, although the razor sharp ice still sliced at me as I passed through, the scratches accompanied with flashes of pain, but I've felt worse. Frost was too surprised by the tactic to retaliate and grunted as the blow flung him from the hail storm, the storm dying down moments later.

"Not bad, Dragonair. I see you have potential as a worthy adversary," Frost said calmly, spitting an Ice Beam towards me, but I twisted out of the way. A sudden gale of chilling wind swept through the chamber, pieces of snow and ice slamming into me. I shivered in the cold air, struggling to ignore the chill. I spat a Flamethrower towards the Glaceon, but Frost formed another Water Pulse, this time clamping his jaw over the orb, creating a tidal wave ring around him. My fire attack was completely doused and the force of the wave threw me backwards. I regained my composure, floating back towards the ice Eon.

"That was different," I muttered, glaring at Frost, who stared back calmly, smiling smugly. "You're extremely arrogant, you know that, right?"

"And you mistakenly believe I care. If I become overconfident, I will pay the price. But seeing as I have the advantage, you should perhaps focus on how to obtain your own, rather than comment on my personality," Frost replied. His fur rippled slightly and shards of ice flew towards me. I tried to twist out of the way, but many of the ice pieces struck me, causing me to grunt in pain. The intense chill in the room made both fresh and older wounds sting painfully as the cold air came into contact with them.

"Okay, I'm getting pissed off now," I snapped and Frost raised an eyebrow at me.

"Error, pointlessly informing your opponent of your mood can enable them to use the knowledge against you. If you are angry, you're likely to make mistakes that are easy to take advantage of," the Glaceon said with a smug grin.

"I don't care, Frosty the Snoweon," I snapped and the Glaceon gave me a blank look. "Damn that was a weak insult," I muttered to myself, releasing a Thunder Wave towards the Glaceon, but Frost leapt to the side, spitting an Ice Beam towards me. I twisted out of the way, but Frost lunged at me, clamping his jaws on my tail. I yelped (in an extremely undignified way), and spat a Flamethrower at the ice Eon. Unfortunately, I was involuntarily moving my tail, and the fire missed the Glaceon altogether. Thinking quickly, I slammed my tail against the cavern wall, forcing Frost to relinquish his grip on my tail. "Take this, damn it!" I growled, releasing a bolt of electricity, striking the ice Eon. Frost twitched as the bolt hit him.

"Error, ineffective tactic," Frost grumbled as another powerful gale of wind roared through the cavern. I grunted as the cold struck me and Frost smirked. "Error, dropping your guard," he said, spitting an orb of black energy from his mouth. The Shadow Ball struck me in the gut and exploded. I coughed in pain, wincing as I moved backwards, glaring at Frost.

"You need much more to beat me," I coughed and Frost raised an eyebrow again.

"Which sounds so believable when you're coughing weakly," he said seriously. "The rumors spoke so highly of you, but either you slipped through everything with luck, or the rumors were exaggerated. I saw none of this power when we fought, and it was disappointing. No true thrill. Sure, you got through my regular defense, but in basic combat you're predictable and easy to counter. There's very little to you, Dragonair," Frost continued.

"Just keep fighting!" I said irritably. "I'm not down yet, so keep going!"

"Error, doesn't know when to give up," Frost commented, taking an offensive stance. I mimicked his stance and spat a Flamethrower at the Glaceon, but he countered with Water Pulse, the blue orb stretching into a beam and neutralizing my fire. "Error, uses the exact same techniques over and over, despite them failing every time they're used."

"Oh shut up!" I said irritably. Frost shrugged indifferently and spat another Shadow Ball at me. While I attempted to dodge, Frost had anticipated the dodge and spat an Ice Beam to the side, causing me to dodge right into the beam, encasing part of my body in ice. I shivered by the intense cold and silently cursed my luck, as the majority of my body was now rendered immobile.

"That's the end of that chapter," Frost said triumphantly, forming another Shadow Ball in his mouth. I scowled, helpless to avoid the attack.

"Get back," a hollow, almost emotionless voice said and a burst of fire struck the Shadow Ball, causing it to detonate prematurely. Frost was thrown to the ground from the force of the explosion, one paw clutching his jaw, some of his pale blue-white fur scorched black.

"What the hell?" Frost snarled, his calm demeanor long gone, his eyes scanning the area for his attacker. "Who's there?" the Glaceon snapped.

"Leave. Now," the speaker said hollowly. Frost's eyes narrowed as he stared at someone just outside of the chamber entranceway, but from my angle I couldn't see who it was.

"This is my battle!" Frost growled fiercely, ducking as a burst of fire flew from the entrance. The Glaceon fired a Water Pulse beam at the doorway, and the figure hidden there darted into the room, dodging the water. I blinked in surprise upon seeing it was a Flareon with immaculately clean and well groomed fur. It was even shinier and fluffier than Crystal's fur (and therefore fur Blaze would kill for).

"Last chance to leave in peace," the Flareon spoke, its voice harsh but without any real emotion. It reminded me a little of Psycho's regular tone except that it did change tone and it was harsher and more forceful than the Espeon's. This in itself had an intimidating quality to it and it was clear the Glaceon was intimidated, but unwilling to back down.

"I'll tear you apart and then finish Dragonair!" Frost growled.

"Take your time!" I said casually.

"This won't take long," the Flareon replied coldly. Frost fired a Water Pulse at the Flareon, who countered by spitting a single fireball, but as I watched, the fireball expanded into a human-shaped mass of fire. Frost's eyes widened in shock as the Fire Blast was unfazed by the water attack, turning the water into steam as it cut through, hitting Frost in the face and engulfing the ice type in a small inferno. I winced at the brutality of this attack, even though I wasn't fond of the Glaceon. The Flareon walked over to the barely conscious Glaceon and glared down at him. "Never try to drench my fur again!" the Flareon growled.

"Blaze?" I gasped, staring at the Flareon in disbelief. The Flareon turned towards me and I recoiled in shock. It was definitely Blaze, but he was...different. His face held no emotion, even less so than the black furred Espeon did. But the creepiest thing about him was his eyes. One was his regular brown, but the other had a demonic, yellow tint to it. He stared back at me passively and I shuddered slightly.

"What do you want?" Blaze demanded in his hollow, harsh tone.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked seriously. What was with the yellow eye and empty expression? It didn't match the typical signs of being possessed, but if he wasn't possessed, what happened to him?

"Your 'concern' is insincere and sarcastic, and I have no use of it. Stop treating me like an inferior," Blaze replied coldly, baring his fangs threateningly. "Better yet, why don't I simply prove I'm not?" he said harshly, spitting a small fireball, which thawed me out of the rest of Frost's ice block. His expression remained calm and I was starting to get really freaked out by his change in demeanor. I tensed, knowing he was serious about fighting me. He stared back at me, watching me carefully, almost like a predator.

"What happened to you?" I asked desperately.


	118. Struggle in the Corridor

**Ember POV**

"Where did they go?" I asked nervously, blinking at the spot where Dragonair and the Glaceon had been standing moments before. Sapphire was about to reply, but was interrupted by the arrival of some more of the foes from the conference, which included Nightmare, a yellow eyed Growlithe, and (to my immense annoyance) Nightslash.

"Trapped so easily..." the Growlithe sneered, meeting my gaze. I shuddered involuntarily, the yellow eyes filling me with a strange sense of dread. The Growlithe's gaze stopped on Spark a moment and its mouth twisted into a cruel grin. "I'll just kill you now..." it whispered coldly and lunged at the Pichu. I stepped into the path of the Growlithe and slashed it across the face viciously. The Growlithe yelped slightly, and its yellow eyes gleamed maliciously.

"Get away from him!" I growled, glaring at Diablos' new host.

"Nightmare, you deal with her," Diablos said coldly. The Gastly nodded obediently, a pulse of dark energy radiating from his gaseous body and striking me, throwing me backwards. Sapphire's silver orb glowed and a raincloud materialized over the Growlithe, but the fire type ignored it, forming a ball of black energy in its mouth and spitting it towards the female Dragonair. Spark whined nervously, even as Sapphire easily twisted out of the way of the attack, countering with a large bolt of electricity, conducted by the Growlithe's damp fur. However, Diablos leapt out of the way of the bolt, smirking coldly.

_"Sleeeep!"_ Nightmare said, his eyes glowing as he stared towards me. I closed my eyes quickly, blocking out the Hypnosis before it could affect me, only to feel another pulse of dark energy slam into me. I grunted in pain, clutching my side and then squinted towards the Gastly, ready to shut my eyes again if he tried to hypnotize me. _"Maybe I need a new strategy..."_ Nightmare muttered.

"Leave her alone," Nightslash interjected and the Gastly hesitated uncertainly.

_"Master said I need to fight her, I cannot disobey..."_ Nightmare explained. Nightslash scowled angrily.

"I'll take care of her, you back off!" he said with a small snarl. Nightmare hesitated, still uncertain and I narrowed my eyes at them both, unsure of what the hell was going on. The decision was finalized a moment later when Darkness shot forward, releasing a Shadow Ball at the Gastly. Nightmare hastily dodged, turning his attention to the Umbreon. "You okay, precious?" Nightslash asked kindly, but I watched him warily. "Relax, precious," Nightslash said softly, approaching me slowly in a non-threatening manner.

"Me scared!" Spark whimpered piteously and I glanced over towards the kit. He was cowering behind Crystal, watching the battle between Sapphire and the Growlithe, the fire Pokémon's tactics seemingly completely ineffective against Sapphire, who could counter everything it threw at her. Shadow Balls were evaded, fire was neutralized with rainclouds, and it couldn't get close without a risk of getting hit by a Thunderbolt or Icy Wind technique. Despite this, Diablos wasn't backing down, but seemed to be amused by the struggle. The Growlithe darted forward, leaping towards the female Dragonair as she sent a Thunderbolt in his direction, the bolt striking the cavern floor harmlessly. Sapphire moved her neck quickly, just in time for the fire Pokémon's jaws to miss their attempted snap at her. Diablos landed gracefully behind the dragoness, smirking cruelly. Sapphire released a Thunderbolt at the Growlithe, swinging her tail and catching him in mid leap, flinging him into the nearby wall.

"It seems I need to take this to the next level," Diablos hissed as he returned to his feet. Sapphire's silver aura orb glowed, and the cloud above the Growlithe darkened, releasing snowflakes upon the fire type. Diablos ignored this weather change and spat a burst of fire at Sapphire, but she dodged easily, slapping the Growlithe with her tail.

_"That's an interesting way to add insult to injury,"_ Nightmare commented blandly, fading out as Darkness attempted to bite him. He reappeared behind her and fired a pulse of dark energy, which she shook off easily. The Gastly scowled, watching the Umbreon carefully.

"Shut up, Nightmare!" Diablos hissed, his yellow eyes flashing angrily. Spark whined and the Growlithe smirked, spitting a barrage of smaller Shadow Balls towards the Pichu. Spark wailed in terror as the orbs of ghostly energy flew towards me, exploding powerfully as they struck the ground around him, smoke from the explosions hiding the Pichu from my sight. I growled furiously, staring into the smoke frantically. Sapphire suddenly spat blue fire at the Growlithe, catching him off guard, the Dragon Breath engulfing him.

"Me okay!" Spark's voice whimpered from the smoke and I let out a small sigh of relief before tensing up as I felt a paw on my shoulder. I turned to glare at the owner of said paw.

"Calm down, precious," Nightslash said and my eye twitched.

_"Don't you grow tired of flirting with someone who's not interested?"_ Nightmare asked seriously, fading out to avoid another one of the Umbreon's attacks. Darkness scowled, her midnight blue rings glowing. Nightslash seemed to ignore the Gastly's comment, gently massaging my neck with one paw. I wonder if he was just oblivious to my rage, because I wasn't hiding any of it, but he didn't seem to notice the incoming danger.

"What?" Diablos suddenly burst out, his expression distracted as the blue fire faded from around him, leaving a severely burned Growlithe. His yellow eyes narrowed in irritation. "Nightmare, I must leave. You fools lucked out this time, but you have seen the last of me," he laughed coldly and the Growlithe's yellow eyes dimmed, the color changing to blue and the fire Pokémon slumped to the ground, unconscious from the Dragon Breath. Sapphire looked around anxiously, but there was no sign of a threat other than Nightmare and Nightslash, although the latter wasn't so much a threat as someone who was going to be in a lot of pain if he didn't remove his paw from me right now. It's still there.

"Nice try, precious!" Nightslash said, blocking my slash with his paw, smiling slightly. "You need to relax a bit more," he said seriously, blocking my other paw and I head butted him, causing him to stumble backwards. "How do you expect to find a mate if you're so uptight?"

"That's none of your business!" I growled angrily, kicking him in the gut, forcing him to hunch over slightly. I swiped my claws at him, but he blocked, his red eyes flashing in amusement.

"Not bad, precious. But what keeps me from overpowering you?" he asked softly.

"That would be me," Sapphire said quietly and smacked the Sneasel in the side of the head with her tail. Nightslash stumbled, slightly dazed.

"As you wish. Night Slash!" he called and his claws took on a black aura before he swiped the dragoness with them. Sapphire recoiled, and I punched the Sneasel in the face, knocking him to the ground. Sapphire followed up with a Thunderbolt, shocking the Sneasel into unconsciousness.

"Ouch," I commented, turning my attention to Darkness and Nightmare, both of which were making no progress whatsoever with their battle. I noticed Crystal had suddenly twitched and was walking down a passageway. "Where are you going?" I asked, following her curiously.

"I don't know," the female Flareon replied seriously. "I just have a feeling to go this way. You can come if you want. Probably better to be in groups, anyway." I nodded, feeling a little confused, but not eager to be left behind with the battle. We walked a few moments in silence until I blurted out, "Where's Spark?"

"I think he's with Sapphire and Darkness," Crystal said. "He was when I started walking this way," she said, glancing back down the passageway. There was no Pichu in sight, and at least we weren't being followed. "Hm, this way," she said, turning right down another passageway and at the end of it, we found ourselves on a small balcony-like ledge overlooking an enormous room, but it was a different room than the conference room, notable because it was empty of almost all the furnishings of the last room, such as rocks and pillars. But the most surprising thing was that Dragonair was here, with the Glaceon semi-conscious on one side of the room, suffering from severe burns beyond what Dragonair's Flamethrower was capable of. And opposing Dragonair was...

"What the..." I muttered, staring at the familiar Flareon. It was definitely Blaze, but he seemed different in a way I couldn't quite place. The rigid way he stood was different from his normal, almost carefree posture. Interestingly, his fur was amazingly clean and well groomed, easily rivaling Crystal's fur.

"Is that Blaze?" Crystal muttered and I nodded. "He is so hot..." she breathed quietly and I stared at her.

"I'm going to stand over here now," I said, inching away from her. From the way Dragonair was staring at Blaze, there had to be something not right about him, and the sign became clear a moment later.

"You ready?" Blaze asked Dragonair, and I flinched. Blaze's voice was almost emotionless, save for a harsh tone to it. His facial expression gave nothing away and Crystal seemed a little startled by this as well. The best part is, she stopped drooling. She wasn't actually drooling, but the point still stands.

"What happened to you? Answer me, damn it!" Dragonair shouted irritably. Both of them were oblivious to Crystal and my presence at the moment. Blaze tilted his head slightly, his expression remaining impassive, and I flinched again. Blaze's left eye was a strange yellow, similar to Diablos', but different as well. The fact only one eye was like this struck me as incredibly creepy and ominous. It also added a demonic look to the Flareon, although Crystal didn't seem as spooked by this, just confused.

"What's going on?" I whispered worriedly.


	119. Dark Blaze Rising

"I have no idea what's going on," Crystal said, staring at Blaze nervously. And a little admiringly. She was really starting to creep me out with that.

"Fine, don't talk. I'll figure it out," Dragonair grumbled, watching Blaze carefully. The male Flareon stared back at Dragonair with an air of indifference, his face revealing nothing of what he was thinking. My first thought had been that he was being possessed, but I was rapidly doubting this theory. From what I had seen of most possession victims, the symptoms usually involved both eyes changing color, not just one, and usually there was some aura of evil, or at least anger, involved. Blaze, on the other paw, was almost emotionless. The only sign of anger was his harsh tone when he spoke, but it wasn't said angrily. It made no sense to me.

"Is there something wrong with him?" Crystal asked me nervously.

"Something's weird, but I'm not sure what's wrong, or what caused it," I replied solemnly and the female Flareon nodded worriedly. "Guess we'll have to wait and find out," I added.

"So what are you waiting for?" Blaze demanded in his harsh tone and Dragonair flinched.

"I'm not the one who wants to fight, Blaze. So the first move is yours, if anything. Or we could just stand here all day," Dragonair replied. I raised my eye scale. Blaze wanted to fight Dragonair? Why? And I'm going to assume he was responsible for the partially roasted Glaceon to the side of the room, but what fire attack was powerful enough to produce those types of burns?

"As you wish," Blaze said indifferently and spat a small fireball. I blinked at the feeble attack in surprise, but the fireball suddenly expanded into a human-like shape, and the room temperature noticeably increased, although nowhere near enough to make me too uncomfortable, being a fire type and all.

"Since when did Blaze know Fire Blast?" Crystal asked, alarmed. Dragonair tried to twist out of the way, but the large shape struck him and he grunted audibly and I winced, noticing the powerful fire attack had severely scorched some of his scales as he took the brunt of the attack, panting as the fire faded from around him. I shook my head in response, and my thoughts quickly wandered back to a similar scene to this one, a scene which involved me. From how Dragonair had described my behavior at that time, it was similar to Blaze now, except not quite the same. While I had been extremely angry, Blaze was unnaturally calm and collected. But some similarities were some form of change in eyes, an indifference to fighting former allies, and new techniques. Perhaps, like me, Blaze's mentality had been affected by receiving a new attack.

"You'd have to do better than that!" Dragonair scowled, but Blaze's expression didn't change.

"You just don't want to admit that you are beaten," Blaze said indifferently, his facial expression stoic. Dragonair scowled, examining his scorched scales in alarm.

"Want to play rough, huh? Well, you asked for it, then!" Dragonair said angrily. Blaze's expression remained calm and I raised my eye scale at the Flareon. What the hell was wrong with him? Dragonair released a Thunderbolt towards the Flareon, but to everyone's alarm, he vanished, reappearing a few feet to the side, the bolt striking the cavern floor harmlessly. "Quick Attack, huh?" Dragonair grumbled, sending another Thunderbolt at Blaze, but he dodged again, just as quickly as the first time. Despite easily evading the attacks, Blaze didn't say a word. After several more dodges in this fashion, Dragonair seemed to give up using his Thunderbolt and shifted to a wide Thunder Wave, trying to catch Blaze in the paralyzing wave of electricity, but Blaze avoided this as well. "Damn it!" Dragonair yelled irritably.

"Dragonair's losing his cool pretty quickly," I commented, and Crystal nodded in agreement.

"Are you finished?" Blaze demanded in his harsh tone and Dragonair scowled.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Dragonair demanded. Blaze didn't as much as flinch.

"There's something wrong with me because I'm beating you in a battle?" Blaze asked calmly and Dragonair scowled irritably.

"That's not what I mean! You're acting differently!" Dragonair snapped. "Why are you even fighting me? Is this how you normally treat your friends?" Blaze didn't reply and Dragonair's eyes narrowed. "You don't have a reply, do you?" Blaze still said nothing and Dragonair scowled. "Why don't you answer?" Dragonair spat coldly. Blaze's blank expression still didn't change and Dragonair smirked briefly. "That's it; I'm drenching your fur."

"You'll be no more successful than you were with electrocuting me," Blaze said seriously.

"Probably not, but you reacted to the threat. I was starting to wonder if your brain had shut down. Though it looks like it already has from the way you're acting," Dragonair said. Blaze didn't comment and Dragonair stared at him in confused disbelief. "What, did you lose your ability to speak along with your ability to reason? No wait, you never had the latter one," Dragonair said.

"Harsh," I muttered, but once again, Blaze took no notice of the insult.

"Are you finished?" Blaze asked again, just as harshly as the first time.

"Answer my questions, damn it!" Dragonair shouted, but Blaze ignored him. "Whatever, you wanted to fight, I'm game," Dragonair said, spitting an Ice Beam at the Flareon, but Blaze spat another small fireball to counter, which once again expanded into the full sized Fire Blast, melting the beam long before contact. This time, Dragonair curled himself into a small coil, the flames narrowly missing him, sizzling as the Fire Blast struck the opposite wall. Before Dragonair could uncoil, Blaze darted forward, slamming his body into Dragonair with surprising force, shoving the dragon type backwards. Dragonair winced and released a Thunderbolt, which Blaze dodged effortlessly.

"He is soooo hot..." Crystal breathed again and I gave her a strange glance before turning back to the battle. Unfortunately for me, the female Flareon's breathing volume and pace increased and I found it incredibly irritating.

"How the hell do you find this hot?!" I demanded loudly. Dragonair heard me and glanced towards us in alarm, only now realizing we were there. I really wish I had a camera to take a picture of his expression, though. Crystal blushed furiously, even as Blaze glanced up at us indifferently. I shivered a little at the sight of the yellow tinted eye, which continued to give him a demonic look, worsened by the absence of emotion.

"How long have you two been there?" Dragonair asked, raising an eye scale.

"A few minutes," I replied. "Still trying to figure out what happened, though."

"I don't know, either. I was fighting Frost, and Blaze showed up and beat him with a Fire Blast, then challenged me. Déjà Vu, eh?" Dragonair replied, giving me a knowing look and I nodded solemnly. "Nothing I say or do affects him at all, it's scary, you know?"

"I noticed," I said, staring at the male Flareon anxiously. Blaze had only given Crystal and me a passing glance, and was no longer even acknowledging out presence. "Blaze! What are you getting out of this fight?" I yelled down to him. "Are you getting anything out of it? Or are you just fighting for no reason at all?" The Flareon ignored me, showing no sign that he had even heard me. I growled irritably, glaring at Blaze angrily. "Why do you ignore us? We're your friends!"

"I have no friends. And I don't need them," Blaze said harshly and I flinched at both his words and his tone.

"What the hell are you talking about? We're your friends...aren't we?" I asked nervously. The Flareon still refused to look at me, prompting me to growl angrily. "Look at me! Tell me, how is fighting us helping you? You came here to save your sister, so how the hell is this fight accomplishing that?" I shouted angrily. Blaze's expression changed for the first time, moving from the calm expression to one of...anger? Sadness? A mixture of both? The expression changed back in the next moment, leaving me uncertain of what I had seen. Neither Dragonair nor Crystal seemed to have seen the expression at all.

"Blaze..." Crystal whispered, but received no response. "Blaze?" she repeated, a little louder, but the male Flareon continued to ignore her, his gaze a little unfocused, although determinedly staring at Dragonair, who was shifting his stare from me, to Crystal, to Blaze and back again.

"Are you going to answer us?" Dragonair finally asked testily. "And what do you mean you don't have or need friends? How did we stop counting?" Blaze didn't reply, his gaze unfocused once more, as if he had zoned out. Dragonair gave the male Flareon an odd look and charged up a Thunderbolt, launching it at him. With his gaze still unfocused, Blaze dodged effortlessly.

"How the heck did he do that?" I muttered, then noticed Crystal moving down the incline leading to the ground floor. "Where are you going?" The female Flareon said nothing, hopping to the ground a few feet up and walking over to Blaze cautiously. Blaze took no notice of her approach until she brushed against him.

"It's okay, Blaze. I just want to talk to you," she said soothingly. The male Flareon didn't reply, but Crystal didn't seem to have expected one. Dragonair and I exchanged puzzled looks, but didn't interrupt. Crystal nuzzled her head against Blaze's chest and purred quietly. "Your fur is so soft," she said softly. The male Flareon's expression shifted again, this time to surprise, but the emotion was repressed shortly afterwards.

"Huh, she might actually have a shot at getting through to him, after all," I said thoughtfully.

"With any luck, yeah. But I wouldn't get my hopes up too high, since we have no idea what happened to him," Dragonair said bluntly.


	120. Mind Reader

"I'm not quite sure how she expects this to work," I said after a few seconds. "I don't really remember how I got over my own little difficulty."

"You had quite a few issues in that time period," Dragonair commented dully, watching Blaze and Crystal with interest. The male Flareon was all but ignoring the female, but Crystal either didn't care or didn't notice. She continued to rub against him affectionately, but his expression remained indifferent.

"Come on, Blaze...talk to me," Crystal said soothingly and the male Flareon looked at her dully, making eye contact with her for the first time.

"What do you want?" he demanded harshly, but Crystal growled at him in reply, causing him to flinch slightly, but he almost immediately regained his calm composure. I raised an eye scale at his reaction, exchanging a glance with Dragonair, who seemed similarly surprised.

"I want you to talk to me nicely so I can help you with whatever it is that's bothering you," Crystal said seriously, but gently. The male Flareon didn't respond for several seconds.

"I don't need help," he said harshly, turning away from her.

"So you're just pushing me away? You can't run from everything, you know!" Crystal said and Blaze's eyes narrowed for a moment, but he didn't say anything. "From what I see, you're upset about something and you're pushing all your friends away and renouncing your friendship with them. Why is that? What did we do to you?"

"Want the list?" Blaze said with a snarl, but calmed down a moment later. Dragonair blinked in surprise, and Crystal smiled briefly. I frowned a little bit, thinking hard. The changes in Blaze's expression and mood told me that Crystal seemed to be making some progress, but not quite enough. What was wrong with him? Why was he hiding his emotions like this? And the demonic yellow eye was still haunting my thoughts. How did it get there?

"Uh, sure?" Crystal said uncomfortably. "Start with me. What did I do to you?" she asked, staring at the Flareon as he averted his gaze from her, his expression unreadable. His eyes seemed to have glazed over a little, as if his attention was elsewhere. "Blaze, please...did I do anything to you?" she asked anxiously, resting her head on his chest. He remained silent, still zoned out a bit.

"What is wrong with him?" Dragonair muttered, shaking his head in bewilderment at the male Flareon's odd behavior.

"I could help with that question," a voice said and Dragonair turned towards the speaker in alarm.

"How the hell did you get here?" he demanded to a blue Pokémon with a spiral on its chest. "And how the hell would you be able to help with this?"

"Poli knows Blaze pretty well, as do I," an Oddish said. The Oddish paused, glancing at Crystal for a moment. "Admittedly, I don't know who you are, but we can catch up later, right?"

"You skipped the 'how did you get here' question," Dragonair said seriously.

"That's because it's a long story," the spiral Pokémon replied calmly. "And I think the female Flareon is the one Aura mentioned. Gem...no, Crystal. Right?"

"Uh, yeah..." Crystal said in confusion. "Who are you?"

"I said we could catch up later!" the Oddish complained. "I mean, we are in the Cave Army's headquarters where there are a lot of enemies around, and fighting and stuff like that. Not to mention the Dark Organization members are here, and then there's a few ghosts...point is, no time to waste."

"In the time it took for that explanation, you could have just said that he's Poli, and you're Strange," Dragonair pointed out with a smirk. The Oddish blinked in surprise, but didn't reply. Blaze's eyes focused on the water Pokémon for a moment, and then returned to its glazed look.

"That's a shorter attention span than normal. Plus, no offense, but you're hot and he's not even looking at you," Poli said to Crystal. The female Flareon looked taken aback by the comment, but didn't answer.

"And how are you able to help us?" I asked curiously and the spiraled Pokémon smiled slightly.

"Mind Reader. Useful technique, picked it up a long time ago," he replied seriously. "It's kind of interesting sometimes, because if done right, I can actually see into their subconscious. Now that's entertainment."

"What?" Dragonair blurted, confused. "How is that entertainment?"

"Hard to explain, since I'm no expert in psychology or anything like that," the spiral Pokémon replied. "It's easier to show you, and since Blaze seems so...out of it...it won't be as difficult to pull off. Let's try this..." Poli said and focused for a moment, everyone watching him in anticipation. "Mind Reader!" Poli whispered and his eyes glowed brightly as he stared at Blaze, whose own eyes shone briefly. I winced against the light and when I blinked, I noticed that Poli, Dragonair, Crystal, and I were standing in what appeared to be a large room with no entrances in or out.

"Where's Strange?" Dragonair asked, puzzled.

"She hates this sort of thing, so I left her out," Poli replied. "Over there, the center of the room," he said, pointing towards the room's center. "They can't see us, don't worry," he said as we nervously moved closer. In the center of the room, several beings stood. One was an anxious looking Eevee, another was a female Flareon with yellow eyes, a third was Blaze with his regularly colored eyes, and a fourth was an older looking Flareon who seemed the most at ease.

"What the hell?" Dragonair blurted and Poli seemed partially confused as well.

"Odd...well, each one of them represents a separate portion of the subconscious, if memory serves. I don't remember what each represents, but you'll probably get the idea before too long," Poli said.

"I thought you said none of them can see us," Crystal hissed quietly. Poli nodded to confirm. "Well, that one looked right at us," Crystal explained, pointing to the female yellow eyed one.

"That could have just been a coincidence," Poli replied.

"I don't get it..." the brown eyed Flareon muttered, looking confused. The yellow eyed Flareon tilted her head at him.

"What don't you get?" she asked him, brushing her tail against him in a gesture of comfort. Crystal growled quietly.

"Since when could parts of your mind flirt with you?" Dragonair asked, raising an eye scale. Poli shrugged.

"I don't know. They just keep saying I'm acting weird. Am I acting weird?" Blaze asked uncomfortably.

"When someone acts differently for any reason, it is almost always treated as a bad thing," the older Flareon said in a tone of wisdom. "But it is not wrong to change."

"I-I a-agree..." the Eevee said nervously, its voice was a higher pitch than the other three beings, and I suspect that it was a female.

"But..." Blaze began, but broke off, sighing.

"When people mistreat you, you should not continue to allow it. You're making a stand, and they don't realize your point," the yellow eyed Flareon said.

"I-I a-agree..." the Eevee said again.

"But...Crystal has been nice to me," Blaze insisted. "What about her?"

"It is true, she has been one of the nicer ones to you," the yellow eyed Flareon said seriously. "Let's see what they think," she added, gesturing to the Eevee and the older Flareon.

"S-she's c-cute..." the Eevee said, blushing.

"She seems to truly care for you. I suggest you try to keep contact with her if possible," the older Flareon said sagely.

"And I think she's trustworthy to an extent," the yellow eyed Flareon said. "And she is definitely cute, like Solar said." Blaze stared at them.

"W-what? S-she is c-cute!" the Eevee said with a whine, cringing from the brown eyed Flareon's gaze.

"Blaze, you're male. It makes more sense for the female portions of your mind to comment on a female's attractiveness. No threat or competition from them," the older Flareon said serenely. Blaze nodded, absently petting the Eevee, which stopped cringing and started purring quietly.

"This place is weirding me out," Dragonair said. "And it hasn't really explained anything at all. Nothing said seems to point out why Blaze became so emotionless or anything like that."

"I suppose that's because they're debating about how cute Crystal is," I replied with a grin, the female Flareon blushing slightly.

"He's repressing something," Poli said seriously. "He's spending a lot of his energy within his mind's sanctuary, seeking comfort and advice. Blaze was never like this in the past that I've known him. Even at the Rocket facility, he was typically very happy-go-lucky. Most Pokémon there would fall into depression, but he remained cheerful. Then again, he was in the female cells..."

"What?" Crystal asked, staring at Poli in confusion.

"Long story. Point is, his new attitude is probably from repressing something, but I can't hold this connection anymore..." Poli said and the room faded away, returning our attention to the cavern we had been in before. I glanced around, feeling slightly disoriented. Blaze's focus had returned to his eyes, although he still was watching us indifferently.

"Blaze...what's troubling you?" Crystal asked urgently. "Talk to me, please!"

"Leave me alone," Blaze replied harshly and turned to leave the room. Crystal growled slightly and leapt into Blaze's path.

"Stop trying to push me away! I'm trying to help you!"

"Why?" Blaze asked indifferently, trying to walk around her, but she blocked his path again. "Get out of the way. I don't want to fight you," he said coldly.

"Why not?" Crystal demanded. Blaze's expression changed to one of shock, but it vanished quickly. "Come on...a friendly little fight," Crystal insisted, brushing her tail against his side, staring him in the eyes.

"I don't know how smart that is," I muttered to Dragonair.

"At the same time, it sounds clever. He already admitted his reluctance to fight her," Dragonair replied. "Not sure if it'll accomplish anything, though."


	121. Backup

"What's the point?" Blaze demanded. Crystal didn't answer and Blaze's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?" he asked in a slightly whiny voice. "Just leave me alone!" he snapped, his harsh tone back in place.

"Why do you want to be alone, Blaze?" Crystal asked gently, looking him in the eyes. After a few seconds of silence, Blaze averted his gaze, still silent. The female Flareon tilted her head at him for a moment and then darted forward, slamming into Blaze, catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground. Strange let out a small gasp of surprise and Dragonair raised an eye scale in bewilderment. Rather than press her new advantage, Crystal calmly sat down next to the fallen Blaze and held out a paw to help him up. His eyes narrowed at her and he ignored the paw.

"What was that for?" he snarled, pushing himself to his feet. Crystal brushed her tail against him casually and his expression changed to one of confusion. "What are you doing?" he demanded irritably. The female Flareon smiled slightly and Blaze suddenly growled. "Leave me alone!" He slashed one paw at her, but she dodged nimbly. He repeated the attack and she ducked out of the way, slamming her side into him and pushing him back. Before he could respond, she brushed against him affectionately and he blinked in confusion.

"What the hell is she doing?" Dragonair asked. I shrugged, not quite sure either. "It's the cross between fighting and flirting, which is already confusing enough."

"That may be the point. Blaze is too confused to react," Strange pointed out. "How long she can keep that up is unknown," she added.

"True. The only reason he hasn't attacked her much is, even with his weird behavior, he doesn't want to hurt her. But there's a limit to that self control," Poli said.

"By the way, what specie are you?" Dragonair asked and Poli blinked.

"Didn't I answer this already?" the water Pokémon asked seriously.

"I didn't hear the answer. So Poliwhirl or Poliwrath?" Dragonair replied. Poli sighed slightly.

"I'm a..."

"What the hell is going on?" a voice called from the entranceway, and Poli broke off, looking towards the doorway, where a yellow Pokémon with spiky fur was standing, looking around in confusion.

"Who the hell are you?" Dragonair asked, tensing slightly.

"I asked the question first," the Jolteon said firmly, his fur spiking into needles, which I'm guessing is a sign of aggression.

"Jolt, I just finished grooming that fur!" a small voice whined. The Jolteon winced while Dragonair stared at the other new arrival, which was a small female Eevee. For some reason, the Jolteon seemed to be acting incredibly protective of her, half shielding her with his body while glaring at us.

"Jolt, it's fine!" Strange called. "They're friends of ours," she explained and the Jolteon nodded, his fur flattening a little bit, although he turned his attention to the Flareon pair, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"What's going on here?" he asked, watching them cautiously.

"The female is Crystal and the male is Blaze. Something happened to him that made his personality change, and Crystal's doing a combination of flirting and fighting. I have no idea, otherwise," the Oddish replied. As if on cue, Blaze glanced towards the Jolteon, which recoiled at the sight of the single yellow eye, but recovered quickly.

"Who are you?" Dragonair repeated, but the Jolteon ignored him, which prompted the Eevee to answer.

"I'm Kira, and this is Jolt, my mate," she said shyly. Dragonair thought about that for a moment.

"Jolt...you wouldn't happen to be in the same training group as Psycho, Leaf, and Darkness, would you?" he asked thoughtfully. Jolt narrowed his eyes slightly, but nodded. "Just checking," Dragonair explained. I glanced back towards the Flareon pair, just as Blaze broke away from Crystal, his expression unreadable.

"What do you want?" Blaze demanded harshly, but in a flat, almost emotionless tone.

"Blaze, it's ironic that you talk like that, considering how much you hate Psycho," Dragonair commented, but Blaze ignored him.

"Question...what happened since he was normal and when he first wasn't?" the Eevee asked quietly. "What was going on?"

"Well, he was trying to find his sister, and we got separated for a while," I said. "Crystal was with him, but they got separated for a while, and the next time we saw him he was like that."

"What's he like normally?" Jolt asked, sounding a little interested.

"Obnoxious, annoying, whiny, but generally cheerful..." Dragonair began.

"Ah, so he's the Flareon that Psycho despises so much," Jolt said with a small laugh. Crystal took a step closer to Blaze, but he hissed irritably at her.

"Blaze, why are you so upset?" she asked him quietly. The male Flareon gazed at her silently, his eyes glazing over, his attention elsewhere. Crystal stared at him silently for several moments before glancing at Poli oddly. The Poli-whatever shrugged in reply.

"Mind Reader!" he said and his eyes glowed brightly before we found ourselves in the odd circular room once again, but this time, it was only Crystal, Poli, and I.

"Why didn't you bring anyone else?" I asked. Poli glanced at me in surprise.

"Actually, I was only trying to bring her in, you got included by accident," he admitted. I shrugged, walking closer to the room's center where the four beings were. The brown eyed Flareon was looking distraught, while the other 3 were watching him.

"The best way to overcome fear is to face it," the older Flareon said wisely.

"Why won't they leave me alone?" Blaze whined. "I said I want to be alone..."

"They don't care what you want," the yellow eyed Flareon said coldly and I felt a strange shiver for a moment, but the feeling faded.

"Why is Crystal doing this? She's the nice one...isn't she?" Blaze muttered.

"She does not know your pain," the older Flareon said serenely. "She wants to help."

"I-I d-don't know!" the Eevee whined, looking upset and confused. Blaze closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

"Affection can be manipulation," the yellow eyed Flareon said, brushing her tail against Blaze and he nodded, but was looking deeply troubled.

"I...don't think she's trying to manipulate me...what would she be trying it for?" Blaze muttered, confused. He groaned, his expression changing to one of frustration. "I can't take this...I can't..." he whined.

"Relax, Blaze," the Flareon said softly. Blaze sighed, absently petting the Eevee again, which purred happily. Blaze smiled briefly and the room faded back to the cavern where we had originated from. Poli was wincing slightly.

"That tired me out," he muttered. Crystal was staring at Blaze thoughtfully as the male Flareon's eyes refocused on her. My own mind was trying to process what had just happened. I was starting to consider more possibilities to what had happened to Blaze, but the pieces of the puzzle weren't fitting. (What? I was bored at the Rocket base, and jigsaw puzzles were fun!)

"Blaze...what happened?" Crystal asked urgently, but was answered only by the male Flareon's dull stare. The female Flareon growled slightly in annoyance. Jolt frowned at Blaze.

"Is that how you treat all females? That's rude," he said with a hint of coolness in his voice. Blaze spat a small fireball towards Jolt, the fireball expanding into the full Fire Blast within moments. Jolt's eyes widened in surprise, but he dodged out of the way with lightning speed, his fur spiking into needles, of which he released a flurry of them towards the Flareon. With almost equal agility, Blaze dodged, his expression calm.

"Jolt!" the Eevee whined and Jolt and Blaze both turned to her, almost simultaneously. The Jolteon looked puzzled at her cry, and Blaze's blank expression changed briefly to one of sadness and anger, these emotions remaining much longer than previous expression changes. Without a word, the Flareon turned and left the room.

"Blaze?" Crystal called and frowned, running after the male Flareon.

"Should we go after them?" Dragonair asked uncertainly. I shrugged, not sure how to respond.

"We need to find the others," I said after a moment. Poli and Strange both nodded in agreement.

"This place rapidly became a battleground," Jolt said seriously. "I'll explain more as we get moving," he said, leading us towards a different passageway than the one the Flareons had taken.

"By the way, what specie are you again?" Dragonair asked Poli. The Poli-whatever sighed.

"I'm a..." he began, but he was cut off by the sound of a series of explosions, and Kira whined quietly. I wondered briefly why she was so jumpy, but pushed the thought aside in favor of a more appropriate thought for the moment. This, interestingly, was the exact same thought Dragonair voiced.

"What the hell was that?" Dragonair demanded to no one in particular.


	122. Dark Reunion

**Sapphire POV**

"Me scared!" Spark whined, trying to hide under my coils as the Gastly and Umbreon continued their battle, oblivious to the two of us. I looked around and was surprised by the realization that Crystal and Ember had both vanished. I really wish they had told me they were leaving, but no point in getting upset about it. This really was not a good place to get separated in, but the possibilities were always there.

"Come this way, Spark," I urged gently and the Pichu hastily clung to my tail. Not exactly what I had in mind, but it didn't really bother me. I was also starting to wonder where Dragonair had disappeared to, and whether he was alright, but I pushed the worries away. No sense in getting distracted by worrying about something. I floated down a side passageway, trying to keep the Pichu away from the battles as much as possible.

"Me want Mommy and Daddy, pretty dragon..." Spark whined quietly and I smiled comfortingly at him.

"We'll find them, don't worry," I said kindly. Truthfully, I'm not sure how I could make good on this comment, since this underground lair was literally an enormous maze, and I had no idea where his parents would be. I was startled out of my concern by the abrupt appearance of a pair Pokémon, which consisted of an Espeon with silver eyes, a silver gem on his forehead, and black fur, as well as a familiar Leafeon.

"Is this where we were supposed to end up, Shadow?" the Leafeon asked, looking around the small chamber where Spark and I were lying low in. The Espeon gazed around indifferently.

"Assuming Dark's information is correct, yes," the Espeon replied in a dull monotone, then turned to me. "Is the conference room a few corridors that way?" he asked, pointing down the passageway I had come from. I nodded calmly and he smirked at the Leafeon. "Told you," he said with a hint of smugness. His expression became deadly serious a second later and he walked down the passageway purposefully.

"I'll stay here!" Leaf called after his brother, who didn't reply. "So what's going on?" he asked me.

"I'm not entirely sure," I admitted. "Blaze's sister got kidnapped, and we've been searching for her, and Spark's parents were kidnapped again, there was some sort of meeting, but we were discovered and a fight started. I was just keeping Spark out of the fights, for his safety," I said. Leaf nodded, frowning slightly.

"Shadow and I went to Sinnoh to help out Jolt, but not too long ago, Darkness told us that we were needed here, so we came with some backup. Not sure where Shadow dropped them off, though. We came here to be closer to the action, but the others didn't want to be so close to a mass of enemies," he explained briefly. "I'll try to help you find his parents, if you want," he offered kindly. I nodded gratefully and Spark smiled hopefully.

"Leafy nice!" he said cheerfully. Leaf blinked at the kit, then studied the room thoughtfully.

"Hm...I haven't had quite as much experience in navigating as the others have, least of all a place created to be a maze of confusing passageways and networks of paths," he admitted, leading Spark and I through one of the tunnels that led from the room we had occupied. At every fork, Leaf would think for a moment, looking down the possible paths and then choosing one.

"Er, do you know where we're going?" I asked, trying not to offend him.

"I think so. Ah, here we are!" he said cheerfully as the path we had been traveling on widened to an open room. "Huh, not the safest place to be, though," he added, pointing. I looked at what he was gesturing to and frowned slightly. Similar to the earliest chamber and paths in the underground maze, there was a bridge-like path suspended over a large chasm. While it looked more than capable of taking the weight of a Steelix and was wide enough for several people to walk comfortably, the chasm below was so dark the bottom was completely obscured by darkness.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Spark said happily, jumping up and down excitedly, pointing across the bridge to the opposite side, where both Raichus were lying unconscious. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Why was no one guarding them? As I watched, they stirred slightly, slowly awakening. "Yay! Mommy and Daddy okay!" Spark said happily. The Raichus sat up, clutching their heads weakly, looking around blearily.

"Spark, wait!" I called urgently as the Pichu ran towards his parents. Spark stopped a moment, looking at me strangely.

"What wrong, pretty dragon?" he whined. "Me want Mommy and Daddy!"

"Me want Mommy and Daddy!" a cold voice mocked cruelly and Spark whimpered in fear. Both Raichus stiffened, looked around angrily for the one who dared mock their child. Leaf froze, his eyes scanning the area anxiously. "What's wrong wittle Pichu, afraid of the dark?" the voice sneered and the lights instantly went out, plunging the area into darkness. Spark wailed in terror, crying loudly at the sudden blackness, the only light coming from the terrified Pichu kit's cheeks as sparks flew in his distress. I hastily spat a Flamethrower into the air, briefly lighting up portions of the room. The Raichus followed Spark's lead by releasing bolts of electricity into the air, briefly lighting the room, but after a few moments, they rapidly tired out, not yet recovered from their unconsciousness.

"Me scared!" Spark said, quivering in terror.

"Me scared!" the voice mocked sinisterly. The male Raichu growled angrily. "Aww, is Daddy upset?" the voice mocked. "Then Daddy is in for a shock!" There was a sudden thud and the male Raichu grunted in pain. I redirected my Flamethrower's aim so I could see what had happened. From the looks of it, the female Raichu had punched the male in the stomach. The male looked completely confused by the assault and was staring at the female in alarm. The female, on the other paw, was smirking sinisterly, her yellow eyes gleaming maliciously.

"Leaf...get Spark out of here. He does not want to see this," I said urgently. The Leafeon nodded, leaping over to the Pichu and leading him from the room. The kit was too frightened to resist, thankfully oblivious to what was happening with his parents. I didn't exactly know what was happening either, but I had a bad feeling about it.

"What...was...that...for?" the male Raichu groaned, staring up at the female, which smirked.

"Aww, is Daddy feeling...betrayed?" the female hissed in the sinister tone from earlier, and although it was mixed with her own voice, the difference was obvious. "Good," she sneered, slamming her first into the Raichu's face, throwing him backwards onto the bridge between the two ledges. The male pushed himself back to his feet, looking panicked. "Fight me! Fight back, you fool!" the female ordered, kicking the male Raichu brutally in the face, and the male yelped in pain, blood seeping from his nose.

"Stop...please..." the male Raichu begged, seemingly aware of the dark presence possessing his mate."Please...leave her alone!" he pleaded. The female's eyes gleamed with malice.

"Make me!" she snarled, seizing the male by the throat, dangling him over the chasm. I froze, on the verge of intervening, but this option seemed to have been removed as abruptly as the idea had come to me. The male promptly looped his tail around the female's leg and released a powerful electrical shock, causing the female to spasm for a moment, releasing her grip on the male, which grabbed the edge of the bridge with his paws, struggling to climb back up. The female grinned cruelly, placing one foot gently on one of the male's paws. "Why bargain with the loser?" she hissed. "Your kit will join you soon enough!" she sneered and slammed the foot down, breaking the male's fingers, forcing him to relinquish his grip with that paw. He cried out in pain, still clinging to the bridge with one paw.

"Please...leave her alone! Leave Spark alone!" the male pleaded, his legs dangling pitifully over the chasm.

"Stubborn to the end? Then die!" the female hissed, walking over to the other paw, mockingly placing her foot on this paw as well. "It'll be fun to kill wittle Spark with this host. His darling Mommy would never hurt him..." she whispered sinisterly and the male's eyes widened in horror.

"Please...no..." he begged desperately, but the female didn't reply, except to smirk coldly and slam her foot upon his remaining paw. There was an audible cracking sound, and the male cried out in agony, miraculously still clinging to the ledge, although his fingers were losing their grip. "Please..." he begged one last time. The female chuckled malevolently, slamming her foot on his paw again, with much more force than the first blow. The male screamed in agony, his fingers losing their grip entirely. I gasped in horror, knowing I wouldn't be able to save him from falling to his death.

"Enough!" a voice snarled from behind me, and I blinked as I noticed the male Raichu hadn't fallen at all, but was hovering over the chasm, glowing with some sort of energy. The female Raichu smirked maliciously, turning towards the speaker behind me.

"Psycho," the female whispered coldly. I glanced back at the black furred Espeon, which was glaring at the female Raichu with immense hatred and anger. "What brings you here?" she sneered.

"You killed my parents, you're not doing the same with the Pichu's," the Espeon said coldly, practically shaking with rage.

"And how do you plan to stop me? You lose your focus, you drop the Raichu," the female replied maliciously, launching a Thunderbolt at the Espeon. The black furred Espeon jerked his head quickly, the psychic energy he controlled threw the Raichu into the air and he teleported out of the way of the bolt, refocusing on the airborne Raichu and steering him back onto the bridge. "That was quite some trick, Psycho. But it's delaying the inevitable. I'll kill him before long," she continued mockingly.

"It ends here, Diablos!" Psycho snarled.

"You can't stop me. Nobody can," the Raichu whispered softly. "You'll meet your end before long!"

**To be continued...**


	123. Attempt at Vengeance

The black furred Espeon's eyes narrowed at the female Raichu, which smirked maliciously, her yellow eyes gleaming in the darkened room, the few lights that had lit up again doing little to illuminate the majority of the area, the shadows flickering ominously. The male Raichu lay on the other side of the bridge, barely conscious. Psycho stood near the fallen Raichu, watching the female Raichu warily, his expression thick with rage and hatred. The female Raichu snickered, releasing a Thunderbolt at the Espeon, but he vanished in a flash of light, reappearing behind the Raichu and firing a beam of psychic energy at her back. Before the beam could strike her, a barrier of light appeared in the path of the attack, deflecting the Psybeam.

"Please tell me you have more tricks than that, Psycho. This will get boring very quickly otherwise," the female Raichu sneered coldly. The Espeon didn't respond, other than an angry growl. "Aww, is the kitty angry?" she mocked. Psycho's eyes glowed brightly and the Raichu was hurled backwards by an invisible force, sliding across the ground roughly. Laughing, she stood back up, grinning. "That's better. Maybe you are stronger than your parents...those fools couldn't even beg me to spare their lives. Pity, it would have made their deaths all the more fun!" she hissed.

"Your mind games won't work on me, Diablos," Psycho said monotonously. Diablos chuckled cruelly.

"We'll see, Psycho. Look at me..." she whispered, her yellow eyes glowing brightly as they met the Espeon's silver eyes. "Show me your fears..." she continued, the eyes gleaming brighter, but after a moment, the glowing faded and she frowned.

"What's wrong? Are my mental defenses too strong for you?" Psycho asked emotionlessly, although a tiny smile was apparent on his face. Diablos scowled, but then laughed cruelly.

"I don't need mind games to destroy you, Psycho. You are a fool to believe you can match up to me. Your parents thought the same, and they paid the price! You cannot defeat me!" she laughed. The Espeon growled and launched another Psybeam at the Raichu, but another film of light blocked the attack and she smirked. "You spent two years tracking me, and this is all you can do?" she mocked, slamming a fist into Psycho's face, throwing him backwards. "You're weak!" she snarled.

"Am I?" Psycho asked from behind her and Diablos' eyes widened in alarm as she was psychically flung into the cavern wall. "Substitute has its uses, don't you agree?" the Espeon asked emotionlessly. Diablos chuckled quietly.

"I see your two years haven't been completely wasted," she said softly, forming a Shadow Ball and flicking each of her fingers towards the Espeon, each finger flick launching a miniature Shadow Ball at Psycho, but he teleported out of the way, reappearing behind her and firing a Psybeam at her, immediately teleporting again, just as Diablos spun around to counter the psychic energy with the ghostly orb. "You can't dodge forever, Psycho," she sneered, scanning the area carefully, searching for the Espeon. "You can hide all you want, it accomplishes nothing."

"Who said I was hiding?" Psycho asked emotionlessly, his voice coming from a shadowy corner. Diablos promptly fired another miniature Shadow Ball at the corner, then whirled around and sent a second, larger Shadow Ball at a seemingly empty, random location. As if timed, the black furred Espeon appeared directly in the path of the Shadow Ball, his silver eyes widening in surprise at the incoming attack. The Shadow Ball struck him before he could teleport, the ghostly orb exploding with great force and throwing him backwards. I quickly used my tail to catch him before he could slide into the chasm and pushed him back onto the ledge.

"Accept it, Psycho...you were doomed to fail from the beginning. This battle cannot be won by you. You can't harm me without harming the Raichu, and you're trying to protect the Raichus. You can't beat me, you can't save them. It was game over before we even started," Diablos said softly, walking over to the male Raichu, seizing him by one of his broken paws and pulling him to his feet, keeping a firm grip on his paw. The male whimpered in pain and Diablos smirked. "Can you save him?" she sneered, forming a Shadow Ball in her other paw. "No? Then you failed!" she hissed, bringing the paw holding the Shadow Ball around to slam against the Raichu's head.

Suddenly, a razor edged leaf struck the Shadow Ball, and it detonated with surprising force, separating the Raichus, although the male slid off the bridge, crying out in fear as his tail dug into the bridge, suspending him over the chasm by his tail. Psycho looked momentarily confused, glancing behind him to see Leaf standing there, panting slightly. "Aura took Spark, I came back to help...Shadow? What are you doing here?" The Espeon didn't reply and the Leafeon glanced around awkwardly.

"So you couldn't take me by yourself?" Diablos mocked, walking through the small smokescreen. "So by killing you both, I finish what I started 2 years ago? Your family will be gone, wiped from existence, nothing left of your bloodline," she sneered, forming a Shadow Ball in each paw, grinning maliciously. "But first things first..." she continued, flinging one of the Shadow Balls at the male Raichu's tail. It exploded, shattering a large chunk of the stone, but not dislodging the tail entirely from the bridge. The male whimpered quietly, staring towards me.

"Please, take care of Spark..." he begged, his tail slowly slipping from the ledge. I nodded, blinking a tear from my eye as Diablos slammed the second Shadow Ball into the Raichu's tail, detonating it. The Raichu male cried out, his tail losing its grip and falling. Psycho's eyes glowed, but Diablos launched a Thunderbolt at the Espeon, forcing him to lose focus as he avoided the bolt. The female Raichu hissed with delight.

"One down. You failed again, Psycho. You were doomed to fail," she hissed sinisterly. "Kill me and kill the Pichu's mother. Can you live with yourself if you eliminate the Pichu's last parent?"

"Yes," Psycho said emotionlessly and Leaf gasped in horror.

"Shadow, no!" he said urgently, but the Espeon ignored him. Diablos chuckled malevolently.

"You'd kill the kit's parent just to get at me?" Diablos sneered coldly. Psycho's silver eyes gave nothing away. "I doubt you have the guts..."

"Care to put that theory to the test?" Psycho challenged, his eyes glowing.

"You're darker than I expected," Diablos said conversationally. "Use your anger and hate and destroy me. Unless...you're afraid. Afraid that your brother will turn on you for murdering an innocent. And what's more, you'll be forced to live with your decision. Maybe your little bitch will leave you, disgusted by your actions..."

"Your head games are useless against me, Diablos," Psycho said, glowing brightly. "You killed my parents...prepare to die," he said. Diablos laughed maliciously.

"Did you forget? I'm a phantom, I can't die!" Diablos mocked.

"Shadow..." Leaf said worriedly. Psycho hesitated for only a moment and Diablos grinned maliciously.

"Go ahead...if you have the guts..." she hissed softly, forming a Shadow Ball in one paw."The Raichu will never go free. You cannot win," she sneered, her yellow eyes gleaming. "But, I have no use for her alive, either. The Pichu will die soon enough!" Diablos laughed, slamming the ghostly orb into her chest, the Shadow Ball detonating and the Raichu's eyes dulled, no longer yellow, as she fell backwards off the bridge into the abyss. Psycho's eyes glowed silver as he desperately tried to prevent the Raichu from falling, to no avail.

"Damn it!" the Espeon snarled, but moments later his expression became impassive, as it normally was. "I'm fine, I'm calm," he said monotonously.

"What are we going to tell the kit?" Leaf asked anxiously. "We can't expect him to take the news of his parents' death well," the Leafeon continued nervously.

"Dragonair and I will tell him later," I said seriously and the Eons glanced at me. "We have to. I promised to take care of him, and it would be Dragonair and my responsibility to tell him. I just need to talk to Dragonair first, so he knows," I said calmly. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Not sure," Leaf admitted. "Shadow might be able to find out, though," he added, taking note of my expression. Before the Espeon could reply, the sounds of several explosions were heard. "What the hell was that?" Leaf asked.


	124. The Full Team Reunites

**Dragonair POV**

"That would be the sound of explosions," Jolt replied with perfect seriousness. Strange giggled quietly, although she was gazing around anxiously. Poli simply looked confused, and Ember was lost in thought. Jolt seemed untroubled, but Kira was whining anxiously. "Calm down, Kira," Jolt whispered gently to the Eevee, and she nodded shakily, rubbing her face against his fur. Doesn't that hurt?

"Are we supposed to investigate or something?" I asked, and the Jolteon nodded. "What's going on, anyway?" I asked Strange. "Why are you two here?"

"Darkness told us that we were needed here, so Psycho brought us here. As luck would have it, we ended up near those two, and they wanted to come as well," Jolt explained. "That new Vaporeon took a different route, those two came this way, and Kira and I followed after a battle with a Geodude. I really hate those, by the way," the Jolteon continued, leading us further through the twists and turns of the cavern passageways. How he knew how to navigate this place, I don't know.

"Aura's here?" Ember asked, slightly surprised.

"I think that's her name, I didn't have much time to talk to her," Jolt replied. "Not sure which way Leaf and Psycho went, since they travel by teleporting. Odds are, Psycho's going after that damned phantom," the Jolteon's tone darkened slightly and he paused to pet Kira's head gently. I tilted my head at him questioningly and he scowled. "I don't want to talk about it, and don't ask Kira. Got it?" he said firmly. Everyone hastily nodded and the Jolteon relaxed.

"Uh...why would Psycho go after Diablos?" Ember asked cautiously. Jolt glanced upwards, thinking carefully.

"To be honest, I don't know. He's got some sort of personal grudge against the phantom. Leaf knows, but he's not talking," Jolt replied finally. "Actually, I don't really know anyone else's reasons for joining the group, since the primary aim was to fight Diablos, and gather information, although we do fight the Rockets and other crime groups," he continued.

"What was your reason for joining?" the Eevee asked curiously.

"Paying back a favor to Psycho," Jolt said promptly. "Frost was a friend of his, but I think he joined to be able to train frequently. Darkness...I don't know anything about her, other than she has a crush on Psycho, which he doesn't reciprocate," he explained.

"That's not what I heard," I said with a small smirk. Jolt and Kira turned and stared at me, resulting in Kira bumping into the rocky wall, prompting her to make a small 'eep' sound. "I don't know any details, but he had an argument with Leaf about calling her 'Dark'..." I said and Jolt snickered.

"He calls her 'Dark'? I know she calls him Shadow, so the clues add up a bit. Psycho will attack anyone who calls him Shadow other than Leaf, and he only tolerates Darkness doing it because she's immune to psychic attacks. She doesn't let anyone call her 'Dark', because it's an "affectionate" nickname. She'd definitely let him do it, since she likes him, but if he actually uses the name, that hints he reciprocates. Huh, wonder how that happened..."

"Jolt, you're rambling," Kira said seriously.

"Not really. Hey, it's an amazing accomplishment if he actually is attracted to a female. Frost was starting to wonder about him..." Jolt continued. "Now Leaf's sort of weird too. He's confident in battle, but not overconfident, which is good. Yet mention anything related to romance or affection and he'll freeze up. Not just freeze up, I mean like be on the verge of passing out. Pity, he's got the best personality of the members of our group," Jolt said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, he looked like he was going to freak out when Ember commented that he was cute," I blurted. The Charmander choked, blushing furiously. Jolt chuckled.

"He just isn't confident when it comes to females. Then again, he's what, like 2 years old? Old enough, but still a bit new. I'd try to set him up, but his personality and a little confidence is all he'd need, so I don't bother," the Jolteon said. "We're here," he said abruptly. We were now standing in a fairly large chamber, with several paths leading from it. There were several marks of devastation scattered throughout the room, including scorch marks and shattered rocks. This was definitely where the explosions had taken place, but the cause of the explosions was unclear.

"Hm," Poli muttered, walking towards the nearest scorched area. Jolt stood near Kira protectively, scanning the room warily. Ember and I moved to a different part of the room, where a chunk of the cave wall had been blown apart.

"What could have caused this much damage?" Strange asked nervously.

"I thought that might lure you here," a voice spoke calmly and the Smeargle from the conference room stepped into view, smirking as he held his green tipped tail casually. "Oh, and it appears as if you added a few additions to your squad. You would be Jolt, and you brought your mate, Kira. Pleased to meet you, but enough of the pleasantries," the Smeargle's eyes flicked over to Poli and Strange and he hesitated. "I don't know you two, however, but it hardly matters right now."

"Where are the Raichus and Blaze's sister?" I demanded impatiently and the Smeargle paused.

"I must confess that I have no idea what is going on right now, which frustrates me as I am the leader of the Cave Army. I expect that Blaze found his sister already, and you just haven't found him. The Raichus' exact location is not known to me, either. Elma knows, but she's not around," Sketch admitted seriously.

"What are you up to?" I demanded angrily.

"Like I'd tell you," Sketch replied with a chuckle, brandishing his tail like a sword. "Blizzard!" The tip of his tail glowed a pale blue and a snowstorm fired from it, striking me painfully, the force of the snow and ice pushing me forcefully backwards.

"How...the...hell...did you...do that?" I panted, shocked. Sketch smiled, but didn't respond.

"Are you okay?" Ember asked me, spitting a fireball at Sketch, but he dodged with minimal effort.

"I'm fine," I grunted, watching the Smeargle carefully. Jolt's fur stiffened into needles and he launched a bolt of electricity at Sketch, who calmly dodged, smirking confidently. Kira whined slightly, backing away from the fight. Strange and Poli likewise seemed keen on staying out of the fight, hinting to me that neither were very good in combat. Ember shrugged and bared her claws, almost gleefully, darting forward to attack the Smeargle at close range. Sketch blinked at her once and then slashed his tail.

"Hidden Power!" he yelled. Orbs of light formed a circle around the Smeargle and then launched themselves at Ember. The Charmander looked startled by this, but rolled out of the way of the attack, one of the orbs striking her despite her evasive maneuver. She grunted in pain, falling to one knee, panting quietly. Sketch nodded and aimed his tail at Jolt. "Hidden Power!" he yelled again, the orbs once again forming and launching themselves at the Jolteon, but he leapt out of range with little difficulty, countering with another electrical attack, but Sketch vanished in a flash of light, reappearing on the other side of the room.

"How can he do that?" Kira asked nervously. I shook my head, not sure of the answer. I had surprisingly little knowledge about Smeargles compared to most Pokémon. The Rockets never considered them worthwhile, but this one was shockingly powerful, so either the specie was stronger than the Rockets knew, or this one was a prodigy of some sort.

"Sketch. It's a technique that allows him to copy another technique, enabling him to use it from then on," a dull, monotonous voice said as the black furred Espeon appeared nearby, accompanied by his Leafeon brother and, to my slight surprise, Sapphire, the female Dragonair was looking troubled by something. Sketch blinked at the new arrivals and frowned slightly.

"How many of you are here?" he demanded.

"Did we miss much?" the female Umbreon asked as she stepped into the room from yet another passageway, accompanied by Aura and Spark. The Smeargle stared at them in disbelief. Jolt was glancing between Psycho and Darkness with an amused grin, even though the two black furred Eons were across the room from each other, and there was nothing remotely humorous about them at all.

"Quite the gathering," Sketch said sarcastically. "Don't mind me, you can catch up on whatever you need to catch up on," he said, leaning against the wall casually, although his confidence had all but vanished at the sight of the 6 newcomers.

"Me want Mommy and Daddy!" Spark yelled, sparks flying from his cheeks. Sapphire winced and gave me a meaningful look. I glanced at her in confusion, unsure of the message she was trying to send me. Leaf seemed uncomfortable about something as well, although Psycho's expression was as impassive as always.

"Where's Blaze?" Aura asked Ember, who was closest to the Vaporeon. Ember hesitated.

"I'm right here!" Blaze's unnaturally harsh voice snarled as he entered the room, glancing at everyone indifferently, one eye still yellow. However, he seemed to have warmed up to Crystal's presence, which I found rather strange considering his attitude not that long ago. I say he warmed up to her because she was sitting next to him, and he has his tail casually wrapped around one of her legs, although paying no attention otherwise. Aura flinched at the sight of the yellow, demonic eye. The Smeargle was staring at the eye in confusion.

"What the hell?" Sketch muttered. "Did you not find your sister? I don't see her with you..." he began, and Blaze snarled, his previously indifferent expression changing to one of sheer rage. Even Darkness, who didn't look like someone that was easily intimidated, backed away nervously at the sight of the Flareon's expression. As quickly as it appeared, the emotion faded and everyone who had not seen Blaze acting like this earlier stared at him anxiously. Even those who had seen Blaze like this earlier seemed uncomfortable by the abrupt shift. Blaze calmly watched Sketch, absently stroking Crystal's back with one paw (to the female Flareon's apparent delight).

"What the heck is going on?" Aura asked, puzzled.


	125. Catching Up

There was a long silence after Aura's question, as everyone glanced around at the other inhabitants, as if expecting them to talk first. And since no one seemed to be talking, this hinted to me that every group was unwilling to discuss whatever the hell happened to them. Sapphire was still casting me meaningful, but unclear, glances and I was starting to wonder what she needed to talk to me about. Leaf was still gazing around uncomfortably, while his Espeon brother seemed completely indifferent. On the other side of the room, Darkness, Aura, and Spark were looking confused at why no one was answering the question.

"Ok then..." Jolt said after another minute or so of the awkward silence. "I'll break the awkward silence with a casual question," he turned to Psycho with a grin, giving me an immediate idea of what he was about to ask. "You and Darkness are an item now?" he asked casually. Psycho blinked at him, then slowly turned and glared at Leaf.

"I didn't tell him that!" the Leafeon protested. Everyone else in the room, except for Blaze, shifted their gaze between the two black Eons. Unlike the Espeon, Darkness seemed completely untroubled by this topic, although she was watching Psycho's reaction with slight amusement.

"Is that a yes?" Jolt asked with a smirk. "How long has that been going on?"

"Couple months," the Umbreon replied with a shrug. Psycho scowled. "What? They already know about it," she said with a slight growl. The Jolteon glanced between them for a few seconds and grinned.

"Ok then, that's out of the way. So, no idea what's up with the Flareon, but we were investigating the explosions and fought Sketchy over there," Jolt said, gesturing towards the Smeargle, which was still leaning against the wall casually, a detail that no one seemed to care about. Why wasn't the Smeargle fleeing or fighting?

"Blaze...are you alright?" Aura asked nervously and the male Flareon glanced at her indifferently, prompting the Vaporeon to flinch again at the sight of the yellow eye. Couldn't blame her for that reaction, since I felt the same way.

"I'm fine," he said harshly, and his tone caused Aura to flinch again. "What's it matter to you?" he added with a slight snarl, but his expression remained emotionless. Aura blinked at him uneasily, but didn't reply, instead glancing towards me questioningly. I shook my head to signify that I had no idea what caused this strange personality change in the male Flareon. Crystal likewise shook her head uncertainly, gently rubbing against Blaze's chest as she did so. Blaze resumed stroking her neck and back, which only added to the surreal situation.

"Okay, what the hell happened to him?" Sketch suddenly demanded, pointing his tail at Blaze. No one answered, other than to shrug or shake their head. Frustrated, Sketch slashed his tail through the air. "Hydro Pump!" A powerful jet of water shot from the tip of the tail and Blaze spat a small fireball in retaliation, which expanded into a Fire Blast. The two attacks met in midair and there was a sizzling sound and large amounts of steam formed as the two attacks neutralized each other. Sketch looked alarmed by this. "Since when did he know Fire Blast?" he demanded irritably.

"You'd be surprised on how strong I can be," Blaze replied harshly. Sapphire raised an eye scale at the Flareon's comment. I frowned slightly, thinking for a moment.

"I wonder..." Aura muttered and sent a jet of water towards Blaze. He dodged it with ease and scowled at her.

"Don't try to drench my fur!" he snapped.

"Why not?" Sketch sneered, brandishing his tail at Blaze.

"Because it took a long time to get it this nice!" Blaze said, his voice much whinier than earlier. Everyone stared at him in confusion. "Stop staring at me!" he said, his voice taking on the harsh qualities that I had gotten accustomed to.

"Blaze, calm down," Crystal urged softly, brushing her tail against him flirtatiously.

"I am calm," Blaze said harshly, although the roughness of the tone was noticeably reduced while talking to her. His expression similarly softened, but only a tiny bit.

"Hidden Power!" Sketch suddenly said, pointing his tail towards Jolt, orbs appearing around the Smeargle before launching towards the Jolteon. Jolt was surprised by this attack, barely managing to dive away from the attack. Sketch redirected his aim and more orbs formed and launched themselves forward. It was then that I noticed that the tail was aimed at Kira, who was trying to stay out of the firing line, rather than at Jolt. The only other one who seemed to have noticed this was Blaze, whose expression flashed to one of pure rage. Before anyone could react, the Flareon leapt in front of the Hidden Power attack, spitting a small fireball, which quickly expanded into a Fire Blast, detonating the Hidden Power orbs as the flames flew towards Sketch, who teleported out of the way.

"Don't ever try that again!" Blaze snarled, glaring at the Smeargle hatefully.

"So my aim was off. No harm, no foul, right?" Sketch asked with a small flinch as he gazed back at the ultra pissed Flareon. Not sure how he expected to defuse the situation with that comment, since it seemed to have the opposite effect. Blaze scowled darkly, lunging at Sketch and snapping his fangs at him. Sketch narrowly dodged, looking worried now.

"What's he that upset about?" Darkness asked uncertainly, while Spark hid his face behind Aura. Jolt seemed confused as well.

"Shouldn't I be the one that gets that upset?" he asked, looking at Psycho and Leaf. Kira hid behind Jolt anxiously, and he petted her head comfortingly. Ember suddenly looked troubled by something and she walked over to me.

"Dragonair, I think I know what he's upset about," she whispered urgently.

"What?" I asked, raising an eye scale at her curiously.

"Earlier, I noticed his expression changed anytime his sister was mentioned, and anytime he saw a female Eevee," Ember whispered quietly. "And he just got really upset when a female Eevee was attacked..." she trailed off uncertainly. I paused, thinking about what she had said and then winced.

"It's a high possibility. But even if something did happen to her, it doesn't explain why his personality changed so much, or the eye..." now it was my turn to trail off, wracking my brain for an answer to the biggest question: the eye. Poli had suggested that Blaze was repressing something, and if something had happened to his sister, perhaps that was what he was repressing. The personality change seemed a bit extreme, though. No one I knew changed their personality from easygoing to a completely different one and attacked their friends with little provocation. Wait, that sounds familiar...

"I'm not sure. The personality could be something messing up his thinking, and the eye could be related to that," Ember said thoughtfully, watching as Blaze slowly approached the worried Smeargle, teeth bared to strike. "I have a thought, but it's risky," she said, more to herself than to me. I glanced at her curiously, noticing how she was staring at her claws, with a mixture of fear and hope.

"What are you thinking?" I asked her cautiously. Ember closed her eyes, the way one might prepare themselves to face a fear.

"Blaze!" she called suddenly, spitting a fireball towards the Flareon, the ball of flame missing, but attracting his attention.

"What do you want?" he demanded harshly, seething angrily.

"What happened to your sister?" Ember asked calmly. Blaze flinched, his expression quickly changing from enraged to completely calm and he stared at Ember emotionlessly, not saying a word in reply. "Well?" Ember persisted, staring Blaze in the eye. The room had gone deathly silent, everyone watching the two fire types nervously. Sketch seized this opportunity and teleported, but since he didn't reappear in the room, I assume he left. Blaze said nothing, just stared at Ember emotionlessly.

"Blaze?" Crystal said timidly, but he ignored her, even when she rubbed against him affectionately.

"Shut up," Blaze said in a venomous tone.

"What happened, Blaze?" Ember repeated and the male Flareon twitched. "It does no good to bottle things up."

"Shut up!" Blaze repeated just as venomously, taking an aggressive step closer to the Charmander, but Ember stood her ground.

"Why won't you say?" Ember asked calmly. "If she's dead, it does no good to..."

"SHUT UP!" Blaze shouted furiously. "You claim to be a friend, but you take delight in my suffering! You won't leave me alone when I want to be alone!" His yellow eye seemed even more intimidating than normal, more demonic than before, and he bared his fangs threateningly.

"Blaze, you're only hurting yourself by withdrawing into yourself like you've been doing," Ember told him seriously, baring her claws and assuming a defensive stance. "You've let something mess up your thinking, just as I did. You may be comforted for now, but it'll come back to haunt you, I promise you," she said, and her eyes took on a slightly feral look, her claws glowing with a purple aura.

"Well, this should be...interesting," I said. Ember hadn't used Shadow Claw since her emotional episode a while back. I only hoped that this time she would be able to control herself and not go into a random rage. Because two raging fire types with twisted mindsets would be too much to handle.


	126. Breaking Free of Darkness

"Interesting? How so?" Jolt asked, shooting me an odd look. "What's going on?"

"Honestly, I'm a bit lost also, but Ember looks like she's going to fight Blaze," I explained. "And she's got that wild look in her eyes, the same look she had when she was having some sort of emotional issues a while back. Sort of hard to explain that incident, really," I admitted.

"I remember that," Aura said, walking over to us, glancing anxiously at the two fire types. From across the room, Crystal was looking confused and a little upset. "She was a bit frightening then, but thankfully she got over it," the Vaporeon said.

"Is that supposed to frighten me?" Blaze demanded indifferently, still advancing upon the stationary Charmander. Ember glared back, her expression one of anger and some emotion I couldn't read, her eyes wild and angry.

"Your fear is not needed," Ember said with a snarl. "You think you're so tough? Prove it," she hissed. The way she spoke reminded me of the incident, and I flinched slightly. She had somehow managed to change her personality again, and the effect was worrisome. Blaze blinked and then spat a fireball at her, the flames expanding into the now familiar Fire Blast. Ember chuckled darkly and raised one paw, which glowed with the fiery blue aura of Dragon Claw. She then slammed the paw into the Fire Blast, wincing slightly as the attacks met, but it seemed to have worked, the Fire Blast was partially neutralized, allowing her to walk forward through the fire with minimal damage. Blaze's eyes widened in alarm, and he took a step backwards before managing to control himself.

"Odd, the repression is not limited to only the thoughts of conflict, but all emotion in general..." Poli muttered and I glanced at him questioningly. "All emotions seem to be blocked, except for the particularly powerful emotions, but those are quickly repressed. It's as if the emotional part of his mind isn't working properly, but what could cause that?" he said.

"Which part of the mind is the emotional part?" I asked, not having a clue what Poli was rambling about. Well, I had a clue, but it was about as clear as the glances Sapphire kept giving me. I made a mental note to ask her about those as soon as possible.

"I don't remember," the Poli whatever admitted. I rolled my eyes, turning my attention back to the two fire types. Blaze lunged at Ember, snapping his teeth at her. The Charmander sidestepped quickly, swiping her claws at the Flareon, catching his fur slightly.

"My fur!" Blaze complained in a slightly whiny voice, examining the small gash. "I worked hard to get it so shiny and fluffy!" he whined. Ember smirked indifferently and Blaze growled, lunging at her abruptly and knocking her backwards. Ember rolled back to her feet, swiping at him with her claws engulfed in the purple aura, but Blaze blocked the swipe with one arm, staring at her coldly. The Charmander stabbed at him with her other paw, but he blocked that as well. Ember next slammed her head forward, striking the Flareon in the face and knocking him down forcefully.

"You fight well, but I'm better," Ember said quietly. "You know why? Because I'm not withdrawing into myself like an idiot. If you continue the way you are, you'll destroy yourself. You'll isolate yourself from everyone who gives a damn about you, and no one will be able to help you before you do something rash. I know what I'm talking about!" she snarled. I winced slightly, knowing what she was referring to.

"You can't possibly understand!" Blaze said coldly, crawling to his feet and glaring at her.

"Can't understand what? I know what it's like to feel like you're alone, that no one cares. I've tried the trick of not even trying to have friends, to push everyone away so that it won't be so bad to be alone. It doesn't work, Blaze. I know what it's like to be looked down on for no reason, to be mocked, to want to prove how strong you are so they will finally respect you," Ember continued angrily. "If something happened to your sister, you're doing yourself no favors by abandoning everyone else you care about. Because the pain won't leave that easily. You can dull it for now, but it'll be back and worse than before!"

"SHUT UP!" Blaze shouted. "I don't need you telling me how to feel!" the Flareon lunged at Ember again, but she dodged out of the way, jabbing her claws at him, but he blocked.

"You need to get over it," Ember commented. "You can't change the past. I can't change mine, but rather than feel sorry for myself, I live on, and you should do the same!" she snarled. Blaze ignored her, and she scowled. "If you won't listen to reason, then you'll listen to my claws! And when I'm done, I'll know I've moved on from my own fears," she studied the glowing claws and smiled briefly. "Leave the past behind. Live in the present. Live for the future," she said calmly. Blaze hesitated for a moment, his eyes glazing over for a short time. After a minute of silence, his gaze refocused, but his expression remained unchanged.

"I...can't," Blaze said weakly, but almost immediately regained his harsh, intimidating stature. "I can't let you mess with my head!" he growled. Ember chuckled darkly and the Flareon's scowl deepened.

"Looks like you've already let Diablos get to you, like I did," she said quietly. "Don't let him control you. Everything he told you is false," she insisted.

"I'm not being manipulated and I won't let you try it, either!" the Flareon snapped harshly. He spat another Fire Blast towards Ember, but she ducked underneath the incoming flames, rolling to her feet once clear of the fire and slashed at Blaze, her claws glowing purple. Blaze sidestepped the blow and clamped his teeth on her left arm, Ember wincing in pain and anger. She punched the Flareon with her free paw, stunning him a moment, giving her time to swipe him twice with her unpowered claws, leaving shallow scratches across his cheek. He flinched, tenderly touching the wounds and looking at the trickle of blood on his paw when he withdrew the paw.

"The pain you feel now is nothing to the pain you'll feel if you don't let it out. It will intensify, harming you from within, like a poison," Ember hissed angrily. "We're alike, yet different. And I know something that little yellow eyed Flareon doesn't want you to know..." she said with a smirk. Blaze visibly flinched, and his eyes glazed over.

"What's she talking about?" Jolt asked, staring at Crystal, who had blue eyes, and then Blaze, who still had one eye yellow, the other brown. I was reminded of the Mind Reader that Poli had done, and narrowed my eyes thoughtfully. One of the figures in Blaze's mind was a yellow eyed Flareon. And now that Ember had mentioned it...yellow eyes...it brought back a memory from a long time ago, from after our first encounter with Diablos. A yellow eyed Dragonair in a large room with no ways in or out. I hadn't realized it at the time it happened, and hadn't thought about it this time.

"Is that even possible?" I muttered to myself. Could the phantom control a specific portion of the mind, but not control the entire body? If he could, that logically could mean he could control a person's thought process. But what did this mean exactly? My thoughts drifted to what Poli had said about Blaze's emotional part of his mind possibly being off. If Diablos somehow managed to control Blaze's emotions and manipulate other parts of the mind...why would he do that? I would have thought it'd be easier to just possess Blaze, rather than this larger ordeal.

"What?" Blaze demanded, his harsh tone slightly diminished, but still present. Ember's feral eyes stared back at Blaze for several seconds before she spoke.

"She's the one encouraging you to seek shelter within yourself, and telling you that we're trying to deceive you, while trying to gain your trust. If you trust a liar, you're being deceived," Ember said with a harsh note to her voice.

"But..." Blaze muttered, his harsh tone all but gone.

"Just tell us what happened!" Ember ordered fiercely, brandishing her claws threateningly. Blaze whimpered slightly. Crystal walked over to the male Flareon slowly and sat down next to him, brushing her tail against him gently. He glanced up at her briefly and then averted his gaze, almost shamefully.

"I can't..." Blaze said quietly. "I just can't..."

"Is she dead?" Ember demanded impatiently. Blaze nodded and whimpered quietly, a mixture of whimpering and sobbing, really. Ember nodded slightly and then winced, falling to one knee weakly, panting hard. I stared at her worriedly, but noticed that the feral expression had vanished from her eyes, although I also noted that Blaze's eerie yellow eye hadn't faded at all. "Oh, that tired me out like hell..." she grumbled irritably.

"It's a little progress," Poli said with a shrug. "Oh and I'm a Poli..." he abruptly made a choking sound and his voice broke off.

"No one cares," a voice said quietly and I turned to face the speaker and stared at it blankly for a few moments. It looked a little bit like a clown with large hands, and I knew the specie as a Mr. Mime, although I rarely ever saw them.

"I thought mimes were supposed to be silent," I commented impulsively. The psychic type smiled slightly, and then mimed several things I don't plan to describe. "Ok, now my turn to mime something," I said and then slammed my tail into the psychic type's face. Immediately afterwards, a psychic force threw me backwards into the cavern wall, stunning me.

"I'll take him," Leaf volunteered, stepping towards the Mr. Mime.

"You'll need more, Leafeon. Much more," a voice commented and several beings appeared in the room, effectively surrounding us all. I recognized the Scyther, Beautifly, and Farfetch'd from earlier, as well as Nightslash and Shock.

"Oh damn..." I muttered.


	127. Cave Brawl

**Ember POV**

I glanced up, still panting from exhaustion, and blinked in alarm. In a matter of moments, several Pokémon had appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Judging by the reactions of the others, the appearance of several foes had taken them by surprise as well. I hoped that none of them would go after me, since I was too tired to fight more. It was a little frightening how much energy I had used up to fight Blaze, especially since the fight was short lived. Although it seemed to have been worth it, as Blaze seemed to have snapped out of his weird attitude, although he was currently sobbing quietly while Crystal was trying to comfort him, so I doubted either of them was in any condition to fight, either.

"Me scared! Where Mommy and Daddy?" Spark wailed, clinging to the Umbreon, the dark Eon looking slightly alarmed by the kit's behavior, but focused her attention on the Farfetch'd, which was the enemy nearest to her and Spark. Aura and Dragonair seemed mutually interested in the Mr. Mine that was standing near them. The Jolteon and Eevee were warily watching the Ampharos. Leaf and Psycho were watching the Scyther. The Beautifly and, to my horror, Nightslash seemed to be staying back a little bit, merely observing the situation, although the Beautifly seemed interested in Poli and Strange. Three guesses who Nightslash was paying attention to. Sapphire floated over to Spark and Darkness, probably with the intention of protecting the Pichu in case anyone tried to attack him.

"Is that all?" Dragonair asked loudly and the Sneasel chuckled softly.

"You may outnumber us for now, but I wouldn't underestimate our group. Come on, let's see what you can do," Nightslash said calmly, pointing to the Beautifly. "You take the Oddish. Her strategy revolves around Sleep Powder, so you're better situated to take her out. Tryce, I'll take the Espeon, you deal with the Leafeon and Poliwhirl," Nightslash said. The Scyther nodded, raising its blades in a dramatic pose.

"I KNEW IT!" Dragonair shouted triumphantly. Everyone turned and gave him a strange look, but he seemed oblivious to the stares. "Ha-ha, who's the crazy snake now?"

"Don't ask. Please...just don't ask," Strange urged the Beautifly, who had moved towards her to fight and was wearing a completely confused look.

"Twin Swords!" the Scyther shouted, his blades glowing brightly as he darted at Poli, who countered with a jet of water, but the Scyther leapt over the water stream, slashing both blades quickly, striking him in the chest and throwing him to the ground, blood seeping from the wounds, although he didn't seem too badly injured. This attack seemed to signal to everyone else that it was time to start the fight, and Darkness ran forward, striking the Farfetch'd with one paw, causing it to stumble. Before she could press the attack, the Farfetch'd slammed its stick thing onto the cavern floor, helping it to regain its balance. It then slammed the leek into the Umbreon's face, causing her to recoil, clutching her muzzle.

"Leave her alone!" Jolt snarled to the Ampharos, who had just sent a bolt of electricity at the Eevee, narrowly missing. His fur stiffened into needles, which launched themselves in a flurry towards Shock, the Ampharos countering with a large burst of electricity, triggering an explosion as the attacks met. Despite this, the Jolteon lunged forward, striking the Ampharos with his paw repeated in the gut and face, forcing the electric type backwards.

"I expected a Pokémon with your reputation to be stronger, Psycho," Nightslash said softly as he swiped a claw at the black furred Espeon, which dodged with ease, but scowled slightly. "Oh right, you depend on your psychic abilities to win battles, and I have an advantage in that respect," the Sneasel continued, smirking, flinging some shards of ice from his claws.

"Don't count me out yet. I've beaten Dark types before," the Espeon replied emotionlessly, teleporting out of the way of Nightslash's Ice Shard attack. The Scyther had changed targets from the downed Poliwhirl to Leaf, who was sending regular flurries of razor edged leaves towards the Scyther, but the bladed bug Pokémon was fast enough to consistently dodge.

"Quick Slash! Hyper Stab!" the Scyther yelled, slashing at Leaf and then jabbing. Leaf managed to dove out of the way of both attacks, whipping a small vine at the Scyther, but it was blocked by a bladed arm. "Lawnmower!" Tryce said, rapidly slashing his blades at the grass Eon, several of the blows leaving red marks across Leaf's fur. He grunted slightly, but stared back at the Scyther without fear, a detail that seemed to confuse the bug Pokémon.

"That all?" Leaf asked, panting slightly. Tryce stared at him in disbelief before doing another rapid series of slashes, but Leaf vanished, reappearing several feet to the side, lashing out with a vine, which he managed to loop around both blades and tighten the bond. "Quick Attack and Grass Knot," Leaf explained as his tail glowed a vibrant green and he spun slightly, bringing the glowing leaf-tail down upon the Scyther's back. The Scyther winced in pain, breaking free of the vine and attempting to retaliate, but a jet of water struck him from behind, knocking him forwards to the ground. "Thanks," Leaf told Poli, who nodded.

Meanwhile, Dragonair was sending Thunderbolts towards the Mr. Mime, who calmly blocked them all by miming an invisible wall, said invisible wall somehow being solid enough to actually block the bolts of electricity. Aura was sending semi-transparent multi-colored beams at the psychic type, but these attacks were also stopped by the mimed wall. Darkness has regained her composure and was spitting Shadow Balls at the Farfetch'd, which was now attempting to dodge the attacks, either by moving or by blocking the orbs of ghostly energy with his leek. The Umbreon growled slightly, undoubtedly annoyed by how well the bird Pokémon was evading the attacks.

"Not so easy, is it?" the Beautifly asked casually, flapping her wings to blow away the Sleep Powder that Strange had released. She followed up by forming a long string, binding Strange's legs and tugging, knocking the Oddish off her feet. Next, the Beautifly flapped her wings in an odd manner, strange white energy flying from the wings, striking the helpless Oddish repeatedly. I winced slightly as Strange collapsed weakly under the Silver Wind barrage.

"Nicely done, Elma," Nightslash praised, grunting as a stream of golden star-shaped energy struck him in the shoulder, Psycho seemed to be slowly gaining an advantage over the Sneasel, although Nightslash wasn't backing away. Elma nodded and sent another wave of the strange energy, this time at the Espeon, but he teleported out of the way, glaring slightly at the Beautifly and firing a Psybeam at her. Nightslash leapt in front of the attack, smirking at Psycho smugly. "You're not accomplishing a thing with this, Psycho," he said seriously.

"We'll see," the Espeon replied monotonously, the silver gem on his forehead glowing as he fired another stream of the star shaped energy, but Nightslash threw shards of ice from his claws, countering the Swift attack, creating a brief series of explosions. It was clear to me that that stalemate wasn't going anywhere. I glanced towards Darkness and the Farfetch'd again and smirked as the Umbreon pointed at something behind the Farfetch'd, a look of alarm on her face. The bird Pokémon glanced back, saw nothing, and turned back to the Umbreon in time to get punched in the face and one wing bitten, practically crippling him. That fight wasn't going to last much longer, that much was clear. Sapphire seemed to be trying to comfort Spark, who was whimpering, clearly agitated.

"Night Slash!" the Sneasel hissed, his claws glowing with a black aura and he swiped viciously at the Espeon, the claw attack knocking the psychic Eon backwards into the cavern wall and he hit the ground limply, struggling to stand back up. "Looks like another loss for you, Psycho," Nightslash said calmly. "The honor is yours, Elma," he said to the Beautifly before turning away from the weakened Espeon, walking across the room and standing next to me. I glared at him irritably, growling slightly. "Relax, precious," he said softly.

"Get the hell away from me," I ordered and he rolled his eyes and didn't move. "Seriously, get away from me or I'll really, really hurt you," I said with a small snarl.

"Mood swings are typical this time of year," Nightslash commented casually and my eye twitched angrily. "By the way, I noticed you checking out that Leafeon," he said, pointing towards Leaf. I flushed slightly, but not because I had been checking him out (I'd never admit doing that; I'm not Dragonair, after all).

"What's your point?" I growled and he chuckled.

"I'm just making small talk, taking a breather from the battles and all," he replied and I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. He chuckled again, glancing around the room at the various battles. Jolt seemed to have lost his advantage against Shock, who was firing beams of energy from the gem on his forehead, forcing the Jolteon away from him. Kira seemed to be trying desperately to stay out of the fighting, which told me that she wasn't a very good fighter.

"This is getting good," Sketch said as he reappeared in the room, along with one of the Sableyes, which I determined was Gem, judging by the lack of the tarot deck. Both glanced around, probably determining the status of the fighters. "Gem, retrieve Nonsense," Sketch ordered and the Sableye seized the fallen Farfetch'd and they both vanished, the Sableye returning a few moments later. "And also Elma," the Smeargle sighed as Psycho fired a close range Psybeam, hitting the Beautifly and the butterfly Pokémon collapsed. Gem rolled his gem eyes, but complied, returning seconds later.

"Anyone else?" he asked with a trace of annoyance.

"No, that'll do unless the others get beaten," Sketch replied indifferently.

"Sketch, I'll take you," Psycho said, teleporting across the room to appear before the Smeargle. Sketch grinned confidently.

"The leader of the Eon group Vs. the Cave Army leader. This should be fresh," Gem said, sounding slightly amused.


	128. Wrapping Up the Brawl

"It might be a real challenge," Sketch agreed quietly, holding his tail with one paw and pointing it at the Espeon. "I guess we'll see, won't we? Hydro Pump!" the green tip of the Smeargle's tail glowed blue and a large jet of water shot from the tail. Psycho teleported out of the way, reappearing beside Sketch and his silver eyes glowed, the Smeargle was engulfed in psychic energy and hurled forcefully against the cavern wall. The stray Hydro Pump hit Aura, who looked startled by the sudden jet of water, but didn't seem to mind as her body absorbed the water.

"Thank you!" Dragonair called to Sketch, who shook his head, slightly dazed. Dragonair fired an Ice Beam at the Mr. Mime, but the beam was still blocked by the invisible barrier. He scowled irritably, while the Mr. Mime grinned obnoxiously from behind the barrier that Dragonair and Aura had been attacking the entire fight. I don't think they've made any progress yet. Next, I looked towards the other part of the room, where Shock and Jolt were still exchanging attacks from a distance, the Ampharos' Power Gem attacks keeping the Jolteon at bay. Kira had managed to sneak away from the fight and was using Sapphire as shelter, the female Dragonair protecting Spark from any stray attacks. The Umbreon was engaged in battle with Gem, the Sableye focused more on avoiding her attacks than fighting back.

"Surprise Swipe!" the Scyther suddenly yelled, having broken out of the vines that Leaf had tied his blades with, and using said blades to slash the Leafeon's side. Poli sent a jet of water at Tryce, but he dodged nimbly, smirking at the Poliwhirl. Leaf glowed green for a few seconds, his injuries fading rapidly.

"Synthesis," Leaf explained to the bewildered Scyther, sending a flurry of razor edged leaves, but Tryce dodged speedily, swiping at Poli and knocking the water type to the ground.

"Speed Slice!" Tryce yelled, moving in a blur of motion and bringing both blades around to slash at Leaf, but Leaf rolled to the side, rising to his feet and launching another flurry of Razor Leaves directly into the bladed insect's back. Although the Scyther's body seemed too armored to do any serious damage, the impact threw him forward, but it rose back up just as quickly. "Grass Trimming!" The Scyther lunged forward, swinging his blades in a flurry of motion, striking Leaf multiple times, despite the Leafeon's best efforts to dodge. After several seconds, Leaf collapsed, bleeding profusely from the various cuts upon his body, but he glowed green again, the wounds healing rapidly.

"You okay?" Jolt called back anxiously to Leaf, dodging another attack from the Ampharos.

"I'll be fine," Leaf said, but he seemed to be tiring, while Tryce showed no such weakness.

"Twin Swords!" Tryce yelled, both blades flashing brightly as he brought them down upon the weakening grass Eon. Leaf lashed out a vine, wrapping the Scyther around its waist and tugging, throwing the Scyther off balance, the blades grazing him rather than directly striking him, although the lesser wounds still bled, the blood starting to stain his tan fur.

"Eh, I needed a bath soon anyway," Leaf said casually, noticing the stains. His tail glowed brightly and he spun, striking the Scyther in the chest with the Leaf Blade attack, the insect Pokémon grunting in pain. Leaf followed up by slamming a paw into the Scyther's face, further dazing the bladed Pokémon. "And now..." he muttered, plucking a piece of grass from his fur and putting one end in his mouth and softly blowing into it. A strange, soothing melody began to play and everyone blinked a moment, glancing over at the Leafeon, who was fiddling with the grass a little bit while playing. The melody wasn't very powerful, but I still felt myself relax slightly.

"Isn't Grasswhistle supposed to put us to sleep?" Dragonair asked, raising an eye scale. "It's not working," he added. Leaf stopped playing and slammed his paw into the Scyther's face one more, the bug Pokémon almost immediately slumping to the ground, unconscious.

"My Grasswhistle isn't very powerful. I use it as a relaxation tool, not a weapon," he explained. "Someday it might be good enough to put someone to sleep, but until then it's a nice distraction and sleeping aid," he added. Dragonair nodded and slammed his tail into the Mr. Mime's face; the psychic type seemed to have lost its focus when Leaf had played the tune, which seemed to have removed the invisible barrier. Aura took this opportunity to fire a jet of water, hitting the psychic type before it could counterattack, and shoving it against the wall. Dragonair launched a Thunderbolt, which shocked the Mr. Mime into unconsciousness, the shock conducted by the water.

"Gem, two more down," Sketch said, almost dismissively. The Sableye dodged another Shadow Ball from Darkness and teleported to seize the Scyther and Mr. Mime before vanishing, returning several moments later, without the unconscious Pokémon.

"You know, I expected a tougher battle," Dragonair said snidely.

"You know, Sketch...I notice your Guardians really aren't that tough. Tryce is the best, but he lost to the Leafeon. Elma beat the Oddish, but lost to Psycho. And Nonsense got beaten rather easily by the Umbreon," Nightslash commented from his place next to me (to my continued annoyance).

"They lose to the Eon group. Not that surprising, considering their reputation," Sketch replied indifferently, and then grinned. "I'll wrap this up, Psycho. Shadow Force!" his tail glowed brightly and he vanished, causing the black furred Espeon to blink.

"Shadow Force?" he repeated monotonously. "I've never heard of that before..." he muttered, looking around carefully. A few moments later, the Smeargle reappeared, striking Psycho while engulfed in black fire, the Espeon grunting in pain, the impact throwing him backwards with shocking power, the psychic Eon striking a pillar in the room, slumping to the ground weakly.

"Shadow?" Darkness asked, sounding a little anxious. Sketch chuckled quietly and the Umbreon's rings glowed a brilliant blue color, her red eyes gleaming slightly. "You'll pay for that!" she growled angrily. The Smeargle flinched slightly, but shrugged a moment later, brandishing his tail threateningly.

"Come on, show me what you've got. Hidden Power!" he shouted, glowing orbs surrounding him and then firing themselves at Darkness, but she dodged quickly, growling and lunging forward, snapping her fangs at the Smeargle, but he dodged quickly, looking worried for a moment.

"A general rule, Sketch, is not to injure an Umbreon's mate in front of said Umbreon!" Nightslash commented, grinning slightly. "Same rule applies to a Dragonair's mate, but not as worrisome," he added as an afterthought. Dragonair spat a Flamethrower at the Sneasel and I punched Nightslash in the face, distracting him from the incoming fire attack. It was oddly satisfying to see the look of shock on the Sneasel's face as the fire struck him. I was tempted to add my own fire to the mix, but ultimately restrained myself, turning my focus onto the two Flareons nearby.

"You feeling any better, Blaze?" I asked and the male Flareon glanced towards me. I noticed he still had the single yellow eye, but other than that he seemed normal (aside from looking extremely upset).

"A little," he said awkwardly, wiping his eyes miserably. Crystal sighed and patted him on the back consolingly. I decided not to ask, instead looking around the room carefully. Leaf, Dragonair, Aura, and Poli were fighting Gem, who was lazily blocking all their attacks, but making no efforts to counterattack. Jolt had regained the advantage against Shock and was attacking mercilessly, although still not able to get too close. I was a bit surprised on how difficult the battle seemed to be, but that could be because they both couldn't really use electric attacks. Darkness and Sketch continued their battle, the Smeargle desperately trying to keep the female Umbreon at bay, without any long term success. Kira, Sapphire, and Spark were watching the three battles, but staying clear of the fighting itself.

"I'm going to take a small walk. I want to get out of range of any fighting," I told Crystal, but the female Flareon frowned slightly.

"Someone should go with you, just to be safe," she said seriously. I decided not to comment that she had earlier gone down a pathway without telling anyone, although I had followed her in that case.

"I will. I could use a walk," Blaze said, getting to his feet. "You stay here, to let someone know if we aren't back soon," he said. Crystal opened her mouth to protest, but Blaze stopped her by lightly licking her cheek, startling her into silence. "Let's go, Ember," he said quickly, and I led the way down one of the passageways.

"We won't go too far," I said seriously, and he shrugged.

"Thanks..." he said awkwardly."For helping me," he said uncomfortably.

"No problem," I replied. "Dragonair did the same for me," I said and then stopped suddenly, the Flareon bumping into me.

"Hey!" he complained. "Why'd you stop?" he whined and I took a few steps forward into a room. It was smaller than the chamber we had just left, but large, nevertheless. "Are you ignoring me?" Blaze asked, with a trace of bitterness.

"No, sorry," I said, pointing to what had attracted my attention. A larger, bipedal red lizard with a large flame on its tail stood in the rear of this new room, a horn on its head. What had attracted my attention, however, was a small scar over her left eye, and a second scar under her right eye. Blaze looked confused.

"It's a Charmeleon, so what?" he asked, anxiously watching the fire lizard, which smiled slightly.

"Ember, is it?" the female Charmeleon said, raising her eye scale at me. I scowled at her angrily.

"That's me," I said coldly. Blaze looked even more confused now, as if that was possible.

"You two know each other?" he asked nervously, looking between us curiously. I nodded, narrowing my eyes at the Charmeleon.

"Unfortunately. She's my mom," I said seriously.


	129. Why Ember Hates Charmeleons

"You lost me," Blaze said blankly. "Why is that a bad thing?" he asked, glancing between us uncertainly. I didn't reply immediately and he growled irritably. "Stop ignoring me!" he whined, prompting me to glance over at him.

"I'm not ignoring you. Let's just say there's a long list of why my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms," I said calmly, glaring hatefully at the female Charmeleon, who stared back at me with a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Nice to see you, too," the Charmeleon said sarcastically, her tone irritating me further.

"Just shut up," I growled and she chuckled quietly. She knew why I had a reason to hate her as much as I did.

"Why the hostility?" she asked me and I spat a fireball in her direction, mentally cursing myself for the pointless attack. My mom calmly batted the fireball aside, chuckling again. "Was that all? You clearly inherited your father's firepower," she said with a small smirk. My eye twitched slightly. "How is he, anyway?" she asked dismissively.

"He's dead, damn you!" I snapped. The Charmeleon shrugged indifferently and I growled angrily. Blaze looked alarmed by my sudden aggression, backing away slightly. "It's your freaking fault!"

"And how did you come to that conclusion?" the Charmeleon asked, almost mockingly. "If I recall, I wasn't even there," she said calmly.

"That was the damn problem! You abandoned us!" I snarled.

"So what? I was tired of dealing with you two," she said indifferently and my eye twitched again. "You seem to have survived, more than I expected of that worthless little brat I left behind," she said and I spat another fireball at her, which she batted aside dismissively once again.

"How can you say that?" I demanded, panting slightly. "How could you not care what happened to Dad and me?"

"Face it, Ember, I never wanted you. Didn't really want him, either," she said seriously and I blinked in shock, staring at the Charmeleon in disbelief. How can anyone say that to their daughter?

"How...?" I breathed, too shocked at this announcement to form a complete sentence.

"I never wanted a kit. Useless little brats that do nothing except make work. Your father had nothing impressive about him, either. I didn't want you, didn't want him," she said coldly.

"Then...why did...?" I whispered, still staring at her in horror. She laughed, as if I had just made a joke. I stared at her blankly and she grinned at me mockingly.

"Mating season, kiddo. Very challenging to control your hormones and these things can happen, you know. Your father was...available. I only kept him around so I wouldn't have to suffer during the season," she replied and I blinked.

"But...my birthday's in December," I said, raising an eye scale in confusion. My mom chuckled again, the sound infuriating me further.

"There are brief little flashes now and then throughout the year, surely you know that," she said mockingly, then grimaced. "Ugh, and your father was so thrilled when he found out, even though I had told him repeatedly that I didn't want a kit. Stupid idiot, he made the whole ordeal worse with his enthusiasm. It was very fun to just beat him randomly and blame it on hormones, and he put up with it. Then again, I'm a Charmeleon and he was a Charmander. Not much he could do about it anyway," she sneered.

"Why the hell did you abuse him after I hatched, then?" I snapped furiously. I could remember, almost like a dream, the sounds of fighting, and my father comforting me while sporting several injuries. This was a frequent occurrence, often enough to be one of the major memories of my childhood. I forever hated my mother, and all Charmeleons, for this and for her abandoning us randomly. It was a miracle I had survived the abandonment, even though my dad had not.

"Because he was annoying, you were annoying, and I hated you both. But I was stuck with you, all because of damned hormones," she replied coldly. "I'd say the only good thing was that he was a Charmander, so you were still a purebred, detestable as it was to have a kit in the first place. That Flareon better not be your mate, because it would disgust me if you broke the blood chain," she said, gesturing to Blaze contemptuously. The Flareon blinked in confusion.

"He's not, but I'll break it if I want to," I replied coldly. "I'm not going to limit myself to please a mother who never loved me, never cared for me. If I find a good Charmander mate, good for the precious blood chain. If I find a different species that I like more, good for me. It's my happiness that counts, not some Mew damned ideal!" I yelled.

"I cared enough not to beat the hell out of you whenever you cried, and it was so damn tempting. Instead I beat that worthless male, who was too weak and cowardly to fight back," my mom snarled.

"Shut up about Dad! He was a better parent than you ever were, better than you could ever hope to be!" I retorted angrily, tears flowing from my eyes in my anger.

"You're such a brat, just like you were as a kit. I never wanted to be a parent, and your darling little father was a fool enthusiast who couldn't even take care of you," my mom said dismissively. "And he died, so he was too weak, unworthy of me, anyway," she added and I growled.

"You don't have a clue what you're talking about, so shut up!" I snapped. My mom laughed, the sound fueling my fury. "He wasn't weak!" I shouted.

"What, did he die to save your life, wittle Ember? Some pathetic heroic death? Self preservation is the smart choice over dying for a worthless little brat," she sneered. "Or maybe he drowned trying to catch a fish, he was as inept at that as he was with everything else," she snickered.

"Don't let her get to you," Blaze whispered to me, noting my enraged expression. As valuable as this advice was, I wasn't in the mood to even try to follow it.

"How can I not? She's my mother who abandoned me and my dad when I was a kit, after abusing him relentlessly. Why? Because she couldn't take the extra work of raising a kit!" I growled.

"You've never had a mate, have you?" my mom mocked suddenly and I hesitated, unsure of how to answer this accusation. "You've suffered during the mating season, then. You'll face the same problem as me one day, and you might be unlucky and have an unwanted child," she sneered. "Then you'll see things like I did, plus the male will probably flee or be overly enthusiastic about it, it might even be a male you despise and were just unlucky to meet during that time. You'll be just like me," she said coldly.

"I will never be like you," I vowed. "Never. I wouldn't abandon my mate or kit just because it's inconvenient. If it's a male I don't like, I'd have employed a concept you apparently never heard of. It's called self-control. Here's how it works...you control yourself. Sounds simple enough, really," I snarled, and the Charmeleon flinched. "And it's simple enough to do, too. I've seen attractive males, but I have self-control. I don't jump the nearest one because he's 'available'."

"Why are we talking about this?" Blaze asked, blushing slightly. I really did ignore him this time, but he didn't seem to notice, too distracted by trying to block out the uncomfortable conversation.

"You abused Dad and abandoned us to die, just because you couldn't handle a little responsibility. Dad eventually died, but I lived. And I'll make you pay," I snarled. "I'll make you take responsibility for what you did to us. And I get to take my hatred of Charmeleons to the source. I know that you're the reason I hate them," I said coldly.

"You don't stand a chance against me," my mom sneered, readying her claws. "Fire attacks are useless, so we'll use close combat," she said smugly. I smirked to myself. My mom had no idea I spent the last 5 years training in claw combat.

"You may be a Charmeleon, but I wouldn't underestimate me. I've beaten Charmeleons before," I warned. My mom shrugged indifferently.

"I've got more experience than you, plus I'm bigger and stronger. If you evolved, you might actually have a chance," she said.

"I'll never evolve. I never want to," I said coldly. "I'm strong enough as I am, and the idea of even resembling you disgusts me, almost as much as it disgusts me to actually see you." The Charmeleon's eye twitched slightly, but she laughed a moment later.

"I think I'll enjoy this," she hissed.

"I was about to say the same thing," I retorted. "Let's do this!"


	130. Personal Battle

I glared at the Charmeleon, flexing my claws as I waited for her reaction. My mom smiled smugly, slowly walking towards me, her own claws readied to strike. I knew she was older, stronger, and more experienced than I was, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I had devoted over half my life to studying claw combat, and even if she was a better claw fighter, I could hold my own well enough. I guess I'd find out soon. "You seem confident for a brat," my mom commented snidely, stopping just outside of striking distance.

"You think I don't have a right to be confident?" I demanded coldly. I feinted a lunge forward, just to see how alert she was, and was only slightly surprised when one paw slashed forward, which would have easily struck me down if I had actually lunged. I narrowed my eyes, impressed against my will. I already felt a surge of hatred, directed at myself, for allowing me to admire her for even a second.

"Fascinating show, isn't it, Blaze?" a cold voice spoke and Blaze whined. I glanced back and promptly ducked, feeling the swish of air as my mom swiped a claw at me while my back was turned, the dishonorable bitch. I had predicted she would do that, so no harm had been done. I refocused my attention on the smirking Charmeleon. Blaze could handle himself for a few seconds, until I could safely divert my focus. I feinted another lunge, once again impressed by how quickly she moved to counter an attack, once again glad that I had feinted, rather than actually attack.

"You don't seem to be very confident now," my mom pointed out with a sneer. I scowled angrily.

"Worry about yourself! You're good at that, aren't you?" I retorted, but the Charmeleon was unfazed by my comment, opting to slash at my viciously, but I blocked the swipe with one paw, staring into her eyes hatefully. My mom grinned back at me, slamming her foot into my stomach, throwing me backwards to the ground roughly.

"You're even weaker than your father. He at least managed to hit me before I got bored of 'playing' and just beat him to a pulp," she said, sounding disappointed.

"Is that how you got the scars?" I snapped. She laughed, shaking her head at me.

"No, I got these from _worthy_ opponents. I still won, of course," she sneered. I scowled, pushing myself back to my feet and closing the distance, claws ready to block or strike. She watched me indifferently. I darted forward, but slid into a crouch, slamming my claws into her left leg. She seemed to have anticipated a feint, but my crouch had been planned in case she had attempted to counterattack, and while it was unnecessary, it didn't hurt to be careful. My mom winced, pulling back and kicking her injured foot at my face, but I dodged to the side, smirking at her.

"Looks like I left a mark," I said, pointing to the steady trickle of blood seeping her wound. She glared at me and moved forward, faster than I expected, and slammed her fist into my snout, seizing me by the back of the neck with her free paw and repeating the blow. I grunted in pain, trying frantically to force her to release me, but her arms were longer than mine, and she was just out of reach of my claws. She struck me several more times, each getting progressively more painful to endure, blood practically gushing from my nose, the area where she struck me rapidly going numb, feeling like dozens of needles jabbing me repeatedly. I flailed, trying to strike her, my vision blurring. Finally, I managed to sink my claws into the wrist of the paw holding me and she promptly released me, roaring in pain. I slid to my knees, tears falling from my eyes freely. I felt a foot connect with my side, pushing me over painfully.

"I'll leave a real mark..." she hissed, and I could see the dim red outline of her, the shape of her paw pulled back to deal the finishing blow, her claws ready to stab into my neck. I glanced up at her, too weakened by her assault to even try to defend myself.

"Ember!" Blaze whined, and then his tone became noticeably harsher. "Take her down!" he growled and I blinked, panting in exhaustion. "Don't give up, fight back!" he said harshly, just as my mom slammed her paw forward. I raised my arm to block, but only managed to partially block, her claws slicing into my arm, but only nicking my throat. I gasped, clutching the throat wound, coughing slightly, glaring at the triumphantly grinning Charmeleon hatefully.

"I'll make you pay..." I panted furiously. "You...abandoned me...and Dad...and now...this is it," I finished, staggering as I pushed myself to my feet, drops of blood falling from my face and neck and I stared at the Charmeleon.

"You can barely stand, much less fight me," my mom said indifferently.

"I have the energy...to fight..." I panted quietly, my claws taking on the fiery purple aura of Shadow Claw. "And how appropriate," I rasped, my voice cracking slightly. "I have a nice supply of energy, courtesy of..." I paused, relishing the confused expression on the Charmeleon's face. "...a certain time of year. What better way to utilize this energy than to kick my abusive mother's ass?" I asked, smirking. My vision blurred briefly, obscuring my mom's current expression, but I didn't care. I swiped my claws quickly, but she blocked with one paw. I stepped back to avoid the expected kick to the stomach, the dodge causing her to lose her balance, presenting me with the opportunity to strike her in the chest with my claws, the ghostly energy scorching her scales slightly. She cried out in shock, recoiling from me and staring at the damaged scales.

"You little brat!" she growled, lunging at me, but I sidestepped, my claws taking on the pleasant fiery blue aura of my Dragon Claw attack and I jabbed her side with my claws, ignoring the sense of triumph as I drew blood, the Charmeleon wincing in agony, stumbling over her feet as she turned towards me to retaliate. I hunched over slightly, tiring rapidly, but my will to fight as strong as ever. My mom snarled, jabbing her claws forward, but I blocked with one paw, using my free paw to punch her in the face, the Charmeleon stumbling backwards in pain, but recovered quickly.

"I'll finish this quickly," I whispered as I ducked her retaliation swipe, head butting her in the stomach and punching her twice in the side of the head, knocking the Charmeleon to the ground limply. I placed my foot on her chest, effectively pinning her, despite I barely possessed the energy to stand. I stood over the Charmeleon, breathing hard as I considered what to do now.

"Well?" the cold voice sneered and I glanced back towards Blaze, spotting the speaker, which was a Bulbasaur with gleaming yellow eyes. "Are you going to finish it, Charmander? Or are you too weak?" the Bulbasaur sneered softly, meeting my gaze. "You know you need to avenge her abandonment of you...she tried to kill you...you hate her more than anyone else, your anger towards her is intense. Why do you hesitate to finally bring yourself peace of mind?"

"Going to leave me for dead?" my mom hissed softly. "You'll be just like me, after all...or are you too gutless to finish the job? Be just like your father...put up with anything I dish out, can't even make a stand without becoming a wimp in the end," she mocked. My claws glowed purple and I hastened to repress the desire to stab her in the throat, to revel in her demise. It would be easy...I raised my paw to strike. But on the other paw...she had hated me for existing, for something practically beyond her control at the time.

"Go ahead...you'll never be satisfied until she's dead. You suffered through life long enough, now you have the chance to avenge the loss of childhood," the Bulbasaur said maliciously. I paused, thinking quickly. For years I had thought about the mother that had abandoned me and my dad, resulting in my father's untimely death, as he was still recovering from the regular beatings to be able to fight off all the attackers. But what would killing her solve? She would be punished for her actions, but never take responsibility for them. All I'd get was some momentary pleasure, but killing Fang had been similar. I felt guilty, even now, for failing to control my emotions when battling the Arbok. I had killed him, even though he tried to kill me and Blaze, I still felt guilty for it. Even though now I knew my emotions had been rampaging because of my body adjusting to Shadow and Dragon Claw, I regretted the snake's death. It had been unnecessary, just like this case.

"I'm not like you, mom. I never will be," I said coldly. "But I'm not weak either. Stay the hell away from me," I hissed and swiped my claws quickly and she cried out in shock, a new, slightly bloody mark appearing precisely between her eyes, a midway point between the other two scars on her face. "That'll be enough of a lesson to you," I said, stepping off her and staggering towards the room entrance. "But come near me or my friends again, and I won't let you off so easily," I vowed and Blaze followed me out of the room silently.

"You okay?" Blaze asked me anxiously, noticing my various injuries and my near inability to walk.

"I...need...to rest..." I panted. "Help," I said, leaning on the fire type for support as my legs gave way. The Flareon jerked in surprise, but didn't move away, instead used his tail to help guide me as my vision rapidly blacked and I fell into a deep sleep.

**Please review. I really want feedback on the story or this chapter.**


	131. Regathering

**Dragonair POV**

"Finally!" I said triumphantly as the annoying Sableye failed to block one of Leaf's Razor Leaves, grunting slightly as the leaves struck his body. With his concentration shot, I managed to strike him with a Thunderbolt, the electricity momentarily paralyzing him, enabling Aura's Ice Beam to encase the ghost type in a block of ice.

"Is that over?" Poli asked uncertainly, studying the frozen ghost type for a few seconds before nodding in satisfaction. "That really shouldn't have worked that well," he said seriously, walking over to Strange and examining her carefully, checking for serious injuries. I looked around the room, checking the locations of the group, as well as any fights that may still be going on. Darkness was still fighting the Smeargle, who was desperately trying to keep the enraged Umbreon away from him using a variety of different techniques, including Hidden Power and Hydro Pump.

"Are you alright?" Sapphire asked me, gently nuzzling her head against my neck affectionately. I nodded in reply, glancing at Spark and the Eevee, both of which seemed to still be worried about getting hit in a crossfire, despite being nowhere near the two fights that were still going on.

"What were you trying to tell me earlier?" I asked her seriously. She blinked at me for a moment. "When you came into the room, you kept giving me these looks. What did you want to talk about?" I clarified. Sapphire winced, and I raised an eye scale at her curiously. She glanced down at Spark for a moment, frowning.

"I should probably tell you later, Dragonair. It's very important," she said solemnly.

"Wouldn't that be a reason to tell me now?" I persisted and she frowned further. Not exactly a good sign. What was so important?

"It's something we should discuss a little more privately," she said carefully, looking pointedly at the Pichu, which was watching Jolt and Shock's battle anxiously. I flinched slightly, bewildered by this comment. From how serious Sapphire was behaving, I wasn't sure what she wanted to tell me.

"Ok...wait, where's Ember?" I asked, noticing the Charmander was no longer recovering in the center of the room, where she had been ever since she had fought Blaze. Speaking of Blaze, the male Flareon didn't seem to be in the room either, but Crystal still was. "Crystal, where's Ember and Blaze, do you know?" I asked the female Flareon.

"Yes, they went for a walk a few minutes ago, said they'd be back in a bit," Crystal said softly, looking a little anxious.

"Yay! Spiky thing win!" Spark cheered happily and I glanced over at Jolt, who had tackled the Ampharos and knocked it out with several blows to the head. He walked over to the Eevee and pet her gently.

"You okay, Kira?" Jolt asked worriedly and Kira nodded, licking her paw and then using the paw to flatten his fur slightly. The Jolteon blinked, but sat down, making visible attempts to relax, probably to make the fur flattening easier. Noticing the look I gave him, Jolt sighed. "She likes grooming my fur for some reason, even though it's an almost impossible task to keep it neat," he explained casually. "So what happened?" he asked, gesturing to Darkness and Sketch, the latter beginning to panic at the Umbreon's near obsessive attempts to maul him.

"Sketch used Shadow Force on Psycho, threw him against that pillar. Darkness wasn't happy," Kira explained, licking her paw again before continuing to groom him. Jolt nodded slightly, taking care not to disturb the Eevee or his fur.

"Shadow Force?" I repeated, raising an eye scale. "What is that?"

"I don't know, never heard of it," Kira said and Jolt blinked.

"Neither have I, come to think of it," he admitted. "What does it do?"

"Sketch disappeared, then reappeared, hitting Psycho while his body was covered in this weird black fire," Kira said, lightly licking Jolt's fur directly.

"Doesn't that hurt?" I blurted, my curiosity getting the better of me. Kira glanced at me in confusion.

"I imagine it does, getting hit by some weird black fire," she said seriously, pointing to the black furred Espeon, which was barely conscious, the silver gem on his forehead glowing, any visible wounds he had were rapidly fading.

"I meant licking a Jolteon's fur," I said, rolling my eyes. Kira blushed slightly.

"I'm just grooming it!" she said, whining defensively. (Yeah right...just grooming...)

"I just asked whether that hurts," I said hastily, noticing Jolt glaring at me, probably for causing Kira's whine.

"No, not really," Kira said casually as she continued "grooming" Jolt's fur carefully. I sighed and turned back to Crystal, who was looking down a passageway, alarmed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, floating over to the Flareon and following her gaze. I blinked, staring at Blaze, who was half dragging an unconscious (or sleeping) Ember down the pathway. "What the hell happened?" I demanded to the Flareon, who glanced up at me, his yellow eye still making me nervous.

"She's tired, I think," Blaze explained, thankfully in his normal tone. "Long story and I probably shouldn't tell it, anyway. It's somewhat personal to her," he said. "Now can someone get her off me?" he complained.

"Nah, she seems fine," I said, smirking slightly. Blaze glared at me irritably and Crystal hastily brushed against him, purring quietly. Damn, did everyone suddenly decide to act affectionate at the same time? We were still in the underground cave, where all those crazy Pokémon were trying to hurt us, and at least two groups were ignoring this information and practically flirting with each other, although the Flareons were much more obvious. I glanced back to the remaining battle, smirking as I noticed that the Smeargle had been literally forced into a corner, attempting to defend himself from pulses of dark energy.

"Aura Sphere!" Sketch snarled suddenly and a large burst of energy flew from his tail, striking the Umbreon forcefully and shoving her backwards, tumbling across the cavern floor. "I'm not so easily beaten, even by you!" he said, panting, and then glanced towards Psycho, who had gotten back to his feet shakily. "You going to avenge her injury now?" he asked.

"No," Psycho replied emotionlessly and the Smeargle blinked. "I am not so easily manipulated by another's injury," he explained monotonously. Jolt stared at the Espeon incredulously.

"Why does Darkness even like you?" he demanded. "If you care for her at all, you'd at least check if she's okay!"

"She'll be fine," Psycho replied dismissively. His eyes glowed brightly and there was a brief flash of light. When the light dimmed, we appeared to be in an entirely different location, but definitely still in the cavern. "Hmm...they've installed some sort of barrier to prevent teleporting out," the Espeon muttered quietly. I looked around uncertainly, quickly taking note that the entire group had been teleported along with us, which was an impressive feat.

"Darkness, you okay?" Leaf asked, prodding the Umbreon cautiously. She stirred, pushing herself to her feet and fixing Psycho with a dark glare. He stared back emotionlessly, his silver eyes meeting her red. There was a tense silence between us all, the two black furred Eons abruptly the focus of everyone's attention. "Can someone say something?" Leaf asked worriedly.

"Can you carry her?" Blaze muttered, lightly pushing the sleeping Charmander towards Leaf, who flinched slightly as he prevented her from falling.

"Can someone tell me why the grass type is carrying the fire type?" Leaf asked nervously.

"Sure thing. The Pichu and Kira are too small. I'm spiked, the Poliwhirl will have trouble walking, the Oddish isn't strong enough, the Flareons are unwilling, and Psycho and Darkness are in the middle of a stare down," Jolt said, conveniently not mentioning Sapphire or me. "And you'd probably volunteer anyway, because you're nice like that," the Jolteon added and Leaf nodded, still looking uncomfortable, but he clearly wasn't going to complain anymore, so I couldn't resist messing with him.

"She's attracted to you and it's her mating season," I commented in an off-hand manner. The Leafeon froze, looking much like the Rocket grunts I used to glare at back at the bases.

"W-what?" he stammered nervously. Amazing how fast his mood shifted from calm to panicked.

"Didn't we have this talk already?" Jolt asked, raising an eyebrow. "Could have sworn I explained it already," he said. He grinned slightly, tipping me off that he knew I was messing with the Leafeon.

"B-but..." Leaf stammered.

"Relax, he's fooling around!" Jolt said. "Dude, you need to relax a little," the Jolteon shook his head, turning his attention back to the two black furred Eons. "Okay, stop staring and actually say or do something. Ten dollars that Darkness attacks him," he whispered to Leaf.

"No deal," Leaf said, calming down a little, although he still glanced back at Ember nervously.

"Do we have to wait for them to stop glaring at each other until we can leave this place?" Kira asked a few moments later. Jolt nodded seriously and the Eevee sighed, lying down on the cavern floor, her tail swishing irritably.

"They're the only ones who really know this place well," Aura explained, also conveniently unmentioned earlier by Jolt (probably because she was the best candidate for the job, and Jolt must have a strange sense of humor, sort of like me). Leaf seemed to have realized this as well, but was unwilling to make a big deal out of it.

"Are you done staring at me?" Psycho asked in a monotonous voice. The Umbreon growled slightly, her blue rings gleaming ominously.

"Use emotion sometimes!" she snapped irritably, the Espeon blinking at her indifferently.

"I rather not," he replied emotionlessly. Darkness growled threateningly, but Psycho ignored it.

"Ooh, now they're going to fight," Jolt said enthusiastically.


	132. Finally Getting Out

**A bit of a later update, but I hope you enjoy it.**

"Why are you so enthusiastic, Jolt?" Kira asked the Jolteon curiously. "What makes this fight so interesting?" she clarified. The Jolteon chuckled before gently rubbing the Eevee's neck with one paw and she inched closer to him, her tail swishing less irritably than before.

"Psycho has only lost three fights, if you don't count the close call with Sketch," Jolt explained. "Darkness is one of the ones who beat him, so it's interesting to me to see a rematch," he added as Kira purred contentedly, both of them oblivious to the look I cast them. Everyone here seemed to be acting affectionate at the worst possible time. Except for the couple that were about to behave hostilely, which was even worse timing to have allies fight each other, although by now I was used to this concept, if Ember and Blaze are any indication.

"Why are they fighting?" Aura asked, slightly perplexed by the inevitable battle. The Umbreon was growling menacingly and the Espeon was giving her a look that clearly said 'You do not intimidate me', which was probably not the best expression to be wearing, but I doubt he cared.

"A shorter list is why they shouldn't be fighting," Jolt said. "On a guess, I'd say she's not thrilled about how frustratingly emotionless he acts, especially concerning things like...hmm...her wellbeing?" Jolt stopped speaking when Darkness' eyes glowed brightly, her gaze locked on Psycho, who frowned slightly, but otherwise seemed untroubled.

"Mean Look, effectively preventing me from fleeing," the Espeon said monotonously. "Not like I can flee, with the barrier or whatever they installed," he added emotionlessly. The Umbreon growled angrily, forming an orb of energy in her mouth and spitting it towards Psycho, but he leapt quickly out of the way, watching Darkness with indifference.

"Not quite sure what they expect to accomplish, though," Leaf said with a sigh, but watching with interest. "If anything, it's just a way to relieve stress," he added as an afterthought.

"Is it typical for them to relieve stress in this fashion?" I asked sarcastically. Leaf paused thoughtfully.

"Often Darkness asks for a training session when she's feeling annoyed about something, so I'd say yes, it is typical. Obviously, Shadow...I don't know what he does if he feels stressed, but he's not thrilled about fighting her, since she has a tremendous advantage, being immune to almost everything he can throw at her," Leaf explained.

"So who does she usually fight?" Jolt asked. "I was stationed in Sinnoh, and if Psycho doesn't fight her, who does?"

"Frost usually does," Leaf replied simply. "Sometimes I do, but not as often." As he finished speaking, Darkness lashed out a paw, but Psycho blocked the blow dismissively with his own paw, his eyes flashing slightly and then he bit her wrist. She yelped, examining the bite briefly and then lunging at the Espeon, striking him with a paw and knocking him backwards a bit, then spat a Shadow Ball at him, but he dodged nimbly, retaliating by slamming his shoulder into her, knocking her off balance. The Umbreon made a strange sound of excitement and Jolt raised an eyebrow.

"That was...odd," he commented casually. Kira and Leaf nodded in agreement.

"You enjoy physical contact too much, Dark," Psycho said monotonously and she smiled briefly, although seemed irritated by his monotone. "But you are wasting your time with this fight. It will change nothing, even when you win," he said.

"You don't think you can win?" I asked, raising my eye scale. The Espeon ignored me, keeping his attention on the Umbreon, whose rings glowed brightly as she approached him. Before she could attack, he swiped her across the face with his claws, diving to the side as she snapped her teeth at him furiously, the blue rings flashing brightly.

"Guess you didn't enjoy that one," Psycho said, almost obnoxiously. Darkness growled angrily and a pulse of dark energy flew from her body, striking the Espeon and practically hurling him against the cavern wall. Sapphire winced slightly, shielding Spark's view of the fight with her tail. It was mostly a pointless move, since Spark had witnessed so many fights by now. The black furred Espeon got back to his feet and then paused, looking around suspiciously for a moment. Darkness blinked, watching his warily.

"What is it?" she asked, sounding slightly concerned, but suspicious at the same time. I'm assuming Psycho used some form of feint or distraction in the past to try to gain an advantage.

"Pity, you detected me. I was hoping to get the jump on you," a soft, slightly sinister voice spoke and Spark whimpered worriedly, clinging onto Aura's tail, to the Vaporeon's alarm.

"You're not a dark type," Psycho said coldly as a strange ghostly figure materialized. "And I can detect dark types, just not identify them," he added. The ghostly figure was black and human-like, its red eyes shimmered in the semi-dark passageway. It grinned and I noticed a strange tag on the side of its mouth that reminded me of a zipper. It also had some bizarre tail like appendage sticking out from its head, and a weird yellow tail.

"Ah, that is true, Psycho. But you were still distracted so I could have snuck up on you," the ghost type said casually.

"Who the hell are you?" Darkness hissed, her rings pulsing dangerously. The ghost type chuckled.

"My name is Bane, of the Banette species," the ghost type replied, smiling sinisterly. "So how's it going, Psycho?" Bane asked the Espeon casually.

"Same. No genuine progress," Psycho replied emotionlessly. The Banette shrugged.

"That's life. One step forward, two steps back. The trick is to turn around," Bane replied. Everyone stared at him blankly. "If you turn around...you're traveling in the right direction...because you take one step forward...oh forget it!" he said, waving a paw dismissively.

"Don't get philosophical, Bane. They can't handle it," Psycho said emotionlessly. "And how is your eternal existence treating you?" he asked, almost sounding like he cared, but the Banette rolled its eyes.

"You don't have to pretend that you care," Bane said with a chuckle which, despite his friendly demeanor, still sounded malicious.

"Hold on...who the hell is he?" Darkness demanded to Psycho, who stared at her indifferently.

"He's Bane of the Banette species," he replied monotonously. Darkness growled, but Psycho ignored her.

"Oh, finally got a girlfriend?" Bane asked, glancing at Darkness critically. "Shiny Umbreon, nice choice," he commented sinisterly. The Umbreon glared at the ghost type, narrowing her eyes menacingly.

"There was no choice involved," Psycho replied and the ghost type looked at him inquisitively for a moment, then shook his head.

"Don't want to know, but you must not mind, since you haven't given her the slip yet," Bane commented. Darkness scowled irritably, while Leaf and Jolt exchanged confused glances. I'm guessing that no one knew this ghost type other than Psycho himself.

"She Mean Looked me," Psycho replied seriously and the Banette chuckled sinisterly, which was really starting to concern me, since he wasn't _acting_ like a threat.

"Last thing you need is one of your stalkers to learn that trick, huh?" Bane asked after a moment, but the Espeon didn't reply. "So what are you doing around here, anyway? And what's with all these followers?" he asked, gesturing to the rest of us.

"Long story, don't feel like telling it," Psycho replied dismissively. Bane nodded understandingly.

"You always say that, so spill it anyway. If Mean Look's still active, you can't teleport out," Bane said, his grin widening.

"We can't anyway. The Cave Army seems to have installed a barrier of some sort that prevents teleporting out of its range," the Espeon replied monotonously. Bane paused, thinking for a moment.

"I know a way out. Not too far from here," he said slowly. "Come this way," he said, turning and floating down the passageway, checking back every few moments to make sure we were following. Leaf was moving slower due to supporting the unconscious Ember, and Poli was also a bit slow since he was half carrying Strange, although the Oddish was conscious. "This way," the Banette said, turning down a corridor and smirking. "Here we are!" he said proudly, pointing to the bright light shining from the end of the passageway.

"Where do we emerge?" Darkness asked and the ghost Pokémon hesitated, uncertainly. "You don't know?" she demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know exact location," Bane admitted. "But you'll be out of the barrier's range so you can teleport wherever, right?" he asked. "I've got to go, but you're welcome!" the ghost Pokémon faded out and Psycho shrugged, leading us towards the light until we finally climbed a ramp, emerging in a brightly lit room, which I assume was another shrine, since it was almost identical to the other two shrines I'd been to.

"How long were we in that damn cave?" I demanded as we exited the shrine, blinking in the bright light. We had to have been there for at least a day, since we had taken brief rests during the long traveling in the cave.

"At least a day or two," Aura replied with a yawn. "Not sure, exactly," she admitted. No one else seemed very talkative, and it was clear that everyone was exhausted. I didn't really pay attention to what anyone else was doing; I just curled up in a shaded area and fell asleep almost instantly.


	133. Breaking the News to Dragonair

I awoke earlier than I expected to, although the cause for this was Sapphire prodding me with her tail. "Urgh...what is it?" I grumbled, although I tried to keep my tone civil, although I doubt I was very successful with that. "What's going on?" I persisted, lifting my head and blinking at her blearily.

"The Espeon took Strange and Poli back to Kanto, and I found out that we're near Blackthorn City, in Johto," she replied softly. "Ember is still asleep, although she's moved a little bit. Spark is sleeping over there," she gestured with her tail and I glanced in that direction, spotting the Pichu curled up next to Kira, the Eevee looking slightly confused by Spark's choice of pillow. I glanced around, noticing that Crystal and Aura were talking to each other without any noticeable animosity, and Blaze was counting the money in a bag...wait, where did the money come from?

"Blaze, where'd you get the money? You weren't carrying it before, so I thought you lost it," I called over to the Flareon.

"I gave the bag to Aura to hold onto, and then things happened, so she only now returned it," Blaze replied. I nodded sleepily. That explained that little mystery. I continued to scan the area, noticing Leaf was growing more anxious about supporting Ember. Why he hadn't just lowered her to the ground, I didn't know.

"Dragonair, I was still talking to you," Sapphire said and I turned my attention back to the female Dragonair.

"What's so special about Blackthorn?" I asked her and she blinked. "I noticed you sounded pleased that we were near Blackthorn, so I want to know what that city means to you," I explained.

"Oh, my parents live in this area," she said. "We can visit them later, if you feel like it," she continued.

"You visit them and then travel back to Hoenn? That's quite the trip, isn't it?" I asked and she sighed in annoyance.

"That's why I don't visit them that often. Now please stop interrupting, this is important to tell you," she said firmly and I nodded.

"Sorry, what did you want to tell me?" I asked and she hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. "Wait, is this good news or bad news?"

"More bad than good," she replied and I winced. I hate bad news, but then again, who does?

"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be to hear it so might as well get it over with. What's the problem?" I asked hesitantly. Sapphire took a deep breath.

"It's about Spark," she began and I flinched, a concern instantly coming to mind.

"What happened to his parents? It just occurred to me that they aren't with us, which means either something happened to them, or they weren't rescued," I stared at Sapphire nervously and the dragoness sighed slightly.

"They're dead," she said quietly, almost inaudibly. Whatever I had expected her to say, it wasn't that. My mouth fell open in shock and I stared at her numbly.

"BOTH of them?" I whispered and she nodded solemnly. "How the hell did it happen?" I demanded. Sapphire averted her gaze, but I moved into her line of sight. "Sapphire, I need to know what happened to them," I urged her.

"It's...difficult to explain. Diablos possessed the female Raichu and attempted to kill the male. Psycho saved him and fought the female Raichu, but Diablos managed to kill the male in the end, and then knocked the female into a chasm afterwards. Spark doesn't know yet, but I promised his father we'd take care of him," she said miserably. I stared at her blankly, the impact of what she had just said hadn't even sunk in yet, and I was worried about what my reaction would be when it did. Sapphire seemed to be thinking the same thing, because she nuzzled me comfortingly.

"I see," I said, disturbingly calm. "Is that all?"

"Uh...we need to tell Spark," Sapphire said nervously. This was the first time I'd ever seen her so anxious, so I was a little concerned by it.

"Who else knows about the parents?" I asked, still calm. I knew the moment was coming where I would explode, and I was determined to resist it as long as possible.

"Psycho and Leaf," Sapphire said and I nodded. That explained the Leafeon's discomfort when we encountered them back in the underground cave. The parents had just been killed, and those three were the only ones to know, and Sapphire had known that she would have to tell me, knowing I would get upset, and then we'd have to break the news to Spark...in a kit friendly manner, and then take care of him. The last was both nothing new, but at the same time incredibly stressful.

"How are we going to tell him that the Celebi damned phantom killed his parents?" I demanded, feeling my temper rise.

"I don't know," Sapphire said, becoming visibly upset. "We need to tell him soon, because he'll figure out that his parents aren't around and the subject is going to come up," she continued and I nodded, trying to calm my raging temper before it could fully form.

"We'll work on that. It's not going to be easy, though. He's going to be really upset and it's going to be so hard to comfort him. I'm good with kits, but not that good," I said distractedly.

"I think she's awake, can someone get her off me?" Leaf suddenly asked and I glanced at him, noticing that Ember was stirring, but half-snuggling with the Leafeon's fur, as if he was a pillow. Leaf blushed, looking extremely uncomfortable as Ember's eyes opened. She moved away hastily, looking around in confusion.

"What? Where are we?" she asked. Jolt chuckled both at Leaf's discomfort and how frantic Ember was acting.

"We're out of the underground cave. Near Blackthorn, if what Psycho said is true," the Jolteon said softly and Ember nodded, but at the same time looked blank.

"We're in Johto, Ember," I said and she nodded again, her disorientation fading slowly. She walked over to Spark and sat down next to the sleeping Pichu, who promptly woke up and hugged her.

"Hi Ember!" he said cheerfully. "How you?" he asked, looking up at her with a happy smile. Oh great, it would be next to impossible to tell this kit that his parents were dead.

"I'm fine, just tired," Ember replied, patting Spark's head gently.

"Me nap cuz me tired," Spark said brightly, then fell asleep again. Ember blinked at the Pichu, and then shrugged, lifting Spark and placing him gently next to Kira, then stood up and walked over to Blaze, Crystal, and Aura and starting up a conversation with them.

"Hey, do you think you can handle making sure nothing happens for a couple hours?" Sapphire asked Ember, who raised an eye scale at the female Dragonair. "See, my parents live not too far from here, and I think it's calmed down enough for Dragonair and me to visit them for a while. Is that alright?" she asked hopefully. Ember looked around the area for a moment.

"Yeah, go ahead," she said, stifling a yawn. Sapphire nodded gratefully and gestured to me to follow her. We traveled over a path in silence for a few minutes until I finally broke the silence.

"Why are we going to visit them now?" I asked, trying not to sound like it was an ordeal, since it wasn't. In fact, I was looking forward to meeting her parents. Sapphire glanced back at me with a small smile.

"Because if we go later, it'll be darker. It's more polite to visit during daylight hours," she said simply. "And knowing them, they're going to want to spend a lot of time talking to you," she added and I raised my eye scale.

"Why?" I asked and she laughed softly, doing a strange midair flip. I'm assuming that meant she was in a particularly good mood.

"They've been looking forward to meeting you ever since I told them about you," she explained, turning abruptly and leaving the path, leading me through a narrow group of trees. After several minutes of traveling, she stopped. "Do you hear anything?" she whispered. I tensed, but she shook her head. "No, I mean like water falling," she clarified. I listened for a few seconds, and then nodded. I did hear the gentle rush of water, but couldn't tell where it was coming from. Sapphire smiled and led me further until we emerged in an enormous open area. The sound I heard earlier became apparent as I saw a small waterfall in the side of a rock wall.

"Where are we?" I muttered.

"Not sure what this place is called, but this is where they live. Mom? Dad? It's Sapphire, you two around?" she called loudly. There was a few seconds of silence, long enough to make me wonder whether anyone had heard or were even here. Seconds later, a Dratini's head popped up from the large pool in front of us, causing me to flinch in surprise. "Hello Dad. Is Mom around?" Sapphire asked softly. The Dratini smiled happily, and then dove down into the pool again, resurfacing a minute later with another Dratini, this one female.

"Good to see you again, Sapphire," the female Dratini said gently, glancing at me curiously. I felt unusually awkward, although I think I hid this well. "So who's your awkward companion?" I guess not.

"Oh, this is Dragonair. He's the one I told you about. Dragonair, these are my parents," Sapphire said.


	134. Meeting the Parents

"Nice to meet you, Dragonair," the female Dratini said to me and I nodded slightly. Sapphire poked me with her tail and I jerked.

"Oh, uh...nice to meet you," I said quickly. The male Dratini laughed quietly.

"So how long have you two known each other? I know Sapphire mentioned it the last time she visited, but it's hard to remember details," he asked. I glanced at Sapphire for a moment, uncertain who he was directing the question to. Sapphire was silent, so I suppose I'm supposed to answer.

"About a year, I think," I replied and Sapphire nodded to confirm my estimate. Both Dratinis nodded at almost the exact same time.

"Did you two get along well from the start?" the female asked and I hesitated, shifting a little uncomfortably.

"Er...no, she caught me on a bad day," I admitted.

"We all have our share of those. Although Sapphire seems to handle her bad days worse than most people can," the male Dratini said casually. I raised my eye scale at him and he chuckled. "Have you ever seen her while she's moody? I mean moody, not just upset," he added. I glanced at Sapphire, who was blushing slightly.

"Uh, I don't think so..." I said uncertainly.

"You will," the female Dratini said with a small smile. I looked at them blankly for several seconds, uncertain of how to respond to this moderately ominous comment. "You'll be able to tell when she's having a bad day. Either that or she's hormonal."

"Mom!" Sapphire protested, turning a darker shade of red.

"Trust me, if she's having any form of mood swings, just assume she's having a bad day. Don't ask about her mood," the male Dratini added, sounding like he was speaking from experience.

"Uh huh..." I said awkwardly. Why was this important?

"Moving on..." Sapphire said, but stopped speaking, as if prompting someone to change the subject. The Dratinis looked at her expectantly.

"Yes?" the male prompted. Sapphire blinked, looking confused. "You said 'moving on...', but stopped talking. I'm waiting for you to finish the sentence," he explained.

"I was just trying to change the subject," Sapphire admitted. The female Dratini giggled.

"We're just telling him important things he should know. Anyway, we'll go back to the first topic. So she caught you on a bad day? I'm guessing you were less than friendly, then?" she asked. I winced at the memory.

"You could say that," I said. "Then again, I was not used to a random female flirting with me," I added. Sapphire flushed again as both Dratinis exchanged glances before turning their gaze to her.

"You seemed to have skimmed over most details of meeting him," the male said conversationally, smiling at the female Dragonair.

"You didn't ask," Sapphire said, regaining her composure quickly.

"Hm, I suppose we didn't. I'll keep in mind to ask about everything, then," the male said, still smiling. Sapphire sighed slightly in exasperation, while I smirked. Her parents seemed to have almost made a hobby out of relentlessly teasing her, and seemed to be very proficient at it. "So, what type of flirting did she use?"

"Uh...I don't know," I said awkwardly.

"Liar," the female Dratini said softly, smiling now. "Tail stroking?" she asked and I nodded, shifting a little bit. "Hm, partial wrapping is a given," she said thoughtfully. "I'm not familiar with other forms of Dragonair flirting, but I doubt Sapphire did much more than those," she continued.

"So you weren't very friendly? How did you two end up together?" the male Dratini asked casually.

"I ask myself that almost every day," I muttered. Both Dratinis laughed, but looked at me expectantly. "Oh, you want to know what happened? Sapphire, you want to cover this one?" I asked, looking at the dragoness, who shook her head. "Uh...I snapped at her and she conjured a snowstorm over me until I apologized," I said rapidly. The Dratinis laughed again and I looked at them blankly.

"It reminds me of when Sapphire was a kit, she was rather mischievous," the female replied. "Using her abilities to prompt an apology was one of those things she would have done as a kit, if able," she continued. I glanced at Sapphire curiously and she nodded cautiously.

"Well, we got along well after that," I said and the Dratinis nodded at almost the exact same time.

"Where do you live these days, Sapphire?" the female Dratini asked.

"There's a clearing in Hoenn that I was living in that I liked a lot. I had to leave for a while because of some urgent news I received," Sapphire replied and I winced again. If memory served, she had to leave to help rescue me when I got captured by the Rockets. That was not exactly the happiest of times. "At the present, I travel with Dragonair and a small group of other Pokémon," Sapphire added.

"Oh? And who are they?" the male asked, looking at me.

"Let's see...there's Ember, Spark, Blaze, and Crystal in the main group. We seem to pick up temporary followers, but those are leave as they see fit," I replied. "They're a Charmander, a Pichu kit, and a pair of Flareons, respectively," I continued and the Dratinis nodded.

"Doesn't the kit have parents?" the female asked, sounding concerned. I winced.

"I met Spark a while ago, while I still worked with the Rockets. His parents had been kidnapped and I took care of him while tracking them down. I retired from the Rockets shortly afterwards, as I learned more about their activities, which disgusted me. Ember was my companion in this journey, and I was eventually captured as a traitor," I explained hesitantly.

"I was informed of this and went to help free Dragonair. After doing so, Blaze and a Vaporeon named Aura joined us, but Ember temporarily left. I went along and helped save the Raichu parents," Sapphire said softly.

"And why is the kit still with you, then?" the female asked curiously. Sapphire winced.

"Another difficult story and it would take a long time to explain all the parts to it. The Raichus are dead," Sapphire said quietly and I scowled angrily.

"Oh, I see," the female said sadly. The male swam over to her and nuzzled her slightly, the female perking up after a few seconds.

"I see where Sapphire learned her affection tactics," I muttered and Sapphire giggled, nuzzling me gently.

"By the way, speaking of kits, are you expecting one or just having a small weight gain?" the male asked, smiling slightly.

"DAD!" Sapphire yelled, turning a dark shade of red.

"Sorry, just asking if there's going to be a grandchild in the near future," the male said hurriedly, grinning widely and glanced at me. I got the impression that he brought the subject up to see her squirm, and probably to see my reaction. I was feeling particularly awkward, and undoubtedly failing to cover up this fact.

"Any plans for a kit?" the female Dratini asked. Sapphire shifted a bit uncomfortably, which was actually surprising as she had no difficulty talking to me about the same topic.

"No immediate plans, we want to get settled first," Sapphire said. "Although we're technically adopting Spark since I told his father we'd care for him. No, Spark will not affect any plans we have for a kit of our own," she said hurriedly when the male Dratini moved as if to speak.

"Here's a question for you two...is it strange to you that your daughter is almost 3 times your length?" I asked and both Dratinis began laughing for several seconds.

"Yes, it was very odd for a large Dragonair to come to us one day and tell us that she was our daughter and had evolved. It was a shock, but we got used to it quickly. Although this time she brought her mate, but that was easy to adjust to since she told us about you during her last visit," the female said when she had calmed down a little bit.

"So this is where you grew up, Sapphire?" I asked, gesturing to the large pool with my tail and the surrounding area. She nodded, dipping her tail in the water a moment and then dove in, swimming around the pool twice before surfacing.

"I've been dying to swim for a while, but it slipped my mind while we were talking," she explained when I looked at her inquisitively.

"Oh. Mind if I join you three?" I asked and the Dratinis laughed again.

"We aren't territorial, besides you're all but family now," the male explained. I smiled briefly before lowering myself into the pool. The water was shockingly cold, but it woke me up out of my sleepiness, which had started to creep up on me again. I swam a lap before surfacing, looking around the area.

"This is a nice spot," I commented and the Dratinis smiled at me.

"It's very peaceful and isolated enough so it's safe from potential threats," the male Dratini said. "Now just remember to always treat Sapphire well," he added randomly. I winced.

"I wouldn't think of doing otherwise," I said seriously and Sapphire nuzzled me lovingly. "Heh...do you have to do that now?" I whispered to her and she nodded, prompting me to roll my eyes.

"So are you two heading to that spot in Hoenn?" the female asked when Sapphire stopped nuzzling.

"I'd like to, but things always seem to come up that require changing our objectives," Sapphire said. I nodded in agreement. "And we travel with a Charmander, a Pichu, and two Flareons, all of which can't travel as quickly as we could. And we're pretty far away from Hoenn," Sapphire continued. Both Dratinis nodded understandingly.

"So where are the rest of your group?" the male asked, swimming around the pool casually.

"A few minutes away, resting. We had some trouble the last few days," Sapphire said. "We were in the area, so I brought Dragonair to meet you two," she explained. "Are you done with the interrogation now?" she asked gently.

"Yeah, until we think of some other random thing to ask," the male commented. "Oh, how does he react when you're in danger?"

"Really upset," Sapphire replied promptly.

"Oh good, he's protective of you," the female said cheerfully, swimming over to Sapphire and placing her tail around Sapphire slightly. Sapphire smiled and did the same to the Dratini, earning a confused look from me.

"It's a hug, Dragonair," the male Dratini whispered to me. "It looks odd when there's a Dragonair and a Dratini, especially since the parent is the Dratini, but it's nothing too confusing," he explained. I nodded to show that I understood and scanned the surrounding area as something to do.

"Want something to eat before you two leave again?" the female Dratini asked, breaking apart from Sapphire. I glanced at the female Dragonair for a second before smiling.

"Sure, might as well," I said and Sapphire nodded in agreement. Both Dratinis smiled pleasantly before diving under water. I blinked uncertainly, but they had returned to the surface within a few seconds, holding some sort of green plant in their mouths and placing it on the shore. "Er...what is that?" I asked, studying it warily.

"Just try it, Dragonair," Sapphire whispered firmly as the Dratinis appeared with another of the plants, placing it besides the first one and watching us expectantly. Sapphire promptly began nibbling on her...whatever it was, and smiled happily. "You know how much I love these," she said to her parents, both of which grinned happily before looking at me. I hastily nibbled my share and flinched in surprise.

"Wait, how does this have a sweet taste?" I asked. Both Dratinis chuckled softly as I continued eating.

"It's a fairly rare plant that flourishes in this pool, not sure what it's called," the male Dratini replied. "But it has a surprisingly sweet flavor. Glad you like it."

"We're going to go now," Sapphire said as we finished eating. "We'll try to keep in touch," she said as she floated out of the pool.

"Be sure to let us know when you have a kit," the female said and Sapphire blushed slightly.

"Er, I'll be sure to let you know," she said as I also floated out of the pool. "It might not be anytime soon, just so you know. I'll try to visit you sooner than a year from now," she added.

"That would be nice, Sapphire. Good bye and it was nice meeting you, Dragonair," the male called as Sapphire and I turned to go.

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you two, also," I replied, this time without Sapphire prodding me. "See you around some day," I called back as Sapphire and I left the area.

"So what'd you think of my parents?" Sapphire asked me a few moments later, looking at me to judge my reaction.

"I liked them. They remind me of you," I replied thoughtfully. "Except they seem to like teasing you, don't they?" I asked with a grin. Sapphire giggled.

"I think it's their way of paying me back for visiting so rarely. I'd like to visit more, but this area is so out of the way sometimes," she explained with a small sigh. "Alright, let's go check on what the others are up to now."


	135. Personal Reflection

**Blaze POV**

"Hm, where did they say they were going?" Aura asked Ember, who yawned.

"Visiting her parents or something like that," the Charmander replied, looking at us all tiredly. "So what are you guys talking about?"

"Crystal and I were talking about differences between growing up wild and being raised by a breeder and then returned to the wild," Aura said, tilting her head at the female Flareon, who nodded.

"And I was just counting my money!" I said cheerfully, holding up the bag. Ember nodded, not really paying attention to me. I frowned slightly before deciding that she was probably just tired and it wasn't worth getting annoyed about it. Besides, I had money to distract myself with.

"Wait, what do you mean we're leaving now?!" the Jolteon's voice demanded and I glanced over curiously to the group of Eons. The stupid black furred Espeon was staring at the Jolteon indifferently.

"Precisely what I said: we're leaving now," Psycho said monotonously. "Do you have a logical objection to this statement?" he asked, his silver eyes flashing slightly.

"Are you kidding me? We need to rest before going back to a fight!" Jolt said angrily. "And in case you forgot, Kira's still recovering from what that bastard did to her!"

"What's your point?" Psycho asked emotionlessly and Jolt growled, his fur stiffening into needles. I was silently hoping that he would attack the stupid Espeon, because I really wanted to see that annoying psychic type get beaten to a pulp.

"My POINT is that we rest up before going back to a fight! You're not exactly full strength yourself, you know!" Jolt snapped. "And Kira..."

"Irrelevant, Jolt. Kira is not a member of this group and her condition has no impact on our actions," Psycho said coolly. Jolt's eye twitched and I could almost feel the fight coming.

"It may not bother you when your mate's injured, but it sure hell bothers me!" Jolt growled.

"Jolt, calm down. Not accomplishing anything with this," the Leafeon interrupted, turning to the Espeon. "Shadow, what's the hurry for us leaving? We've been going all over the place and fighting a lot, and we're tired. What's the point of us rushing off without resting enough?"

"We're so close," the Espeon replied and he scowled a moment. "So close...he will not escape me again," his eyes flashed at Jolt. "I'd have thought you'd want to help take down the one who harmed Kira, but I suppose you rather delay," Psycho said coldly.

"I'm not in this group for revenge, Psycho. I have a grudge now, but that's not why I joined. I want to make sure Kira's okay before putting myself in danger again, is that too much to ask?" Jolt demanded in a tone of forced calm and I felt disappointed that a fight was probably not going to break out.

"Shadow, please," the Umbreon said softly, licking the Espeon's ear, causing him to flinch and shoot her an annoyed glance. "Take those two somewhere where they can rest up, and the rest of us will come with you. We can regroup afterwards," she suggested, casually licking his ear again before lightly nuzzling her head against his shoulder.

"Stop that," Psycho said emotionlessly. "Whatever. Let's go," he said, glancing over at Aura.

"Alright, see you all later," Aura said cheerfully as she walked over to the Espeon. There was a bright flash of light and they vanished.

"Oh that's nice, leaving the 4 of us alone," Ember grumbled. "Hope Dragonair and Sapphire don't take too long to get back," she said, yawning again. I nodded in agreement and then lay down under a tree, curling up comfortably. Crystal followed and lay down next to me, watching me curiously.

"Uh...why are you looking at me like that?" I asked nervously. I was still feeling a little guilty about being rude to her in the cave. That incident hadn't even made much sense to me. I didn't think I was acting that differently...I was just asking to be left alone, but they just kept bugging me. I shook my head, trying to refocus on Crystal.

"Just thinking," Crystal said, sounding a little mischievous. I blinked at her uncertainly, feeling slightly more anxious. She smiled and licked my ear lightly, causing me to flinch, which annoyed me in how my reaction was almost identical to that annoying Espeon.

"Uh...thinking about what?" I asked nervously.

"I'm wondering whether you'd ever want a kit. No, I don't mean now, but..." she broke off, watching my reaction. Dozens of thoughts went through my mind, most of which had nothing to do with what she was talking about. Where'd the thought about doughnuts come from?

"Uh..." I began, scratching my head, trying to focus my line of thought, but it kept shifting to different things, making it difficult to concentrate. "How soon are you thinking?" I finally managed to blurt out. Crystal paused, thinking for a few moments.

"I don't know. Sometime soon, but I wanted to know what you think," she said.

"Well...I never really thought about it," I admitted. "Let me think for a moment," I added, closing my eyes and focusing for a moment. When I opened my eyes, I was in the circular room I had spent so much time in during the incident at the cave. I looked around and saw the Eevee and two Flareons glance towards me, although the yellow eyed Flareon looked guilty about something.

"H-hey B-blaze," the Eevee stammered nervously and I smiled.

"Hey Solar," I said cheerfully, petting her on the head. The Flareons walked over cautiously, the yellow eyed one avoiding my gaze.

"So what brings you back here? You don't seem upset or scared," the older one said wisely.

"I could have told you that, Lunar," the yellow eyed Flareon said irritably.

"Let him speak, Solace. Or are you trying to manipulate him again?" the older Flareon retorted, and then winced. "I apologize, that was uncalled for," he said calmly as the yellow eyed Flareon flinched.

"S-stop a-arguing!" Solar whined. I blinked at them all strangely.

"Uh...I just wanted your views on Crystal's question," I said, glancing at them all.

"K-kits a-are c-cute," Solar stammered, and then looked confused. "H-how d-do y-you h-have a k-kit?"

"Have fun covering that one," Solace muttered to the older Flareon.

"Why me? You're the emotional part of the mind, you know all about this," he asked calmly.

"Correction, I know all about what LEADS to this. You're the logical aspect. Besides, I called immunity to this question a month ago when Solar asked what the difference between males and females was," Solace replied, smirking. I stared at them again.

"Uh...can you answer my question first?" I asked, feeling really confused. Did they normally argue this much?

"Oh uh...I know you probably don't trust me anymore...but I'm sorry," Solace said, averting her gaze again. "I'm not sure what I was thinking. If you forgive me, we can move on to the topic at hand," she glanced up at me hopefully. Was it normal for portions of your mind to apologize to you? I nodded and she smiled cheerfully.

"It depends on what you want, Blaze. Are you capable of handling a kit, raising a kit, caring for a kit and..." Lunar asked, but Solace interrupted.

"Handling a female Flareon with mood swings?" she asked, then paused, glancing at herself a moment. "Don't bother answering that," she said after a moment.

"A-and p-playing w-with a k-kit?" Solar asked.

"Don't bother answering that, either," Solace said, pointing at Solar.

"Then he shouldn't bother answering whether he's responsible and mature enough," Lunar said, gesturing to himself. "Portions of the mind don't count," he said firmly. Solace frowned, but nodded.

"Real question then...do you want a kit? That's logically the first thing to ask," Solace said. I hesitated a moment.

"I do...but I'm nervous about the idea," I admitted finally. Lunar chuckled.

"That's normal, Blaze. For the reasons we just asked you...most people wonder whether they're capable of handling it, and whether they are responsible enough. This is the thing you have to think about," Lunar explained serenely.

"I-I s-say s-sleep on it," Solar stammered. Everyone stared at her and she cringed. "W-what?"

"I'm going to assume you meant get some rest and think about it, right? Not sleep on the kit," Solace said after a pause. Solar nodded, looking bewildered.

"Uh...thanks, I think. I should probably go now," I said and focused, feeling my awareness go back to reality. I opened my eyes and looked around. Crystal was still waiting patiently for my answer. "Oh uh...I do want a kit someday, but uh...I'm not sure when. I'm going to want to think about it," I said awkwardly, but the female Flareon smiled and nodded.

"Ok, that's good enough for me," she said, stretching.

"I'm going to take a small walk. Be back soon," I said, standing up. Crystal nodded, watching after me as I walked down a path leading away from where we were nesting. After a few moments of walking aimlessly, I paused, listening carefully. I thought I heard something, but as I glanced around, nothing seemed to be nearby. Frowning slightly, I continued walking a little further and stopped, my ears straining to catch the sound I heard. I shrugged, and suddenly gasped in shock as my muscles froze in place, preventing me from moving very quickly.

"Hehehe...I found you, Blazey!" a frighteningly familiar voice hissed and the Ekans slithered into view, making a strange purring hiss sound as she approached. "And I mastered Glare, isn't that nice?" she hissed softly.

"How the hell did you get all the way over here?" I demanded, trying not to panic.

"My secret, Blazey..." Rosa hissed seductively, wrapping her tail around my leg.

"Get away, I'm not interested!" I growled slightly, trying to appear intimidating. Rosa chuckled, flicking her snake tongue out and licking my neck. "Don't do that, damn it!" I snarled, but still unable to move, fear quickly closing in on me.

"Relax, Blazey..." Rosa hissed softly, looking me in the eyes and pausing thoughtfully. "A yellow eye? That's a new look. I like it," she added, very lightly nipping my ear, and I felt the small wound twinge painfully as a trickle of venom contacted it, but I knew it wasn't nearly enough to kill me. She licked the wound, almost lovingly, and it twinged again as she hissed in delight. "I knew your blood would taste nice..." she purred, but I shook my head violently, catching her by surprise and flinging her from me.

"Get away from me!" I said, surprised on how quickly my fear had vanished and Rosa looked startled. All trace of fear and panic had vanished from me and I felt truly relaxed, but at the same time I felt nothing at all. "Should have listened to me the first time, Rosa...now you'll pay!" I said, briefly noting my harsh tone, but dismissing it as unimportant.

"Fine, I thought I could deal with you in a loving manner, but if you resist, force will be just as good!" Rosa hissed.


	136. Perilous Encounter

"Last chance to make this easy!" Rosa hissed angrily and I stared at her without fear. In fact, I felt nothing more than brief flashes of anger towards the infuriating Ekans. Time after time she would return and threaten me, under the guise of love and affection, indifferent to my protests and obvious disinterest. I had enough of this, and I was not going to stand for it anymore.

"And I'll warn you to get lost!" I said firmly and Rosa's eyes narrowed at me.

"So you finally got a spine?" she hissed softly, almost sinisterly. "So be it then. I'll take you down, get what I came for, and leave you for dead!" she bared her fangs at me threateningly, but I felt no fear from the threat, just gazed at the menacing Ekans calmly. She seemed thrown off a little by my lack of fear, watching me uncertainly.

"Stay away from me. I would hate to be forced to kill you, but if you continue to threaten me, I'll have no choice but to eliminate you," I said harshly, allowing a slight growl to add further emphasis to my words. Rosa made a slight purring sound.

"I like your forcefulness, but you're still paralyzed from my Glare, so I don't have much to worry about before I strike you, filling you with a lethal dose of my venom. Then you can experience the pleasure I offered, but you won't survive it, Blazey!" she practically spat the name, as if her continued use of it disgusted her. Good, I wasn't fond of her using it either. It was an insult to Sis for the snake to use the same name my sister had given me. I flinched inwardly, knowing that I needed to focus.

"I may be paralyzed, but it won't stop me," I said coldly, pushing the distracting thoughts away. Rosa hissed and lunged towards me, fangs bared to strike. I forced my body to move, stumbling slightly as I sidestepped out of the way. The Ekans' fangs narrowly missed me and she circled around for a second strike, this time I blocked with my paw, knocking the snake's head away from my chest, where she had been aiming. It was difficult to move, but I was able to ignore my muscles burning in protest, as I focused completely on preventing Rosa from harming me. After several more failed strikes, she paused, scowling angrily at me.

"You're starting to really piss me off, Blazey!" she hissed angrily. I smirked indifferently.

"You're trying to kill me and I'm stopping you from doing so. I don't think I'm very sympathetic if you're mad about that," I replied harshly and the Ekans hissed with rage. "So I'll give you a chance to flee now, otherwise it's your funeral. Infer what you will," I added and Rosa hesitated uncertainly.

"I want you, Blazey...and I'll have you no matter what!" she hissed finally and lunged again. This time, my arm didn't want to move and she bit into my chest, hissing in triumph. I felt a massive spasm of pain as blood seeped from my chest, staining my fur. The wound throbbed, sending spasms of agony through me at the same rate as my heart, which unfortunately was beating extremely hard. Rosa slithered backwards, watching me suffer for several seconds before chuckling sinisterly. "And as fun as that was, I have more planned..." she whispered seductively as she slithered towards me. I glared at her, feeling no fear or anger, just aware of the pain that stabbed through me at rapid intervals.

"Don't touch me," I snarled, but Rosa ignored me, moving even closer towards me. This gesture irritated me more than the fact that I had just been poisoned and I growled with rage, slamming my paw into the Ekans' head, sending her backwards in a heap, shaking her head in a slight daze. "I've grown weary of telling you again and again to leave me the hell alone," I said, panting slightly, noticing that my breathing was growing ragged, almost wheezing. The pain in my chest was still there, but the intervals between stabs was becoming longer, which told me that my heart rate was slowing down, which was not good.

"Fine, I'll leave you alone to die! You could have lived by satisfying my interest, but by rejecting me, you're dead!" Rosa snarled, turning away from me resentfully and slithering away, disappearing into the bushes lining the path. I heard the sounds of her slithering over leaves fading before I could no longer hear her at all. I pushed myself up, gasping as the pain shot through me, stronger than ever. My breathing was slacking more and I felt fear finally catch up to me, but it took all my effort not to panic. I needed to find help...before it was too late. I knew I didn't have much time...I didn't know how long until the poison would finish me, until I would fall and writhe until death came, and maybe I'd see Sis again...

"Stop it, Blaze..." I ordered myself, forcing my aching muscles to take me forward, stumbling every other step or so as I searched desperately for a poison curing berry...or someone who could help me. Random wild Pokémon moved through the trees and bushes, most scattering in my path, none of them paying me any attention as I tried to call out to them for help. The pain continued to shoot through me, like needles poking away at my chest, my breathing becoming shallow as I continued to fight to stop from panicking, but I was rapidly losing that battle.

"Don't give up, Blaze...there's still hope," a voice whispered and I glanced around, noticing that I was in the mental sanctuary or whatever it was called. Lunar was watching me, seemingly at ease. Solar was whimpering in a small ball, crying in terror. Solace was pacing, looking extremely agitated, her yellow eyes flitting around the room, almost desperately.

"What hope?" I begged desperately, feeling no stronger inside this room than I did while focused on the reality. I knew I was dying slowly, in pure agony, wondering whether each step I took would be my last, whether I would fall now or three seconds later. "Help me, please!" I pleaded, my voice noticeably higher as I fought from panicking. Solace continued pacing in agitation, and Solar's whimpering increased in volume by several notches.

"Calm down, it's difficult to think when you're panicking," Lunar said seriously.

"How can I calm down?! I'm dying, damn it!" I shrieked. What did the older Flareon not understand? Solar let out a high pitched whine of terror, and Solace twitched irritably.

"You need to focus, Blaze!" Lunar said urgently. "What will save you?"

"I'm trying to focus! I'm partially paralyzed and poisoned with maybe only minutes to live!" I said, losing my cool completely. "I need something that cures poison! And I don't know what that is!"

"Didn't the elders in your clan explain which berries cure ailments?" Lunar asked serenely. How the hell was he so damn calm in this situation?

"You know I didn't pay attention to them!" I shouted, pacing in a circle in a similar state of agitation. "They were boring and I never thought it would be important?"

"And what do you think now?" the older Flareon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I hate you," I said and my focus returned to reality as I stumbled over a small rock in the path, landing on my face painfully, the painful throbs in my chest intensifying, but the intervals between flashes of pain were further apart than ever. My time was running out, and I needed help...so badly. I struggled to push myself up, but it was no use. I didn't have the energy to stand, much less talk, even if by some chance someone did come along to help me. My mind had already begun to dull, but my thoughts continued to race, perhaps searching for some way out of this situation, but none came.

My vision began to blur and I tried again to force myself up, to drag myself further ahead, and to try to find help, but I was too weakened and tired to move more than an inch or two, and each movement was exhausting. I managed to prop myself up for a second, but then collapsed to the ground limply. I couldn't go on, no matter how much I tried to force myself up, I just couldn't conjure up the strength.

"Damn," I muttered weakly as I failed to push myself up one last time before lying motionless on the ground, the throbs of pain now so very far apart, and it was incredibly difficult to draw breath. I saw darkness closing in over my vision and I whined almost inaudibly before all went black. Moments before I lost all consciousness, I felt a presence and felt something contact me, but then I knew no more.


	137. The Search Party

**Ember POV**

"Ember?" I was awakened by someone poking me and I reluctantly opened my eyes to glare at the offender, which was Crystal.

"What do you want?" I demanded irritably. I was still extremely tired and had been enjoying the rest. Crystal seemed to ignore my tone, and I noticed she seemed surprisingly anxious about something.

"Blaze went for a walk and he hasn't come back yet," she told me and I yawned briefly before sitting up and staring at the female Flareon sleepily.

"How long has he been gone?" I asked and Crystal paused, thinking a second.

"Well over an hour," she replied. I raised an eye scale at her.

"No idea where he went?" I asked, puzzled. She shook her head and I frowned, thinking. I had no clue where Blaze may have gone or what may be delaying his return.

"Hey, we're back!" Dragonair's voice called and Crystal and I turned towards him. He blinked at Crystal uncertainly. "Something wrong?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at us. "And where did everyone else go?" he asked, gesturing to the practically empty area with his tail.

"I think the other Eons left to do whatever it is they do. Spark's over there, sleeping. And Crystal just told me that Blaze took a walk over an hour ago and hasn't come back yet," I reported sleepily.

"And why are we upset about this?" Dragonair asked. Although this was a typical Dragonair comment, it seemed to have struck a nerve with Crystal, who growled furiously, baring her surprisingly sharp-looking fangs at him. "I meant because Blaze has one of the worst attention spans of anyone I've ever met, with the exception of Ember when a male is nearby..."

"Are you trying to get hurt?" I asked irritably. Dragonair grinned, but didn't reply.

"What's going on?" Sapphire asked, apparently having missed the important part of the conversation. Dragonair turned to her.

"Blaze went for a walk a while ago, but hasn't come back yet. Hm, he left his money behind, so I doubt he abandoned the group. Pity, really," Dragonair explained, dodging Crystal's Flamethrower as he finished speaking.

"Dragonair, stop antagonizing them," Sapphire said with a small sigh. "Which way did he go, Crystal?" she asked the female Flareon, who pointed down a path nearby. "Let's go look for a while. Maybe he fell asleep somewhere or he's on his way back," she suggested and Crystal brightened a little bit.

"Unless he broke his leg or something funny like that," Dragonair said, either oblivious or indifferent to Crystal's look of rage.

"Where we going?" Spark asked sleepily, noticing that we were starting to leave. He bounded over to me and climbed onto my tail. "You talk, me try nap," he said when no one answered.

"We're looking for Blaze," Sapphire told him gently and he nodded.

"Me nap now. You find fluffy thing," he murmured before falling asleep. With that odd announcement, we began our search. After several minutes of walking in silence and seeing nothing, Crystal's anxiety seemed to return in full force.

"Are there any streams or similar nearby?" Dragonair asked Sapphire and she tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Not for a while, but yes," the female Dragonair replied after a moment. "You think he might be there?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but that's a logical resting place, so it's worth checking," Dragonair replied seriously. "Then again, streams and the like are great places for hooking up with pretty females," he added with a faint smirk.

"Someday, Dragonair...you'll piss off the wrong person...and they will really hurt you," Crystal snarled.

"Been there, done that. Scorched my scales pretty badly, but it was worth the amusement," Dragonair replied casually. "You need to lighten up a bit, he's only been gone an hour or so," he said, rolling his eyes. Several more minutes of searching later, we found something that even Dragonair had to admit was a serious concern.

"Is that blood?" Sapphire asked uncomfortably, although she remained calm. Crystal studied the stained grass anxiously for a moment and nodded.

"That's not a good sign, but there's a few details we'd need to know. There's not enough blood to consider it a truly serious wound, we don't know if it's Blaze's blood, we don't know where Blaze is, and what would have caused the wound even if it was Blaze's?" Dragonair asked, all trace of joking gone.

"Maybe something attacked him?" I suggested uncertainly and Dragonair considered it for a moment. "It's a possibility, Dragonair," I said seriously.

"It is, but that doesn't answer the real question of what would have attacked him and what happened afterwards," Dragonair replied, studying the area critically. "Let's look further on. Whatever got hurt may have continued, trying to find a safe place to rest," he suggested. I nodded and walked forward, looking around at the bushes and trees that seemed to line the path, checking for signs of damage that would hint that something had passed through, but there was nothing.

"Ember, look down," Dragonair said abruptly and I stopped, looking at the ground. The earth at my feet was disturbed, as if something had fallen there, and there was even a streak of blood upon the leaves nearby the disturbed dirt.

"Yeah, whatever was injured definitely came this way," I said, almost unnecessarily. Crystal seemed even more anxious now. "But we still don't think the injuries were serious, and it might not even have been Blaze," I said, trying to reassure her. "And who knows, maybe it was Blaze and he's okay, just went to the stream to wash his injuries or something," I said and Crystal nodded skeptically. Obviously she wasn't going to be reassured by anything short of seeing Blaze herself.

"I think the stream is this way," Sapphire said, leading us further down the path, taking a turn when the path forked. We followed in silence until we reached a small stream, the area nearby seemed deserted, with no trace of recent inhabitation.

"He's not here..." Crystal muttered, disappointed.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been here within the last week," Dragonair commented. "Any other suggestions where he may have gone? This isn't exactly an area where it's easy to get lost in, so I'm going to rule that out as a possibility," he said, studying the area critically. "I guess we should keep looking..."

Unfortunately, we spent the best part of three days looking for signs of where Blaze had gone, and Crystal was doing the equivalent of sulking, which Dragonair found incredibly annoying. Crystal had stubbornly refused to give up the search, even though Dragonair and I had both grown tired of looking. Sapphire was also losing patience, but she continued to help the female Flareon look, but without success.

"Crystal, now I'm going to ask a few questions that might help us figure some things out. First of all, what was going on before he went for the walk?" Dragonair asked one night. The female Flareon sighed and looked up at Dragonair miserably.

"We were talking, and he said he wanted to think a little and that he was going for a walk and he'd be back soon. He never came back," she said. Dragonair raised an eye scale.

"Talking about what?" he asked curiously and the Flareon flushed slightly and muttered something indiscernible. "Sorry, I missed that. Speak clearly," he said, smirking slightly. Crystal muttered something irritably. "Still missed that," Dragonair said, grinning widely, informing me that he enjoyed her discomfort.

"We were talking about having kits, okay?!" Crystal snapped and Dragonair's jaw dropped. I'm not sure what my expression was, but I was surprised. Sapphire seemed to be the only one unsurprised, other than Spark who was nibbling on a berry and completely ignoring the conversation.

"Oh wow, you're serious," Dragonair said a full minute later, once he had recovered from the shock. "Ember, stop staring stupidly. Although if you make the look permanent, you're more likely to have a kit in the future, because that's how Blaze looks," he said as an afterthought. Crystal growled at this comment, but Dragonair simply grinned, ignoring my glare. "Lighten up a little, Crystal. Blaze is probably fine," he said.

"Well then where is he?" Crystal demanded angrily. "We've been looking for him for 3 days and I just wish I knew for sure that he was okay!" she said dejectedly.

"We'll find him, don't worry," Sapphire said consolingly and the Flareon sighed.

"I hope we do. I really hope we do..." she said quietly before curling up and eventually falling asleep. Dragonair turned to the rest of us with a deadpan look.

"They're planning to have a kit when they've known each other how long? A week or two?" he demanded in a whisper.

"Crystal was raised by a breeder. I'm sure that makes the topic a bigger priority," I said, also whispering. "Why do you care? Jealous or something?" I asked, briefly relishing Dragonair's twitch of annoyance. Who knew turning the tides of Dragonair's teasing was so fun?


	138. The Start of Recovery

**Blaze POV**

"How much longer do you think the Flareon will sleep for?" I awoke to the sounds of voices nearby and I stirred slightly, taking note that I seemed to be lying on something extremely soft and comfortable, and I purred contentedly, I was so comfortable and cozy, and I didn't want the feeling to end as I tried to fall asleep again, or stay with this blissful feeling forever. Unfortunately, the feeling was fading the harder I tried to maintain it.

"He's waking," a second voice said serenely and I heard a small amount of movement nearby, but I kept my eyes closed, hoping that I'd drift off to sleep again. "Try to conserve your energy, Flareon. You need your strength...even if you're represented by the reverse," the speaker muttered.

"You owe me 5 dollars now. I told you he'd make that pun!" an extremely enthusiastic voice said and there was a slight grumble from one of the room's inhabitants.

"You had to have cheated. There's no logical way you could have known he'd make that pun!" another voice said, practically a monotone.

"Nope! I don't cheat!" the cheerful voice said again and I grumbled irritably, still enjoying the softness of the surface I was lying upon, but the blissful feeling was gone. "He's so cute...can we keep him?" the voice asked hopefully.

"I sincerely doubt it," the practically monotone speaker said. "I doubt he would appreciate us keeping him here longer than necessary."

"You could be surprised," another of the voices spoke and I pushed myself up, opening my eyes and looking around wearily. I felt so drained, like I had been on the receiving end of a Giga Drain (I actually have been on the receiving end. I learned not to flirt with Vileplumes after that. They smell weird anyway).

"What's going on?" I asked, knowing I sounded panicked, and my lack of energy made me feel dizzy and anxious.

"Relax, Flareon," one of the voices said calmly and I searched desperately for the speaker, but my vision was too blurry for me to see anything other than various blurs and I whined. "Just calm down. You're alive, but very weak. You're lucky you were found when you were. Any later and you might have been died," the voice said firmly.

"Where am I?" I murmured, losing my balance abruptly and landing on the soft object again. "What is this?" I muttered, poking the blurry object.

"That would be a pillow," the monotonous voice said. "It's typically a soft object used to rest one's head upon when sleeping, and greatly preferred to harder objects such as rocks or the ground itself."

"Just sit down and rest, Flareon," a voice said calmly. "Your vision will be restored in a short time, and you don't need to move around until you're rested more. Do you feel hungry or thirsty?"

"Uh...thirsty," I said, noticing just how dry my throat was. "Ugh, how long was I asleep?" I muttered as a cup of water was carefully placed in my paw and a cold paw helped me steer it to my mouth for me to drink. The cold liquid felt great as it went down my throat and I sighed contentedly.

"Three days," one of the voices said seriously and I turned my head in that direction, trying to focus upon the speaker. "I found you and hastened to give you an antidote and brought you here to recover," the speaker explained.

"Thanks," I muttered gratefully, annoyed by my inability to see clearly, although I was starting to recover my vision in small amounts.

_"Yes, remember your gratitude when your vision clears,"_ another voice spoke, the sound echoing slightly and I stiffened, turning my head in the direction of this voice, although it was a bit trickier to pinpoint than the others due to the echoing effect of the voice.

"Nice one, Nightmare. I was hoping to get another ten minutes of politeness out of him before he realized who we were," one voice said, sounding irritable.

"What the hell do you want? And where the hell am I?" I demanded aggressively, knowing full well that I was completely helpless without vision and while incredibly drained.

"You're inside one of the shrines, located a few miles from where you were found. The occupants here are Doom, Nightmare, Chaos, me, and Fear. I am Tarot, in case you haven't guessed," the serene voice spoke and I scowled, glaring in the general direction of the Sableye. "We want nothing from you. We simply have been taking care of you while you recovered from your near death experience," the Sableye continued, most likely ignoring my glare.

"Why would you help me? We're enemies," I snapped irritably.

"Only by occupation. You travel with Dragonair, who Diablos has targeted. We work with Diablos. By occupation we are foes, but that doesn't mean we cannot be civil to each other when meeting on neutral terms," Tarot said calmly. "Likewise, if we meet when our sides clash, we will not hold back and we expect the same from you."

"Then why save me at all?" I scowled.

_"Why are you complaining?"_ Nightmare asked, almost mockingly. _"Would you prefer to have died?"_

"No," I said, turning away.

"Then don't worry! Be happy!" the cheerful voice said, sounding like he was on the verge of breaking into song.

"If you sing, I will..." the monotonous voice began.

"You're a broken Porygon! You can't do nuthing!" the cheerful voice retorted. "Hiya Flareon!"

"Uh...hi, I think," I muttered, squinting to make out the glowing shape of the Rotom.

"Want anything to eat?" one of the speakers asked and I squinting, spotting a plate with some form of food upon it being offered to me.

"It's poisoned," I muttered bitterly. The occupants immediately burst out laughing.

"You do recall we gave you an antidote to snake venom, right? Why would we kill you? Least of all with poison?" Tarot asked seriously. I felt my face grow warm and I quickly took the food and ate it quickly, savoring the salty taste for a few seconds before swallowing. Shortly afterwards, I was handed another cup of water, which I drank gratefully, noticing my vision was clearing up enough to discern the room occupants. I flinched slightly as I noticed how similar this shrine was to the other shrine I had been in, the one where Sis was kidnapped. I was positioned in the rear of the room, not too far away from a Porygon. A computer console was positioned a few feet away from the Porygon, and the Rotom was floating besides the computer. In the center of the large room stood the Dusclops, and the Gastly floated nearby. Standing only inches away was the Sableye, and he was the one giving me the water.

"You vision seems to be recovering nicely," the Dusclops commented, its eye fixed upon me. "Though one of your eyes seems discolored..."

"It's been like that for a while," I muttered. "Ever since my sister died, I think," I said quietly, averting my gaze from the ghosts.

"The Tower..." Tarot commented solemnly and Nightmare blinked as Tarot flicked over the top card of the deck of cards he was carrying and it fell to the ground, revealing the card that had appeared in front of me mere moments before Sis had been killed. With a small hand gesture, the card flew back to the Sableye's paw and he returned it to the deck, shuffling casually.

_"How's your female Flareon friend?"_ Nightmare asked and I glared at him. _"What? I'm just trying to change the subject to a friendlier one," _he explained. _"Is she more than just a friend?"_

"Maybe, maybe not," I muttered vaguely.

_"Uh huh, that means yes,"_ the Gastly said and I glared at him angrily. _"I'm not mocking you, Flareon. I have a girlfriend. Sort of,"_ he said uncomfortably.

"By sort of, that means she's been locked in the Void for about a year," another voice said and the Gastly scowled, turning to the speaker, which was the Banette from the cave.

_"Shut up, Bane!"_ Nightmare snapped.

"Oh silly me, forgot it was a sore topic," Bane said casually.

_"You could never understand. You've never had a love,"_ Nightmare said bitterly.

"It's difficult to have a relationship when you're a ghost, especially since you're often assigned to guard duty or to some organization," Bane said. "And I've got an advantage for not having a love," he added.

_"What advantage?"_ Nightmare hissed and the Banette chuckled.

"The master doesn't have control over me. I can go back to free agent status at anytime, assuming I'm willing to risk his wrath. Other than Tarot, you're all tied to him," Bane said. "Fear, you're junk. Chaos...he tolerates you when no one else would. Nightmare, he's got your girlfriend's soul sealed. Doom...do you even have a love interest?"

"A Dusknoir, but she doesn't know that I exist," Doom muttered.

"Please tell me the master isn't holding a Reaper Cloth over your head," Bane said, grinning.

"No, I mean she literally doesn't know that I exist. I'm a poor fighter, so I'm useless to all other organizations," the Dusclops said.

"Yeah, good lucking wooing your crush when you can't impress," Bane said sarcastically.

"I'm not junk," Fear said, but was ignored. I knew what that felt like, but was too tired to comment.

"Well, I'm out of here for now. Glad to see the Flareon's awake, his mate's probably going nuts about him now. Oh, and Chaos, someone's about to beat your Tetris high score," Bane said.

"Impossible. Only a person with absolutely no life could stand a chance," the Rotom said calmly, turning towards the computer screen and studying the display. "Even if someone does beat it, good old 'AAA' will be back on top within two hours," Chaos said cheerfully.

"Why do you use those initials, anyway? And don't you have the record on almost every online or electronic game?" Doom asked.

"I don't know, and yes, just about all of them," Chaos replied cheerfully as Bane faded out.

"So I've been here for three days?" I asked and the ghosts returned their attention to me.

"Yep! Ya woke up today," Chaos said happily.

"We washed your fur and fixed up that wound for you, so you're good as new, other than your dangerous lack of energy," Tarot said calmly. I glanced down at my chest and discovered that the Sableye was telling the truth, all trace of the wound was gone, and the blood in my fur was no more. My fur was also soft and fluffy, although inferior to how Crystal's fur was, which was disappointing, but I'd live.

"Thanks," I said, still feeling uncomfortable thanking the ghosts that were always known as foes.

_"Oh good, he's back to being grateful again,"_ Nightmare said.

"Well he should be, he'd be dead otherwise," Doom said, shrugging.

"You should try to get some sleep, Flareon. Your recovery will be faster if you get as much rest as possible," Tarot said calmly. I yawned, stretching slightly.

"Why am I so tired if I slept for 3 days?" I muttered and the ghosts chuckled.

"Those 3 days weren't so much 'sleeping' as much as 'battling to survive'." the Porygon explained and I nodded uncertainly.

"But you'll probably feel more rested when ya wake up!" the Rotom said happily, diverting his focus from the computer monitor to look at me for a moment.

_"Here, allow me to assist you. Sleeeeeep!"_ the Gastly said and his eyes glowed, meeting my gaze. I felt even drowsier than before and curled up comfortably on the pillow before falling into a peaceful sleep.


	139. Shrine Intrusion

"Now what do we have here?" I jerked awake at the sound of voices, but they were different...but I couldn't quite place what was odd about them.

"Not sure...let's check it out. Looks interesting," a second voice said and my fur bristled. Human voices, I was sure of that now.

"Ooh visitors!" Chaos said cheerfully and Nightmare stared at the Rotom in disbelief.

_"Chaos, they're humans. You know that humans cannot be permitted to examine the shrine,"_ the Gastly said seriously and the Rotom shrugged its lightning bolt shaped...whatever they were.

"Aw..." Chaos muttered, sounding disappointed. "Isn't there supposed to be a fog defense anyway? I know there is!"

"Not in this shrine; you're thinking of the Kanto shrines," Doom replied as Tarot stood up, having been sitting on the floor of the shrine for some reason. Probably meditating or whatever the term is.

"Here we are. Let's go inside," one of the human voices said and two men in black uniforms stepped inside, looking around cautiously. I cringed a little, recognizing the red 'R' upon their shirts. "No one seems to be here other than that weird Porygon and a computer," the same voice said, which was a tall, skinny man with messy brown hair. At his waist were a gun and two Pokeballs.

"Porygons are valuable," the second man said, a shorter, blonde haired youth. "We could turn it in for a bonus. Our checks aren't very large, after all..."

_"Humans, you take another step and you trigger the shrine's curse!" _Nightmare's voice spoke in a spooky manner and the humans froze, looking around anxiously for a moment before laughing quietly.

"Just a trick to scare people, I bet. Whoever lives here has a stupid sense of humor," the lead Rocket snickered and stepped forward boldly. "Where's the curse?" he demanded to the air.

"Right here!" Doom said, materializing next to the human and slamming its fist into the human's gut, knocking the Rocket to the ground, the man groaning as he clutched his stomach. His partner gaped at the Dusclops in terror and whipped out his own gun, firing a shot at the Dusclops, but Doom ignored it, the bullet passing through his body harmlessly and ricocheting off the computer monitor.

"Hey!" Chaos complained, materializing in front of the computer. "Watch where you shoot that thing!" The humans didn't react, leading me to believe that they couldn't understand anyone other than Nightmare, which sort of made sense due to Nightmare's telepathic speech. "Oh it is on!" Chaos said, releasing a small bolt of electricity at the human, but the youth threw a Pokeball, which burst open, releasing a Weepinbell, which calmly took the Thunder shock without so much as flinching.

"Damn ghosts!" the first human snarled, pulling his Pokeballs from his belt and throwing them, releasing a large orange rat-like Pokémon with a sharp fang and a smaller purple rat Pokémon. "Rattata, Raticate!"

_"Pitiful, humans. Prepare to meet your doom and your worst nightmare!" _the Gastly sneered and the Dusclops shot a glare at Nightmare.

"Stop punning on my name. And puns on your name are just as bad," Doom said irritably.

"Time to spread fear and chaos!" the Rotom said cheerfully and Doom glared at him for a moment. "Aww, but it's fun!" Chaos complained.

"I can't do anything, so don't drag my name into this," the Porygon said flatly. Tarot held his paw a few inches to the side of the cards and a card shot from the top of the deck to his paw, glowing briefly before he flung it at the Ratatta, but the smaller rat dodged quickly, the card hitting the ground and landing facedown. Tarot shrugged, repeating the technique to get a second card, which he flung at the Raticate, hitting it and causing it to stumble backwards, directly into the path of a pulse of dark energy from Nightmare, but it recovered from both attacks quickly, hissing angrily.

"Raticate, use Shadow Ball!" the Rocket yelled and the Raticate formed a ball of energy in its mouth before spitting it at Doom, but the Dusclops countered with a fist that glowed with purple energy. As the attacks connected, there was a massive explosion, smoke quickly filling the room. I coughed slightly, straining my eyes to try to see what was going on. Tarot was just outside the smoke and he called another card to his hand, closing his gem eyes briefly before flinging the glowing card into the screen. There was a startled cry as the card apparently hit the target and Tarot smiled slightly.

"Weepinbell, use Stun Spore!" the younger Rocket yelled as the smoke cleared and the plant Pokémon released a cloud of orange spores, and I spat a stream of fire, igniting the spores, startling the Rocket. "A Flareon? What the hell is that doing here?" the Rocket muttered, taking out a Pokeball and throwing it at me. It didn't burst open and I realized that it was an empty ball, intended to capture me. I quickly leapt out of the way, the Pokeball bouncing against the wall harmlessly. I growled angrily; I had been caught once by Rockets, I wasn't interested in repeating the experience...even if they put me in the female cages by accident again.

"Rattata, Raticate, attack them with Shadow Ball!" the older Rocket yelled and the rat Pokémon both formed black orbs of energy in their mouths before launching them at Nightmare and Doom, but both ghosts calmly faded out, reappearing in different locations.

_"Sleeeep!"_ Nightmare hissed, but both rats leapt away from the Gastly, avoiding eye contact with him. Tarot picked a fourth card and it glowed brightly before he flicked it at the Weepinbell, knocking the plant Pokémon into one of the room's pillars, but the Weepinbell recovered quickly, spitting a liquid at the Sableye, but Tarot teleported to a different location, the dark liquid sizzling strangely when it hit the ground.

"I shall finish this now," Tarot announced, catching a card from the top of the deck and studying it, nodding in satisfaction before flipping it around. I blinked at the picture, recognizing it as the same card the Sableye had revealed before managing to defeat me, the stupid Espeon, Dragonair, and Sapphire at the same time. "The World marks the end, and it is the highest of the Major Arcana, well suited to being the final Trump Card!" Tarot said calmly and the card glowed intensely as he raised it over his head, beams of light flying from the card, striking the Weepinbell, Rattata, Raticate, and both humans, the force of the beam throwing each target backwards.

"Damn..." the older Rocket growled, withdrawing both unconscious rat Pokémon into their Pokeballs as the younger Rocket did the same with the Weepinbell."You damn ghosts are going to pay!" he snarled, raising his gun. The other Rocket did the same, and I blinked, noticing that the older one was pointing his gun at me, prompting me to cringe backwards.

"Insolent mortals..." a cold voice whispered and the older Rocket whirled around as the younger Rocket let out a shout of fear and pain, slumping to the ground, a nasty-looking wound in his back. A black weasel-like Pokémon stood in the doorway, a crown of red feather on its head, another feather dangling from each ear, and a collar of feathers around its neck. On each paw was a set of vicious claws and the Pokémon grinned maliciously, its red eyes watching the older human as he stared upon his dying companion. "Go ahead human...I dare you to harm that Flareon, or to try to shoot me..." the Weavile hissed."Just so much as twitch and you'll join your friend..." the Weavile pointed to the human with a nasty looking claw, and the body glowed a very faint green before a small green orb flew from the human's body to the Weavile's paw.

"What?" the older human gasped in horror as the orb expanded a little, becoming transparent and revealing an image of a tablet with the human's silhouette. The Weavile chuckled maliciously as the orb became solid once more, and then slowly disintegrated. The Weavile smiled wickedly.

"Human souls are so weak...but every little bit counts..." the Weavile whispered sinisterly, and the Rocket flinched in terror."You twitched, mortal...so you join him!" the weasel Pokémon swiped his claws and I shut my eyes to block out the image of the killing, but I still heard the agonized gasp and the thud of the body falling. I opened my eyes a millimeter and saw another green orb float into the Weavile's paw before vanishing like the first. "That's what those fools deserve for intruding. Human souls are too worthless to absorb under normal circumstances, but who cares?"

_"Master,"_ Nightmare whispered reverently and Diablos chuckled softly.

"On to business. These Rocket imbeciles gave me another thing we needed..." the Weavile bent and seized a keycard from the older Rocket and picked up the Pokeballs from their belts, the balls glowing with black energy for a moment before the Weavile tossed them aside indifferently, three more green orbs floating into his paw and vanishing. "Such weakness..." the weasel Pokémon murmured indifferently.

"I presume we're going to the Rocket base nearby?" Doom asked, blinking at Diablos, who nodded coldly.

"Our targets are there," Diablos explained, and his gaze focused on me, sending a shiver of terror through me. "We meet again, Blaze. You're coming with us."

"What? Why?" I demanded, shocked by this shocking announcement. Diablos' eyes flashed maliciously.

"Here's the deal...assist us, and you'll be returned to your little group. Refuse and..." he trailed off, smirking slightly. He didn't have to be specific with his threat; I knew what he was saying. Someone would be killed, that much was obvious. What I didn't understand was why he wasn't threatening me personally. It was almost as if he wanted me alive, but that didn't make any sense to me. Not that I was complaining about being allowed to live. Life is a nice thing to have.


	140. Continuing the Search

**Dragonair POV**

I awoke in the morning and stretched, glancing around for a moment, trying to remember both where we were and why we were there. It didn't take long to remember, once I noticed that the female Flareon was awake and staring at the sky, almost sadly. This reminded me that we had been looking for Blaze for the past three days without success. I personally wasn't too upset about Blaze, he had survived far more than I ever would have expected of him, so to me it wasn't a question of whether he was alive or not, but more of where he would be.

"Good morning, Dragonair," Sapphire said, I flinched at the sound of her voice, having failed to notice that she was awake. Or anywhere near me for that matter.

"Oh, morning," I replied, turning towards her. "Where were you?" I asked, a little confused as to how I hadn't noticed her nearby, which I'm attributing to her just arriving.

"Watching the nearby area. While the others sleep, at least one member of the group should be awake for safety reasons," the female Dragonair replied serenely. I nodded in agreement and turned my attention to Ember and Spark, the Pichu fast asleep, curled up on the Charmander's stomach. It was very cute looking, but I lightly tapped the Pichu on the back anyway.

"Ah!" Spark yelped, sparks shooting from his cheeks, zapping Ember in the process. Spark looked around nervously just as Ember sat up, clutching her gut where the electricity had struck her. "Oh...me sorry Ember!" Spark said, noticing the Charmander's discomfort.

"Don't use me as a pillow anymore..." Ember gasped, scowling at me as if I was to blame for her getting shocked. Which I was, but she shouldn't know that.

"Me sorry. Me bad for sparkin'," Spark said sadly, his ears drooping unhappily.

"Are you alright, Ember?" Sapphire asked, floating over and Ember nodded, still clutching her gut, but her expression of pain was fading. This left me to either talk to Crystal, who was undoubtedly still pissed off at me for my indifference about Blaze, or console the Pichu kit, who I'd eventually have to give really bad news to and comfort him then. For obvious reasons, I chose to comfort Spark. Namely because he doesn't have extremely sharp teeth or fire.

"Don't worry about it, Spark. Ember's not mad at you," I told him calmly and he looked up at me hopefully.

"She no mad at me?" he repeated, smiling. "That good. So where fluffy thing?" he asked after a moment, looking around hopefully.

"Crystal's over there," I replied, gesturing to Crystal with my tail, the Flareon casting me a brief glanced before returning her attention to nothing in particular. I was starting to wonder if she had Blaze's attention span.

"Me mean other fluffy thing," Spark said, still searching the surrounding area.

"We don't know yet," I said with a small sigh.

"What if mean people steal fluffy thing?" Spark asked nervously and I blinked at the kit in alarm, and then turned to Sapphire.

"Did you see a Rocket base around here? This is around Blackthorn City, right?" I asked her urgently. The female Dragonair seemed momentarily confused by the question.

"I...I don't know. As a kit I stayed in that area and I haven't visited enough to notice any buildings in the surrounding area," she replied calmly, but looked at me uncertainly. "Why do you ask?"

"Spark just suggested that maybe Blaze got captured by Rockets. If I remember correctly, there's a Rocket base somewhere in this area, but I don't remember where. So I was asking if you've seen it," I explained quietly.

"A Rocket base?" Crystal asked abruptly, focusing on us for several seconds. "I think I saw a human building about a half mile that way yesterday," she gestured in a direction with a paw and I nodded thoughtfully.

"Might as well check it out, what do you think?" I asked.

"I think Spark and I should sit this out. If it is a Rocket facility, it's best to not have Spark come, and I volunteer to take care of him," Sapphire said seriously.

"So Ember, Crystal, and I will go? By the way, did anyone else notice we all have a Flamethrower attack?" I asked. "And that I'm the only adult male? Funny how I never noticed these similarities before," I said. The females stared at me blankly, but Spark giggled.

"Dragon funny," he said happily as he bounced over to a small berry bush and began picking a few of the fruits and nibbling on them.

"Those are completely irrelevant comments, Dragonair," Ember said, shaking her head. "Let's get this over with," the Charmander muttered as Crystal led the way towards where she believed the Rocket facility was. After about an hour or so of moving, stopping only to grab a few apples to satisfy our hunger, we reached the building. Unlike most Rocket buildings I had seen, this one wasn't very hidden, or even disguised as a different building. Admittedly it wasn't obvious it was a Rocket base, but there just didn't seem to be any attempts to disguise the more suspicious details.

"So how do we plan on getting in?" Crystal asked, looking at me uncertainly.

"Why do I always make the plans?" I muttered. "I don't know how we're going to get in. I've never been to this base, and we don't know anything about it," I said honestly.

"Then think of something!" Crystal snapped angrily.

"Again, we don't know anything, so it's much harder to plan something out," I insisted.

"Don't we just make this stuff up as we go along, anyway? Our plans are always along the lines of 'get in, look around, find whatever, fight someone, and then leave'. So here's my plan. We don't plan anything and just do whatever," Ember interrupted. There was a long silence following her words; Crystal and I exchanged glances, the Flareon shrugging.

"A very clever and well thought out plan, Ember. If it works, I'll try to set you up with the next single male you become infatuated with. So I'll pay up in about twenty minutes," I said and Ember rolled her eyes. "So how do we get in?"

"We make it up as we go along, didn't I just finish explaining this concept?" Ember asked, walking calmly towards the main entrance. "And we somehow seem to always go in the front entrance, no matter how much sense it would make to search for an alternative pathway," she said. I was about to launch into my explanation about security breaches being covered, but stopped when I noticed an air duct above the main entrance.

"We could use that duct..." I said thoughtfully and Ember and Crystal stared at me. "What? We're improvising!" I protested.

"That duct is very high off the ground, how do you propose we get in there?" Crystal demanded. I grinned, shaking my head, amused by the Flareon's impatience and the oversight.

"I can float, Crystal. Which means I can carry you two up to the duct," I explained calmly. The fire Pokémon exchanged brief glances and shrugged almost simultaneously. "No arguments? Good. Climb on, but I reserve the right to throw you off me if you mess up my scales," I added.

"What?" Ember yelped and I chuckled.

"I'm kidding," I assured her and Ember cautiously climbed onto my back. Crystal anxiously climbed after her, wrapping her forearms around me tightly. "You don't like heights?" I teased and the Flareon growled in reply. I smirked and slowly floated into the air, flying over to the duct, and I broke open the grate with a small bolt of electricity. Ember crawled into the duct with my assistance and Crystal followed, sighing in relief when she got off of me.

"Is the duct big enough for you?" Crystal asked after a moment and I smirked.

"Yes, but the trick is how long I am," I replied. "Move forward as far as possible," I ordered and the fire types obeyed, carefully moving through the duct. I eased my body into the duct, which was spacious enough for me to move around comfortably, but my length was already becoming a nuisance, especially when we reached a corner. Turning in such a narrow location was a pain, as much of my body scraped against the corner itself, and the inside of air ducts have occasionally sharp corners.

"There's a vent that goes down," Ember whispered to Crystal, who passed the message to me, despite that I had heard the Charmander's words perfectly.

"Can you tell what type of room it leads to?" I asked and Crystal passed that message to Ember, the Charmander checking. There was a sudden crashing sound and Crystal winced. "Let me guess...she fell through the vent?" I asked and the Flareon nodded. "Any trouble?"

"You okay, Ember?" Crystal called down the hole Ember had fallen through. "Are you hurt?"

"Just my pride and my back!" Ember called back. "The room's empty, thank Mew," she added and Crystal whined softly, clearly anxious at the prospect of jumping through the hole. Naturally, I pushed her through, following seconds later, uncoiling my body upon reaching the ground and looking around.

"This is what you call empty?" I demanded, gesturing my tail at a small group of humans, all of which were sleeping soundly, scattered throughout the room in nearly random locations. "Huh, those are odd sleeping locations. They're guards that chose to nap randomly...typical of Rockets, but strange nevertheless," I commented, studying one of the sleeping humans.

"I'm not going to worry about that now," Crystal grumbled, cautiously stepping into the hallway and Ember and I followed. "So where would Blaze be if he were here?" she asked.

"Either cells, a laboratory, or control room, where the villain is waiting for us," I replied. Both fire types stared at me. "I think I watched one too many movies," I said apologetically.


	141. Reaching the Destination

**Ember POV**

"So where should we look first?" I asked, still giving Dragonair an odd look. Dragonair considered it for a few moments.

"We could try looking for a cell of some sort first, those are usually near laboratories, which are usually near the main control room, anyway," Dragonair replied thoughtfully. "The question is where those would be located in the first place," he added and I rolled my eyes.

"Let's look around a little bit," Crystal suggested, already moving down the hall, gazing around uncertainly. Dragonair and I followed, Dragonair checking behind us every few seconds, as if he expected us to get ambushed at any moment. I'm not sure what the source of his paranoia was, but I tried not to let it concern me.

"Security camera. I'm impressed," Dragonair said abruptly, releasing a Thunderbolt towards a camera positioned near the ceiling, said device exploding.

"Wonderful stealth technique," I commented sarcastically and Dragonair grinned at me.

"Better than letting the camera spot us. Who knows, there might actually be security in this building!" he pointed out, a little too excited at the thought of security existing in the facility.

"What is this place even for?" Crystal asked, peering in a doorway, where a human was sleeping over a pile of paperwork. "And do they all sleep like this?" she asked, gesturing to the human. Dragonair studied the man for a moment.

"He probably pulled an all-nighter and it caught up to him. No coffee at the desk, so it must have hit him hard," he suggested indifferently. "As far what the facility is used for, I have no idea. It doesn't strike me as much of a laboratory, but one thing I learned is that all bases to date have had labs of some sort, even if I never knew about them before," he continued, sharing a glance with me; I knew he was remembering that he had been oblivious to the Vermillion base's lab, even though it had been moved by the time he learned of it.

"And since we have no clear plan, we may as well walk around aimlessly until we find some clue as to where we're going," I commented brightly and the female Flareon sighed, continuing down the hallway, stopping suddenly and staring around a corner anxiously. "What's wrong?"

"That guard isn't sleeping..." she murmured, pointing at a human whose back was to us. As I watched the human, a bolt of electricity struck the guard, the guard crying out before falling to the ground.

"Now he is," Dragonair said, smirking. "Let's continue," he said, following Crystal down the now unguarded hallway. We stopped only to knock out any guards or security cameras along the way, as well as to search every room we came across, most of which were empty aside from some boring looking paperwork, but Dragonair usually glanced through the papers anyway. "Found it!" he cried triumphantly.

"Found what?" Crystal asked hopefully and Dragonair pushed a paper off the desk with his tail and the Flareon looked at it. "Er...I don't know what this is," she admitted after a few seconds and Dragonair chuckled.

"It's a floor plan. It's a bit crude, not nearly as detailed as the ones executives have, but my bet is a grunt or low ranked official has navigation trouble and kept a floor plan to refer to when trying to find certain rooms and the sort," Dragonair explained and I glanced over Crystal's shoulder to look at the paper. Dragonair tapped his tail at one spot of the plan, which was marked with an 'X'. "That's probably our current location so..." he studied the plan carefully before tapping three spots."Cells, lab, and control room, respectively," he said smugly.

"But the control room is on the opposite side of the base from those two," I pointed out. Dragonair nodded indifferently. "So do we split up? And if we do, who goes where?" I asked.

"I'm going to the cells, so one of you decides who comes with me to investigate the labs," Dragonair replied. Crystal raised her paw and I shrugged.

"So I go to the control room. And what if I find Blaze?" I asked.

"Wait for us to show up," Dragonair said seriously. "Once we determined he's not in the cells or labs, we'd come find you. If you don't find Blaze, stay in the control room anyway. You can probably disrupt the security to make it easier," he explained.

"And what happens if you two get taken out or delayed? I could be waiting a long time," I pointed out.

"It's less likely that two of us will get taken out, so there's less risk on our end," Dragonair said simply. I sighed and nodded, studying the path I'd have to take to reach the control room and walking down the hall as Crystal and Dragonair went the other way. I was pleased to not reach any resistance on my path, although I noticed several sleeping guards, which was starting to worry me. Rockets or not, it was very unlikely for half the security force to be sleeping at the same time while on duty. Maybe tired, but not fast asleep like these were. I turned a corner, following the path I had memorized and stared in alarm as I spotted three unconscious grunts. I glanced at them nervously, noticing that they had not fallen asleep, but had actually been attacked physically.

"Great..." I grumbled to myself. From what I could tell, the attack hadn't happened that long ago, which told me that there was a potential threat nearby. I scowled slightly, baring my claws cautiously before continuing, keeping an eye out for any signs of danger. I reached the end of the route without seeing any sign of danger or other signs of previous attacks, but this only made me more suspicious as I opened a door leading to a staircase. The stairwell was barely lit, prompting me to flare up my tail flame to light up the shadows the best I could before descending the stairs. At the bottom, I went through a doorway and blinked in the sudden increase of light.

When my eyes adjusted to the light, I scanned the room carefully and blinked in shocked disbelief. The room was spacious, with a line of computers and other devices in the rear of the room. I was standing on a sort of balcony with a staircase to my left leading to the lower floor. On one end of the room, a familiar human stood and I shuddered slightly before noticing what the human's attention was on. There was a black weasel Pokémon with red feathers, reminding me a moment of Nightslash, but different than the Sneasel. Forming a semi circle behind the black Pokémon was a Gastly, a biped mummy-like Pokémon, a Sableye, and a Rotom. Behind them, and closest to me, was a Flareon who was hanging back a lot farther than the ghosts were, while casting an anxious look around. Before I could wonder what was going on, the human threw a Pokeball into the air.

"No Pokémon threatens me!" the human snarled and the ball burst open, a large blue serpent like Pokémon forming, larger than Dragonair and with large fangs. "Venom, take this filth down!" the human growled as the Gyarados roared threateningly.

"Foolish human..." the weasel Pokémon spoke in a malevolent hiss."Is a Gyarados all you have to send against me? How about something worthwhile?"

"Are you calling me weak, Weavile?!" the Gyarados snarled and the weasel Pokémon glanced up at the Gyarados.

"I am so much more than a Weavile, Venom. So much more..." came the reply in a malicious tone; I shivered as I caught on to who the Weavile was, although the clues were already present in who was accompanying him. Why was Blaze with him, though? "Chaos, if you will..." the Weavile whispered and the Rotom nodded, dropping a strange gauntlet and a collar into the Weavile's paws, the weasel Pokémon slipping the gauntlet onto its arm and then handing the collar to Tarot who frowned briefly before vanishing, reappearing behind the human and clasping the collar around the human's neck. The human let out a startled yell and the Gyarados turned to the human, looking puzzled.

"What did you do to Master Ed?!" the Venom growled, glaring at the Weavile, who grinned maliciously.

"You are a disgrace to Pokémon everywhere, Venom. Humans are not masters...and now yours has a collar to prove it. Sever ties with the worthless human, Venom, or I'll force you to," the Weavile hissed.

"How would you do that?" Venom snapped, glaring at them hatefully.

"Mercy is for the weak, Venom. To truly have power, you must do whatever it takes to have it. Whether it be killing your 'master' or your enemies. You're powerful, but you lack the true darkness within yourself. By embracing this darkness, you shall become even stronger."

"How dare you?" Venom snarled. "I'll rip you to shreds before turning on my master!"

"Excellent. Your anger and hate are the keys! Now unlock your darkness and join me! I will be your true master, not this scum!" the Weavile urged coldly and Venom spat a pressurized burst of water, and the Weavile allowed the blast to strike him, knocking him to the ground. The gauntlet on the Weavile's arm glowed and a blue light glowed on the collar the human was trying to remove. A moment later, the human let out a cry of pain, falling to his knees, straining to remove the collar while he writhed in pain.

"What...what the hell are you doing to him?!" Venom shouted furiously. The Weavile chuckled cruelly, returning to his feet.

"You're about to learn the way of life, Gyarados! To have power, you must sacrifice something! Sacrifice the human to free yourself from his clutches and get the power you need! You hate me, but should you attack me, all the damage I take is calculated into voltage and a similarly powered shock will flow into that human scum!" the Weavile sneered triumphantly.

"Leave Master Ed alone!" Venom ordered, but the weasel Pokémon laughed mercilessly.

"Make me. And to make me, you have to kill me, and every bit of pain you inflict is dealt to your master! So what will it be? Protect your master by hurting us both? Or sever your bond with him and become stronger than any other Gyarados? Stronger than Dragonair? All you need to claim that power is ditch the human and join me!" the Weavile sneered and the Gyarados hesitated.

"Machamp, Fiend!" Ed yelled, throwing two more Pokeballs, which burst open, revealing the four armed fighting Pokémon and a large green lizard-like Pokémon, which I recognized the description of as a Tyranitar. A sense of dread filled me as I remembered what Dragonair had told me about this Pokémon, a Pokémon so strong that Dragonair had never come close to beating him, although Sapphire had by some fluke (Sapphire's words). "Kill them!" the human ordered.

"Please don't hurt me!" the Flareon whined suddenly, cringing. At least I confirmed that it was Blaze, although I wasn't sure why he was with the ghosts or why they were in the base at all.

"Prepare to fight," the Weavile hissed to the accompanying ghosts, all of which nodded. "We'll show you our power and then you decide whether to join us or not!" he hissed, readying his claws viciously.


	142. Tempting Offer

I frowned to myself, overlooking the start of the battle. Venom, Machamp, and the Tyranitar all struck intimidating poses, while the ghosts all seemed relatively unafraid of the Rocket Pokémon. Blaze was cowering, trying to stay out of the line of fire. I was tempted to call down to him, but didn't really want to attract attention to myself at the moment. "Eliminate them!" Ed yelled furiously, still struggling to remove the weird collar around his neck.

"Yes, Master Ed," Venom hissed and lunged forward, snapping his jaws at the Weavile, who calmly leapt out of the way, chuckling maliciously.

"Still haven't learned, Venom? Humans should not order you around..." the weasel Pokémon said quietly, shards of ice forming on his paw, the Weavile flicked its wrist and the shards struck the Gyarados in the face, Venom growling angrily. "Ditch the fool human; lose the bonds that tie you to mediocrity. You're so close to the power you need, Venom, why back down now?" the Weavile urged softly. Venom replied by spitting a pressurized burst of water, bowling the Weavile over. A blue light on Ed's collar lit up and he yelled in pain, sparks shooting from the collar as he writhed in pain.

"I'll kill you, Weavile! I'll tear you into tiny pieces!" Venom snarled and the Weavile laughed cruelly. "You won't be laughing when I'm through with you!" the Gyarados raged, a golden orb of energy forming in his mouth. "Enjoy being blasted with Hyper Beam!" Venom snapped as the beam struck the Weavile, the force of the beam slamming the weasel Pokémon into the wall, the force of the impact shattering several tiles from the wall and bits of debris littered the surrounding area. Ed's collar glowed again, this time much more intensely than before and the human screamed, falling to the ground, flailing wildly. The Gyarados' anger intensified upon noticing the effects the attack had had upon Ed.

"You fool! Did you already forget what happens when you injure me? Your precious master feels a shock similar in power to the pain you inflict, and Hyper Beam isn't a very gentle attack, is it?" the Weavile laughed, pushing himself back to his feet, shifting some of the debris that had fallen over his body. Venom growled in rage. "Just give up the human. He's holding you back, and this fight only proves it. You don't want to attack, but refusing to fight won't help you...without the human weighing you down, you can become more powerful!" the Weavile hissed maliciously. "The human is a restriction, a burden upon you. You're limited because of him, and without him you can be free of such a weakness, becoming stronger than before!" he continued softly.

_"Sleeeep!"_ Nightmare hissed and his eyes glowed, but the Tyranitar snapped its jaws at the Gastly, forcing him to abandon his Hypnosis in favor of fading out and dodging the Crunch attack. _"That never seems to work anymore,"_ the Gastly complained.

"In battle, no. But you did a wonderful job dealing with most of the guards around the base," the mummy-like Pokémon commented dryly.

"Doom's right, Nightmare!" Chaos said happily, casually dodging rapid swings of the Machamp's fists. "Ya aren't gonna hit me!" Chaos informed the fighting type cheerfully, making no efforts to counterattack.

"Venom, the card that represents you..." Tarot said calmly and the Gyarados turned his gaze to the Sableye, panting slightly from the use of Hyper Beam. Tarot held his paw above the deck and a card rose quickly to the paw, the Sableye glancing at the card casually before spinning it to face Venom. "The Fiend. A bit ironic, considering the name of your Tyranitar associate, but this card symbolizes anger and self bondage," the Sableye said calmly.

"So what?" Venom snarled and Tarot's gem eyes glittered a moment before he reshuffled the card back into the deck.

"It means that you are filled with anger, and you have tied yourself to a belief or idea that stops you from becoming better. That is my interpretation, though I could be wrong. The cards are not perfect, although I'm confident in the anger department of my interpretation," Tarot replied serenely.

"You're full of shit!" Venom growled.

"Perhaps. Let me give another demonstration..." Tarot picked another card from the deck, pointing a finger at Blaze, who whimpered nervously as Tarot looked at the card and blinked. "It appears as if the card representing you has changed, Flareon. Originally represented by the Strength in reverse...now represented by the upright Strength...that's interesting..." Tarot mused quietly, lightly tossing the card into the air, where it hovered in front of him, the front of the card facing Blaze.

"W-what?" Blaze asked anxiously as Tarot tapped the deck again and a card lifted into the air, positioned below the other card, but to Blaze's left.

"Your past...Death, the card symbolizes loss, sadness, a transformation. This may explain the inversion of the Strength," Tarot murmured, tapping the deck again, prompting the next card to lift from the deck, positioning itself directly below the 'Strength' card before turning around to face Blaze. "The Lovers...symbolizing bonding, romance...love," the Sableye explained.

"A-and what's next?" Blaze asked nervously as Tarot tapped the deck once more, the card hovering to the far right before turning around.

"The future...the Wheel of Fate. This card represents possibilities, as well as Fate itself. In the future, your destiny may be revealed," Tarot said softly, the cards slowly descending into his paw before he returned them to the deck and shuffled. Blaze stared at the ghost blankly. "I cannot see the future, Flareon. I only can interpret the cards, but the cards are drawn as fate guides them."

"This is crap!" Venom snarled, spitting another jet of water, but Tarot vanished in a flash of light, reappearing on the other side of the room. "Mocking me with that card shit, trying to impress me?" he snapped his teeth at Blaze, who whined in fear as the Gyarados approached, but a burst of electricity hit the Gyarados, distracting him from the Flareon.

"How do ya like them bananas?" Chaos asked cheerfully, dodging another series of punches from the angered Machamp. I had no idea how he managed to keep dodging, since he didn't seem particularly fast, while the Machamp was extremely fast. I glanced over to the Tyranitar which was roaring threateningly while shrugging off the combined efforts of Doom and Nightmare, neither of which seemed to be making any effort at damaging the monstrous lizard Pokémon. The Gastly was barraging the Tyranitar with pulses of dark energy and Doom was punching the lizard with fists that were engulfed in fire, but each attack seemed to have little to no effect, but Fiend was unable to hit them without them fading out and reappearing elsewhere.

"You see the facts, yet? You cannot beat us, so join us and become stronger! Leave the idiot humans and claim the power you all seek! The only master you should have is me, not a weakling mortal!" the Weavile sneered wickedly.

"What makes you better?" Venom growled, spitting a powerful wave of fire at the Weavile, who calmly allowed the flames to engulf him. "Ha-ha! You're not a very strong opponent!"

"You're wrong, Venom. You seem to have forgotten this!" the Weavile mocked, holding up his left arm, where the strange gauntlet was placed. Ed cried out in agony, sparks shooting from the collar he wore. Venom growled in rage. "Don't be a fool, Venom. Lose the bond with the human and you'll no longer be restricted by him! If you don't lose the bond, then you're weak! You won't be able to harm me without harming him, so as long as you're tied to him you can never have power!"

"Why are you doing this?" Venom demanded, narrowing his eyes at the Weavile.

"Mutual benefits. We have similar aims, and I'm willing to make a deal with you three in order to accomplish my goals," Diablos said softly. "But you three are pathetic! You all care for a human and I need that detail rectified! You hesitate to kill me because your precious 'Master Ed' will suffer. If you want this power, you have to be merciless!" he roared. "Loyalty to a human is idiocy. Humans are weak and vulnerable. So do you want power? Join us, and you'll get the power you want...make you superior to Dragonair..." Diablos said quietly and Venom hesitated. "All you have to do is kill the human. He's holding you back...and you must sever that bond by severing him from life. No one should hold you back..."

"Wouldn't you hold me back if I obeyed you?" Venom sneered. Diablos laughed maliciously.

"Power comes at a price. I give you power in exchange for your services. This human gives you nothing, so who has the better offer? Power and freedom...or nothing but confinement in a ball and forcing you to obey? A Pokémon with your potential wasted by being ordered around by a mere human..." Diablos said, the Weavile's red eyes gleaming, meeting the Gyarados' enraged gaze.

"There you are, Ember. Any...oh shit..." Dragonair said as he and Crystal entered from behind me, practically giving me a heart attack. His talking had also attracted almost everyone's attention, the Weavile's mouth curling into a malicious grin.

"How long have you been there?" he asked quietly.

"I just got here," Dragonair said, looking at the entire room's occupants. "Oh look, there's Blaze. One quick question: Where the hell were you for the past 4 days?" he demanded angrily. "You better hope you have a damn good reason!"

"Rosa nearly killed me, happy?" Blaze snapped in reply.

"Yeah, good enough," Dragonair said casually, then seemed to notice the Gyarados for the first time. "Venom."

"Dragonair," Venom said coldly. He flinched as Dragonair launched a Thunderbolt forward, but the bolt struck the Weavile, the weasel Pokémon grinning wickedly as the electricity surged through him. "You'll pay for that!" Venom growled as the collar around Ed's neck released another shock into the human. Dragonair looked confused at the Gyarados' reaction, failing to notice the human's shouts of pain.

"You forgot Ed's leash, by the way," he said snidely. Or maybe he did notice and just didn't care. "It's a nice look, and the shock treatment means he actually has a use now, namely amusement," he added. Crystal and I both gaped at him in shock as the Gyarados' eye twitched angrily. "Aw, don't tell me you actually care. I mean your tough guy reputation was already ruined by calling him 'master', now you actually have feelings?" Dragonair mocked.

"Machamp! Fiend! We'll kill Dragonair together!" Venom shouted loudly and the Machamp and Tyranitar immediately turned towards Dragonair, who looked alarmed by the prospect of fighting all three at once.

"Nice one, Dragonair," I grumbled.

"Oh damn it..." Dragonair muttered.

**To be continued...**


	143. Escaping the Melee

"That's what you get when you can't keep your mouth shut, Dragonair," Venom sneered as the Machamp and Tyranitar approached the balcony-like area where Crystal, Dragonair, and I were standing.

"You know, I'd really like to not be standing next to you right now, Dragonair," I said, inching away from the dragon Pokémon, intent on staying away from the target of the Rocket Pokémon's wrath. Crystal seemed to agree with this statement, but she seemed intent on reaching Blaze, who was staring at us with an almost blank expression.

"You're okay, right?" Crystal called down to Blaze, who nodded anxiously. "Good," the female Flareon said, watching the nearby ghosts warily. "Why are you with these ghosts anyway?" she demanded.

"Long story," Blaze said with a sigh.

"I've been looking for you for three days, it better be a long story!" Crystal growled and Blaze shifted nervously.

"Can we talk about it later?" he asked, almost pleadingly and the female Flareon scowled. "It'd be easier to explain it then!" he insisted. "And I won't have to repeat myself," he added. Crystal didn't say anything, choosing to hop down the steps that led from where we were standing to the ground floor. I followed, eager to get as far away from the approaching Rocket Pokémon as possible. Just as I reached the bottom, the Tyranitar swung its glowing fist at Dragonair, who twisted quickly, cursing loudly as the fist shattered a large hole into the metal ledge, narrowly missing him.

_"Master?"_ the Gastly said nervously and the Weavile glanced at him with cold indifference. The Gastly glanced towards Crystal and me uncertainly.

"Leave them. Dragonair's the only target here," the Weavile said softly. "Besides, I do stick to my word and I agreed to return the Flareon to his group. If they interfere, on the other hand...the deal is null," he added sinisterly, examining his vicious claws maliciously.

"Why'd you even make me come?" Blaze grumbled irritably, but received no response. Crystal walked over to the male Flareon and lightly licked his face, startling him. Another loud crashing sound attracted my attention back to Dragonair, who had barely dodged another punch, the entire metal structure collapsing from the force of the Tyranitar's punches. Dragonair stayed as close to the ceiling as he could, keeping him well out of range of the Machamp's fists, although Venom's jaws were now the closest threat.

"You're a dead snake, Dragonair," Venom sneered, snapping his jaws at Dragonair, scowling as Dragonair retaliated with a Thunder Wave, limiting the Gyarados' mobility.

"Not yet, Venom. Not yet," Dragonair said, although lacking his usual confidence as he ducked an Ice Beam from the Gyarados, floating further away from the three Rocket Pokémon. I sincerely doubted he'd beat all three of them with no help, but Diablos had just implied that Crystal, Blaze, and I were safe as long as we didn't interfere, and I really didn't feel like pressing my luck, least of all by fighting any of those three heavy hitters.

"That will change soon enough, Dragonair. You might beat me, you might beat Machamp, but you'll never beat Fiend!" Venom retorted, spitting another Ice Beam, this time hitting its mark, the icy blast encasing part of Dragonair's body in ice, weighing him down enough to be in range of Machamp's attacks, the fighting type pounding Dragonair's body repeatedly with fierce blows, and Dragonair grunted with each hit.

"That's enough, Machamp!" Ed shouted and the fighting type stopped his barrage promptly. Dragonair turned his gaze towards the human, a slight smirk on his face.

"Still obeying the human? And you wonder why I have no respect for you three," Dragonair said, coughing weakly.

"We don't need your respect, Dragonair..." Venom hissed coldly. "Those who don't respect us will die similarly to how you will," the Gyarados continued.

"One problem, Venom...I'm not dead," Dragonair said, releasing a bolt of electricity at the large serpentine Pokémon, the shock prompting Venom to roar angrily, but he didn't retaliate. "What's wrong, Venom?" Dragonair mocked softly.

"Venom, kill Dragonair," the Weavile said quietly and the Gyarados scowled at him. "Let your anger and hatred set you free from the bonds of your human master. Stop serving vermin, do what you want to do!" Diablos urged maliciously. Venom smiled maliciously and Dragonair frowned.

"I win, Dragonair..." Venom said softly and snapped his jaws around Dragonair's neck. I gasped in horror, and Dragonair cried out in alarm, but there was no yell of pain or any other sounds I can only picture in my nightmares that would be associated with a violent and bloody end.

"What?!" Diablos snarled in alarm, staring at Venom in confusion for a moment, and then rage. The Gyarados' jaws were quivering no more than a quarter inch from Dragonair's neck, but they closed no further, but were engulfed in shimmering blue energy. The Weavile's red eyes twitched with fury.

"What's wrong, Diablos? Did I spoil your fun?" a flat voice asked as the black furred Espeon stepped from the shadows, his silver eyes glowing brightly. Venom growled as his jaws were forced open by an invisible force and his head shoved away from Dragonair, who spat a Flamethrower to thaw himself from the ice and moved away from the stunned Gyarados.

"Psycho, what brings you here?" Diablos asked coldly. The Espeon's expression did not change.

"You know why I'm here, Diablos, so let's get this over with. I kill you, that's the end," the Espeon replied. Diablos laughed maliciously, readying his claws.

"You can't harm me, Psycho. A Weavile is a dark type, which means your psychic attacks are all but useless!" Diablos sneered. Psycho didn't respond immediately and the Weavile chuckled. "Have it your way. Fiend, kill this psychic fool!"

"You don't command Fiend!" Venom snapped indignantly. Diablos raised his paw and slashed himself viciously across the chest, leaving long bloody scratches, hissing maliciously. The Gyarados looked taken aback until the blue light on Ed's collar lit up and the human screamed in agony, collapsing to the floor again and writhing. Crystal and Blaze both winced, turning their eyes away from the scene. Psycho seemed completely unfazed and Dragonair looked alarmed, but unbothered. Venom growled hatefully.

"Relax, Venom. You'll get your chance to kill the human yourself. You want to...I can feel the urge to eliminate the fool, freeing yourself from the chain of self-imposed oppression. You're only weak because you let yourself be weak, and by breaking free from the human you can claim everything you want!" Diablos said quietly as Ed's writhing stopped, the human panting weakly, sparks still flying from the collar.

"So this is the device you used on Kira?" Psycho asked monotonously and Diablos smirked.

"Of course. It's the one I'll use on Leaf and Darkness in a few minutes, as well," the Weavile said softly, watching the Espeon's reaction carefully. Psycho gazed into the Weavile's eyes indifferently.

"I missed the part where that bothers me," the Espeon said emotionlessly. "Was that supposed to upset me?" he asked indifferently.

"You bluff!" Diablos hissed quietly. "You can't hide the truth from me, Psycho. You don't admit it, but you care for them. Just like you cared about those fool Raichus! You couldn't save them, could you, Psycho?" he sneered maliciously. The words hit me like an Onix, which I have had the misfortune of being hit by in the past. The Raichus...did that mean Spark's parents were dead? I glanced at Dragonair questioningly and he nodded grimly.

"I don't bluff," Psycho replied and the silvery gem on his forehead glowed as star shaped burst of energy fired from it, striking the Weavile in the chest, causing him to stagger back. The collar on Ed's neck activated again, but the human barely made a sound, twitching as the shocks continued. Psycho ignored this, continuing the assault upon the Weavile, who seemed to be making no effort to block the attacks at all.

"Stop it, Espeon!" Venom raged, snapping his teeth at Psycho, but a wave of psychic energy struck the Gyarados, flinging it into the nearby wall almost effortlessly. A beam of psychic energy also hit Machamp, slamming the fighting type into the ground forcefully. The ghost types looked completely at a loss, exchanging uncertain glances at each other, although Tarot seemed at ease. "Kill him, Fiend!" Venom snapped, slowly recovering from the impact with the wall. The Tyranitar raised its fist and slammed it down upon the Espeon, floor tiles shattering from the force of the blow.

"Missed me," Psycho said calmly from across the room, and the Tyranitar seized an entire computer console, flinging it at the black furred psychic type, but a barrier intercepted the projectile, shattering the computer to pieces.

"I'll kill you, Espeon!" Venom snarled, spitting a Flamethrower at the psychic type, but he casually teleported out of the way, refocusing his attention on Diablos. Dragonair gave me a meaningful look and pointed at the exit with his tail. Crystal and Blaze got the message, running towards the remnant of the staircase that led up to that exit. I followed, glancing around nervously at the chaos occurring around us. To my slight surprise, we managed to leave the room without anyone attacking us, and we hurried up the next staircase in silence, the sounds of the chaos in the other room fading as we reached the main floor.

"Damn, that was close..." Dragonair muttered.

"Ever thought of not pissing off the angry Gyarados?" I asked, knowing full well how he'd respond.

"No, it's too much fun," he said promptly, leading the way down a series of hallways. We didn't speak again until Dragonair had led us outside of the base, thankfully without using the air ducts again.

"So where's everyone else?" Blaze asked awkwardly. Dragonair rolled his eyes slightly, a gesture noticed only by me, since I was walking beside him while the Flareons walked at our tails.

"Not too far from here, Blaze. Care to explain what happened to you in detail? It's about an hour trip," Dragonair asked.

"That's what you call 'not too far'?" Blaze complained. "And no, I don't want to explain it right now," he said after a moment pause.

"Better be one hell of a story," Dragonair muttered just loud enough for me to hear. "Let's go," he said, leading the way down the path we had taken.


	144. Blaze's Rant and Tale

**Dragonair POV**

Despite the occasional effort to bring up the topic, Blaze adamantly refused to discuss what happened to him until we got back to Spark and Sapphire. There was some logic in this decision (the apocalypse must be coming), as then Blaze would be able to tell the entire group once, rather than explain it to the three of us and repeat it to Sapphire later. Unfortunately, this left us with an hour's travel with an awkward silence between us all.

"So...you two are planning to have a kit?" Admittedly, my efforts to remove the awkward silence didn't seem to be working very well. Blaze flushed slightly and glanced at Crystal uncertainly. Crystal scowled at me slightly. "Just trying to make friendly conversation," I said casually.

"I think I already said yesterday that we had discussed it," the female Flareon said irritably. "So I think you just brought it up to try to poke fun at Blaze, so knock it off!" the last words were accompanied by a low growl and the brief exposure of her impressively sharp teeth.

"You better hope she's not a biter, Blaze," I said seriously. Crystal's eyes narrowed and I grinned. Fire types really are the most fun to mock. Blaze was struggling to ignore me and Ember rolled her eyes. "Now here's another question...why the hell are you still with us, Blaze?"

"What do you mean?" Blaze asked, looking genuinely confused. There was another expression in his eyes that I didn't register immediately.

"Well, when you first joined our group, the only reason we figured you were with us was because you were stalk...uh...I mean following Aura relentlessly. After you met Crystal and your attention turned to her, why did you continue following us?" I asked seriously.

"He had to go to Johto to do Psycho that favor, which I assume had to do with that Rocket base," Ember pointed out. "After that was the situation with his sister..." she broke off apologetically, noticing Blaze's saddened expression.

"Ah right, almost forgot about that," I said casually. "But what about now?"

"Am I unwelcome?" Blaze asked sadly, looking at the ground. "Is that it? Are you asking me this question to give me the hint that you don't want me with your group anymore?" he asked.

"I didn't say that," I said, taken aback.

"You're thinking it!" Blaze snapped back, his voice taking on a harsher edge to it and he glared up at me. "I'm used to that. I'm always unwelcome, even where I was born and raised. You want to know why I'm still with you? Because I don't belong anywhere else! I grew up in a clan and I broke a rule and ended up evolving. I left the clan because they hated me for it, and I got caught by the Rockets!" Blaze growled angrily and I stared at him in slight alarm.

"Blaze..." Ember began, but the male Flareon raised a paw to silence her.

"I'm not finished. Then I met you and I probably gave you a bad first impression. You weren't faring too well either, you were half insane, so excuse me for not acting like myself!" Blaze continued coldly. "Yes, I followed you to be near Aura, who I liked, but it also was because I knew that I couldn't fare in the wild by myself..." he trailed off a moment, averting his gaze and his anger seemed to fade away, instead replaced with depression, "Why do you do this to me? What did I do to you?" he asked. Crystal stepped over to him cautiously, nuzzling him comfortingly. I was at a complete loss for words, both because of what he was saying, and my alarm that my question had been that badly misinterpreted.

"Wait, wait, wait...Blaze, that's not what I meant at all," I said seriously. The Flareon glanced at me a moment and I resisted the urge to flinch at the sight of the yellow eye. Was that permanent?

"Then what did you mean?" Crystal demanded, brushing her tail against the male Flareon's side.

"We may as well get this all out now; it'll prevent future outbursts like that. Ember taught me that much," I said, earning a slight glare from the Charmander. "My question actually was completely serious, but I see where it was worded wrong. Ember and I are still here because we are, in effect, wild and are searching for a more permanent living location. Sapphire is with us because..." I paused thoughtfully. "I think our permanent living location is where Sapphire lives, I'm not sure. Spark is with us because apparently his parents are dead and Sapphire and I adopted him. I know Crystal is after you, but why are you here? You said because you don't really belong anywhere else, and I think that is an acceptable reason," I said seriously.

"Oh good, my reason is good enough for the great Dragonair," Blaze said bitterly. I winced slightly.

"Blaze, I tease everyone, not just you," I said seriously. "Sometimes I cross the line with my teasing. I wasn't trying to suggest I want you to leave the group. If I wanted that, I wouldn't have bothered to look for you when you disappeared," I explained sincerely.

"You didn't bother," Crystal growled, glaring at me.

"I bothered, I just wasn't freaking out," I corrected. "Besides, I mentioned what Spark said about the Rockets, so in fact I'm partly the reason we found Blaze, but I'm sure he'll have an explanation about why the hell he was there," I added.

"Is that supposed to be an apology?" Blaze asked irritably. I blinked at him.

"Would an apology make things right?" I asked, masking my sarcasm before changing my tone to one of sincerity. "Very well. I apologize for unintentionally implying you are unwelcome in the group," I said and Blaze brightened a little. It's sad how easily I could have faked it for the same result. "Now can we get going? I don't want to stay here all week," I said, continuing down the path. The fire Pokémon followed me in silence, which was thankfully less awkward than the original silence.

"We're almost there," Ember said unnecessarily as we turned the last bend.

"Oh good, you're back," Sapphire said as we came within earshot of her voice. "And Blaze is okay, that's good to know," she added gently. Spark's ears perked up and he raced over in a blur of orange, practically tackling Blaze's tail.

"Fluffy thing!" he said happily and Blaze patted the Pichu on the head gently. "Where you be?" Spark asked, releasing the Flareon's tail and looking up at him.

"Fine, I'll tell you now," Blaze said with a slight grumble, walking to a more comfortable location and lay down. Crystal walked over and lay down next to him, resting her head on his neck and curling her tail around the male Flareon. Sapphire, for some reason, decided to have us mimic the Flareons' position, which was a little bit awkward, but I got used to it quickly.

"Ooh, story!" Spark said excitedly, sitting down on Ember's lap (to the Charmander's surprise) and leaning forward expectantly. Blaze blinked at the Pichu a moment, and then thought for a few moments.

"Ok...I was taking a walk and suddenly my muscles froze up or something. Then that annoying snake, Rosa, showed up..." Blaze began and I blinked.

"Wait, how'd she get to Johto?" I demanded and Blaze shrugged. Crystal hissed slightly, either at the thought of Rosa or because Blaze's shrug disturbed her.

"She wouldn't tell me. Anyway, she attacked me, I fought back..." Blaze continued.

"So you didn't just cower helplessly like you normally do," I supplied and both Flareons glared at me. "Just commenting," I explained.

"Just shut up!" Crystal snapped at me and then began licking Blaze's right ear, confusing the male Flareon for a few seconds. "You can continue, don't mind me," Crystal said quietly, confusing Blaze further.

"Uh...she bit me and left. She wasn't too thrilled that I was resisting, so she just left me to die. I tried to go find help, but passed out," Blaze said, clearly distracted. "I woke up and was told that I had been found and was cured of the poison and that they had been taking care of me. I didn't know who they were, my eyes were blurry, but I figured out it was those ghosts..."

"Wait, run that by me once more," I blurted, staring at the Flareon in alarm. "Those ghosts saved your life, including that damn phantom?"

"No, the phantom wasn't there until earlier today," Blaze explained.

"But aren't they enemies?" I pressed.

"That Sableye weirdo said that we're only enemies because of their job, but we can be friends when we're not fighting or something like that," Blaze explained, shrugging.

"Other than who their boss is, most of them don't seem very mean," Ember said quietly. "Chaos is crazy and Tarot is strange, but those two seem to be okay. The other two I can't really tell," she said. Blaze nodded in agreement, making a small purring sound as Crystal started licking his other ear.

"Anyway, today I was told that I was coming with them to the base, and I'd be returned to the group afterwards, but if I refused, there was an unmentioned threat," Blaze finished, looking much more distracted now. "That's it, really. I didn't really do anything other than come with them."

"So you were poisoned, nearly killed, and unconscious for 3 days. The only reason you were at the base was because the ones who saved your life were going there for some reason?" I asked incredulously. "That's somewhat interesting. By the way, you two just remember there's a kit nearby," I said casually, allowing myself to relax. It was getting late, the little adventure and traveling combined having taken up the majority of the daylight hours. It wasn't dark yet, but it was getting there.

"We're not going to do anything," Crystal said promptly.

"Story over?" Spark asked. "Ok. Me nap now," he said brightly and hopped off of Ember's lap, curling up next to her tail flame and falling asleep.

"Someday I'm going to accidentally burn him," Ember said wearily, leaning her back against a nearby tree.

"Dragonair, we'll have to tell him tomorrow," Sapphire whispered quietly and I nodded reluctantly.

"I know we will. I know..." I said softly before drifting off to sleep. Tomorrow was not going to be fun.


	145. Eonic Discussions

**Leaf POV**

"Hey Leaf!" I turned when my name was called, watching as the blue ringed Umbreon approached me.

"Uh...did you need something, Darkness?" I asked nervously, confused as why she had decided to come over to me at this time. Truth be told, she scares me for reasons I'm not quite sure about, though it could be because I'm worried she'll find out about the soap joke I played on April Fool's Day last year. In my defense, I didn't know she was that obsessed with the type of soap she used to wash her fur. She paused and looked at me curiously a moment.

"Why are you so nervous?" she asked, tilting her head at me, her red eyes studying me carefully. This did not help, having an intimidating figure stare at me while questioning why I was nervous.

"Uh...n-no r-reason," I stuttered, mentally scolding myself for failing to cover up my anxiety.

"You know how he is, Darkness: he's confident except when a female's talking to him," Jolt said casually from his resting spot in the shaded area where Shadow had taken us. We had first ventured back into the Cave Army headquarters, but abandoned that idea within two days.

"Hmm," Darkness made a slightly amused sound in her throat before refocusing her attention on me. "I was just wondering where your brother is," she said calmly. Jolt chuckled softly at this and Darkness turned to the Jolteon, tilting her head at him. "What's funny?" she asked, a slight growl escaping her throat.

"Oh, just thinking about the old days. I'm shocked that none of the group figured out that you two were a couple. I mean, the hints were all there, but we all overlooked them," Jolt explained. Darkness looked both irritated and confused.

"What hints?" she demanded finally and the Jolteon stood up, grinning.

"You were almost always looking for him, and you always had some ridiculous reason given for wanting to talk to him. I personally am at a loss as to why I at least never noticed," Jolt said thoughtfully.

"I knew she liked him, I just didn't think he liked her back," I said, inching away from Darkness.

"Ah right, she used to annoy him to the extent where he slept in my room because, and I quote, 'the psychotic stalker is camping out in my room'." Jolt said, laughing quietly.

"I wasn't stalking him..." Darkness muttered uncomfortably.

"I once asked Shadow what he was worried about and he said that he thought you were going to seduce him or jump him," I said, then flushed slightly. "I didn't quite know what he meant, and he wouldn't answer my questions..." I added and Jolt chuckled again.

"So you asked me what those words meant," Jolt said reminiscently. Darkness blinked at us, looking both amused and shocked.

"You're the one who gave Leaf the 'Talk'? He was what, a year old? Isn't that sort of early?" she asked. Jolt snickered, shaking his head.

"His birthday's October, isn't it? Yeah, he was about a year old, but I hardly call that too early. Besides, he's easily the most mature of our group, other than Psycho who is a little TOO mature, so I thought I'd outline the topic since he had questions. Kira's giggling wasn't very helpful, though," Jolt said.

"Can we get back on topic?" I asked, feeling my face getting uncomfortably warm.

"I don't remember what we were talking about," Jolt said, shrugging.

"Shadow avoiding me," Darkness supplied helpfully.

"Right. And that was another clue; he tolerated your use of that name. I just assumed he just got sick of telling you not to," the Jolteon said, smirking. "Hmm, when did he suddenly change his tune?"

"I don't know," Darkness replied, a little too quickly. Kira, Jolt, and I all stared at her. "What?" she demanded, looking at us uncomfortably. Even Aura, who had been sleeping until recently, seemed interested in what she was thinking.

"When did he start calling her 'Dark'?" Kira asked. "That might give us a hint," she said, licking a paw and brushing Jolt's fur with the paw, startling the Jolteon for a moment.

"We didn't notice until recently," I admitted.

"Frost noticed before that. He's had a theory going about those two since day 1," Jolt said. "I just figured he had too much time on his paws. Actually his theory more revolved around the fact Psycho avoided females like the plague and the only counter arguments revolved around possible affection towards Darkness," Jolt explained.

"Frost's one to talk," Darkness muttered irritably. "I don't see him with any females."

"Frost has an arrogant streak rivaled only by Psycho," Jolt said. "The odds of a female staying near him longer than ten minutes are almost inconceivable. Now the flaw I saw with Frost's theory was Psycho is not the least bit effeminate, but..."

"Can we get away from this particular topic?" Kira asked wearily and Jolt trailed off, nodding to the Eevee respectfully. "The history of Psycho and Darkness' relationship is getting boring, anyway. It's their business, not ours," she added.

"Thank you, Kira," the Umbreon said and returned her immediate focus onto me, her blue rings' glowing beginning to subside as she calmed down a little. "So where is Shadow?" she asked me.

"He got a message from that ghost or whatever, said he'd be right back and left. He hasn't come back yet," I replied, stretching slightly before walking over to the nearby stream and dipping my paw in the water, using the damp paw to wash some of the dirt out of my fur.

"For someone with no active relationship, you're a little self-conscious, aren't you?" Jolt asked lazily. "Not to mention it'd be more efficient to just jump in the water," he pointed out.

"We drink from that water," I muttered. Jolt rolled his eyes and gestured to the Vaporeon, which I barely noticed. What I did notice was a pressurized jet of water striking me from behind, knocking me over. On the plus side, it cleaned up the majority of my fur. "Ow...thanks, I think..." I muttered, feeling dizzy from the impact.

"Do you want the other side, also?" Jolt asked, grinning. The Vaporeon was trying not to laugh at the expression on my face, but there was a brief flash of light and Shadow appeared, his silver eyes scanning the small clearing. "Oh, look what the cat dragged in...A cat," Jolt said.

"How humorous," Shadow said monotonously. Naturally that killed any humor the joke had in the first place, which was surprisingly little for a Jolt comment.

"What happened to you?" Darkness asked, walking over to my brother and nuzzling her head against his shoulder, but he all but ignored the show of affection. I exchanged a glance with Kira, who was wearing an expression that clearly showed her confusion as to why Darkness even bothered.

"I am unharmed," Shadow replied emotionlessly.

"Where did you go?" Darkness pressed, gently licking Shadow's ear, the only response to this contact was the occasional ear twitch, but otherwise it was also ignored.

"Bane told me that Diablos was at the Rocket base not that far from Blackthorn City," Shadow replied.

"So you went alone?" I asked incredulously. "What happened?"

"I went to determine what he was up to. He was attempting to turn certain Rocket Pokémon against their trainer, no doubt to then persuade them to join his efforts. At the same time, he was attempting to eliminate Dragonair, who had the misfortune of being present," Shadow explained indifferently.

"So what happened with that?" Jolt asked, bristling angrily.

"I arrived in time to prevent Dragonair's death, and my arrival enabled his group to leave while I attacked the phantom. I was overwhelmed and forced to retreat, but not before Diablos killed the human with the shock collar device," Shadow said monotonously.

"How?" Aura asked, looking confused.

"That damn phantom has this device that when he is injured, the collar gives a shock to whoever it's attached to. He tested it on Kira," Jolt replied furiously and I winced, remembering how furious Jolt had been over the incident when he spoke to us in Sinnoh. "Apparently it can kill," he scowled with rage.

"The shock collar was not the cause of death," Shadow corrected. "He killed the human with his Weavile claws, but the Rocket Pokémon did not know this. I believe they have reluctantly joined Diablos' efforts for the time being. I do not know what purpose he has planned for them," he finished.

"Which Pokémon?" I asked nervously.

"Venom- male Gyarados, Machamp- male Machamp, and Fiend- male Tyranitar. Three of the most formidable of the Rockets' arsenal," Shadow said emotionlessly. Jolt cursed loudly at this revelation. "It makes little difference, other than more obstacles," Shadow continued.

"So what's the next plan of action?" Jolt asked, frowning slightly.

"First, Dark will stop licking me. Then we'll go back to our training base and commence planning," Shadow said emotionlessly. The Umbreon grinned slightly, but continued licking his ears affectionately. "I'm not going to keep ignoring it, Dark," he said firmly.

"Good, that means you'll show affection back," she said mischievously.

"You know you don't mind that much, Shadow," I said casually and Shadow's eye twitched slightly.

"Leaf's the one who swapped your soap last April Fool's," Shadow said seriously and immediately the Umbreon stopped licking him and glared at me. I gulped nervously. "And without further ado, we shall return to the base," Shadow said with a slight smirk and there was a flash of light. When it faded, we were in the familiar base where we normally trained. Jolt and Kira hastily backed away from the Umbreon.

"We'll be in our room," Kira muttered quickly and they left. Aura nodded and followed, probably to ask what room she would occupy. Shadow vanished in another flash of light, but he rarely walks anyway. I laughed nervously as Darkness glared at me.

"Any chance of letting me off without killing me?" I asked hopefully. She shrugged and calmly sat down, licking her paw idly.

"Touch my soap again and I'll go through with an attack next time," she warned menacingly. "You luck out this time," she said, yawning slightly and leaving the room. Note to self: Do not prank Darkness by using her hygiene products.


	146. Breaking the News to Spark

**Dragonair POV**

A light prodding awoke me that morning and for a few moments I was able to ignore it in favor of trying to fall back asleep, but the prodding persisted. "What?" I mumbled, still trying vainly to fall asleep.

"Sapphire told me to wake you up," Ember said apologetically and I lifted my head to stare at the Charmander sleepily for several seconds.

"Why?" I asked, raising an eye scale uncertainly. Ember shrugged in reply, taking a bite out of an apple she was holding. Where she got it, I do not know, since there were barely any apple trees in the area, although there were plenty of berry bushes. "Where is Sapphire?" I asked, looking around the area for the female Dragonair.

"Was I supposed to be keeping tabs on her?" Ember asked sarcastically.

"No, then I'd think you're some sort of relentless follower," I said with a small smirk. Ember smiled slightly as she sat down on a nearby rock, glancing back at her tail flame for some reason known only to her. "So you were told by Sapphire to wake me, but she is not present and you don't know where she is at the moment?"

"She probably thought it'd take me forever to wake you, since she gave me three suggestions to wake you: Prod you, scratch you, or something having to do with your tail. I only heard the ending of that suggestion, which was, quote, 'his tail' and decided I really didn't want to know what she was suggesting," Ember said with a shrug.

"That's probably a good thing," I said seriously, trying not to think about what Sapphire would recommend doing to my tail to wake me up. "But where is she?" I muttered, looking around again.

"She said she was going to be back in a few minutes," Crystal replied, yawning slightly. "That was about two minutes ago," she added.

"Oh, okay then," I said, stretching my serpentine body. "She should be back soon from...I have no idea what she's doing. Did she happen to mention what she was doing?"

"No, and we didn't ask out of fear that you'd think I was checking her out," Blaze muttered sleepily.

"Huh, you two seem rather tired," I commented. "I'm guessing you two didn't sleep much? Up late or something?"

"Are you implying something?" Crystal asked, scowling slightly. I blinked at the Flareons for a moment before replying honestly.

"Actually...no, I wasn't. I seriously was wondering whether you two didn't sleep much," I said. "You seem rather concerned about what I think, though, so why are you two so tired?"

"I like sleeping in," Blaze grumbled. "And I couldn't sleep last night and Crystal was trying to help me sleep, so she ended up staying awake about as long as I did. Happy?"

"Eh, good enough. What was the problem? Bad dream? Anxiety?" I asked, feigning interest in the response.

"Why do you care? If you must know, Blaze was concerned about that Ekans that nearly killed him and I was trying to reassure him. We did continue our kit discussion, if you're still obsessed with that," Crystal said irritably. I was about to reply when I noticed Sapphire approaching, so I turned my attention to her instead.

"There you are. Where were you?" I asked and she smiled slightly.

"I was just trying to establish our location," she explained. "We're not that far from Blackthorn City, and I was thinking that the city would be our next stop, if that's okay with everyone," she said, turning her gaze to each of us in turn. No one seemed to have an objection to this, and Sapphire nodded with a smile.

"And why did you need to wake me up?" I asked her, stifling a yawn.

"I thought that we should talk to Spark now," she said seriously and I winced.

"I'm not looking forward to this," I said reluctantly and Sapphire nodded in agreement. "Spark, can you come over here, please?" I called and the Pichu raced over in a blur of orange.

"Me here!" he said happily. "Me run fast, right?" he asked hopefully. Well the start of the conversation already made this inevitable discussion worse to start. Not sure if it would be worse if he was already depressed, but somehow killing his good mood seemed worse at the moment.

"Uh...yeah, you're very fast," I said uncomfortably. "Um...one second," I said and then turned to Sapphire. "How do you start a conversation like this?" I hissed quietly and she frowned thoughtfully.

"I don't know. I never really thought about it," she whispered back, sounding apologetic.

"Where Mommy and Daddy?" Spark asked abruptly and we both winced simultaneously. That kit has the worst timing for certain questions. On the bright side (ha-ha, what a joke. Is there a bright side when you have to tell a kit that his parents were murdered by a psychopathic phantom that is hell bent on making people suffer?), we didn't have to think of some way to bring up his parents. Unfortunately, we were now forced to answer sooner with almost no chance of distracting him.

"Um...about that..." I said uncomfortably and the Pichu nodded enthusiastically. "There was...a problem..." I continued and the Pichu's smile faltered slightly.

"What you mean?" he asked. "Why Mommy and Daddy no here? Me want Mommy and Daddy," he whined and Sapphire winced. "Pretty dragon, where Mommy and Daddy? Leafy take me to blue thing and me see you but me no see Mommy and Daddy," he said sadly, tears already forming in his eyes, and we hadn't told him anything yet. "When Mommy and Daddy come?" he asked pleadingly.

"They...they aren't going to," I said, wincing briefly at my terrible wording. Spark looked even more confused and miserable.

"B-but M-mommy and D-daddy say they be with me!" Spark whimpered. "Why they no come? Where they be?" he asked.

"They're...gone," I said awkwardly. Now I could have tried to recite some vague things about how when someone dies, they go away to "heaven" and they're happy, but I already know that human programs are full of stupid things like that. From what I know, there is no "heaven", only the underworld, which isn't the same as "hell", or at least not as portrayed on human media.

"Where they go?" Spark demanded. Huh, maybe I should try the heaven approach, but humans also portray the existence of this "heaven" based on your belief in it, and I don't believe in it, so I'd be a hypocrite if I used it. I try not to be hypocritical, especially if it requires comforting someone.

"Sapphire, can you help me field this one?" I asked the dragoness who frowned thoughtfully.

"When they come back?" Spark asked before Sapphire could say anything. "Me want Mommy and Daddy!" he wailed.

"They can't, Spark," Sapphire attempted.

"Why they no can?" Spark insisted. Sapphire and I exchanged glances and she nodded.

"They're dead, Spark," I said bluntly and the Pichu looked, if anything, more confused.

"What dead?" he asked uncertainly.

"Uh...dead means no longer living," I said finally.

"Me no get," Spark whined.

"It's like being asleep and never waking up," Blaze said thickly. "They won't move, won't talk, and can't hear. Nothing can change it..." he muttered bitterly and Crystal nuzzled him, almost comfortingly.

"B-but..." Spark stammered, then started crying loudly. "So me no see Mommy or Daddy? Mommy and Daddy no hug me bye?" he wailed and threw himself to the ground, burying his face in his paws and weeping. I looked at Sapphire uncertainly, but her expression was likewise blank. Neither of us were sure what to do to comfort him, since neither of us had to ever tell someone that a loved one had died. Bright side, we probably didn't have to be specific on how his parents died.

"Spark, try to calm down," I said soothingly, but Spark raised his head and glared at me.

"You say we get Mommy and Daddy back and we no get! You lie!" he shouted angrily, sparks flying from his cheeks, tears still rolling down his face. "Me no say bye to Mommy and Daddy and we no ever see them more!" he wailed. "You mean Dragon!" he yelled.

"But Spark..." Ember began, but he turned on her as well.

"No talk Ember! Me no want hear!" he shouted. "You mean!"

"I...I didn't do anything..." Ember protested, looking slightly hurt by his outburst.

"That bad! You no help!" Spark yelled. "Me hate you! And me hate you Dragon cuz you lie!"

"I...didn't lie..." I protested uncomfortably and Spark's cheeks released a burst of electricity, the bolt hitting me with shocking force, but electricity also hit the kit, restarting his crying. I winced from the jolt the Pichu had given me, not surprised by his attack.

"Me no sorry!" Spark wailed. "Me want sparkin' mean Dragon! You lie and say we get Mommy and Daddy and we no get!" he shouted, reburying his face in his paws and crying noisily. Blaze walked over to the Pichu and wrapped his tail around the kit comfortingly. Spark made a growling sound, which was in no way intimidating, but it got the message of anger across.

"I understand, Spark..." Blaze whispered, almost inaudibly, petting the back of Spark's head with one paw.

"Go way, fluffy thing!" Spark growled, but with a fraction less anger than before. Blaze very gently lifted up Spark, the Pichu squirming to get free. "Let go me!" he yelled, sparks flying from his cheeks threateningly. Blaze's eyes glazed over briefly, but after a moment they refocused on the flailing Pichu and the Flareon hugged him gently. "Me no hug! Let go me!" Spark wailed.

"Calm down, Spark. It's okay..." Blaze whispered soothingly, patting the kit on the back gently. Spark stopped flailing and began sobbing quietly, burying his face in Blaze's fur, hugging him tightly.

"Me miss Mommy and Daddy..." Spark said, sobbing. Blaze nodded to himself, still patting the Pichu gently. Crystal was watching, looking impressed. Ember, Sapphire, and I stared in disbelief (Sapphire hid the shock much better than we did, but I could tell she was surprised) at the male Flareon.

"Of course you do," Blaze said quietly. "It's normal to miss those you care about," he whispered. Spark whimpered slightly. "But rather than dwell in the past, try to look at the bright side," Blaze added, setting Spark down on the ground.

"What side bright?" Spark asked miserably. Blaze hesitated for a few seconds, looking at Dragonair uncertainly before replying.

"You're not alone," the Flareon said finally and Spark looked up at him curiously. "You're still being taken care of, and you can still be happy. Some people forget that when they're sad," he said, with a slightly pained expression. "Don't push away the people who are there for you," he finished softly and patted Spark's head again and walked back towards Crystal, the female Flareon staring at him with interest, which he seemed oblivious to.

"Who take care me?" Spark grumbled unhappily.

"We will," Sapphire said seriously and the Pichu looked up at her. "It's what your parents wanted," she said quietly and Spark whimpered, nodding unhappily.

"Okay pretty dragon..." Spark said finally and hugged the female Dragonair's coils. "Me sad..." he whined and she patted him gently with her tail.

"It'll be okay, Spark. Trust me," she said softly. "You'll be taken care of," she promised.


	147. Battling a Trainer part 1

Spark fully calmed down about two hours later, although now he was much quieter than normal, which would be a relief if he hadn't also been sulking. Sapphire and I discussed it and decided that it was best to leave him alone and not force him to talk to anyone for a while. Ember still seemed offended by Spark's earlier outbursts; even though Sapphire and I both said that it was common for people to say things that they didn't mean when they were upset or angry. I had already gotten over Spark's anger towards me, although I did feel guilty about making a vow that I couldn't keep, even though the failure was not my fault.

"So what are we thinking about doing today?" I asked and Sapphire frowned, thinking.

"We were going to maybe go towards Blackthorn City, but we may need to put that plan on hold until Spark's feeling better," the female Dragonair replied, nuzzling my neck with her head gently.

"Probably, but who knows how long that could be? Ember's getting a little restless, but that's typical around this time," I said, wincing when I realized Ember was within earshot, but she merely shrugged in reply, otherwise ignoring the comment, to my relief. I did not need to aggravate her right now, although I might try to later; it's nice to keep my options open.

"Me okay!" Spark grumbled. "Me want have fun cuz me no happy and me want be happy," he said.

"Where are we going?" Blaze asked, looking at us uncertainly. Crystal's face mirrored this expression, although she was calmer than he was.

"We're thinking of heading towards Blackthorn City, take some time off from whatever we normally do, which lately seems to be 'risk getting ourselves killed, or trying to save someone who's been kidnapped'. Any objections?" I replied dully.

"Are there stores?" Blaze asked hopefully, raising the bag of money he had nearby.

"Not as many as Celadon, but I think so," I replied with a sigh. "Is that an incentive for you to come, or are you going to make a series of annoying comments about how..."

"Hey Dragon Breath, shut up or I'll hurt you!" Crystal growled and I blinked at her.

"Uh...Dragon Breath? Sapphire knows that technique but I don't, so your comment doesn't really fit for me. And in the unlikely event you're capable of hurting me, I'd hurt you back," I said snidely.

"Hurt her and I'll beat the ever-hating shit out of you!" Blaze growled in a low, threatening tone, while glaring at me furiously. Crystal smiled at him slightly and snuggled close to his chest while I just stared at them blankly.

"Ok then," I said. "I'll keep that in mind," I muttered, turning away from the Flareon pair and rolling my eyes. "They're a little too protective of each other," I whispered to Ember.

"Don't you go into a rage whenever Sapphire is even the slightest bit under attack?" she asked, raising an eye scale. Sapphire laughed gently at this comment and I blinked.

"Huh, I concede my point, then," I said indifferently. "Anyway, when shall we get moving?"

"In about twenty minutes or so," Sapphire replied softly. I nodded in agreement, watching everyone else's reactions as well. Ember smiled and nodded, stretching her arms. Spark was clinging to the Charmander's waist, still looking unhappy, but he seemed to be cheering up a little. Blaze and Crystal simply nodded, otherwise they paid no attention to us; The female Flareon was cuddling next to Blaze, who was understandably very distracted by this behavior. I still find it ironic that Crystal flirts with Blaze similarly to how Blaze flirted with Aura, except she was a little more forward. The irony is that Blaze seems to be discomforted by this.

"Dragonair, are you jealous?" Ember whispered and I flinched, turning towards her.

"Jealous? Of what?" I demanded, uncomfortably aware of how defensive I sounded. Ember raised her eye scale at me and grinned.

"Just noticing you seem to get this odd look whenever you notice Crystal and Blaze, so I think you're jealous that they're planning to have a kit," she whispered back. I had a sudden urge to wipe that silly grin off her face with a Thunderbolt, but Sapphire gave me a warning look. How did she know what I was thinking?

"I can read it in your eyes," the female Dragonair said, my jaw dropping in shock, but I recovered quickly, turning my attention back to the Charmander.

"For the record, I'm not jealous," I insisted, but Ember smirked, clearly not buying it. "Whatever, Ember," I grumbled.

"Me want go now," Spark said grumpily and everyone turned to stare at him. "No stare!" he whined. I chuckled softly.

"Alright, let's get...what the hell?" I said, blinking in alarm as I noticed a human walking towards us cautiously. I'm not an expert on guessing a human's age, but I estimate that he was somewhat in his early teens. He wore a simple jacket, and casual clothing, and I spotted some Pokeballs at his belt. "Move along, human," I ordered, the collar on my neck translating my words. The youth seemed startled by this, but didn't move away. "Don't make me injure you, human," I warned irritably.

"How long do you think you would last before the Pokémon Control Units would be after your tail if you did that?" the human asked snidely and I grinned menacingly.

"What makes you think they aren't?" I sneered. The human blinked in alarm, but he calmly pulled a Pokeball from his belt. "Is that a challenge?" I asked lazily. "You're a trainer, I'm guessing. Move along, I've faced annoying fools like you before, and I never lost to the likes of them," I said honestly.

"Well I'm going to be the best," the youth said with typical teenager overconfidence, if the media portrays this accurately. "So let's do this! Go, Forretress!" he flung the Pokeball into the air, the ball bursting open and releasing a purple shelled Pokémon with red spikes, the shell looking distinctly metallic.

"Oh no, whatever shall I do?" I asked sarcastically. Forretress was, if memory serves, extremely vulnerable to fire, so even if I couldn't beat it, Sapphire, Ember, Blaze, and Crystal all knew fire attacks.

"Forretress, attack with Mirror Shot!" the youth yelled, pointing at me dramatically. Weirdo. The clam-like Pokémon withdrew into its shell and glowed brightly, releasing the glow as a burst of energy, and I grunted slightly as it hit me, but it didn't hurt very much. Strangely, the light seemed to continue flashing in my face, despite the attack had ended, the flash making it difficult to focus.

"Think that's special?" I muttered, spitting a surge of fire at the clam Pokémon, but the fire didn't affect it at all. "Huh? What happened?" I asked, squinting at the Forretress.

"Dragonair, you missed," Ember said seriously. I tilted my head uncertainly, and then shook my head.

"What? No I didn't, it hit," I argued.

"Trust me, Dragonair...you missed," the Charmander insisted.

"Good work, Forretress, use Mirror Shot again!" the human yelled, appearing to me a bit blurry. I spat another Flamethrower at the clam-like Pokémon, but it moved out of the way of the flames, releasing another glowing beam of energy, which hit me just like the first one had.

"Damn it," I muttered, the light in my face getting worse. What the hell was going on? "Why do I keep missing it?" I demanded to no one in particular.

"Mirror Shot lowers your accuracy," Sapphire warned me. Oh, that explains a lot, like that irritating light in my eyes. If this kept up, I'd never be able to beat that thing. I spat yet another burst of fire, which narrowly missed the opponent, but to my alarm the Forretress made a strange screech of pain and I squinted, trying to figure out what had happened. "You hit it, Dragonair," Sapphire informed me and I smirked to myself. My vision was so bad that I thought I missed when I had actually hit it.

"This isn't over! Forretress, use Explosion!" the youth yelled and I saw a blur of motion as the clam Pokémon flew towards me, glowing with a bright light. Oh hell no…

"Oh damn, this is going to hurt!" I muttered as the metallic Pokémon released an enormous surge of energy from its body, the light encompassing us both. I barely registered the pain, focusing on staying conscious as the blast began to fade, my vision still affected by the Mirror Shots. The human withdrew the Forretress into its Pokeball and watched me passively. "Ha, take that…" I murmured before all went black.


	148. Another Eonic Discussion

**Leaf POV**

Several hours after returning to the base, Jolt paid my room a visit. I was curled up comfortably on the mattress that served as my bed, and barely glanced up at the Jolteon entered, bumping the door closed as he stepped into the room. "Yes, Jolt?" I asked before he could say anything.

"Just seeing if you're okay," he replied, studying me carefully. "Darkness looked ready to kill, after all," he said.

"No, she didn't do anything," I said, stretching and hopping off the mattress. "What else did you want?" I asked seriously and he blinked. "You came to my room after a break of several hours, so you probably only just now got away from Kira to talk to me privately. So what's up?" I explained.

"H-how did you do that?" Jolt demanded, staring at me.

"Logic and a bit of body language. Kira latches onto you for hours at a time, and if you were only checking to see how I was doing, you wouldn't have bothered coming in, much less closing the door," I pointed out. "And you keep shifting your weight, so you're nervous about bringing up a topic," I added.

"And when did you become an expert on body language?" Jolt asked.

"Frost is more of an expert, he taught me a few things before he started acting like a jerk," I replied with a shrug. "So what's up?" I asked, licking my paw casually and brushing down part of my fur that was out of place.

"Do you get the feeling Psycho's getting obsessed? Dangerously obsessed, I mean?" Jolt asked me and I blinked at him.

"With what?" I asked, almost positive of the answer.

"With hunting that phantom," the Jolteon said impatiently. "Damn, I hate that phantom for what he did to Kira...among other things, but I'm not devoting my life to pursuing him. All Psycho's been doing lately..."

"Jolt, Shadow's been obsessed for the last two years. Ever since he learned who killed our parents, which was shortly after evolution. There are good things that happened to us since then, but he can't let it go," I said bitterly.

"Why aren't you as obsessed?" Jolt asked kindly. "You seem like you could easily stop hunting and be happy. What's different?"

"I look on the bright side. I was just a kit when it happened. Since then, I've gotten to be a good battler, met some friends, and things like that. I don't see a need to practically kill myself trying to kill the one who wronged me. Shadow sees it differently, but he doesn't want to explain it," I said wearily. Jolt was about to say something, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in!" I called and the door was pushed open, Darkness entering, blinking at Jolt in surprise.

"Oh, didn't realize anyone else was here," she said with a shrug. "All the better, I won't have to find you. By the way, Kira's annoyed you snuck off," she said to Jolt, who winced.

"What do you need, Darkness?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the blue ringed Umbreon.

"I found some of Frost's data disks and wanted help collecting the data," she said. "Shadow said he doesn't care, and that you'd be able to help me," she explained.

"Huh, he might have some interesting info," Jolt said with a smile as I shrugged. Darkness nodded and led us from the room to one of the training rooms where one of our many computers was stored.

"How'd we get this base, anyway?" I asked the Jolteon, who blinked.

"I never thought of that. We had it when I joined, and I never bothered asking," Jolt replied. Darkness walked over to the computer and inserted a disk from a small pile. After a few seconds of loading, a password prompt popped up.

"What would Frost use as a password?" Kira asked and Jolt jumped in alarm, apparently he had overlooked the Eevee's presence.

"Uh...probably something that no one would ever think of," the Jolteon said, pressing a few keys and clicking. "Hey, what do you know?" he chuckled triumphantly.

"What was it?" Darkness asked, looking confused.

"It was 'Passwurd', spelled with a 'u'," Jolt replied. "A common password, but with a deliberate misspelling. Considering Frost's obsession with perfection, no one would ever suspect a misspelled word," he explained.

"Then how'd you suspect it?" I asked. Jolt hesitated.

"Erm...I typoed," he admitted. Kira giggled, but stifled it a moment later, giving Jolt an annoyed glare. "Kira...why are you mad at me?" he asked and she turned away from him. "Why are you giving me the silent treatment?" he asked, still sounding confused.

"Five dollars says she answers him," I whispered to the female Umbreon.

"No bet," she whispered back.

"We'll talk later!" Kira snapped. Jolt winced, but nodded. Darkness and I stared at them blankly for a moment before turning our attention back to the computer display.

"Interesting, this is a list of opponents that Frost considers powerful enough to challenge," Darkness said. "Diablos, Tarot, Volt, Lava, Dragonair, Sketch, and then there's a few with question marks, such as Tryce, Leaf...wait, what?" she muttered, turning towards me. I studied the monitor, spotting my name near the bottom of the list.

"How strange, he considers Leaf a candidate for the ultimate opponent?" Jolt asked, studying the other people on the list. "Hmm..." he said, growling slightly, but ultimately shrugged without saying anything else.

"Let me see this," I muttered, clicking on my name and the screen changed to some form of profile page. "Specie, male Leafeon. Orientation...straight...do I want to know why he has that labeled?" I asked.

"Frost is a little thorough when he keeps records," Jolt said with a shrug.

"Age, 2 years. Birth date...October 21. H-how did he know that?" I demanded. Jolt shrugged again and I resumed my examination of my profile. "Known family: Espeon brother (Psycho/Shadow), both parents deceased. Female Jolteon, male Vaporeon. This is really creepy how much he knows about me," I commented.

"Makes me wonder how much he has on the rest of us," Darkness said. "There's also some sort of bio which tells your techniques and strategy. Although Sunny Day isn't listed," she added.

"Let's look at what he put on me," Jolt said, typing in something and clicking. The screen changed to a profile of a Jolteon. "Male Jolteon, Straight, mate is female Eevee. Age, 5 years. Birth date, February 19. Known family...huh?" Jolt looked perplexed at this part.

"What's wrong?" Kira asked, looking at the screen.

"Nothing. I'm just surprised that Frost knew my parents were dead. I...I never mentioned that," he said shakily. "Ok, now I want to see what that creep wrote on himself...he entered a few more keys and clicked. I leaned in to read what the screen said.

"Specie, male Glaceon. Orientation...what?" I muttered, staring in disbelief.

"You'd think he'd keep a file on himself a bit more secretive than that," Darkness muttered.

"Do I want to know?" Kira asked uncertainly.

"Age, 5 years. Birth date, May 16. Known family...no siblings, both parents Eevees, both deceased," I continued reading hastily. "Battle Strategy: Frost's main strategy is to render the opponent helpless by utilizing a Hail shield, which negates most damage while amplifying his ice attacks. Techniques include: Hail, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Icy Wind, Mirror Coat, Ice Shard, Shadow Ball, Water Pulse, Hidden Power," I finished.

"Does he have any comments about personality?" Darkness asked curiously.

"It's marked 'To be added'," I replied.

"What are you doing?" Shadow asked as he appeared in the room, his silver eyes watching us indifferently.

"We found some of Frost's data and he has profiles on a lot of us," Jolt explained. "We were just looking at his profile."

"Is he biased?" Shadow asked monotonously, looking at the screen. For a split second his eyes widened in shock, but the expression vanished a moment later.

"Not '-ased'," Jolt commented, chuckling to himself.

"Wonder what it says about you, Shadow," Darkness said, clicking. "Male Espeon. Distinguishing markings: black fur, silver eyes, silver gemstone. Orientation...straight with a question mark. Mate is female Umbreon. Age 4. Birth date, June 18. I know the family already. Battle strategy: Revolves around using psychic attacks to finish opponent quickly. Uses several recovery techniques, making him difficult to defeat. Techniques: Psychic, Psybeam, Teleport, Moonlight, Morning Sun, Recover. Notes: Dark Types render him all but useless," she read. Shadow's eyes flashed in annoyance.

"Well, it's accurate," Jolt said cautiously, but Shadow ignored him. "Well now what?" the Jolteon asked the Espeon, sounding annoyed.

"Hm?" Shadow grunted, turning towards Jolt indifferently.

"You came to us for a reason, so just tell us what's going on," Jolt said irritably.

"Frost contacted me. He says he needs Leaf to assist him with a task he's planning, although the details were not given," Shadow said. There was a deathly silence following this announcement.

"Run that past me once more. This list says that Leaf is a potential candidate for Frost's strongest adversary, so why would we agree to this?" Jolt demanded.

"Frost assured me, a bit mockingly, that Leaf would not be in danger. The final decision is Leaf's, though," Shadow said coldly. "Besides, Leaf is marked as a 'potential' candidate. Frost would go after the others first," he continued monotonously.

"Why would we agree to letting that jerkass borrow Leaf's services?" Jolt insisted.

"Because Frost has what we need. Or more specifically...what YOU need," Shadow said firmly, and he stared at Jolt, most likely speaking to him telepathically. After a moment, Jolt nodded.

"Whatever. It's Leaf's call," Jolt said. I shrugged.

"I don't care, I'll help him. What does he have in mind?" I asked.

"He'll be arriving in two hours to fill you in, Leaf," Shadow said emotionlessly and he vanished in a flash of light. Jolt, Darkness, and Kira stared at me curiously.

"Don't stare at me, please," I said uncomfortably.

"I'm just wondering why Frost needs you specifically," Darkness said thoughtfully.

"I have no idea," I admitted. "Now let's look at someone else's profile…"


	149. Battling a Trainer part 2

**Ember POV**

"He'll feel that when he wakes up," I muttered as Dragonair collapsed to the ground, undoubtedly unconscious. Sapphire floated over to him, examining him briefly.

"He'll be fine before too long," she said calmly, although she briefly glared at the human trainer, who picked a second Pokeball from his belt. "Ember, can you deal with this?"

"Allow me," Blaze said, stepping forward. I shrugged, stepping back as the Flareon stepped forward.

"Be my guest, Blaze," I said indifferently. The human shrugged and tossed the new Pokeball into the air, the ball bursting open and releasing a bird-like Pokémon with a silvery, almost metallic, body with red feathers on the wings.

"Skarmory! Attack the Flareon with Air Slash!" the trainer yelled. The metallic bird's wings glowed as it flapped them, forming a strange ball of energy. After a few moments the Skarmory or whatever flapped hard, the energy flying at Blaze, who watched it calmly. Moments before impact, Blaze vanished, reappearing beside the metallic bird and spitting a close range stream of fire into the Skarmory's back, knocking it over as it shrieked in shock and pain.

"Return!" the trainer said with a scowl, withdrawing the scorched Pokémon and taking a third Pokeball. "You want to play rough? Steelix!" he yelled, throwing this Pokeball into the air. The ball burst open and a massive snake Pokémon appeared. It towered over all of us, easily twice as long as Dragonair or Sapphire. It was made of some sort of metal or iron and it had impressively intimidating teeth and jaws. Blaze looked absolutely terrified for a few seconds, but the expression faded quickly and he chuckled. The Steelix roared at the Flareon threateningly and Blaze grinned.

"Show me what you've got," Blaze said harshly, watching the enormous iron snake with indifference. Crystal was watching anxiously, but she was panting excitedly, so I really didn't know what she was thinking. Which was probably a good thing at the moment.

"Steelix, use Iron Tail!" the human ordered and the Steelix's tail glowed white as it swiped the tail at Blaze. Blaze vanished before impact, reappearing on top of the Steelix's tail. The iron snake paused, looking around on the ground for the vanished Flareon, oblivious to Blaze's presence. Blaze spat a small fireball, which expanded into the human-like shape of Fire Blast, slamming into the Steelix forcefully. It roared in rage, its body glowing a bright red. "Slam your tail into the ground!" the trainer yelled and the Steelix obeyed, slamming its tail, with Blaze, onto the ground with tremendous force. Crystal whimpered nervously, but she sighed in relief a moment later. It was then that I noticed that Blaze was no longer on the tail, but was calmly standing on the other side of the giant snake, both the trainer and Pokémon unaware of this.

"Impressive," I admitted, surprised by how quickly Blaze was able to move, as well as his lack of fear. If I was in his position I probably would have passed out from terror by now.

"Mhm," Crystal said, making a slight purring sound in agreement. Blaze spat another fireball, which expanded just like the first one had, striking the Steelix again, a small inferno forming around the iron snake. It roared in pain as the trainer looked around, searching for the source of the attack. Blaze dodged a tail swipe, spitting yet another Fire Blast, the large flame hitting the Steelix's face. It let out a roar of pain and then collapsed, nearly hitting Blaze as it fell, shaking the ground as it hit the ground.

"How?" the trainer gasped, withdrawing the enormous steel type back into its Pokeball and lifting the fourth Pokeball from his belt. "Here we go, buddy!" he called, throwing the Pokeball into the air. The ball burst open and a bipedal creature appeared, red metal covering its body and it had some sort of pincher or claw as hands. "Scizor! Attack the Flareon with Flash Cannon!" The Scizor nodded, forming a ball of energy in its pinchers and firing them at Blaze, who was slow in dodging, the force of the attack throwing him backwards roughly.

"Not...bad..." Blaze growled, climbing back to his feet and spitting a stream of fire at the armored bug Pokémon, but it dodged as a crimson blur, slamming one pincher into Blaze's side, sending him tumbling across the ground. Crystal growled angrily, but stayed where she was, watching the male Flareon carefully. "Is that all?" Blaze asked harshly, spitting another stream of fire, but the Scizor moved again, slamming his pincher at Blaze, but the Flareon leapt over the pincher, landing on the armored Pokémon's head, the added weight catching the Scizor by surprise and sending it crashing to the ground.

"Scizor!" the trainer yelled in alarm as Blaze smirked, opening his mouth to send a burst of fire at the armored Pokémon. "Return!" the human yelled, the Pokeball firing a red beam and absorbing the bug Pokémon before Blaze could release the flames.

"Aww, I was going to win!" Blaze complained in his normal tone. The human scowled, but turned and walked away without a word. "Why'd he quit?" Blaze asked as Crystal walked over to him, licking his cheek affectionately.

"Because he seemed to like that Scizor," I said with a shrug. "He just decided to surrender than have you burn it to a crisp."

"Oh..." Blaze said, but I could tell he was a bit distracted and not really listening to a word I said.

"Is he gone?" Spark asked and I jumped slightly. The Pichu had been hiding behind me and I hadn't even noticed him there. I patted him on the head gently.

"Yeah, he left. You feeling better?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Me okay. Me sad but me okay," Spark said, clinging to my waist. "Me want do stuff," he said hopefully.

"Maybe when Dragonair wakes up we can head over to Blackthorn," Sapphire said, coiled up next to the unconscious Dragonair.

"Would claws help?" I asked, holding up my paw casually. Sapphire laughed gently, shaking her head.

"No, but maybe water will," she suggested, pointing her tail at the nearby stream.

"I have a Pichu latching onto me and my paws aren't very good for scooping and carrying water," I said, pointing at both Spark and then holding up my paws to demonstrate.

"And uh...I'm...busy," Blaze said awkwardly as Crystal snuggled close to him, still licking his face.

"Excellent excuse, Blaze," I said with slight sarcasm. Sapphire rolled her eyes slightly.

"I can do it, don't worry," she said calmly and I stared at her.

"How?" I asked her seriously. The female Dragonair laughed softly and floated over to the stream, dipping her tail into the water and floating back over to Dragonair, brushing his face with the wet tail.

"Ack!" Dragonair yelped, jerking backward in alarm and looking around frantically. "What the hell did you do?" he demanded.

"You were unconscious, so I used a little water to wake you," Sapphire explained. Dragonair blinked at her for a moment, then shook his head.

"Ok then...what happened?" he asked.

"Blaze fought a Skarmory, Steelix, and Scizor, beating them all. The trainer forfeit before he officially beat the Scizor," I replied. Dragonair glanced at Blaze and smirked.

"Is that the reward he's getting?" he asked, gesturing to Crystal with his tail.

"Pretty much," I replied seriously. "I think she's a little too attracted to him when he's fighting," I whispered.

"Then she's got some incredible self-control," Dragonair commented. "Who wants to bet how long that lasts?"

"Uh...no," Sapphire said. "You two ready to get going?" she asked the Flareons. Crystal nodded and walked over to us, Blaze following a pace behind her. "Alright then," Sapphire said, floating ahead of us down a pathway. I picked up Spark and carried him in my arms, to his delight. During the walk, Dragonair asked me for details about the battle between the trainer's Pokémon and Blaze and seemed a little bit impressed, but he didn't express any form of congratulations to the male Flareon (I strongly believe that Dragonair doesn't want to admit that Blaze is stronger than he's given credit for).

"How much further is it?" Crystal asked abruptly and Dragonair gave her an odd look.

"That's what Blaze or Spark usually asks," he commented.

"Am I not supposed to ask a question because someone else normally asks it?" Crystal asked impatiently. Dragonair rolled his eyes.

"It's about another minute," Sapphire said, giving Dragonair a warning glance. I wonder how many warnings she gives him like that in the course of a day because he seems to get a lot of them. He probably gets away with that because he stops doing whatever she doesn't like immediately after getting a warning. "We're here," the dragoness announced at the city entrance.

"Yay!" Spark said happily, hopping from my arms to the ground and running into the city itself. I followed quickly, determined not to lose him. Fortunately he didn't go far and I caught up to him easily.

"Can we go shopping?" Blaze asked hopefully.

"Since we're here to try to relax and recuperate and things like that, yes, shopping is a possible option for an activity to do today," Dragonair said wearily. "But first let's figure out other options. Oh, and when here, do not draw attention to yourself more than we already do," he said.


	150. The Plan Begins

**Leaf POV**

"What do you think Frost wants you for?" Kira asked me curiously about an hour and a half later and I blinked uncertainly.

"I'm not sure," I admitted for at least the third time in the last hour. "I was wondering that myself, after all," I pointed out. Kira opened her mouth to say something, but Shadow appeared in yet another flash of light, distracting the Eevee.

"He just arrived," Shadow informed me dully. "He's walking to this room, so you can expect him any moment, depending on the speed he's walking at and whether he gets distracted or not on the way here," he continued monotonously.

"Distracted by what?" Jolt asked, raising his eyebrow. "Our rooms are locked and we're all in here. There shouldn't be anything between the entrance and this room that could possibly distract him," he explained.

"Aura's not here," Darkness pointed out.

"Her room is on the other side of the building," Jolt replied.

"The discussion is pointless since he's right here," I interrupted, pointing at the door as the Glaceon stepped in, glancing around indifferently.

"Frost," Shadow said coldly. Frost nodded curtly, his eyes sweeping the room for a moment.

"You've got nerve coming back here," Darkness growled, her blue rings glowing threateningly.

"I expected this reaction, Dark," Frost said calmly and the Umbreon's fur bristled.

"Don't. Call. Me. That," she said, practically spitting each word.

"Moving on, our animosity should be set aside for now," Frost said, ignoring Darkness' anger.

"Get to the point, Frost," Jolt said, yawning pointedly.

"I was just getting to it..." Frost began.

"Then get to it. Stop stalling," Jolt interrupted irritably.

"Error: Interruptions stall the proceedings further," Frost pointed out. "Now then, I have my own business to attend to, but I need assistance. I believe Leaf is the only one of you that can help, so I called on him," the Glaceon continued, turning his gaze to me.

"Why me specifically?" I asked curiously. "What makes me a better choice than any of them? Especially since you mentioned I'm the weakest," I continued calmly. Frost blinked and frowned slightly.

"There are several reasons. Shadow would not work well with me; we've had too much animosity since I ascended to the strongest of the group. Dark obviously took my resignation the wrong way. I am not your enemy unless you interfere with my goals. Jolt...I have a suspicion about the task and Jolt would be ill suited for it. Kira is not a member of the group, and your new Vaporeon has not been analyzed enough to decide whether she would benefit me at all," Frost explained carefully. Both Shadow and Darkness bristled when he used their alternate names, but neither said anything.

"So...I'm only being picked because the others wouldn't work well with you?" I asked uncertainly.

"No. You're being picked because you're the only one who doesn't seem to harbor a grudge, you're confident enough to take on the task, you would still follow instructions if needed, and you can hold your own in battle," Frost said.

"Why would only I go? Why wouldn't it be a group thing?" I asked, trying not to sound suspicious.

"Other than most of them would consider working for me to be intolerable? It's part stealth. Too many will attract far more attention than is needed," Frost said.

"And how do we know you're not just going to hold Leaf for ransom or some shit like that?" Jolt asked. "Is this a plan to fight Dragonair again?"

"My methods were a bit...uncouth, I admit," Frost said quietly. "But this task is possible because of them, so I have no regrets. If Leaf does not wish to assist, I cannot force him, nor will I try. If I wanted to put him in danger, I'd have done it already," he said.

"It's fine, Jolt. I trust him," I said.

"You what?" Shadow asked, sounding a bit alarmed.

"It's just a feeling I have," I admitted with a shrug. Frost himself seemed a bit alarmed by my comment, but took it in stride. "So, is there anything else we all need to know, or can we get going to wherever it is we're going?" I asked.

"No, that's it, really. Now our ticket there will be here...now," Frost said as a Sableye materialized. "Let's go," the Glaceon said and the Sableye nodded and I shut my eyes to block out a flash of light. When I opened them Frost and I were standing outside of what appeared to be a large pipe of some sort.

"Where are we?" I asked, but Frost gestured for me to keep my voice down. "Where are we?" I asked in a whisper.

"You know Lava?" Frost whispered back and I nodded uncertainly. "I found him. He's in a well defended Dark Organization base. The irony is that the best way in is through an escape pipe," he explained. "Normally it's guarded by Sketch's guards, but I convinced him to withdraw the guards for the time being," Frost explained.

"The Dark Organization uses the Cave Army's guards to guard their base?" I asked skeptically.

"Lava considers the organizations unified, and Sketch resents this since he's getting nothing out of it," Frost replied, leading me into the large pipe. "Stay on guard, there's probably a few guards around here," he said.

"Why do you seem less like an arrogant jerk right now?" I asked tentatively.

"You aren't giving me any reason to treat you like an inferior," Frost said. "You're acting confident, speaking intelligently, and your battling abilities, although nowhere near as good as mine, for now at least, are respectable," he explained seriously. "And we're not competing, that usually helps. And I'm on decent terms with you, so I minimize any unpleasantness. You can't live life alone, Leaf," he said quietly.

"Oh, I know," I said, taken aback by the fact he held me in such high regard. It must have something to do with my personality, since I try to be friendly with most people. Frost led me slowly through the passageway, stopping at some sort of doorway. "Now what?" I asked him and he took a small card of some sort from a chain around his neck and slid it through a slot next to the doorway. A light flashed green and the door slid open, enabling us to continue through the door.

"Sketch gave me that, too," the Glaceon commented, gesturing to the card. I blinked in surprise, but didn't comment. "We're getting closer to the guarded area, so be careful. If you're spotted, take the opponent out quickly, but quietly. Got it?"

"Uh, yeah," I said, a sense of nervousness creeping into me. We reached another doorway, although this one was unlocked. Immediately, Frost's fur bristled and a flurry of ice launched from his fur, hitting a Bellsprout that was just inside the door way. The force of the attack, coupled with the sudden cold, knocked the small plant Pokémon unconscious without a sound. "Wow," I said, stunned by his reaction speed.

"I wasn't kidding," Frost said, stepping into the room, which was lit up with strange red lights. "Hm, watch out for fire types, they're ideal for hiding in this kind of room," he warned and terror shot through me.

"F-fire?" I asked nervously.

"You fought fire types before," Frost said, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Y-yeah, doesn't make them any less frightening," I pointed out, controlling my nervousness quickly and examining the shadows carefully for some sign of a potential foe.

"No one, good. A bit odd though..." Frost admitted, gesturing for me to follow and turning down another passage. He stopped about halfway down the passage and I nearly slammed into him.

"What?" I asked, but then saw what he was looking at. The Houndour that had attacked me and Dragonair in the Johto base was lying on the ground, barely conscious and whimpering.

"Help me..." the dog like Pokémon begged.

"What happened?" Frost asked coldly, looking down at the Houndour indifferently.

"H-he came here and attacked me!" the Houndour whined.

"Who?" I asked, my nervousness returning in full force and then some.

"That would be me, Leafeon..." a voice spoke from the shadows up ahead. I looked towards the shadows warily and saw a pair of red eyes staring at me hungrily.

"W-who are you?" I demanded. There was no reply, other than what could only be described as a maniacal cackle. "Who are you?" I demanded, much more forcefully.

"I sense your fear, Leafeon...and it feels good..." the speaker hissed. I shivered, terror flooding through my body, leaving me feeling cold and anxious.

"Don't let him frighten you, Leaf," Frost warned. The red eyes in the shadows turned their focus to the Glaceon.

"Brave words...but cross me and I'll tear your throat out, savor your agonized scream and leave you to gasp desperately for air while drowning in a puddle of your own blood," the voice whispered, letting out another insane-sounding cackle. With this, the being seemed to fade into the shadows, the laugh echoing in the narrow corridor.

"Let's go," Frost said, his eyes narrowed at the shadows as he led the way up a ramp leading from our location to a higher level, stepping through the doorway. "Stop shaking, he's gone," he told me sharply.

"I-I'll b-be fine," I said, still shaking. I couldn't understand what had shaken me so much, but I took deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves. After several minutes I had calmed down sufficiently, following Frost through the door and looking around uncertainly. "Are we in the base itself now?" I asked. The Glaceon nodded in reply. "Good, let's do this," I said with a small grin.


	151. Base Confrontation

"Wait, is this solely a Dark Organization base?" I whispered a few moments later as Frost led the way through a few unoccupied rooms.

"It used to be a Team Magma outpost, I believe. Fairly small compared to Rocket facilities and the like, but large enough for their purposes. I believe that there are no humans residing here anymore," the Glaceon replied indifferently. "Stay alert," he warned me.

"Oh, okay," I said, looking around carefully. "I don't see anyone, though," I said.

"Leaf, stealth involves talking minimally," Frost said, exasperated. I winced, nodding silently. "Good, glad you get it," he said coldly. He stopped at a closed doorway, his ears twitching slightly.

"You hear anything?" I whispered and he shot me an annoyed look that clearly told me to shut up. "Sorry," I mumbled as he resumed listening. After a moment, he gestured for me to listen as well and I pressed an ear against the door, listening carefully.

"Should we warn Lava?" a voice was speaking and there was an annoyed grunt from another occupant of the room.

"About what? 'Oh no, Lava, we're worried about your safety because one of our weakest members got injured'. Is that what you want to tell him?" the second occupant demanded mockingly. "And how the hell would we explain that an intruder possibly accessed our base? Our security is still intact, and Sketch has assured me that his guards haven't seen a thing," the speaker continued. I had to fight the urge to laugh at that comment. Obviously the guards haven't seen a thing if they aren't guarding the place.

"Did anyone bother to verify this with the guards themselves?" a more familiar voice asked, sounding bored. "Because Shock investigated the area and discovered our Bellsprout member was also attacked. With an ice move."

"Ice?" the first speaker repeated incredulously.

"Yes...ice," the bored voice said again. "Besides, Shock is already going through the base, warning the other members to be alert."

"Did you tell him to warn Lava?" one of the voices asked anxiously.

"Shock is not stupid. We suspect an assassination plot, so naturally he will alert Lava of the possibility of an intruder, but not mention our suspicions, as we have no evidence," the bored voice said, taking on a gentlemanly tone.

"Who would want to assassinate Lava?" one of the voices asked skeptically.

"The Eon group and Diablos," I now managed to recognize the voice as belonging to Nightslash, the Sneasel that was all but second in command of the Dark Organization.

"The Eon group would want to assassinate him?" the other voice said, alarmed. "And Diablos?"

"The Eon group has shown themselves at being against our cause. I wouldn't even trust that bisexual Glaceon," Nightslash's voice replied with a sneer. Frost recoiled from the door, but composed himself and continued listening. "He may have hired us to capture the Pichu, and he did attack his former comrades, but he is self centered and egotistical. He seeks the ultimate opponent and Lava's on the list."

"Lava's powerful, but Frost would crush him. That's why we made efforts to ally ourselves with him, in the hopes that Frost would realize Lava's ineptitude and leave him be," one of the voices said casually.

"Don't be naive. If there's anything that Glaceon despises, it's a weakling flaunting power. Frankly, Frost's entire morality system seems to be impossible to make consistent. He hates weaklings, but believes they shouldn't be preyed upon. He thinks that everyone should be confident or at least defend themselves, but one wrong step and he'll expose you as a weakling and destroy you," Nightslash said with a chuckle.

"It makes me wonder whether he's all talk or not," one of the voices said dryly.

"You kidding? Frost is one of the only beings that is exactly as powerful as he portrays himself. The others are, of course, Diablos, Volt, and Tarot. Tarot to date has never lost a single fight, but it never goes to his head. Diablos...he's invincible and he knows it," Nightslash said.

"Why would Diablos want Lava dead?" the same voice asked impatiently.

"I have no evidence, it was just a theory. Although Diablos and Lava have always despised each other. And if Lava is killed, either I would rise to the new leader, or we'd merge with either the Cave Army or Diablos' group. And I sure hell am not working with Diablos, nor would I wish to be the new leader." Nightslash said.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we be out guarding the corridors?" one of the voices said and I heard footsteps moving towards the door. Frost hastily beckoned for me to step back and we both tensed, staring at the door expectantly. The door swung open, Frost and I both attacked at the same time, a unified flurry of ice shards and razor edged leaves firing towards the open door.

"Nice try," one of the unidentified voices snickered and a blue barrier of light blocked both assaults. "Hey Nightslash, Leaf and Frost are here," the speaker called back into the room, the barrier fading, revealing the defender to be a black bird Pokémon, which I vaguely recalled to be a Murkrow.

"Congrats," the Sneasel said, stepping into view. "Hm, an unlikely alliance, but no matter. Leaf, male Leafeon. Primary strategy involves using Razor Leaf from a distance, but revolves around using Quick Attack to get close enough to use Grass Knot or Leaf Blade. Ink, you deal with him. Frost is my opponent," he recited.

"And what about me?" the third Pokémon asked, which was a Voltorb.

"Roll, you help Ink," Nightslash said dismissively, watching Frost carefully. The Glaceon stared back with a small smirk.

"Well well, Nightslash. Male Sneasel. Second in command of the Dark Organization. Primary strategy involves countering opponent's options by utilizing all known strategy info. Signature technique is Night Slash," Frost recited softly. "We know each other's strategies...let's see which one of us is better."

"You may not think much of me, but..."

"Error, I don't care. Your repeated losses to a Charmander are more than sufficient to have you wiped off of the list of potential ultimate opponents," Frost sneered. "You're nothing more than an overhyped lackey. Error, too easily angered," Frost added as Nightslash growled, lunging forward and swiping his claws. Frost ducked under the claws, blowing a gust of cold air into the Sneasel's chest.

"That barely did a thing. I'm an ice type," Nightslash said, looking puzzled.

"I know. You're a bit _slow_ on the uptake, aren't you?" Frost remarked mockingly. At this point I was distracted by the Murkrow flying at me, its wings glowing white. I dodged to the side, extending a vine to wrap around the bird's talons, but it did a barrel roll to avoid the vine, cawing mockingly. I frowned slightly, ducking as the Voltorb released a charge of electricity in my direction. I'd just need to focus in order to take them down.

"Dodge this!" the Voltorb challenged, rolling towards me rapidly. I moved in a blur of motion, my Quick Attack allowing me to dodge the Rollout with ease, and I sent a flurry of razor edged leaves at the flapping crow Pokémon, but it glowed with the blue barrier, effortlessly negating my attack.

"Focus, Leaf," I urged myself, thinking quickly. I'd have to keep my distance from the Voltorb, but act quickly to beat the Murkrow; otherwise it'd keep deflecting my attacks with its Protect technique. I ducked low to avoid the talons of the flying Pokémon, retaliating by lashing out another vine, but this time I managed to strike one of the crow's wings. It cawed in alarm, tumbling from the sky, crashing onto the tiled floor in a daze. I darted over to it, my tail glowing a vibrant green before I spun around, the Leaf Blade hitting the crow as it tried to get up. It cawed again, the force of the attack slamming the Murkrow into the wall, where it slid to the ground limply, but still conscious.

"Take this!" the Voltorb shouted and I turned in time to get slammed by the rolling ball Pokémon. It felt like...getting slammed into by a rolling Voltorb, really. I crawled back to my feet, releasing another flurry of razor sharp leaves, but the Voltorb rolled out of the way, charging towards me quickly. I tried to time my Leaf Blade to hit it, but the Voltorb was moving too quickly to be fazed much and I once more was bowled into by the ball Pokémon, wincing in pain as I tumbled across the ground limply.

"Most impressive, Roll!" Nightslash said, nodding to the Voltorb.

"Error, a moment's distraction is your end," Frost said dully and orbs of light surrounded him. Nightslash blinked in alarm, his focus returning to Frost just in time to dodge the orbs of light as they flew towards him. "Error, should wait until attack is completed before drawing attention to it," Frost muttered to himself.

"Not bad for an overhyped lackey, huh?" Nightslash asked calmly, swiping his claws at the Glaceon, but Frost leapt back, the claws missing by several inches, retaliating with an Ice Beam. Nightslash grunted as the beam hit him in the gut, forcing him to double over in pain, but otherwise doing almost nothing. "Still an Ice type!" the Sneasel wheezed.

"I still know that," Frost said calmly, dodging another swipe of the Sneasel's claws.

"Ok, Night Slash!" the Sneasel yelled, his claws glowing black and he swiped both paws at Frost. Frost conjured a vortex of hail, but the Sneasel's paws shattered the icy shield almost effortlessly, striking the Glaceon regardless and knocking him out of the vortex, which almost instantly died down. "You forget that I wear these," the Sneasel said casually, gesturing to his wrists where impressive gauntlets were worn. "And as my paws were engulfed in dark energy, your little ice storm barely hurt me at all," he finished.

"Error, overlooked that detail," Frost grumbled, getting back to his feet. I turned my main focus to the Voltorb, which had paused its attacks on me in favor of watching the ice types' duel. I struggled back to my feet, the movement returning the Voltorb's attention and it made a strange screeching noise in protest, rolling towards me again. Fortunately its momentum was less than the last hit, so I was only pushed back instead of beaten down. The Voltorb rolled backwards and then started towards me again, picking up momentum as it approached. I closed my eyes tight and focused hard, hoping my Synthesis would kick in before impact, to at least absorb some of the damage this attack would do. I was alarmed when I felt my injuries fade without anything striking me and I hesitantly opened an eye, gasping in shock as I noticed the Voltorb was no longer charging me, but instead was lying unconscious next to the Murkrow.

"What happened?" I blurted. Frost was too focused on Nightslash, so it couldn't have been him. I looked around, my feeling of anxiety returning. Nightslash's paws glowed black again and he swiped his claws at Frost. Frost rolled to the side gracelessly, resulting in him sprawled on the ground, but unharmed. Nightslash chuckled, raising his claws again.

"Error, practice side rolls," Frost told himself, blowing another Icy Wind into Nightslash's face, momentarily distracting the Sneasel enough to roll away from the second claw swipe, this time getting on his feet. "Slight improvement," he murmured to himself.

"Don't count me out, I'll fight to my last breath if I have to," Nightslash said in his gentlemanly tone, which sounded a bit more obnoxious than calm.

"How appropriate..." a dark voice hissed and the ground below Nightslash glowed purple, startling the Sneasel as strange fumes floated up. The instant Nightslash inhaled, he gasped, clutching his mouth and chest, falling to one knee. "You might just get that wish...now fight, Sneasel. Your breaths are getting ragged, your body quivers..." the dark voice whispered. Nightslash coughed weakly, his breathing slackening.

"Please...help..." Nightslash begged me desperately. I gazed around helplessly. I didn't know how to help the Sneasel and Frost was gazing around carefully, no doubt searching for the whereabouts of the attacker. "Please..." he pleaded, wheezing weakly, collapsing to the ground weakly.

"We don't have anything," Frost grumbled. "Dark carries the healing berries." He shielded his eyes as a bright red glow appeared from the nearby shadows and I saw the frightening red eyes staring at me from within the darkness.

"Gem can't help you now," the shadowy being hissed softly. With another insane sounding cackle the being seemed to vanish into the darkness. Nightslash let out another gasping wheeze and twitched, clutching at his throat and tearing a small chain from around his neck, pressing it into my paw.

"You...need...this..." he wheezed weakly, his breathing seemed strained, as if it was taking every ounce of energy to speak.

"What is it?" I asked hastily. It would do no good to us if we didn't know what it was. Nightslash's response was drowned out by his weak coughing and he shuddered violently. "What is it?" I repeated, praying that he would be able to tell us.

"Lava...fear..." he gasped weakly, convulsing and then an odd gurgling sound escaped his throat as his muscles and limbs slacked. I felt an odd sense of loss when I looked down upon the now dead Sneasel, even though we had never been on friendly terms. I looked down at the chain I held in my paw, studying the small item attached to the end of the chain. It was a small silver coin with an odd mark on it.

"What the hell is this?" I wondered.


	152. The Second Floor

"I doubt you're going to get an answer from me or the Sneasel," Frost said with a sneer, studying the object in my paw with minor interest. "Doesn't seem like anything too special," the Glaceon added dismissively, no longer interested in the small coin.

"He said we'd need it," I insisted.

"For what?" Frost asked skeptically.

"How would I know? All he said was 'Lava fear'," I replied.

"I doubt that means that Lava is scared of it," Frost murmured. "The Sneasel is loyal to the Dark Organization, so it's not a weapon or item needed to take out Lava..." he murmured.

"Maybe he meant Lava knows what it is," I suggested. Frost chuckled dryly, leading the way down a hallway, towards a staircase. I followed, placing the chain around my neck as I did so.

"You're right, Leafeon," Frost said (I took note of the use of my specie, which meant he was being condescending or nasty). "The Sneasel clearly meant we should ask Lava, who he suspects we are trying to assassinate, not that he's very far off with that belief, what this object that we supposedly need is," the Glaceon chuckled.

"Well when you say it like that..." I mumbled.

"Don't be an idiot, Leaf," Frost said, climbing up the stairs, glancing back at me scornfully. "Lava is, and always has been, an enemy. He would never assist us, even if we wanted him to," he sneered. "Let's move on..." I nodded, following the Glaceon up the stairs to the second floor.

"What the...?" I blurted, looking around in surprise at the scene. Many of the known Dark Organization members were around, and surprisingly alert. The nearest two, a Houndoom and Ivysaur, spotted us immediately and both let out alarm cries. Frost frowned slightly, blowing a strong gust of snowy air into the room. The Ivysaur cringed, ducking behind the fire Pokémon to avoid the gust, to the large dog Pokémon's chagrin. Said fire type countered the Icy Wind with a Flamethrower, and Frost followed through by forming a blue orb in his mouth, the orb expanding into a beam of water, neutralizing the fire attack, but the Houndoom ducked, the water stream passing harmlessly over its head.

"Help out, Leaf," the Glaceon ordered coldly.

"Against a fire and a grass type?" I muttered to myself. This would be a bit tricky, I knew that much. I started by releasing a flurry of razor edged leaves from my fur, but it was unsurprisingly intercepted by a fire attack from the Houndoom, which chuckled almost mockingly. If I could get an opening on the Houndoom, Frost would be able to deal with the Ivysaur, no trouble. It was up to me to find said opening. I quickly studied the situation: the Houndoom was the unwilling shield of the Ivysaur, which was also angling for a vantage point to attack. Attacking the Houndoom with my Razor Leaves would only result in a Flamethrower, which Frost would counter with Water Pulse and the Houndoom would dodge, but the water wouldn't do much to the Ivysaur other than stun it a little, and it had no place in the chain.

"You're not helping," Frost commented after a minute of inactivity on my part.

"Got an idea," I muttered and then whispered my plan to the Glaceon quickly. He nodded and launched a flurry of ice shards from his fur, at the same time forming a Water Pulse in his mouth. I rushed forward at the Houndoom, my body glowing a faint white as I moved towards it quickly. There was a flicker of confusion and panic upon the fire type's face as I approached, but it spat a Flamethrower at me quickly, Frost's Ice Shards striking it in the chest as I dodged the fire attack. Before the Houndoom could prepare another attack, Frost's Water Pulse struck it in the face, the force of the water jet shoving its head backwards, slamming it into the doorway. The Ivysaur looked shocked by this abrupt shift, the disbelief becoming fear as I plowed into it, the impact knocking it unconscious.

"Not bad, Leaf," Frost said, which I interpret as the closest thing to a compliment that I can hope for from him at the moment. Before we could relax, several other minor Dark Organization members arrived, tensing to fight. "Leaf, take that corridor," he muttered, flicking his tail towards the left. "If you find Lava, stall him. I'll deal with these and catch up quickly," he whispered out of the corner off his mouth.

"Okay," I whispered back, ducking to the side as a vortex of hail appeared around the Glaceon, shielding me temporarily from everyone's sight. I took this opportunity to hurry around the corner, my eyes alert for signs of any guards or other opponents. I doubted Frost would have any trouble with the weaker Organization members, but I wasn't quite sure how he expected me to 'stall' Lava. For one, I didn't have a clue who Lava was, other than the frequently mentioned leader of the Dark Organization. I peered in each doorway as I passed, relieved that each room was unoccupied.

"Lava!" a voice called from a room up ahead and my heart sank. I was closer to Lava than I had wanted to be, but there wasn't much chance of sneaking away from this. "We have confirmed the existence of the intruders," the voice reported.

"Good. Who are they?" a second voice asked calmly.

"One has been identified as Frost, the other is Leaf," the first voice said.

"Huh, so Nightslash was right about that Glaceon..." the second voice murmured. "What's your source, Shock?"

"One of the minor members...the Bellossom...saw both of them a few corridors away from this room. She warns that Leaf is not involved in the battle at this time," Shock said. I inched closer to the doorway, shaking nervously.

"What of Nightslash? Have you been able to contact him?" the second voice asked coldly. Shock sighed.

"Nightslash has been confirmed as dead, from poisoning. I suspect a third intruder, as no members of the Eon group have access to poison techniques," Shock said seriously. There was a dull sigh.

"He's here, then..." Lava murmured quietly.

"Who?" Shock asked nervously. "Diablos?"

"No...Diablos doesn't bother with poison. I thought you had files on almost everyone," Lava's voice said impatiently.

"Nightslash has it memorized, not me," Shock admitted. "Should we evacuate?" he asked hastily. Lava sighed quietly.

"Yes, if we want any chance of surviving this invasion, we must leave. Contact the Bellossom, have her spread the word of the evacuation," Lava replied calmly. "We must hurry; it's only a matter of time before he finds us..." I heard movement towards the doorway and glanced around, hoping for some place to hide, but no such luck. Shock was the first one out the door, spotting me immediately. He yelled in surprise, punching an electrically charged fist towards me, but I leapt back.

"It's Leaf!" the Ampharos told Lava.

"Stand back. I'll deal with him," Lava's voice said as the big man himself stepped into view and I cringed backwards slightly. I don't know what specie I had expected Lava to be, but seeing a strong humanoid creature whose body seemed to be covered in a flame like pattern and arms like cannons shocked me more than I could have ever expected.

"Y-you're a M-magmar?" I stuttered.

"Magmortar," Lava corrected, his pink mouth curled into a grin. "And you are a grass type," he said, raising one of his cannon like arms and pointing it at me. "Any last words? No? Good." The Magmortar's arm launched an enormous fireball towards me and I ducked as low as I could, the fire grazing my back, badly scorching my fur. I focused quickly, once again praying Synthesis would kick in fast; the burn stung something fierce. Any question why I fear fire?

"Lava..." a soft, dangerous voice whispered and the Magmortar tensed, swiveling one cannon arm towards the direction of the voice. "Surprised?" the speaker whispered and I caught sight of the same red eyes from the nearby shadows. I'm guessing the Dark Organization ran out of money for lighting, because there were WAY too many shadowy locations in this place.

"Not really," Lava said calmly. "Care to tell me why you're here?" he asked coldly.

"You know, Magmortar..." the being whispered and the red eyes glowed brightly. "No escape for you," the shadowed figure laughed maniacally.

"I don't need to flee," Lava said seriously. The red eyes narrowed slightly, and then a dark chuckle floated from the shadows. I tensed, wishing I was anywhere but in the area, and the Ampharos was wearing a similar expression.

"How brave," the voice mocked softly. "Let's see how brave you are after I'm done tearing you to pieces. I hear Magmortar hearts are delicious in fresh blood sauce with a side order of Magmortar entrails. I'll see if that's true..." the voice mused, Lava's calm demeanor fading immediately, replaced with a look of terror.

"Oh Mew..." Shock gagged.

"And nothing else quite gets the heart as tender than some physical exertion..." the voice continued softly. "Shall we begin?" the voice whispered.


	153. Exploring the City

**Dragonair POV**

"Now how did you expect us to not draw attention to ourselves?" Ember asked less than ten minutes later when she noticed that a small group of humans was openly gawking at us.

"Honestly, I didn't, but I hoped we would have lasted longer than this," I said with a sigh.

"Interestingly, they're more interested in Blaze and Crystal than us," Sapphire pointed out and I blinked before carefully examining the focus of the humans' attention.

"So Flareons are considered more interesting than a pair of Dragonairs?" Ember muttered, grinning. "You can't tell me you're not jealous about that," she said.

"No, not really. I don't like being the focus of attention," I said seriously.

"Yes, I noticed you're very humble as far as being the center of attention," Ember said sarcastically. "You only go to extreme lengths to get noticed," she added.

"Okay, then I don't like being the center of attention in regards to humans," I said, rolling my eyes slightly. "And Blaze has a way of sticking out, even when he's not trying to. For example, he's carrying a bag. Secondly, he seems to have a Flareon stalker," I pointed out. Indeed, Crystal was acting a bit strange, but I'm not sure if she was doing that on purpose. She just seemed really intent on walking very close to Blaze at all times and she kept watching his eyes and following his gaze. I almost pity him if his gaze even pauses a moment on another female.

"Good point. She does seem a bit...attached," Ember said, studying Crystal thoughtfully.

"Probably not unlike yourself if you ever find a male," I commented, the Charmander's eye twitched for a moment. "That wasn't meant to be an insult, Ember. I fully expect you to become extremely clingy. If that doesn't scare the male away, you'd have a shot."

"Dragonair..." Sapphire muttered quietly and I glanced at her inquisitively. "Change the subject," the dragoness said firmly. Blaze chose that moment to yelp in pain and I glanced at him with interest.

"He lasted longer than I thought he would," I said with a grin. The male Flareon was rubbing his ear while Crystal glared at some random female Vulpix, who was looking frightened and confused. My guess is Blaze's gaze slipped and Crystal bit him for it.

"Sorry!" Blaze whined slightly to the female Flareon, all but confirming my suspicion. Crystal growled at the Vulpix, which cringed and hid behind a random human, to the human's slight confusion, and then she licked Blaze's cheek, confusing the male Flareon (what else is new?).

"Okay, now I think she's just warning everyone to stay the hell away from Blaze. She's pretty much established that all other females should go away and that Blaze is hers," I said. "Some people are insane like that."

"Didn't you make several death threats to Blaze if he ever so much as looked at Sapphire?" Ember asked, smirking.

"Death threats, sterilization threats, and so on. That applies to everyone, really," I said, attracting several confused and alarmed stares from various humans. I'm not sure how I feel about the translation collar now. At least I hadn't said anything along the lines of 'Kill all humans' or something like that, because that would almost be a guaranteed way to start a riot or get kicked out of town. Or both, really.

"Why they stare?" Spark asked nervously, apparently oblivious to the stares until now.

"Because you're cuter than every other Pichu they've ever seen," I replied with minimal sarcasm. Sapphire and Ember gave me confused glances, but Spark brightened.

"Yay! Me cute!" he cheered, sparks flying from his cheeks in his happiness. I'm hoping he's been getting better at controlling his electricity because if he shocked himself, he'd attract even more attention to us.

"Aw, look at the baby Pikachu!" a human girl yelled, pointing at Spark. Naturally, Spark looked over at the sound of the voice and he giggled.

"She think me cute," he said brightly to Ember, who nodded.

"Daddy, can I pet him?" the girl asked an older human, who frowned and shook his head.

"No sweetie, he's with those other Pokémon and they could be dangerous," he said firmly. She whined, but the rest of their discussion was missed as we had passed them by, following the Flareon pair. What they were looking for, I'm not sure.

"Ooh, food..." Blaze said, practically drooling as we paused outside of some sort of store, which seemed to be a fruit vendor. "Ooh, more food..." he said, noticing a butcher shop not that far from the fruit vendor.

"We're going to be here for a while, I can tell," I muttered irritably.

"For that, I'm not buying you anything!" Blaze said, in a tone that clearly said 'So there!'

"Oh no, whatever shall I do? Blaze won't buy me anything!" I said sarcastically. The male Flareon scowled, turning his attention back to the various foods he could buy. "I'm going somewhere else for a while. Who else is coming?" I asked. Ember considered it for a moment and then followed me. Spark was too excited by the prospect of food to come along, and Sapphire seemed to have resigned herself to watching the Pichu.

"Shouldn't we have set up a meeting place?" Ember asked a few moments later, after we had already vanished from their sight.

"Maybe, but how hard can it be to find a Dragonair, two Flareons, and a Pichu in a small city? They've attracted the humans' notice, so just follow the gaze of the brainless gawkers and you find them," I replied.

"I suppose you've got a point," Ember said, chuckling. "So what do we do?" she asked.

"I don't know, I just wanted to get away from Blaze," I said, turning towards the Charmander. "Any ideas?"

"I just want to rest," Ember replied with a shrug.

"We could have done that back in the clearing where we were," I stated, raising my eye scale at her. "We're in the city now, so we should do something more suited to the city."

"I'm not a city Pokémon," Ember pointed out.

"Heh, and I am?" I asked her with a snicker.

"More so than me," she replied.

"Not by much. Cities were never really to my liking. Too many idiotic humans, all going about their woefully uninteresting lives, thinking they're superior to Pokémon and other stupid things," I said. "I always preferred quieter areas than the loudness and cramped areas of cities," I continued.

"Not sure how it is with me. I was born wild, lived in the wild, then got caught for 5 years," Ember said thoughtfully.

"You also had no social life whatsoever, so I assume you like the quiet areas also," I pointed out. Ember shrugged, an odd look in her eyes.

"I don't know. I feel lonely like that," she said finally. "Some people like being isolated, but I don't. I like quiet, restful areas, but too much and I feel lonely," she continued, a hint of sadness in her voice. "I don't like being alone, Dragonair. To me it's painful, a reminder that I never really was liked and that's why I never really had friends."

"I was your friend," I reminded her. She nodded, brightening up a little bit.

"Enough about that. Let's go find something to do," she suggested.

"Let's go find some single males for you to gawk at," I suggested and she stared at me. "Yeah, you think I'm kidding," I said, laughing. The Charmander stared at me blankly, unsure how to respond to that. "Now where would single males be hanging out?" I murmured.

"Okay, I'm shooting down the suggestion before you get any farther than that," Ember said firmly.

"Probably for the best to stop me now. Otherwise I'll actually follow through with the idea and then hook you up with the first one that catches your eye," I said with a tiny smirk. Ember scowled at me. "Unless you want to go find that stalker Sneasel," I added, her scowl deepening.

"I do not like him. He's annoying and won't leave me alone," she growled.

"That's why he's a stalker, although a stalker that seems to genuinely like you. What's your picture of an ideal mate, anyway?" I asked her. She blushed slightly, thinking a little.

"I don't know," she said finally, but I could tell she was lying her tail off, the clue being her tail flame had flared up a little.

"Go ahead. Just a few things," I prompted. "Does specie matter?"

"Not that much. Nothing gross like a Muk or Koffing, though," she said, averting her gaze.

"Ember, what did I always say to you at the Rocket base about Muk? Don't bring them up during topics about love or intimacy. It's scary," I scolded. She blinked at me blankly for a second, but then shuddered.

"Sorry. Ugh," she muttered.

"What about personality?" I prompted, desperate to get rid of my mental images of Muk.

"Uh...I'm not sure. Modest, nice, actually cares. I don't know, it's hard to think of ideal qualities. It's more of an 'I'll know it when I see it' thing with personality, because some qualities can be completely nullified by a certain bad quality or a small bad quality is made up by certain good ones. Sort of like you and Sapphire," Ember said uncomfortably. I nodded.

"What's more important: Physical attractiveness or personality?" I asked curiously.

"Uh..." Ember said blankly.

"That means attractiveness, but you don't want to admit you're shallow?" I asked.

"I'm not shallow!" the Charmander protested. "I just wouldn't pick reverse extremes. I like attractive, but if he's a total jerk it's wasted. Nor would I like a really nice guy who's incredibly ugly. I'd like more of a balance. Attractive is what interests me, personality is what keeps me around," she said.

"Fast forward past all the comments and jokes I could use from how sloppily you just worded that," I said, grinning. Ember flushed slightly. "I'm kidding. Anyway, let's find something completely unrelated to this topic."

"Good idea," Ember said, grumbling slightly.


	154. Enemy Revelation

**Leaf POV**

I shivered anxiously, staring at the Magmortar and the shadows where the creepy voice was speaking from. Lava composed himself quickly, aiming his cannon like arms towards the shadows and two enormous fireballs fired out from the arms. There was a flash of movement, just as the fireballs exploded within the shadowy location. Lava stared at the inferno anxiously, as if praying that the unknown being had perished. I personally was hoping this as well, but I wasn't expecting it to happen. The Ampharos' gaze scanned the hallway as the fire died down, revealing that nothing had been there.

"Damn," Lava muttered, one cannon arm outstretched, prepared to launch another fireball at a target, should one appear. A slightly psychotic chuckle broke the silence and a sleek, black furred canine-like creature stepped into view. I gasped in alarm, recognizing the specie as an Umbreon, but it actually had the typical yellow rings and it was male, so it definitely wasn't Darkness.

"Want to turn up the heat, Magmortar?" the Umbreon asked, grinning wickedly. Lava scowled, firing another pair of large fireballs from his arms towards the Dark Eon. Without missing a beat, the Umbreon slid underneath the fiery projectiles, its body releasing a wave of black energy into the Magmortar's chest. Lava grunted, one arm clutching his chest, the other determinedly firing large fireballs at the dark type.

"Come on, Lava..." Shock urged, the gem on his head glowing before firing a beam of light towards the Umbreon, but the attack was intercepted by chunks of the plaster as Lava slammed his fist into the wall, grabbing some of the chunks of the wall and flinging them wildly. I ducked as a shock wave from the punch caused some parts of the ceiling to fall, narrowly missing me.

"Stay back, Shock," Lava ordered, trying to keep calm but there was a definite note of panic in his voice as the Umbreon casually blasted the projectiles apart with Dark Pulse, grinning psychotically.

"Hm, I thought you were the one supposed to stall Lava, not him," Frost commented from behind me, causing me to jump in alarm. "Error, you should be more alert," the Glaceon said flatly.

"Just shut up," I muttered. "Why would we stall Lava in the first place?"

"You'd stall him for me to catch up and we'd take him down together," Frost said, but I sincerely doubted he planned for a joint battle. "Gem," he said to the air and the Sableye appeared.

"What is it?" the Sableye rasped. Frost whispered something hastily in the ghost's ear and Gem nodded, fading out. I was about to ask, but a Shadow Ball that Lava had dodged narrowly missed my left ear, forcing me to focus my attention more on the battle than whatever Frost was doing. Lava seemed to have switched his strategy to a more defensive style, while the Umbreon had shifted to the more aggressive tactics. The Magmortar countered a Shadow Ball with another fireball, the projectiles exploding as they contacted in midair, smoke obscuring the Umbreon from view.

"Damn it..." Lava growled, firing fireballs into the smokescreen, perhaps trying to hope to get lucky and hit the Umbreon, or just to keep it from setting up an ambush of some sort from the cover of the smoke. Shock watched warily, his fists charged with electricity as if he expected to be attacked, rather than his leader.

"You're boring me, Magmortar," the Umbreon's voice said in a cold whisper. "The best meals are the ones I have to work for, and I expect your quality to be quite low," he breathed, the yellow rings glowing, viewable even through the smoke, the red eyes of the Umbreon gleaming as he stepped through the smoke, watching Lava carefully. The Magmortar didn't hesitate, forming bolts of electricity from its paw, which seemed to appear out of his cannon arms somehow. The twin Thunderbolts launched towards the Umbreon, but the Umbreon's red eyes flashed, the bolts exploding as if hitting an invisible barrier.

"H-how?" Lava gasped in panic, but composed himself quickly, withdrawing his hands into his arms and launching another barrage of fireballs, not even stopping to see if the projectiles hit, just continued firing. I felt the temperature of the hallway increase significantly and Frost shifted his weight slightly, no doubt feeling the effects of the heat increase just as much as I did.

"There's no way he got away from all that," Shock said, his entire body shaking slightly. I was inclined to agree, but Frost shook his head.

"Error, do not assume your enemy has perished," he warned the Ampharos. The Glaceon next proceeded to conjure a hailstorm around himself, the air around him chilling to combat the rising heat from the Magmortar's fireball barrage. This was the first time I ever appreciated him making the surrounding area colder, as I was extremely sensitive to temperature changes. Lava finally paused his assault, staring into the intense smog created by his fire.

"You still alive, sucker?" Lava demanded. There was no response and the Magmortar smirked slightly, still wary for signs of his foe. I didn't really see anyway anything could have survived that assault because even if all the fireballs missed, that whole section of the corridor would have been almost unbearably hot, probably even for a fire type.

"Is that all?" the Umbreon's voice sneered. "How boring. At least I won't regret eliminating valid entertainment, since you were lacking in that department," the voice continued, still not visible from the thick smoke that consumed that area of the corridor. How could he even breathe in that area?

"Try me," Lava growled in reply, resuming his assault, despite not being able to see his adversary. Before he could get more than three shots in, the area below his feet glowed purple and the odd fumes floated up. Lava yelped comically, leaping away from the fumes before inhaling them.

"Want me to try again?" the Umbreon sneered, stepping into view from the smoke, grinning insanely. Lava flung out his arms, bolts of electricity firing towards the dark type, but once again the bolts stopped short of the Umbreon.

"How...how are you doing that?" Lava demanded, slamming his fist into a portion of the wall, breaking off a large chunk of concrete (why wasn't the entire wall concrete?) and flinging it at the Umbreon, but the dark type dodged nimbly, a wave of dark energy radiating from his body and striking the Magmortar, which hunched over briefly from the assault. At that moment, the purple glow at his feet began again and the fumes floated into Lava's face, which was close enough to the ground to be virtually unavoidable. He gasped, clutching at his throat. The Umbreon cackled triumphantly, his red eyes staring into Lava's terrified face.

"It's over for you," he snickered. Lava coughed weakly, his face showing pure terror and pain.

"You...bastard!" Lava wheezed to the Umbreon. "Shock..." the Magmortar gestured to the Ampharos, who stepped forward, raising his electricity charged fist and swinging at the Umbreon, but the dark type ducked, darting forward and snapping his jaws on the Ampharos' leg, a loud cracking sound echoing in the hallway, Shock's scream of pain following shortly afterwards. I winced at both sounds, averting my gaze briefly.

"Pathetic," the Umbreon cackled as the Ampharos fell to the ground, clutching his injured leg with both paws. The dark type stepped closer to the fallen electric type, baring his fangs threateningly. Shock swung his fist again, forcing the Umbreon to step backwards, the sadistic grin still present on his face. "Your meat will be fresher. Poison does hell to the quality, but he'll be no real loss," he whispered to the Ampharos, licking his lips as he spoke, the electric Pokémon's gem glowing and firing a beam of energy at point blank range, the force of the attack knocking the Umbreon backwards, but he recovered quickly, his red eyes flashing with amusement.

"Damn..." Lava wheezed, coughing weakly, falling to his knees, his legs losing the energy to lift his bulky form. He shuddered, his breathing becoming ragged and forced, as he struggled to push himself back up. The poison was taking its toll rapidly and once again I felt helpless to assist, even though I was thinking of helping an enemy.

"You should have known better, Magmortar," the Umbreon hissed quietly, his red eyes flicking towards Lava before refocusing on Shock, his grin widening as the Ampharos shivered in fear. "And you shouldn't have crossed me, Ampharos," he added, grinning psychotically, baring his teeth and slowly bringing his mouth towards the Ampharos' throat.

"That's enough!" a voice shouted from somewhere behind me and a burst of electricity shot over head, forcing the Umbreon to leap away from Shock to avoid the blast. The Umbreon's eyes narrowed coldly at the newcomer.

"We meet again, Jolteon," the Umbreon hissed contemptuously.

"Yes," Jolt said stiffly, stepping past me hurriedly and placing a berry in Lava's mouth, the Magmortar chewing it desperately, his wheezing subsiding slightly as he ate. How did Jolt get here? He didn't come with us and he didn't even know where we were. The Umbreon bristled at this development, but didn't comment immediately. Jolt's own fur bristled as he glared at the Umbreon.

"You'll pay for this interference," the Umbreon whispered, his mouth curling into a wicked grin.

"That's enough, Volt," Jolt said coldly.

"And what are you going to do about it, bro?" the Umbreon challenged. "Going to beat me into submission? Going to disown me? Going to preach about morality? You'll start sounding like a broken record...whatever that means," the Umbreon mused. "Wouldn't a broken record just not work?"

"Good ideas," Jolt said, glaring at the dark type. The Umbreon chuckled, his red eyes gleaming.

"You don't stand a chance," he sneered.


	155. Volt's Assault

I stared at the two Eons in shock. This psychotic Umbreon was Jolt's _brother_?! It sort of explained why Jolt never mentioned he had a brother, but I still couldn't help but wonder what had happened to them. I would have thought that two brothers would be able to get along most of the time, but maybe Shadow and I were a unique case or something. I glanced at Frost, who was watching the other Eons with slight interest. "What's going on?" I whispered to the Glaceon and he turned to look at me.

"I told Gem to tell Jolt that we had located Volt and to bring Jolt here," Frost replied. "Jolt was wise enough to bring a few Lum berries, apparently."

"I don't get who Volt is, though. He's Jolt's brother?" I asked incredulously. I had always thought that Jolt was an only child since he never mentioned his family, and didn't like mentioning what happened to him before he joined the group. It was a challenge to even get him to tell me that he had been a captive in a hidden Rocket facility of some sort.

"Yes. I was the first to know this detail, but your brother figured it out not that long afterwards. It's a topic that Jolt doesn't like discussing, for obvious reasons," Frost said with a shrug. "Almost all of Volt's profile data is from Jolt, and it's pretty vague as it is," he continued.

"What data do you have?" I asked curiously.

"Volt, male Umbreon. Assumed straight, but all relationships, if any, are unknown. Birthdate is April 5, so he's 3 and 11 months," Frost said quietly. "All details of his personality are too vague to count on as accurate, but Jolt said that he used to be a very fun loving and optimistic. Amazing how much a person can change, huh?" he asked, gesturing to the Umbreon, who was grinning sadistically at Jolt.

"Heh...y-yeah," I said nervously.

"He's Diablos' most powerful living associate, which ordinarily wouldn't be saying much, but he's quite the match for Diablos' most powerful ghost associate as well," Frost added.

"Then how come I've never heard of him until now?" I asked uncertainly. "You'd think we'd have encountered him before."

"Who said we haven't?" Frost asked with a scowl. I stared at him blankly for a few seconds before he added, "I'll rephrase that a little...You haven't."

"Oh," I said, backing away nervously from the two Eons, both of which had tensed, so I knew a fight was about to break out. Jolt released a Thunderbolt towards the Umbreon, but the red eyes gleamed for a moment, and the bolt was stopped short by an invisible barrier, exploding harmlessly. "How does he do that?" I muttered.

"You've learned nothing, have you?" the Umbreon whispered quietly. "But by all means, continue fighting. Give me the entertainment that Lava and his Ampharos lackey denied me. Then when I'm done with you, I can finish my task at hand..." his red eyes paused on the fallen Magmortar, which was recovering from the poison that Jolt had cured.

"Volt..." Jolt pleaded, but the Umbreon interrupted him by forming an orb of black energy in his mouth, spitting it towards the Jolteon, but he moved out of the way, the ghostly energy exploding harmlessly on the ground.

"No pleasantries from you, bro? Then I'll start us off. How's Kira been?" Volt asked with a sadistic grin. Jolt's eye twitched. "Now now, no need to get hostile. It's just a simple question," the Umbreon said, shaking his head slightly, keeping his eyes on Jolt.

"Shut up, Volt," Jolt said coldly.

"Oh, she didn't like the shock collar, then? Has she stopped twitching in her sleep, yet?" Volt asked and then cackled insanely. Jolt lunged forward, slamming his body into the Umbreon's side, the fur quills stabbing into the dark type, but Volt merely winced, grinning psychotically. "Haven't you learned anything new?" he whispered, baring his teeth at the Jolteon, but Jolt released a close range Thunderbolt.

"How's that for new?" Jolt growled, snapping his teeth at the dark type, but Volt's eyes glowed brightly and an invisible force hurled Jolt against the wall, the electric type falling to the ground.

"Simply pathetic," Volt whispered, his eyes glowing again and Jolt was lifted up and flung into the opposite wall of the corridor. I winced at the dull thud and Jolt's grunt of pain. "Reconsidering the idea of pleasantries?" Volt sneered. "Or are you eager for more pain?"

"You sick bastard," Jolt grunted, pushing himself back to his feet after a short pause. "I'm your brother! YOUR BROTHER, DAMN IT! How can you treat me like this, of all people?"

"You know why," Volt said dismissively.

"Because you're being manipulated by some homicidal maniac!" Jolt snapped. The Umbreon's eyes glowed and the Jolteon was once again hurled against the wall, tumbling roughly to the ground.

"Don't bother getting up," Volt sneered. I whimpered anxiously and Frost even shifted his weight uncomfortably for a moment. "Stay down where you belong."

"How about not?" Jolt hissed, pushing himself up weakly. Volt's eyes glowed again and Jolt was thrown against the wall forcefully, bits of the plaster falling from the impact. Jolt cried out in pain, but he was thrown immediately against the opposite wall. I whined, wanting to turn away from this, to block out Jolt's pain, but another feeling was rising up in me, a stronger one.

"ENOUGH!" I shouted angrily and the Umbreon blinked at my outburst, releasing his psychic hold on Jolt, the Jolteon sliding weakly to the floor, bruises already forming on his body. "Enough," I repeated, shaking with anger (and fear) as I glared at the dark type.

"What concern of yours is this?" the Umbreon sneered.

"What gives you the right to bully him?" I demanded furiously. Volt chuckled insanely, tilting his head at me slightly. "He's your brother, isn't he? So why do you do this to him? That's not how brothers are..."

"Be quiet, Leafeon," Volt snarled. "I've seen enough of your damned bond with your brother to last me for years."

"Stop attacking your brother!" I snapped back.

"You want to suffer, Leafeon?" Volt snarled, his red eyes burning into mine, but I didn't back away. "So be it," he said with a sadistic grin.

"Don't, Leaf. You'll get hurt!" Jolt begged from his place on the ground.

"You're like a second brother to me, Jolt, plus I hate watching people get bullied. Someone has to stand up to him," I said firmly, releasing a flurry of Razor Leaves towards Volt, but the Umbreon countered with a Dark Pulse, the wave of energy blowing my leaves to pieces.

"Is that all?" Volt challenged.

"Be careful, Leaf!" Frost warned and I nodded, lashing out with a vine from my body, attempting to tie it around Volt's legs, but he leapt backwards, just out of range of the vine and formed a Shadow Ball, spitting it towards me. I crouched slightly, the ghostly orb flying over my shoulder, to the Umbreon's slight annoyance. I frowned slightly, trying to remember the tactics I normally used for fighting an Umbreon. Darkness usually used similar tactics in training, so I just had to remember what I did to fight her. My first objective was to get close enough to use Leaf Blade or something similar.

I focused my energy, my body glowing a pale white as I darted forward at blinding speed. The Umbreon watched passively, his red eyes glowing. "Aerial Ace, pathetic," Volt sneered and I felt myself stop in mid run before I flew through the air, slamming into the wall and falling to the ground weakly. I quickly got back to my feet, dodging a Dark Pulse in a blur of motion, my tail glowing a bright green before I turned to slash the Umbreon with my Leaf Blade, but once again I was stopped in mid strike and hurled backwards, tumbling across the damaged floor, my fur picking up pieces of plaster and various debris.

"Leaf..." Jolt murmured, even as I stood up, boldly facing Volt.

"I'm fine, Jolt," I said, breathing harder as I fought to overcome any fears I had. Volt was stronger than I had anticipated, but I wasn't giving up. Not yet, anyway. I launched another flurry of Razor Leaves at the Umbreon, but a wave of dark energy once again blasted my attack to bits, but that moment had created an opening, just enough for me to move forward, my tail glowing green again as I swiped my tail, striking the Umbreon.

"Argh!" Volt shouted and everyone else stared at the gash across the dark type's shoulder, blood seeping from the wound. He eyed the wound almost curiously before licking the blood, grinning insanely as his body glowed brightly a moment. "That all?" he whispered and I lunged forward, slamming my paw into his gut, releasing another wave of Razor Leaves at point blank range. Volt cried out, his red eyes gleaming at me. I felt myself fly backwards, propelled by the Umbreon's powerful psychic attack. Jolt's eyes widened and his body also glowed brightly for a moment.

"I'm not done," I informed Volt as I pushed myself back to my feet.

"I'm afraid it's hopeless, Leafeon," Volt sneered as a golden orb descended upon him and he glowed brilliantly, all his injuries fading away. I gaped, backing away in shock, all confidence I had vanishing quickly. His red eyes gleamed and I felt myself psychically _dragged_ towards him. "I'll just end this battle now..." he sneered and bared his teeth, lowering his mouth to my throat, chuckling sadistically. I quickly lashed out one of my vines, striking him in the stomach and he stumbled back, fangs grazing my throat. I quickly focused on my Synthesis, but before it could kick in, the Umbreon slammed me in the face with a paw, knocking me to the ground limply.

"Leaf!" Jolt shouted and I saw a golden orb descend on him as well, healing his injuries. Volt snickered and stepped past me, casually kicking me as he passed. "Don't touch them, Volt!" Jolt snarled.

"Fine. I'll just take this..." the Umbreon sneered and seconds later I heard him approach me from behind, felt my body lifted up and the Umbreon grinned. "This isn't over, Leafeon. But I'll take this," he said, pulling his paw backwards. I felt the string around my neck break as he tugged the object that Nightslash had given me. "You won't need this..." he murmured, examining it for a moment, comparing it to another, practically identical object, except it was different colored.

"Hey, that's mine!" I protested, wincing at how childish the protest sounded. Before I could react, I felt myself psychically thrown backwards, slamming into Jolt. "Agh!" I yelped as the quills poked me painfully.

"Not anymore. Thank you, Leafeon..." Volt whispered and turned away, practically disappearing into the shadows with a final insane cackle.

"Damn it!" Jolt cursed, shoving me off him angrily. I hastened to pull out the quills that had gotten stuck in my fur. "Now what?"


	156. Sudden End to Relaxation

**Dragonair POV**

We never really did find anything else to do, but it was still quite refreshing to spend an hour or two wandering the city without Blaze or Spark doing anything annoying, this only accomplished by not being with them. Admittedly, most of the activities or objects of fascination required money and that was one department we were both short in. So to compensate for the lack of money, I stole a few apples from a nearby vendor and gave one to Ember.

"Wait...did you just steal?" Ember demanded to me.

"Yeah, pretty much. Why?" I asked indifferently, eating one of the stolen apples. Ember blinked at my indifference, looking at the apple guiltily. "You don't have to eat it if you're not hungry," I pointed out, smirking a little bit at her reaction, my grin widening as her stomach growled noisily.

"Why'd you steal it?" she asked.

"Because we didn't have money," I said seriously. "So what? The only difference between that apple and one from a tree is that a human wanted money for it. We're wild Pokémon, and money is obviously in short supply," I said, eating the second apple. Ember sighed and bit into her apple without another word, only speaking when she had finished eating, using a small fireball to incinerate the apple core.

"Should we go find the group again?" she asked me. I paused, looking around thoughtfully. "You said it'd be easy to find them," she pointed out, misinterpreting my hesitation.

"Do you hear that?" I whispered, listening carefully. Ember gave me a strange look and listened, her eyes flicking around uncertainly.

"I don't hear anything," the Charmander said finally.

"Oddly, neither do I anymore," I said with a frown. "Maybe I imagined it."

"What did it sound like?" Ember asked skeptically. Obviously she had no idea whether or not I was serious about hearing something.

"Oh the usual, humans screaming in terror, the sounds of destruction," I said casually. "Nothing to worry about." Ember gave me a look that clearly was questioning whether I was serious or not. I merely smiled at the Charmander and she blinked.

"Uh...are you serious?" she asked, my smile widening into a grin.

"Yeah, actually I was. But humans screaming in terror is normal, and the destruction is usually caused by humans that are drunks, so nothing important," I said. Cue the weird look again. "Okay fine, we'll take a look," I said, rolling my eyes, moving in the direction of the sounds I had heard, Ember following me behind anxiously. We passed several buildings, most of which had nosy humans watching us from the windows. I was tempted, as usual, to send a Thunderbolt or similar attack at the windows to scare the hell out of the idiots, but restrained myself. If the rumors were true, Blackthorn City had a few extremely powerful dragon Pokémon trainers living in the city, and somehow I had a feeling that I didn't want to risk said trainers' wraths.

"Where did it sound like it was coming from?" Ember asked uncertainly.

"I only heard it briefly," I reminded her, keeping my eyes open for signs of the source of the noises. "It could have been almost anywhere, but I don't see any people running around like idiots. Oh wait, that's what all humans look like," I said with a smirk.

"What about over there?" Ember asked dryly, pointing down an alley way. I backtracked, following her claw. The darkened alley held no signs of recent destruction, but it did include one human lying unconscious in the alley, a bottle of alcohol clenched in his fist.

"Good eye, Ember. You found an idiot, but not what we're looking for," I said sarcastically.

"Oh, I thought he was dead," Ember said.

"That would just be funny," I said indifferently.

"Sometimes I wonder how malicious a sense of humor you've got," she muttered.

"I have no pity for idiotic humans," I replied dismissively, stopping suddenly. "Heard it again. This way," I said, increasing my speed in the direction of the noise, minus the sounds of destruction, Ember jogging to keep up. After a few moments, I located the site where I believed the shouts of terror had come from and spotted 3 humans lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from some sort of bite wounds. "Whoa, what happened here?"

"Ugh..." Ember winced, looking away from the growing puddles of blood. There was no doubt in my mind the humans were beyond help, and my eyes scanned the area for clues as to an assailant.

"A snake," I said, noticing a thin trail of blood leading away from the bodies, curving in the same pattern as a snake slithers. "My question is what kind of snake is this bloodthirsty, or whether there was even a reason for this," I said, gesturing my tail towards the bodies.

"Let me guess, we're going to follow the trail, avenge the murders, and somehow end up fighting for our life immediately afterwards?" Ember asked wearily.

"Nah, I don't give a damn about this," I said, turning away from the scene. The Charmander gaped at me in disbelief. "What? I thought that's what you wanted to hear," I said, grinning.

"Uh..." Ember said blankly, sighing slightly. "Alright, let's do this, then. So much for relaxation, though," she grumbled.

"We'll have plenty of time for relaxation later. Since we're new to the town, let's not get blamed for murdering humans, okay?" I argued, already following the bloody trail down another alleyway, which is surprisingly narrow, although I really shouldn't be that surprised, considering how large I am compared to a human. Ember followed reluctantly, muttering about how disgusting blood was.

"Hear that?" the Charmander suddenly asked and I listened.

"That would be Blaze," I said with a sigh. "Least we found them..."

"No, listen!" Ember urged and I fell silent, listening carefully.

"How the hell are you alive?" a voice hissed and Ember shuddered as she recognized the voice.

"There's our snake," I said with a sigh, exiting the alleyway and looking around for the source of the voice, spotting the male Flareon glaring hatefully at an Ekans with streaks of blood on its body. Sapphire, Spark, and Crystal were nowhere in sight.

"Disappointed?" Blaze snarled at the snake.

"I only got a taste last time, Blazey. I'll be sure to get a better one this time," Rosa hissed.

"Whoo Hoo! No seducing attempts this time!" Blaze said brightly. Rosa stared at the Flareon in alarm. "That means I can just..."

"Die?" Rosa interrupted, baring her fangs threateningly, her eyes flashing with an odd light. Blaze winced, his bravery vanishing almost immediately. "And let's double the trick this time..." she hissed, her eyes glowing red, staring into the Flareon's eyes. Blaze shuddered, his eyes taking on a pale red gleam. "There...Glare and Attract. You can't move, and you're infatuated enough to give me the opening to kill you..." she mused, slithering closer.

"Wow, he must really have pissed her off for her to use Attract without trying to take advantage of the infatuation in the normal way," I commented casually.

"Why aren't we helping him?" Ember asked desperately. I paused for a moment, realizing that I had allowed myself to get distracted by the occurrence without thinking of intervening. I readied a Thunderbolt, but before I could fire it, Rosa shrieked in alarm, moments from biting Blaze. I paused, feeling distinctly left out of the events and Ember was looking similarly confused.

"Who's there?" the Ekans demanded, her eyes scanning the area around her and the Flareon. Blaze twitched slightly, looking extremely anxious, the red gleam of Attract had already faded. I was a little impressed by this, considering how easily he was usually distracted by a female, so he must really find Rosa repulsive.

"Hello, Ekans," a dark voice whispered and a shape stepped into the afternoon light. Blaze shuddered in fear as the shape became apparent: a black furred canine creature with yellow rings, in sharp contrast to the other Umbreon I knew, which had blue rings. The Umbreon's red eyes were fixed on the Ekans, who was looking quite nervous as he approached. I noticed two small objects tied around the dark Eon's neck, but dismissed this detail as unimportant.

"What do you want?" Rosa snarled, baring her fangs threateningly at the Umbreon. The dark type's mouth curled into a semi-sadistic grin, the expression causing Ember to shudder and Rosa flinched. "Who are you?" she demanded. The Umbreon chuckled sadistically.

"I am Volt, and Haou instructed me to ensure the Flareon's survival," the Umbreon whispered. "As a bonus, I finally get to kill you. I swore I'd kill you...remember that, Ekans?" he sneered, his voice becoming softer and more menacing.

"B-but...p-please..." the Ekans whimpered.

"So how should I kill you? Something satisfying, well worth the wait...perhaps bite you into tiny pieces? Rip your stomach open and eat your heart? No, I overuse that one...simply severing your head is not nearly satisfying or painful enough..." the Umbreon continued softly, and then let out a psychotic laugh.

"N-no...p-please..." Rosa begged.

"Too late, Ekans! You should never have messed with me...and now...you must die," the dark type sneered. "I'll think of something, no doubt," the Umbreon bared his fangs, licking them slightly as Rosa shuddered in terror. "Your fear amuses me...remember how my fear seemed to thrill you. How you whispered what you were going to do to me...how's it feel to be the victim, Ekans?" Volt sneered.

"N-not g-good. P-please..." the Ekans begged desperately.

"Too little, too late," the Umbreon cackled, his red eyes fixed pitilessly on the terrified purple snake. "Now I have the power...and it feels good."

"L-let me f-fight," Rosa pleaded desperately. "G-give me my ch-chance," she begged.

"You didn't give me a chance," Volt retorted coldly. "But very well. I want some thrill before the kill..." he hissed, his eyes glowing for a moment, and the Ekans was flung backwards, further away from Blaze, who was slowly recovering from his paralysis. "Let's fight then..." Volt ordered Rosa, grinning sadistically.


	157. A Grudge's End

"Okay, this is starting to creep me out a little bit," I said slowly, staring at the Umbreon and Ekans with a mixture of confusion and amusement. "Who's the psychotic Umbreon?"

"Yeah, like I'd know," Ember said, rolling her eyes. "His name is Volt and that's just about all the information we've got, other than he has an intense grudge against Rosa," she said.

"If intense grudge translates to a sadistic desire to kill her...then I'm inclined to agree with you. I can think of a few things she did to piss him off to that extreme, but nothing concrete," I said thoughtfully. "Well, let's go check on our helpless little Flareon comrade," I said, gesturing my tail at Blaze, who still looked affected by the paralysis, although he seemed to be recovering little by little.

"Yeah, plus those two are going to be fighting so we might want to move a little bit," Ember agreed, walking over to the Flareon, with me following right behind. "You okay, Blaze?" the Charmander asked.

"Could be worse," Blaze said, his eyes on Rosa and the Umbreon. "Like I could be dead or still on the verge of being killed," he grumbled.

"Is that a yes?" I asked flatly and the Flareon glared at me slightly. "Any clue about what's up with them?" I asked, gesturing my tail towards the two combatants. Rosa seemed to be trying not to panic and Volt was watching her squirm with cold amusement.

"Uh...no, not really. Don't care, since I'm alive because of it," Blaze said, shifting his weight a little bit as he struggled against the effects of the paralysis. "Hm, this didn't last so long last time she paralyzed me," he grumbled.

"Sometimes it lasts longer," Ember said, shrugging. "It's wearing off, right?" Blaze nodded slightly and the Charmander smiled in satisfaction.

"Well we can watch the fight while we wait for Blaze to recover," I said, turning my full attention to the ensuing battle.

"Well? Going to attack me?" Volt sneered quietly, his red eyes watching Rosa pitilessly. Without waiting for an answer, the Umbreon released a burst of black energy from his body, the wave striking the Ekans and knocking her aside limply. She recovered, hissing angrily, but her eyes showed pure terror. Volt didn't give her a chance to retaliate, forming a Shadow Ball in his mouth and spitting it towards her, the ghostly orb striking her as she attempted to twist out of the way, so either he got lucky with a poorly aimed shot, or he had predicted her movement.

"Ugh...P-please..." Rosa groaned, staring up at the dark type as he took a few menacing steps towards her, eyes alight with malice.

"Now I am the one with the power, yet you expect me to spare you?" Volt whispered. "The roles have reversed, after all this time..."

"P-please!" Rosa begged, trying to slither away from the insane Eon, but he paid no attention to her pleas, walking towards her at the same menacing pace, grinning psychotically.

"I said I'd kill you, Ekans...and I meant it. I will kill you. I won't spare you, I won't even consider such an action," Volt whispered, his red eyes gleaming. "It's your turn to feel the pain, the suffering, the fear and terror as your life is threatened, knowing you can't escape and praying that someone, somehow can save you...how's it feel?"

"I-I s-said n-not g-good," Rosa wailed, now backed against a wall.

"Good," Volt breathed, licking his fang-like teeth as he approached the Ekans. He chuckled insanely and his red eyes glowed, Rosa became engulfed in psychic energy and then her body was slammed to the ground forcefully, the Ekans crying out in pain. Volt laughed, psychically raising her a few feet above the ground and then slamming her down again, with greater force than the last. Rosa twitched, writhing on the ground in pain. As much as I had no pity for the evil snake, the display was still enough to make me wince.

"N-no..." Rosa pleaded, but the Umbreon laughed insanely.

"Too little...too late," he hissed and Rosa was psychically hurled into the wall at which she cowered, the force of the impact shattered some of the bricks. The Ekans cried out again, her tail flicking wildly as she struggled against the psychic grip the dark type had on her. To be honest, I was a bit impressed on how much prowess he had with that technique. Not all dark types are as good with psychic abilities as regular psychics, since dark types supposedly get their power from emotions versus the mind.

"Please!" Rosa begged desperately, but the Umbreon merely grinned.

"No," he said simply and the Ekans was slammed with incredible force into the wall, breaking partway through the bricks, chunks of shattered bricks and other debris flying around the Ekans as she slumped limply. Volt studied the body for a moment and chuckled. "Nice try, Ekans," he whispered and psychically slammed the snake to the ground. I winced at the sound of her body hitting the pavement, but this time there was no doubt of her demise. Satisfied, the Umbreon stepped away from the fallen Ekans, glancing towards Blaze and pausing, his red eyes resting on me. "Dragonair..." he mused quietly.

"Yeah, that's me," I said coldly, resisting the urge to flinch from his gaze. "What do you want?"

"So you're the one Haou shows such interest in..." Volt murmured, more to himself than me. I had no idea who he was referring to, especially since about 10 different groups have their eyes on me, and I had never heard of Volt before this encounter, so for all I knew it was a group I hadn't had the misfortune of encountering before.

"Right," I said dryly. Ember's eyes widened anxiously as the Umbreon's gaze paused on her a moment.

"The mate less Charmander," he mused, ignoring Ember's growl of anger at being addressed in this way. "Well, mate less now that Nightslash is dead..."

"What?" Ember blurted, looking confused. The Umbreon chuckled.

"Nightslash died a few hours ago," Volt repeated, watching her reaction carefully. "So you would be counted as mate less, correct?" he asked.

"Nightslash wasn't my mate and thank Mew for that," Ember growled.

"I think you two would have been a cute couple," I commented obnoxiously. Ember glared at me. "No really, you can't see how cute you two were? He even had the pet name picked out and all that, you two even bickered like a mated couple, you always telling him to leave you alone and him finding every excuse under the sun to be near you..."

"Shut up, Dragonair," Ember growled threateningly.

"Seriously, if there's one relationship that was meant to be, that was the one," I insisted. Actually, I knew perfectly well that while Ember was flattered by the attention the Sneasel had been giving her, she was not actually attracted to him.

"He was too damn obnoxious for me. Nice, but too obnoxious," Ember said irritably, her claws glowing blue, which was my cue to drop the subject.

"There you are, Volt," a voice spoke as the familiar Sableye materialized, shuffling the tarot deck he was perpetually carrying. "You have them?" he asked, gesturing to the items tied around the Umbreon's neck.

"Yes. Inform Haou that Lava is still alive, due to my brother's untimely interference. I'll deal with him later," Volt said coldly.

"Lava or Jolt?" Tarot questioned, neither of them paying any attention to Ember, Blaze, or me.

"They're both tempting...but I meant Lava," Volt replied coolly. "Time to go, anyway. I'll deal with this, you deliver the message," the Umbreon said firmly, gesturing to the objects around his neck. Tarot nodded calmly and they both vanished in a flash of light.

"Yay, Rosa's dead," Blaze said with no enthusiasm whatsoever. "Did anyone have a clue what the hell just happened?"

"Nope," Ember said, staring at where the two Pokémon had been standing moments before.

"So that Umbreon is Jolt's brother, huh?" I muttered. "I don't see much of a resemblance, other than their names are both related to electricity and have the 'olt' ending," I said. "They must have had really uncreative parents, probably both of them being Jolteon or something," I added with a small smirk.

"How would you name an Eevee?" Blaze challenged. I blinked at the question, thinking a moment.

"To be honest...I don't know," I said with a frown. "But is it a coincidence that most of the Eons I know have names similar to their evolution?"

"I was a coincidence," Blaze said with a slight frown. "And the Leafeon was named after he evolved. Don't know about the others," he said, shrugging.

"Now where's the rest of the group?" Ember asked, seemingly eager to get the subject away from names. Probably because she knows I can stay on that subject for hours if I have someone to continue the subject with.

"Oh, I think they stopped to rest for a while, but I didn't notice," Blaze said uncomfortably.

"So you got separated from them?" I asked mockingly. Blaze shifted, but nodded. "And Crystal didn't notice?"

"She was distracted by Spark," Blaze said defensively.

"Right, right. Let's go look for them, then," I said, floating a little higher above the buildings to get a better look around. "Oh, there they are, problem solved," I said, grinning slightly as I led them towards where I had seen the rest of the group.


	158. Discussing Recent Events

"Enjoy yourselves?" Sapphire asked when we had rejoined the group. Ember and I nodded, having already decided on the trip over to the rest of the group that we weren't going to mention that Rosa had killed a few humans, although Blaze immediately launched into the story about encountering Rosa and the insane Umbreon's "lucky" intervention. Sapphire found this to be rather disturbing and seemed eager to leave the city.

"It's not that disturbing," I argued. "We shouldn't have to keep moving just because of some creepy Umbreon," I insisted. We hadn't even told them that the Umbreon had seemed interested in me, and now I certainly wasn't planning on bringing it up. I was rapidly becoming frustrated with us having to always dodge some psychopath hell bent on killing, harming, or kidnapping someone.

"I don't know," Crystal murmured, clearly siding with Sapphire on this. "Just because the Umbreon seemed to save Blaze, doesn't mean he's harmless to us. Maybe we should go. I don't like traveling that much, anyway," she finished with a slight sigh. Blaze immediately seemed content with leaving, so she must have some serious control over the male Flareon.

"Whipped," I muttered, attempting to disguise this as a cough. Judging by the glares that all the females gave me, plus Blaze, I'm assuming my subtle attempt failed. "Look, it's not a big deal. We deserve a break and this is the best chance to have a break. The Umbreon left, there's not a problem."

"Didn't the Umbreon seem interested in you?" Blaze blurted, earning an enraged glare from me. I swear, first chance I get, I am going to beat that fire type to a pulp. Sapphire raised an eye scale at me.

"So it's not a big deal that a potential enemy knows your location?" she asked me calmly, but I could sense that she was very unhappy with me trying to slip this detail past her. "Dragonair, your safety is important. Our relaxation can wait if our safety is in jeopardy. Surely you don't think it's wise to allow yourself to be easily located?"

"I know it's not wise, but I'm sick of always being forced to relocate. It's not my fault so many factions are after me. I'm not even that special, I just have the lousy luck of being seen as incredibly worthy of targeting!" I complained irritably. "We can't even go more than a week without some other insane or evil being finally catching up with us and fighting. Then we leave, and get found by another group and the pattern continues forever."

"Or until they kill you. Which is why it is smarter to relocate," Sapphire said urgently.

"Yeah, let's go," Blaze said, with equal urgency. I doubted he really wanted to leave; it was just a lame attempt to keep Crystal happy or piss me off. Sadly, it was working on both ends of this, as the female Flareon was happily nuzzling the male Flareon affectionately.

"I don't want to go yet. Because then I have to put up with the shitty griping about how we never catch a break, and here's our chance for a freaking break!" I said angrily. Sapphire sighed, looking me in the eyes, which is really awkward, since it usually means she's going to say something meaningful; not only in front of a bunch of nosy Pokémon, but also that I'd have one hell of a time trying to justify turning her down.

"Dragonair, if we had a kit and someone was targeting the kit...would you want to relocate?" she asked seriously.

"Yes, but we don't have a kit and the point is null," I said promptly. Not the smartest way to counter an argument, but it was hopefully effective.

"Let me put it this way then...I want a kit. If you die, that plan's down. Plus, the way you're acting, I'm starting to question whether you're even mature enough for something like that, and that's a concern that I was no longer doubting," Sapphire said with the faintest hint of frustration. Ember and Blaze began looking around the area awkwardly and Crystal flushed in embarrassment. Spark remained blissfully oblivious to everything that was going on.

"Uh..." I said blankly, my mind trying to think of some way to counter that comment. Short of saying something blatantly stupid like 'I don't want a kit anyway', a statement that couldn't be any falser, I was done arguing. Not to mention Sapphire had just implied, in front of the entire group, that she might want a kit soon. I now understood how awkward the topic was, not like that would stop me from teasing Blaze and Crystal. As predicted, her comment had totally removed all my will to continue the argument. "Alright, fine. Where are we going to go?" I asked, a little resentfully.

"Whipped," Blaze coughed, earning only a glare from me, the rest of the group either ignoring him or not noticing. He grinned at me obnoxiously, still unnoticed by anyone else.

"Well, I was thinking that soon we should consider heading to Hoenn..." Sapphire began, but I interrupted.

"Sapphire, to get to Hoenn, we have to travel all the way across Johto and then some. How do you plan to have that work?" I demanded. "The two of us could maybe get away with that, but we have 4 passengers and before anyone brings it up, no, I will not let you ride on me all the way across Johto and then some!"

"In that case, we'll have to find other means of transportation to get there," Sapphire reasoned calmly, completely untroubled by the point I had brought up. Didn't surprise me, since the dragoness was very quick to see problems in initial planning, and usually had ideas of potential solutions. "I got to Kanto by teleporting, so perhaps we could find someone willing to teleport us..."

"Right...all the way to Hoenn. One little problem: There's no one like that anywhere near us," I argued skeptically.

"Are you being pessimistic on purpose?" Ember asked in a weary tone.

"I'm being realistic. Who do we know that is nice enough to transport us all the way to Hoenn and is actually nearby?" I countered. The Charmander frowned and shook her head. "My point exactly," I said smugly.

"What about the stupid black furred Espeon?" Blaze asked, his expression one of great distaste.

"Call him that and he'll never help," I said rolling my eyes. "Besides, it would have to serve him in some way, and unless we beg his little brother to convince him, he wouldn't help us out. Lastly, they're not even nearby!" I shouted.

"What part of that is a bad thing?" Blaze asked. Everyone stared at him and he blinked. "Oh right, my suggestion requires him to be nearby," he muttered, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Congratulations, Blaze," I said dryly. "Now should we just set out randomly and hope to not have gone in the wrong direction, or should we stick around the city for a while and then set a course?" I asked. Sapphire frowned thoughtfully.

"Me no want go!" Spark whined, but naturally this comment was ignored.

"Fine. We'll continue planning for a while before setting a course," the female Dragonair said reluctantly.

"But we need to leave!" Blaze wailed. "Rosa killed humans, and they might think we did it!"

"You numb skull Flareon!" I snapped. Sapphire raised an eye scale at me and Ember, the Charmander nodding guiltily.

"Dragonair...are you trying to make me stop trusting you?" she asked tiredly. "Do you have an explanation why you're keeping information from us?"

"I didn't see a need to say Rosa killed people since she's dead!" I said irritably. "And the wounds were obviously caused by a snake, so we wouldn't get blamed for that," I protested.

"Well can you stop trying to hide details? It's rather uncomfortable to consider the idea that my mate, whom I trust, is hiding relevant information for no real reason," Sapphire said calmly, her words making me squirm awkwardly.

"Okay, sorry," I said, giving the male Flareon a dark glare. First chance I got, I was beating him to a pulp. Last time I thought that, I was more kidding, just to rid myself of the aggressive thoughts. Now I seriously would.

"Just don't do it anymore," Sapphire said, nuzzling me, making my face grow warm. Not sure why I was feeling so awkward lately, but I recovered quickly. "Let's get something to eat and then focus on the planning," she suggested, Blaze gleefully leading the way to another food vendor.

* * *

A few hours later, we still hadn't focused on a plan and had all but resigned ourselves to staying in the area for the remainder of the day, although Sapphire and Crystal (and therefore her whipped Flareon pet) were very unhappy about this, but we had agreed to drop the subject for the evening. "Does anyone hear that?" Ember asked abruptly. Everyone stopped their bizarre conversations, whatever they consisted of, (I think Blaze was telling about how he supposedly beat 6 Rocket grunts into submission during an escape attempt. This story was obviously false since he was locked in the female cells and didn't seem bothered enough to WANT to escape) and listened.

"Yeah...don't know what it is, though..." Blaze murmured.

"Ack! Hide me!" a panicked voice shouted and something ducked behind me. I turned my head to look at a cowering Rotom.

"Is that Chaos?" Ember asked, raising her eye scale.

"That's me!" the Rotom informed me cheerfully, still cowering behind my coils.

"Why the hell are you doing that?" I demanded. I didn't trust this electrical ghost, no matter what Blaze or Ember said about him.

"I'm hiding!" Chaos said happily.

"Okay then..." I said, turning back to the rest of the group. "Now where were we? Listening to an obviously fabricated story?"

"I'm not lying!" Chaos complained. "I didn't even tell you anything!" he added as an afterthought.

"I'm not talking about you," I said irritably. "Blaze here was..."

"Ooh, Blaze is here?" Chaos interrupted, waving one of the lightning bolt shaped objects at the male Flareon. "Hiya! Feeling alright?"

"Uh..." Blaze said blankly. "Yeah, hi Chaos," he said unenthusiastically.

"Hi!" Spark said, waving at the Rotom. The electric ghost waved back with a smile.

"Moving on. Blaze was lying?" I prompted, earning an annoyed look from the male Flareon. Crystal licked the male Flareon's neck affectionately, further delaying the continuation of the story.

"Aren't you going to ask why I'm hiding?" Chaos whined.

"No," I retorted.

"Why are you hiding?" Ember asked dully.

"Good question!" Chaos replied happily. "It all began a few hours ago...when Volt showed up in the shrine with Tarot. The boss was still away, but the rest of us ghosts were resting up..." he began.

"Does this story have a point?" I asked rudely.

"Yes," Chaos replied cheerfully. "Anyway, Volt was carrying two objects around his neck and said they were important!" he continued.

"Why are you telling us this, again?" I interrupted.

"Let him finish," Ember snapped at me and I sighed.

"Thank you!" Chaos said. "Now where was I? Ah right, so Doom asked where he got them, and Volt said that they belonged to Nightslash and Lava, but he got one of them from the Leafeon," the Rotom continued. "Anyway, so he gave them to Fear, who's the broken Porygon for those who don't know..."

"What could he do with them?" Ember asked, raising an eye scale again. Chaos shivered slightly.

"They're energy modulators designed to fix a certain device that Fear's had for quite some time...a rare item known as the Upgrade, which is designed to upgrade a Porygon," Chaos explained.

"But the upgrade failed, and that made him 'broken' in the first place, right?" Ember asked. I briefly remembered her mentioning this a long time ago, when telling us about what she had done when she had left the group.

"Yup!" Chaos replied, and then shivered. "Fear wasn't happy with me pranking him for the last year...he holds a serious grudge..." he said nervously.

"What happened?" I asked, a little curious.

"He evolved!" Chaos shrieked. "And he wants to kill me!"

"Oh, is that all?" I asked indifferently.

"He's insane!" Chaos explained desperately. "He turned on the whole group! Probably including the boss!"

"Whoo Hoo!" I said cheerfully.

"Help us stop him!" Chaos pleaded.

"Hell no. This will be more fun to watch," I said enthusiastically.


	159. Ghost Organization

"Wait...how is it going to be fun to watch?" Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow at me. Ember yawned slightly.

"He's someone who starts fights for fun. How would he not find it entertaining?" she replied. I grinned, but didn't say anything.

"What go on?" Spark asked, his cheeks sparking nervously. He seemed to have picked up the tension the Rotom was giving off (or maybe the electrical charge), but had missed every part of the conversation relevant to the situation. It could be worse: he could have been picking up all the awkward portions of the conversations we've been having, the ones we wouldn't want to explain.

"Don't worry about it, Spark," Sapphire told the Pichu gently and he nodded, although he still cast anxious looks around the area.

"Why are you hiding here, though?" Blaze asked the Rotom. "If the Porygon is after you, why'd you pick Blackthorn City to hide in?"

"Uh...I was looking for the boss," Chaos replied.

"Is anyone with you?" I asked impatiently. The Rotom shrugged its lightning bolt shaped appendages.

"Let's see...I went looking for the boss, Doom and Nightmare I have no idea about, Bane went to get some more assistance and..." Chaos recited cheerfully.

"Is that a no?" I interrupted, flicking my tail irritably. Naturally, I forgot that I was in close proximity to a table and I knocked the whole thing over with a loud crash. Thankfully, no one was at the table, although I earned a dirty look from the Pokémon manager. A pity I couldn't just give him a dirty look like I would a human, because the reason some restaurants have Pokémon managers are to deal with the Pokémon customers, especially ones that might cause trouble. Needless to say, the Hypno could probably hurt me. So instead of the threatening glare I normally would send his way, I made a semi-apologetic expression before returning my attention to the electrical ghost.

"I think there's someone around, other than Fear, who I think can hone in on my electrical signal..." the Rotom muttered. I groaned slightly.

"So you are hiding with us...why?" I asked.

"Because you're eating outside and I was passing," Chaos replied, looking around nervously.

"And who might this 'someone' be?" Crystal asked, a faint growl in her throat.

"I think Tarot's lurking around somewhere," the Rotom replied happily. "We got separated when Fear revealed that he can teleport by entering the cyber realm and exiting from a different computer. I can do the same thing, only faster and better, but I'm not sure how well a Porygon2 can do it..." he admitted.

"A Porygon2?" Ember repeated.

"Porygon2 is the name of the evolved form of Porygon, Ember. I heard there's another evolution, Porygon3?" I said, rolling my eyes briefly.

"Porygon-Z," Chaos corrected promptly.

"Eh, they sound similar," I said indifferently. "Come to think of it, I've never seen either evolution, not even a picture," I muttered thoughtfully. "I should check that thing out."

"You do that," a slightly sinister voice chuckled and the Banette from the cave appeared beside Chaos. "Hey Chaos, no sign of Fear?"

"Ack! How'd you find me, Bane?" Chaos demanded, looking far more worried than he probably should be.

"Aside from your own?" Bane asked maliciously, grinning wickedly. "I contacted help, like you asked, and they might actually show up. Took me forever to convince them, but it might work out," the ghost said.

"How'd you find me?" Chaos repeated, looking panicked.

"Doom tipped me off," Bane replied.

"How'd Doom find me?!" Chaos shrieked.

"Doom's a spy, he has his ways," Bane replied sinisterly. "Why you freaking out?"

"Fear wants to kill me! If you guys locate me easily, why hasn't he located me?" Chaos yelled.

"Ninje," Bane said with a shrug. The Rotom gaped.

"Ninje showed up? How?" Chaos asked, looking awestruck.

"Ever get the feeling the conversation drifted away from us?" I asked casually. Both ghosts gave our group a surprised look. Apparently they both had forgotten we were here.

"My bad," Bane said with a shrug. "Are you assisting?"

"No, we're spectating," I said, but the rest of the group rolled their eyes.

"We rather not get involved," Sapphire said calmly.

"Understandable. The boss isn't exactly known for his popularity with the living population," Chaos said.

"Not too popular with the ghost population, either, as of late. Almost all of us have been blacklisted from further assignments and clubs due to our association with him," Bane added. Chaos sighed.

"So I'm not getting that new computer upgrade?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

"You'll just hack yourself off the blacklist record, don't know why you care," Bane shrugged. "I don't care; I've got a better job with him than I would anywhere else."

"And I'm too annoying to work for anyone else," Chaos added brightly.

"Not something to be proud of," Tarot said serenely, the Sableye appearing beside them.

"ACK!" Chaos shrieked, ducking through the table. "How do you people find me?!" he screamed from beneath the table, Spark giggling and looking at him.

"Chaos, you're not that hard to find," Tarot said, rolling his gem-like eyes.

"That makes it worse!" Chaos shouted, half panicking. "Why hasn't Fear found me?"

"Ninje was stalling him while we got organized," Tarot replied simply.

"You're organized?" I sneered mockingly, gesturing my tail at the panicked electric ghost cowering underneath the table. Almost every Pokémon within earshot was listening to the conversation, some openly gawking. I found this to be too amusing to bother giving the eavesdroppers a dirty look. Before anyone could respond, a blur of motion shot past, stopping in front of us. I blinked at the odd bug Pokémon, which had a gold, practically armored body with white wings tinged with red on the edges. On its underbelly it had a pair of sharp claws.

"Hello, Chaos," the bug said, its wings fluttering rapidly as it hovered nearby.

"You've got to be shitting me...how the hell did you find me?!" Chaos demanded, phasing through the table into view again.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded.

"I am Ninje," the bug replied simply. "The living counterpart to Soul," he added a few seconds later.

"Drawing a blank. What the hell are you?" I clarified.

"I am a Ninjask," Ninje replied dismissively.

"How did you find me?! They said you were stalling Fear!" Chaos demanded, glaring at the Ninjask.

"I was," Ninje replied seriously. "I stalled as long as I could, escaping without injury. And Bane and Tarot are together and both were looking for you, so I assumed you'd be nearby," the bug added with a chuckle. "Shall we go?" he asked after a short pause.

"Yes, perhaps better if we do," Bane replied maliciously. "The help I called should have arrived soon. Don't know what's keeping them," he muttered.

"You told them Blackthorn?" Tarot asked calmly and the Banette nodded.

"Now this is why we should have left the city," Crystal grumbled. "We're about to be in the middle of a warzone."

"Sounds exciting to me," I said with a grin, looking skyward as the ghosts moved a short distance away.

"Yes, you would find being in the city where a large group of Pokémon have a huge fight that you can watch, despite the fact that half of the participants are enemies..." Ember began, but I cut her off.

"Foe civil wars are even more fun to watch than regular battles," I said seriously. "Now come on," I urged, leading them from the restaurant area, Blaze hastily paying for the food we had ordered. Several other Pokémon followed at a distance, but I ignored them in favor of searching for a good spectating spot. I didn't know where the fight would possibly take place, but I didn't want to miss it due to lack of a good view.

"Over there," Bane informed me, pointing a claw to the distance, where a shape was hovering, although I couldn't make out what it was.

"What is that?" Sapphire asked, squinting as she tried to see it.

"That would be Fear, the evolved Porygon2," Tarot said with a small sigh.

_"Hmph, it wouldn't have happened if someone hadn't been idiotic,"_ the Gastly grumbled as he appeared nearby, followed almost immediately by the appearance of the Dusclops. It was a little unnerving to see almost every member of Diablos' group in the same place and not being forced to fight them.

"Don't blame me," a dark voice hissed and the Umbreon from before stepped from the shadows, smirking slightly. "How was I supposed to know Fear planned to turn on us?" he snarled, paying my group absolutely no attention whatsoever, although Blaze and Ember instinctively stepped back a few paces.

"Don't argue," Tarot warned. "Not the time. Fix the problem, rather than blame it on someone," he continued calmly. The Gastly and Umbreon gave each other irritated glares, but said nothing more. "He's coming this way. Those who are not fighting should get out of range of possible attacks," he said loudly and several of the Pokémon who had followed us backed up a great deal. Sapphire, Spark, Crystal, and Blaze were among them, although Ember and I remained where we were.

There was silence as the shape in the sky approached. It was a pink body with blue sections, similar to limbs and one similar to a bird's beak jutting from it. It resembled a Porygon, but its edges were rounded, rather than jagged. Chaos yelped and dodged as a beam of energy fired from the Porygon2 narrowly missed him.

"You're all next!" the Porygon2 announced in a flat tone. The ghosts all tensed, glaring at the cyber Pokémon.

"Tsk, what a waste," Volt commented indifferently, and his red eyes flashed with amusement. "We can break you into pieces," he sneered.

"Try me," Fear replied. "I'm no longer broken, so now I'll break all of you!"

**To be continued...**


	160. War of Fear part 1

"Excellent, this is already starting off good," I whispered to Ember, the Charmander giving me an odd look, but didn't reply. To me, the main entertainment was coming from the fact that the Porygon2 was not the least bit intimidating, at least not in appearance, and that it was severely outnumbered, but this detail didn't seem to bother it at all. Then again, it's probably more machine than anything else, so maybe it couldn't feel fear. Its name was also a little bit amusing when you add this detail.

"Come on, Fear...can't you take a joke?" Chaos whined, the Rotom shivering anxiously while watching the Porygon2. "There was no harm, so no foul, right?"

"I've been broken and helpless for years, Chaos. Now I'll finally strike back! All of you will perish!" the Porygon2 announced, launching another beam of energy towards the Rotom, but the blast was intercepted by a pulse of dark energy from Nightmare.

_"This is not the way to settle the dispute, Fear. Turning on us will only result in your destruction. The master will not tolerate your betrayal. Although it is a little ironic, considering his normal methods..."_ Nightmare said.

"You are advised to be silent now, Nightmare," the Banette said seriously. "He does still have your girlfriend's spirit, so speaking ill of him is definitely not going to help you."

_"You are correct. I retract the statement,"_ Nightmare said reverently.

"Haou's not even here right now," the Umbreon commented, licking a paw and grooming his fur idly. The sheer casualness of the gesture earned him more odd looks at once than I normally receive. And trust me, that's an accomplishment.

"Do you plan on helping us fight him? You did make the first threat, after all," Doom asked looking puzzled.

"No, not really," Volt admitted, still grooming himself lazily. Even the Porygon2 was staring at the dark type, looking extremely confused, although also watching to make sure no one tried to take advantage of its momentary confusion by keeping an eye on its surroundings.

"What? Why not?" the Ninjask demanded and the Umbreon's mouth formed a small grin as he glanced skyward. The sky was darkening slightly, marking that it was early evening. Cool, a nighttime brawl.

"The full moon is coming," Volt replied mysteriously, gesturing to the moon, which was, true to his word, almost full, although I had no idea what he actually meant by that comment. It wouldn't be a full moon for a day or so. Neither did anyone else if their expressions were any indication.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Bane demanded, perplexed.

"Need to save my strength," Volt replied, grinning strangely.

"Someone explain what the hell he's talking about," I said loudly.

"Volt is an Umbreon. During the full moon, many Umbreon, although not all, undergo a mood change. I have heard of some pleasantly tempered ones going feral...haven't heard too many variations of that, actually," a voice spoke from behind me and I glanced back to see the black furred Espeon, flanked by the rest of the Eon group, including the Glaceon and Aura.

"He can become even more psychopathic?" Jolt asked, looking alarmed. Volt scowled at the sight of him, his red eyes narrowing.

"Hello bro," he said coldly. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh good, they finally showed up," Bane said. Volt glared at the Banette.

"Your 'backup' is composed of our greatest foes?" the Umbreon demanded.

"Pretty much, and they were a bitch to convince," Bane said, ignoring the Umbreon's indignation. "And who else would be able to provide adequate backup?"

_"You go even more psychopathic during the full moon? Why do you get a week off?"_ Nightmare demanded.

"Wait...does he go through...erm..._that_ phase?" Darkness asked, eyeing the male Umbreon with interest. Psycho shivered for some reason that I was probably better off not knowing the details of. Volt scowled, giving the female Umbreon a contemptuous glare.

"Not quite, but I do spend time with my mate, and being exhausted or injured takes away from our quality time," he said finally, but with a hint of sarcasm. Jolt glanced between the three black furred Eons as they spoke, and his eyebrows suddenly shot up at Volt's comment.

"You have a mate?" he blurted. "When did you get a mate?"

"You're a bit behind the times, aren't you?" Volt sneered.

"I'll keep that in mind," Frost muttered for some reason. Wait, why was the Glaceon anywhere near us? No one else seemed particularly bothered by this. "Past relationships exist, but details unknown..."

"Enough talk," Fear said, with a hint of impatience. "You may have helped me evolve, Volt, but you threatened me and I'll take you down first!" the Porygon2 said loudly.

"And I would rather not waste my time and effort," Volt said simply, grooming indifferently.

"I think you'll change your tune," Fear said dully. The Umbreon glanced up at the Porygon2.

"I doubt it, Fear. I doubt it," he said coldly.

"Well, it'd be a shame if something should happen to your female friend...if you get my drift," the Porygon2 said, its tone was casual, but almost everyone present reacted. All of the ghosts looked horrified (which strikes me as an odd reaction for them), I instinctively looked back at Sapphire, Jolt stepped in front of Kira defensively, but none of the reactions were anything like how the male Umbreon reacted. His red eyes narrowed, his fur bristled and his rings glowed an eerie yellow.

"What did you say?" Volt demanded, his voice thick with venom and rage.

"Fear's so dead," Doom muttered.

_"Indeed. If there's one thing you should never say to Volt...that was it,"_ Nightmare said, wincing.

"You heard me and the message was clear," Fear said, staring back at the Umbreon, indifferent to the dark type's incredible anger. The Umbreon's reaction was immediate, a pulse of black energy firing from its body towards the Porygon2, but the cyberspace Pokémon's body glowed, its color changing to black, the Dark Pulse striking it, the impact having almost no effect.

"What?" I blurted, staring. I had never seen anything like this before.

"Conversion. My type changes to any type I choose. Conversion Type: Dark," Fear announced monotonously, much like any machine would recite data without a personality. "Dark Pulse damage minimized."

"It matters not!" Volt snarled. "I'll tear you apart all the same!" he hissed, spitting with fury.

"Your Psychic abilities also neutralized and Shadow Ball has little impact," Fear continued.

"Want to bet?" Volt growled, spitting a Shadow Ball towards the Porygon2, which ignored the projectile. Volt spat star shaped energy bolts from his mouth, the rapid shots hitting the Shadow Ball before it impacted with Fear, detonating it prematurely, the shockwave knocking Fear from the sky, but it hovered a few feet above the ground.

"Anti-gravity damaged," Fear announced monotonously. "Recharging..."

"Too little, too late!" Volt growled, lunging forward and clamping his teeth onto the Porygon2's face. The Porygon2 flinched slightly, charging a beam of energy and launching it at Volt, but the Umbreon dodging, seething furiously.

"Pity that Volt's attacks have almost no effect against Fear," Doom muttered. "All that anger and no use of it..."

"Unless I do this!" Volt growled and his body became engulfed in a black aura.

"Dark techniques have minimal effectiveness," Fear reminded the Umbreon, but Volt charged forward, slamming his body against the cyberspace Pokémon. The impact was surprisingly powerful and the Porygon2 was easily thrown backwards, slamming forcefully into a vendor stand, the entire stand collapsing. Humans scattered, trying to get out of the way of future attacks.

"Frustration's power is from the darkness...but it is not of the dark element," Volt hissed, laughing insanely for a moment. His eyes continued to show pure rage and hatred, but also cruel satisfaction.

"Error, falsely assuming near invincibility," Frost commented. The cyberspace Pokémon recovered quickly, floating back towards Volt. Its beak like portion glowed and a tri-colored beam fired at the Umbreon, striking him in the side and shoving him roughly to the ground, collapsing a second vendor stand over him.

"Ouch," Doom commented, but his one eye blinked as the Umbreon pushed himself back to his feet, pushing the remains of the vendor stand aside.

"You cannot win," Fear informed the Umbreon coldly.

"Maybe not..." Volt panted coldly. "But then I'll just do this!" His eyes glowed for a moment and the ground underneath the Porygon2 glowed purple, fumes floating into the cyberspace Pokémon's face.

"Error: Porygon and their evolutions don't breathe," Frost said. Volt's smirk didn't fade, and Fear's body took on a slightly purple tinge. "Hm?" the Glaceon blinked.

"Toxic is powerful, but doesn't necessarily need to be inhaled..." Volt whispered maliciously.

"Activate Trace. Copy Synchronize," Fear said and the Umbreon's eyes widened in horror a moment before he staggered forward, coughing suddenly. "The status ailment is also inflicted to the opponent."

"It'll be...worth it...he'll fall first..." Volt coughed, his eyes alight with triumph.

"Reactivate Trace. Copy one enemy ability. Activate Shed Skin. Status Ailment is cured," Fear said mechanically as the purple tinged segment of his body shattered into digital pixels and reformed, looking normal once more. Volt gaped at the Porygon2 in shock. "To add insult to injury..." the Porygon2 continued and its body glowed brightly, all trace of previous injuries fading.

"Recover," Psycho said, sounding a little impressed.

"I...I withdraw..." Volt gasped, backing away. "Nightmare...if you will..."

_"Say please,"_ the Gastly ordered.

"Just do it," Tarot said, briefly glaring at the gaseous Pokémon. "I'll take Volt's place..." he said, stepping forward.

_"Fine,"_ Nightmare grumbled and a cloud of black smoke billowed from his mouth, covering the Umbreon for a moment. When it cleared, Volt was no longer coughing or panting, so it must have cured the poison...somehow.

"As you wish," Fear said mechanically to the Sableye. "I'll take you down, too!"

"We shall see," Tarot replied serenely, his gemstone eyes glittering.


	161. War of Fear part 2

"Let's begin," the Sableye said, flicking a card from the top of the deck, the card glowing slightly before he flung it towards the Porygon2, but the cyberspace Pokémon dodged the card nimbly, but didn't immediately retaliate, instead its eyes glowed brightly, studying Tarot closely.

"Analyzing Sableye adversary. Type 1: Dark. Type 2: Ghost. Analysis...no weaknesses. Immune to psychic and physical damage," Fear recited monotonously. "Analysis complete."

"How well do you think Tarot will do?" Bane whispered to Doom, but loud enough for everyone in the immediate vicinity to overhear. The Dusclops shrugged, watching the Sableye carefully. Tarot swiped another card from the deck and this card also glowed before he flung it at the Porygon2 again, but the card was intercepted by a beam of psychic energy.

"Not very well, from the looks of it," Chaos said nervously.

_"Remember Chaos, Tarot doesn't care about the first 4 Trump Cards. Once he uses the fifth, the fight is over,"_ Nightmare said seriously. _"This is why Tarot has never been defeated."_

"There's a first for everything," Doom said seriously. Tarot flicked another card from the deck and flung it as well, but this card was dodged as well. Tarot immediately seized a fourth and flicked it at Fear, this time he successfully hit the Porygon2, the impact knocking it backwards, but it recovered quickly, launching an enormous blast of electricity at the Sableye, but Tarot faded out, appearing behind the Porygon2, seizing a fifth card and looking at it.

"Tarot is trying to win quickly," Chaos noted, but froze at the expression on Tarot's face. The Sableye was blinking at the fifth card, clear disappointment on his face, although the expression faded within seconds.

"The final Trump," he announced and raised the card overhead. The card glowed brightly and beams of energy launched from the card, striking the cyberspace Pokémon, some of the energy beams striking various objects around Fear, kicking up dust and gravel around, briefly hiding the Porygon2 from view. There was an audible gasp from the spectators who had never seen this sort of thing before, but Tarot hung his head in an almost defeated manner. I narrowed my eyes as the dust subsided, revealing a completely unharmed Fear, his body a pale purple color.

"Surprised?" Fear asked mockingly.

"No," Tarot said, still holding up the card, but the glow had subsided. "The Final Trump was the Chariot in reverse, symbolizing defeat."

"How did he do that?" Volt demanded, the Umbreon staring in alarm at the cyber Pokémon.

"Conversion Type: Ghost. Obtains ghost like abilities, including the immunity to physical damage," Fear said, making a mechanical chuckling sound. Tarot focused slightly and launched a burst of energy towards Fear, but a portal appeared, absorbing the beam.

"Future Sight? It's times like this I wonder why Tarot never loses," the Ninjask muttered.

_"Just because you're impatient, Ninje, doesn't mean that Tarot's future abilities are useless,"_ Nightmare said.

"They aren't doing him much good. Fear then can prepare a counter for whatever he sends," the Ninjask argued, its claws flexing slightly.

_"Unless he plans to take advantage of such a countermeasure to strike in a different fashion,"_ Nightmare argued back.

"Right, and you thought up this strategy idea?" Ninje sneered. I could tell they were going to be arguing for a while, so I turned my attention back to the current battle. Fear fired a second cannon blast of electricity at the Sableye, but Tarot faded out again, appearing behind Fear and swiped a glowing claw at the Porygon2. Fear's body glowed, the colors changing to black, the Shadow Claw having barely any effect at all.

"Conversion Type: Dark. Minimizes damage from Shadow Claw," Fear explained, firing a third beam of electricity, this time successfully hitting Tarot and throwing him to the ground, but the humanoid ghost recovered quickly, his body glowing brightly for a moment. At the same time, the portal from earlier reappeared, the bolt of energy striking Fear, but did absolutely nothing. "Psychic energy negated," Fear mocked, and his eyes glowed for a moment, as if scanning Tarot.

"This is insane," Ember muttered. I nodded in agreement, watching the fight excitedly. It was easily the most entertaining battle I had seen in a long time, and there was promise to get even better.

"It's fascinating," I said seriously, blinking as a burst of energy fired from Tarot's gem eyes, striking Fear, but the mechanical chuckle told me that the Porygon had somehow countered the attack. Sure enough, when the dust faded, Fear was minimally damaged, but his body was still the black color.

"How did he counter that?" the Ninjask demanded.

"Conversion 2 activated. Become resistant to any type chosen. Conversion 2 Type: Rock. Power Gem ineffective," Fear recited. Ember gasped and even I had to blink at the cyber Pokémon in shock. With the ability to change his type and resistance, I'm not sure if there even was a way to defeat it. Tarot frowned briefly, even as a golden orb of light descended upon him, his body glowing as the previous damage from Fear's Zap Cannon faded away.

"This is nuts...they're both almost unbeatable," Bane muttered.

_"Wrong. Tarot cannot win, but he can lose. His Trump Card was ineffective, his Future Sight attack is useless, His Shadow Claw and Power Gem is resisted, and Fear can damage him. All Tarot can really do is stall,"_ Nightmare corrected.

"Is there a way to beat Fear?" Doom asked quietly. Ember gave me a questioning look. I made a shrugging gesture. I couldn't see a way to stop Fear, and I was thinking hard. If I fought him, he could use Conversion to become a ground type, negating my Thunderbolt, use Conversion 2 to resist my Flamethrower, and change the types accordingly to resist every attack I had. And if he was fast enough, he could hold off multiple opponents with that strategy, even if they attacked at the same time.

"Target Locked On," Fear said smugly and Tarot's gem eyes widened in surprise as Fear launched another huge cannon blast of electricity. The Sableye faded out, but the electricity arched around, striking him as he reappeared, the force of the blast slamming the ghost into Doom. The Dusclops staggered, but remained standing, while Tarot lay dazed, slowly climbing back up, but Fear fired another Zap Cannon, an explosion occurring upon impact, and there was no doubt that the fight had been ended brutally. When the smoke cleared, Tarot was clearly unconscious and there was surprised murmuring from most of the onlookers.

"That's another down. Who's next?" Fear challenged smugly. He was answered by a blur of motion, the Ninjask latching onto the cyber Pokémon with its claws and the Porygon2 shook violently, trying to dislodge the bug Pokémon without success. "Conversion Type: Ghost. Conversion 2 Type: Grass. Trace: Speed Boost," Fear recited, his body retaking the slight purple color. Ninje scowled, releasing the Porygon2. A moment later, the Ninjask was behind Fear, its wings glowing white. Fear jerked in alarm, a gash appearing across its face.

"Aerial Ace," Ninje explained, reappearing in front of Fear, a second gash across the cyber Pokémon. "Doesn't look like you resist that! And if you change your conversion type, it'll open another attack opportunity! See why I was the previous strongest living associate?"

"Error: Overconfidence can lead to a fall," Frost said, earning a slight scowl from Psycho. Apparently everyone was finding Frost's commentary to be annoying. The Ninjask moved towards Fear as a blur of motion, his wings glowing again, but this time the gash caused was much smaller.

"Conversion 2 Type: Flying. Activate Recover," Fear said smugly, his body glowing brightly for a moment, but the glow faded suddenly, stopping the recovery. "What?" Fear demanded, looking confused.

"What happened?" I muttered to Ember, but the Charmander shrugged, also unsure of what happened. I gazed around uncertainly before refocusing, just as Fear launched a blast of electricity at Ninje. The bug type tried to dodge, but the electricity arched after it. Despite the Ninjask's incredible speed, the Zap Cannon continued to pursue until it finally struck, exploding with great force, the shock wave blasting several bricks apart from a nearby wall. When the dust settled, Fear made an annoyed sound.

"Nice try. Nice save, Soul," Ninje said, sounding relieved. He was completely unharmed, hovering beside a second being, which was a brown bug-like Pokémon with a halo over its head. Its body was completely immobile, but yet it seemed to somehow be able to move. From the looks of it, the second Pokémon had intercepted the Zap Cannon, and had been completely unscathed by it.

"What the hell is that?" I muttered. Ember gave me an annoyed look.

"How the hell would I know?!" she practically screamed.

"Shedinja," Bane informed me, chuckling sinisterly. "A ghost Pokémon formed from the shell of a Ninjask evolving. Its name is Soul and it is bonded to Ninje, being his ghostly counterpart."

"How did he get out of the Zap Cannon unharmed?" I asked seriously. "Ghosts are great for avoiding attacks, but I must be missing something."

"Wonder Guard. An ability held only by Shedinja, making it unharmed by almost any attack," Chaos replied cheerfully. "And the great thing is that Fear's Trace won't work on it."

_"So Soul used Heal Block on Fear? Nice combo with Ninje's speed,"_ Nightmare commented. The Porygon2 seemed a bit shaken by the Shedinja's arrival, but was recovering quickly.

"It doesn't matter. I'll take you both down," Fear snapped. The Shedinja's shadow on the ground suddenly stretched out and the ghostly bug appeared behind Fear, slamming its ghostly form into the Porygon2, but before impact, Fear's body color changed to black. "Conversion Type: Dark. Shadow Sneak damage minimized," the Porygon2 said, but its tone was a bit more nervous than before. I understood why. It would have to really work to maintain a constant supply of resistances against both the Ninjask and the Shedinja, plus deal with the Ninjask's incredible speed.

"This is really going to be interesting," I whispered.


	162. War of Fear part 3

Fear made a smug chuckling sound as it faced the Ninjask and Shedinja, both of which hovered in front of the Porygon2. Ninje darted forward, clamping its claws onto the cyberspace Pokémon, the small wounds glowing faintly. The Porygon's body changed color rapidly to the pale purple. Soul, or whatever the Shedinja was called, formed a Shadow Ball from its halo and launched the orb at the Porygon2. The Porygon's body glowed briefly and the Shadow Ball struck, doing absolutely no damage at all.

"What?" Chaos protested. "What happened?"

"Conversion 2 activated. Resist ghost," Fear replied.

"But you should still be damaged because ghost techniques are powerful against ghost types, divided by two..." the Rotom proceeded to recite calculations for several moments, the point having something to do with zero effect not making sense.

"Trace activated. Ability: Wonder Guard," Fear interrupted, four minutes into Chaos' recitation. "All damage by non effective or semi-effective techniques equals 0," the Porygon2 said smugly. "Combined with Conversion 2 makes me invincible."

"But...Wonder Guard can't be Traced!" Chaos protested.

"Maybe you should double check your research, Chaos," Fear said smugly. The Rotom paused, thinking hard. "Now where was I?" The Porygon moved in a blur of movement, launching a large blast of electricity at the Ninjask, but Soul intercepted the strike, the Zap Cannon doing nothing. Fear hesitated for a moment.

"Standoff," Ninje said.

"Analyzing Shedinja. Processing possible techniques to defeat it..." Fear said monotonously. There was a long silence as the Porygon2 seemed stumped.

"Heh, looks like Fear doesn't have anything to take out the Shedinja," I said with a grin.

"That doesn't mean he's helpless," Psycho pointed out monotonously. Leaf gave him an inquisitive look. "There are most likely other options available, even if direct damage is unavailable," Psycho explained seriously.

"I agree. Best not to count him out yet," Frost said thoughtfully. "Not quite sure how he's going to get out of this one, though. Even if he's invincible, he's also unable to do anything to anyone else."

"Witness the invincible combo. Activate Conversion: Electric. Activate Conversion 2: Ground. Trace: Wonder Guard!" Fear announced dramatically.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Chaos whined. "That makes him literally invincible!"

"Ok, that does it!" Volt snarled, and his red eyes gleamed, the spot below Fear glowing purple again, the fumes once again giving the Porygon2's body a slight purple tinge. Fear looked alarmed by this abrupt shift, hesitating for a few seconds, clearly unsure of how to respond to this.

"Of course!" I gasped, realizing what the Umbreon was up to. "If Fear doesn't do anything, he'll be poisoned to the point of passing out or dying...but the only way he evaded poison last time was by copying my ability to shed status problems," I said.

"What's your point?" Ember asked, looking confused.

"That means Fear'll have to disable his Wonder Guard to cure the poison," Darkness said, grinning slightly.

"Allowing them to strike," Bane said, grinning sinisterly.

"Activate Trace: Synchronize!" Fear announced and the Shedinja shuddered. In that moment, Chaos launched a bolt of electricity, Blaze spat a Flamethrower, I fired an Ice Beam, Aura spat a burst of water, a beam of psychic energy was fired from Psycho's forehead gem, Frost was engulfed by several glowing orbs, the orbs firing at Fear a moment later, Ninje darted forward as a blur, wings glowing and Leaf sent a flurry of Razor Leaves.

"That should do it," Bane said, grinning as all the attacks struck Fear simultaneously, creating an enormous explosion.

"Don't assume your opponent has perished," Frost said seriously, narrowing his eyes at the cloud of smoke surrounding the Porygon2's body. When the smoke faded, the Porygon2's purple tinge had vanished, but it wasn't as damaged as we'd have liked. At the same time, the Shedinja collapsed, fading out a moment later, leaving the Ninjask alone.

"What? We hit it with almost every technique available!" Chaos complained.

"Conversion type: Steel. Conversion 2 type: Fire." Fear said, making a wheezing sound.

"Not bad," Frost commented. "So he minimized most of the damage, except for my Hidden Power," he murmured thoughtfully. "And now the fun part: Error: You can't Trace Wonder Guard anymore," the Glaceon said smugly.

"Wonder Guard reliance was flawed," Fear replied simply, then moved forward in a blur of motion, slamming into Ninje and sending the bug Pokémon slamming to the ground. "And that's another one down," the Porygon2 sneered. "Who's next?"

"Error: Too overconfident," Frost commented, earning a glare from his Eon companions.

"Frost, can you resist the commentary?" Darkness asked irritably, her blue rings flashing slightly. The Glaceon smirked at her, but didn't reply.

"Thank you," I said to the female Umbreon with a relieved sigh. She nodded in response and I returned my attention to the Porygon2.

_"Might as well do the duty we've been assigned. Doom, me, and Bane will take you on,"_ Nightmare said, floating forward, the Banette following the Gastly's lead. The Dusclops stepped forward, his lone eye fixed on the cyberspace Pokémon.

"Fine," Fear said impatiently, turning the majority of his attention to the three ghosts. "The quicker I beat you all, the sooner I can destroy Chaos, the coward."

"I'm not a coward!" Chaos protested.

"You're hiding behind your stronger allies and even your foes," Fear pointed out. "Come on, join the battle so I can destroy you quicker. Or continue hiding like the cowardly ghost you are. Can't face me unless you're equipped with Porygon viruses and I have no way to repel said viruses..." the taunt seemed to work as the Rotom floated forward.

"Fine, I'm in!" Chaos said, a bit cheerfully, however reluctantly.

"Now how does a 4 vs. 1 fight make Chaos less cowardly?" I asked sarcastically. Ember grinned.

"I think the point is that Chaos can be attacked directly, rather than sitting on the sidelines and waiting for Fear to take out all the others first," the Charmander whispered.

"Good. Conversion type: Dark..." Fear began, but Bane interrupted, chuckling maliciously.

"Mimic! I copy Conversion!" the Banette shouted. Everyone blinked at the triumphant tone of the ghost type's voice.

"So what?" Fear demanded. "What good does changing your type...?"

"Imprison!" Bane shouted, his eyes glowing. A golden circle appeared, contracting until it formed around the Porygon2. "This seals you nicely..." the Banette mocked.

"What does that accomplish?" Fear sneered and I noticed that his mobility wasn't affected at all, in fact the Porygon2 moved just as easily as it normally did. Rather misleading technique name.

"While I never learned how to literally immobilize someone with that technique, it's a rather useful soul barrier, and it stops you from using any technique that I know," Bane replied sinisterly. "Oh look, I know Conversion. Pity for you, huh?"

"I still can negate all your strikes with Conversion 2! You can only Mimic one of my techniques!" Fear snarled angrily. "And if I take you down, your Imprison wears off!"

"I use Destiny Bond for twice the trap!" Bane hissed maliciously, his body glowing slightly. "Take me down, and you'll suffer the same fate!"

_"Your doom is coming. Your worst nightmare. The bane of your existence..." _Nightmare said dramatically, but the Dusclops snapped, slamming a shadow engulfed fist into the Gastly's face. _"ARGH!"_

"No more damn puns!" Doom snarled.

"Since when did you know Shadow Punch?" Bane asked the Dusclops, who shrugged in reply.

_"Ow..."_ Nightmare grumbled. _"Shut up, Volt!"_ he snapped at the Umbreon, which was grinning widely.

"Clever strategy, Bane," Fear admitted grudgingly.

"I've barely begun. Doom, use Trick Room! You traced Ninje's Speed Boost, so you out speed us...but not for long!" Bane said sinisterly. Doom nodded, and there was a bright flash of light. The four ghosts grinned, Doom lunging at the Porygon2 quickly, his fist becoming engulfed in fire as he punched. To his slight alarm, the attack did absolutely nothing. Chaos went next, moving slower than Doom, but faster than the practically immobile Porygon2, launching a burst of electricity. Once again, the attack did nothing, but some of Fear's injuries faded slightly. The ghosts exchanged confused glances for a moment.

"Okay...that makes no sense," Chaos said finally. "Even with Conversion 2, he should still take some damage..." the Rotom said, puzzling over the problem.

_"Sleep!"_ Nightmare said impatiently, not even bothering to draw out the word as he normally did. His eyes glowed, but Fear stared back impassively, not reacting at all. The ghosts exchanged looks again. _"Okay...what the hell?"_

"No idea," Doom said seriously. "I'll try this again!" he grumbled, slamming his fire engulfed fist into the Porygon2, but again the attack seemed to get absorbed without doing a thing. Chaos followed through with a bolt of electricity, but with the same result, except Fear's injuries faded further, with no explanation that I could see, anyway.

"Now what?" I muttered.

"Same time!" Bane said, looking confused. Doom and Chaos both struck Fear and this time he jerked slightly when hit with the Fire Punch, but the injuries still faded when Chaos' electrical attack hit. At that moment, the Trick Room effect wore off and the Porygon2 released a powerful Psybeam into Chaos' face, knocking the Rotom into Doom forcefully, the smaller ghost falling into unconsciousness either from the impact or the Psybeam, I'm not entirely sure.

"About time," Fear gloated, focusing his attention on the remaining 3 ghosts.

_"That had to hurt,"_ Nightmare commented blandly.

"That's what you deserve for underestimating me. Now I'll finish you all off!" Fear announced coldly.

_"Then we'll be forced to destroy you. Not like we weren't going to, anyway,"_ Nightmare said and the three ghosts readied themselves. _"Let's get this over with!"_


	163. War of Fear part 4

"We should really be selling tickets to this show," I said abruptly. Ember took a few steps away from me. Apparently she wasn't as amused by the intense battle that we were witnessing. A pity I didn't have any popcorn; this would be the perfect time to snack on it. Blaze, on the other paw, seemed to agree with this, since he really was eating popcorn. "Hey Blaze...where the hell did you get popcorn?" I demanded to the Flareon. "And when did you get it?"

"Just now, from that nearby store," the male Flareon replied, gesturing a paw at a small human store about 50 feet from where the Flareon was currently sitting. "Bet you wish you had some of this, huh?" he asked, holding the bucket up mockingly.

"A little," I admitted.

"Too bad, it's all mine. Maybe you'll learn not to be a jerk," Blaze said promptly, laughing as he popped a few of the kernels into his mouth, chewing loudly.

"Me want!" Spark complained, trying to grab the bucket, which was held too high for him to reach. "Be nice fluffy thing!" the Pichu whined.

"Only if you call me Blaze," the Flareon replied.

"But me call you fluffy thing!" Spark complained, in a tone that clearly said that the kit found it unreasonable to force him to change the name he used for the Flareon.

"Then you don't get any," Blaze said with a shrug.

"But me want!" Spark complained, tugging on Crystal's tail. "Fluffy thing be mean!" he informed the female Flareon in a tattling tone. "He no share." Crystal fixed Blaze with a small glare, once again making me wish I had popcorn, so I floated over to the Flareon pair and knocked the bucket out of the male Flareon's paws, coiling my tail around it before it hit the ground, and floating back to my spot.

"Hey!" Blaze whined. "That's mine!"

"You don't share, you lose," I replied, settling down to continue watching the battle, using my tail to seize some of the kernels and eating. It admittedly took me an extremely long time to master using my tail for everything, but it was worth it, especially with picking up small pieces of food. "Want it back?" I challenged.

"Not anymore. I don't know where your tail's been," Blaze muttered.

"I don't know where your paw's been, but it's not stopping me," I replied indifferently.

"We don't want to know, either," Jolt whispered loudly.

"Are you just going to glare at me or actually try to 'destroy' me?" Fear sneered suddenly, returning my attention to the Porygon2. The three battling ghosts exchanged glances before nodding to each other, splitting up and forming a triangle around the Porygon2.

_"I'm not sure how you're still countering all our attacks, but I doubt you can hold off all three of us at once. Sleeeeeeep!"_ Nightmare said, his eyes glowing brightly. At the same time, Doom's fist was engulfed in fire, and the Dusclops slammed the fist at the cyberspace Pokémon. Bane paused thoughtfully for a moment, ultimately making no attack at all. Fear stared back at the Gastly, not responding to the Hypnosis at all. The Fire Punch caused the Porygon2 to recoil backwards, but still barely affecting it.

"Disable!" Bane shouted abruptly, odd blue rings pulsing from its ghostly form. "I think I nailed your Conversion 2, stopping you from changing your resistance again!"

"It's only a temporary effect," Doom reminded the Banette, but Bane didn't seem bothered by this. "So he's a dark type with a resistance to fire?" the Dusclops asked, blinking its one eye at Fear.

"Sounds right. And I have a hunch what he's Tracing right now, so we need to really whale on him to deal away with him," Bane said seriously. "A pity that a majority of our attacks are ghost and dark based," he commented, then turned his gaze to the Eons. "Enter our backup," he said with a grin.

"If it's a necessity," Volt growled, grooming his ears.

"It's a necessity, Volt," Bane replied, rolling his eyes. "Sometimes you need to put your grudges aside for a while to work towards a mutual goal," the Banette added. "Not like it matters, since you withdrew from the battle and don't want to join in anyway." The Umbreon shrugged and didn't reply. The Banette hastily faded out, just as a large burst of electricity blasted towards him from Fear, the cyberspace Pokémon making a mechanical growl of frustration at the missed attack.

"How honorable," I said sarcastically.

"Oh, so now we're needed?" Psycho asked monotonously, giving a nod to the Eons accompanying him.

"Took them long enough," Frost said dismissively, although he grinned slightly as he stepped forward. Jolt whispered something to Kira, who nodded and took a step back. Leaf and Darkness stepped forward silently, the female Umbreon's blue rings glowing slightly. Jolt and Aura followed the other two, joining the three ghosts to form a semi circle around the Porygon2, which watched them passively. Psycho turned and gave Blaze an expectant look.

"What?" the Flareon whined. Crystal rolled her eyes and whispered in his ear. The male Flareon perked up immediately and walked to join the other Eons. There was an oddly cheerful bound in his step, making me wonder what Crystal had told him.

"Fascinating. A Gastly, Banette, Dusclops and a full set of Eons against a lone Porygon2 that's been taking everyone out one by one," I murmured, glaring as Ember swiped a few kernels of my stolen popcorn.

"What?" Ember protested, but I just rolled my eyes, focusing on the battle.

"Got to hurry up," Doom reminded the combatants.

"You can't help much, Psycho. He's a dark type right now," Jolt muttered, launching a Thunderbolt at the Porygon2, but the bolt was absorbed by the cyberspace Pokémon, some of the scratches and dents fading as the electricity was absorbed. "Huh?" Jolt blinked.

"Are you an idiot?" Volt sneered. "He can trace your abilities, so he copied your Volt Absorb." Jolt bristled, but didn't respond. Aura sent out a burst of water from her mouth towards the cyber Pokémon, but a similar phenomenon occurred, the water getting absorbed and Fear's injuries fading almost entirely.

"Trace Water Absorb," Fear said smugly. Aura scowled briefly, firing a rainbow colored beam instead, but Fear dodged in a blur of motion, launching a giant cannon blast of electricity at the Vaporeon. Jolt hastily leapt in front of the blast, the electricity becoming absorbed by his fur in a similar manner to how Fear had absorbed the Thunderbolt.

"Thank you!" Jolt said with a smirk. Psycho watched passively, making no effort to directly join in the fighting, although this was most likely because he didn't have any way of harming the Porygon2 very much at the moment. Nightmare seemed to have given up trying to hypnotize the cyber Pokémon and was instead assaulting it with Dark Pulse, all which had little to no effect, even if they actually hit Fear, which was rare because the Porygon2 was almost a constant blur of motion.

"Error, limited move pool," Frost commented suddenly, shards of ice flying from his fur towards Fear, but the Porygon2 casually blasted them all apart with a Zap Cannon.

"That hardly counts as a fair error, Frost," Leaf said, rolling his eyes slightly.

_"When you consider he's been useless for quite some time, having limited access to other techniques makes perfect sense,"_ Nightmare pointed out.

"Though you'd think the first thing he'd have done was raid the TM stash," Volt said.

"Chaos created the password. Fear may be the equivalent of a supercomputer, but Chaos is still in a whole different league with programming," Doom corrected, but he stopped speaking as a beam of energy struck him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Before he could recover, Fear fired a second beam, hitting the fallen ghost and the Dusclops passed out.

"Error: stay alert," Frost said casually, blowing a strong gust of snow flecked wind from his mouth, but the Porygon2 dodged, firing another beam, but Frost's fur shimmered, the Psybeam reflecting off...and hitting Bane in the side, the Banette tumbling backwards. At the same moment, Fear grunted in pain, as if he had been struck with the Psybeam instead of the ghost type.

"Destiny Bond...is still in effect," Bane said maliciously. "Since your attack damaged me, you feel it, too. Our fates are twined..."

"And here's something else twined," Fear retorted, the beak part of its body glowing and firing a strange tri-colored beam of energy. It seemed to be three beams in one: a red beam, a blue beam, and a yellow one. Frost again intercepted the attack with his glowing fur, but the beam split into the three separate colors as they rebounded, the yellow one hitting Jolt, the red hitting Blaze, and the blue hit Nightmare, who was slow to fade out. Jolt flinched, but nothing happened to him. Blaze gave a shiver, but also seemed unharmed. The ghost, on the other paw, was partially encased in ice. "That'll deal with that," the Porygon2 commented.

"What the hell was that?!" Bane demanded, shattering the ice with a pulse of dark energy, releasing the Gastly, who looked around, a bit confused.

"Tri Attack is a specialized beam of energy, composed of three different energy beams in one. Ice, Fire, and Electricity," Fear replied with a chuckle. "And now to even the odds a little bit..." the cyber Pokémon abruptly split into several copies. Leaf reacted by lashing out at the nearest one with a vine, but the copy vanished when struck, to the Leafeon's disappointment. Frost's eyes narrowed as he examined the various copies, seeming to be looking for the original.

_"Ugh...I hate Double Team,"_ Nightmare grumbled, examining the copies nearest to him. Bane did the same, frowning.

"Over here," one of the Porygon2 sneered and I noticed for a moment that this was the only Porygon2 that spoke and that it was positioned directly between Nightmare and Bane. I immediately remembered a battle, what felt like years ago, where I had been tricked into using a Hyper Beam on a Double Team clone because only one of the copies had been speaking. Without missing a beat, Nightmare launched a powerful Dark Pulse at the Porygon2, and Bane fired a Dark Pulse of his own the two attacks meeting in midair where the copy was positioned, the clone fading when struck. There was a large explosion, far greater than I'd have expected from two Dark Pulses hitting each other, but when the smoke cleared, both ghosts had collapsed, fading out moments later.

"That's another two down," Fear said, the other clones vanishing, revealing the real Fear's location. "And I'm free from that Banette's little traps. He should have just stayed out of the battle itself," the Porygon2 announced smugly.

"Damn, he just beat Diablos' entire group..." Jolt said, staring at Fear in shock.

"Except Diablos himself," Psycho pointed out. "Plus those three new recruits haven't shown up, either. The former Rocket Pokémon." I blinked at the black furred Espeon as he said this. Did that mean that Diablos had gotten Venom, Fiend, and Machamp to join his side? If so, I was even more screwed than normal, since those three actually posed a great threat to me. Add the truly evil phantom into the mix, and I saw a really big problem on the horizon.

"Wait...what recruits?" Volt demanded suddenly, his rings glowing slightly, his red eyes narrowing suspiciously. When no one answered, the Umbreon scowled furiously, but didn't ask again. I silently noted that he was the only 'body' representing Diablos' team, the other ghosts having faded out shortly after getting defeated. Not sure what happened to the Ninjask, but I was more focused on the entertainment in front of me. Though I was running low on popcorn now.

"We can take him," Leaf said confidently. The other Eons nodded silently, although Aura seemed a little more anxious.

"So you're my last opponents?" Fear asked dismissively.

"It appears that way," Psycho retorted.

"Good, because I'm getting rather bored," the Porygon2 said with a chuckle. "Hold nothing back. I expect a challenge from what I've heard about your reputations..."

"You heard the pile of junk," I said loudly. Ember groaned.

"Shut up! Sapphire will be mad if you get involved in the fight!" she hissed in my ear and I nodded reluctantly. I'm pretty sure the Charmander just didn't want to get involved more than concerned about Sapphire's reaction, but she had a point all the same.

"Work as a team. This means if Frost actually says something important..." Psycho began.

"Unlikely," Jolt added.

"Thank you, Jolt. If it happens, you should listen," Psycho finished monotonously. I'm pretty sure they scripted that exchange, because Frost didn't comment. "Let's get to work."


	164. War of Fear part 5

The seven Eons all took their positions. I studied each pose carefully, smiling a little as I noticed each pose actually hinted at their strategy. Blaze took a very aggressive pose, his mouth slightly open, so I predicted he'd start off with Fire Blast. Psycho was immobile except for his tail, which flicked arrogantly, so I guessed he'd start off with a Psychic technique. Frost took a more defensive stance, so I was going to bet he'd use Hail at first opportunity. Jolt had crouched low, his fur spiked into needles, so a fast electric attack seemed probable.

Aura had taken a defensive stance, but her body was leaning forward a bit, so I expected her to use Aurora Beam while preparing to dodge. Leaf had a stance very similar to Jolt's, and I expected him to use Razor Leaf, simply based on what I'd seen about his battles. Darkness' pose was the only one I had no clue on, since I didn't know her battle strategy enough to predict her opening move, but she had her mouth slightly open, so I was leaning towards Shadow Ball, but her stance fit that of a rushing tackle attack more than a projectile. Fear was unreadable, but I was willing to bet that he was also trying to read their strategies for most efficient countering.

As if some invisible signal had gone off, everyone moved at the same time. Leaf released a flurry of Razor Leaves from his fur, while Jolt moved forward quickly, releasing a blast of electricity at close range. Frost formed an orb of blue energy in his mouth, which extended into a beam. Blaze spat a small fireball which expanded into the massive Fire Blast. Aura fired a slightly transparent multicolored beam. Psycho's forehead gem glowed and a Psybeam fired towards Fear. Lastly, Dark lunged forward, throwing her shoulder into the Porygon2. I winced as most of the attacks struck simultaneously, creating a large explosion. When the smoke cleared, I gaped. The Porygon was mostly unharmed, although it had several signs of damage.

"Conversion: Steel. Conversion2: Water. Trace: Flash Fire," Fear announced smugly. The Eons stared in disbelief, exchanging confused glances.

"Ouch, the full team basically got countered at the same time," I said, finishing off the popcorn and flicking the empty bucket aside dismissively. Ember nodded, looking surprisingly tense. "And you said this wouldn't be entertaining," I said with a grin.

"It's not entertaining," Ember muttered.

"Not all entertainment is in the enjoyable form. Horror films, for example," I pointed out, but Ember ignored me. Fear moved quickly, firing a large cannon blast of electricity at Aura, but Jolt intercepted the attack quickly, releasing the absorbed electricity into a Thunderbolt of surprising intensity, but the attack struck Fear with no effect. Frost launched an Ice Beam, but Fear's color changed to white, the beam doing minimal damage.

"Blaze, don't bother," Aura said quickly, but the Flareon had already spat a stream of fire, which was absorbed harmlessly, the Porygon2 glowing for a moment. "He still is immune to all fire attacks," the Vaporeon reminded him. Blaze growled in annoyance, his yellow eye gleaming in the light of the Porygon2's glow. Fear seemed startled by the oddly colored eye, but made no comment.

"Leaf, look out!" Jolt warned as the Leafeon darted close to Fear, his tail glowing, but before he could make impact, a psychic beam struck him in the chest, throwing him backwards limply. "You okay?" the Jolteon asked worriedly. Leaf grunted, pushing himself back up, his body glowing a little bit and a few of the scratches faded. At this time, the sky was darkening further and his Synthesis was losing power. The majority of the light seemed to be from the attacks, a few artificial lights, and the glowing rings of the two Umbreon.

"I'll be fine," the Leafeon said confidently as Darkness lunged at Fear, swiping at the cyber Pokémon with her claws and Psycho sent a beam formed from star shaped energy towards Fear, but the Porygon2's color returned to a gray, almost metallic, tinge and their attacks did almost nothing.

"Conversion: Steel," Fear announced monotonously.

"This is going to be tough," Frost admitted, but he still seemed confident. "The steel type resists most of our attacks, and with Conversion 2 and Trace, he can neutralize most of the other attacks we try to use. But he's no match for this..." he added as orbs of light encircled his body before launching at Fear. Before impact, his body took on a purple tinge and the Glaceon growled in annoyance, forming a Shadow Ball in his mouth and spitting it, but Fear's body changed to black, negating the ghostly orb.

"We need to attack together, to at least make him work harder to negate our attacks," Jolt said seriously, launching a Thunderbolt at Fear, but the electricity was absorbed by the Porygon2, many signs of damage fading. Blaze took this opportunity to spit a Fire Blast, but this time Fear moved out of the way of the attack, the enormous flame attack striking a building, exploding with great power and setting several trees and flammable objects aflame.

"Oh damn," Blaze said, staring in horror at the damage he had just done. Fear retaliated against the attempted attack with a psychic beam, throwing the Flareon to the ground, but Blaze pushed himself up quickly, growling angrily. Aura spat a stream of water, but Fear's body absorbed the water, a few of the signs of damage fading.

"Anyone else get the feeling this battle isn't going to go anywhere?" Leaf asked, although he didn't seem to be backing down from the fight. On the contrary, he seemed just as eager to continue the battle. This sort of made sense, since he had mentioned once that he trained with the group by battling opponents who had a clear advantage in order to learn new strategies to defeat them. The Leafeon lashed out a vine from his body, but the Porygon2 dodged. Leaf darted forward, his tail glowing green and he spun quickly, the glowing tail slashing the cyber Pokémon's face, leaving a deep gash.

"Nice one!" Jolt cheered, firing some of his fur quills towards the startled Fear, but they fell short of hitting the target. Frost released a flurry of Ice Shards from his fur, but the Porygon2's body turned gray, the steel body blocking the majority of the blow. The Glaceon scowled, glowing orbs forming around his body and firing towards Fear. Once again, the Porygon2's body changed to the purple color, but Darkness lunged forming a Shadow Ball in her mouth and spitting it at him. Both attacks hit simultaneously and the Eons leaned forward hopefully.

"Quick, hit him with everything you've got!" Frost ordered. Psycho rolled his eyes and launched a psychic beam, Aura spat an Aurora Beam, Blaze dove right in and bit, his teeth momentarily engulfed in fire, Darkness spat another Shadow Ball, Frost recreated the ring of glowing orbs and fired those at Fear, and Leaf sent a flurry of razor edged leaves into the fray of attacks. Only Jolt chose not to attack, but since his attacks always seemed to be counterproductive, I understood this decision, to an extent. All the attacks struck, creating a massive explosion. The Porygon2 was launched backwards, slamming forcefully into a brick wall, shattering part way through it, sending bricks and debris everywhere.

"Yes!" Leaf said cheerfully, but the Porygon2's mechanical laugh stopped him celebration.

"Recover," Fear said smugly and his body glowed, most of the injuries fading away. The Eons gasped in shock.

"Looks like it's become more of a Shadow battle," Frost commented, earning a slightly puzzled look, and an irritated one from the Espeon. "The reason Shadow almost never loses, except to dark types, is he has to be defeated in one blow or he'll recover," the Glaceon explained.

"So to defeat Fear, we have to take him out before he can heal himself? While not using water or electric attacks?" Jolt questioned.

"I have an idea. Fear's strength relies on being able to counter our techniques, but only if he knows which one to counter," Leaf said slowly.

"What do you have in mind?" Psycho asked seriously. Leaf whispered something in the Espeon's ear, the black furred psychic type nodding slowly. After a few moments of silence, the other Eons all nodded seriously, reforming their semi circle around Fear.

"On a hunch, I'm guessing the plan got passed telepathically," Ember said to me.

"Probably. Can't think of any other way it could have been passed," I said. The Porygon2 was watching the Eons warily, seemingly at a loss as to what they were planning to do. Leaf shared a glance with all of them and then nodded. Glowing orbs surrounded each of the Eons, the orbs firing towards Fear with great speed, creating another massive explosion as they struck.

"Seven Hidden Powers?" I gasped. Come to think of it, I didn't even know Blaze knew Hidden Power, since he had never used it before, at least not in my presence. When the smoke from the explosion faded, the Porygon was laughing smugly, despite being massively damaged.

"Hidden Power Elements determined. Appropriate counters formulated. Recover," he announced, the various degrees of damage fading quickly.

"Dang, I so thought that would work," Leaf grumbled.

"Another plan: Keep forcing him to use Recover and the effectiveness of it will wear off," Psycho suggested monotonously. Jolt was about to respond, but a psychic beam struck him in the face, sending the Jolteon sprawling to the ground limply. Fear fired another Psybeam, which Darkness tried to intercept, but tripped, falling to the ground herself, Jolt passing out as the second beam hit.

"Damn, one down," Frost muttered as Darkness stood up again, her blue rings glowing brightly in her frustration. Out of sheer curiosity, I shot a look at Volt, wondering what his reaction to his brother's condition was. The male Umbreon was completely unbothered, glancing at the unconscious Jolteon indifferently. The Porygon2 next launched a powerful blast of electricity, which struck Aura before she could dodge. Blaze growled with rage (I glanced at Crystal to see her reaction to Blaze's reaction, but she was untroubled, save for her fur bristling briefly) and darted at Fear, sinking his teeth into the cyber Pokémon. Fear made a mechanical sounding shout of pain, but the wounds faded again.

"Two down," Leaf said, lashing out a vine at Fear, but the Porygon2 dodged, the vine hitting Blaze and knocking him away from Fear. "Sorry," the Leafeon called with a wince. Blaze glared at Leaf briefly before lunging at Fear again. This time the Flareon got directly struck with a close range Zap Cannon and he collapsed, twitching. Crystal growled, but didn't rush over as I normally would have expected her too.

"Oh come on!" Darkness complained. "We're falling apart too easily."

"Our synergy is weakened," Psycho admitted. "The plan was to attack together, but each of us is attacking individually, giving him an open shot at attacking us and neutralizing our attacks," the Espeon continued emotionlessly. He teleported out of the way of another Zap Cannon, reappearing beside Leaf and the two brothers simultaneously launched attacks, Leaf using Razor Leaf, Psycho's eyes glowing as his psychic attack held the cyber Pokémon in place, the leaves hitting Fear, leaving large scratches across his side.

"Not bad," Frost commented as he and Darkness both fired Shadow Balls, but Fear was ready, his body taking on the black coloration. At that moment, the glowing orbs surrounded the two Eons and fired at Fear, forcing the Porygon2 to dodge hurriedly. As I watched, I noticed the Porygon2's body began to appear jagged, rather than smooth. It was a gradual change and at first I thought it was a trick of the light, but before long, I definitely noticed that the beak was almost sword like and I had an unsettling feeling I knew what was coming.

"We're getting there," Psycho said as he teleported beside the Porygon2, the cyber Pokémon becoming engulfed with psychic energy and hurled into a nearby wall, more bricks shattering from the impact. I heard a sickening thud as one of the flying bricks struck a bystander, but no one else seemed to notice the human falling to the ground.

"You're getting nowhere!" Fear snapped, darting at Psycho, jabbing him sharply with his beak, his body the black coloration yet again. Psycho saw the threat and attempted to repel the Porygon psychically without success as the beak stabbed into him, blood seeping from the wound. It didn't appear to be fatal, but the Espeon's eyes widened in pain as he staggered back.

"S-shadow?" Leaf stammered, unaware of the exact cause of his brother's pain as he hurried over. The female Umbreon's rings pulsed, glowing brightly, her face contorted with rage. Frost noticed the Umbreon's expression and calmly backed away from her.

"You're dead," Darkness hissed angrily, glaring at Fear.

"W-wait...he n-needs h-help," Leaf protested. The female Umbreon hesitated, looking confused. "D-don't k-keep fighting," the Leafeon begged. "H-help me h-help him."

"I only know Moonlight for recovery," Darkness protested. "Frost knows Wish, though," she said, fixing the Glaceon with a death glare.

"I'm on it," Frost said quickly, hurrying over to the fallen Espeon, focusing quickly, his body glowing brightly for a moment.

"You refuse to battle. I have won," Fear announced triumphantly.

"Did I miss anything?" a quiet voice whispered coldly and my head jerked up, glancing over to the speaker, the nasty looking Weavile from the Rocket building where we had found Blaze.

"Haou," Volt said, nodding his head respectfully for a moment, then grinned. "The Eons just got defeated," the Umbreon commented, gesturing dismissively towards the Eons, none of which showed much interest in continuing the battle.

"And where is our side?" the Weavile asked coldly.

"They all lost, too," Volt admitted reluctantly. "I'm the only one still conscious, but I also could not win," he said, scowling irritably for a moment. The Weavile scowled in annoyance, turning his red eyes to the hovering Porygon2.

"Diablos, I wondered when you'd arrive," Fear said mechanically.

"Admirable power, Porygon," Diablos said quietly. "Your anger makes you strong, but you seem to be forgetting...traitors to me are destroyed. You can resign, by all means...but betrayal to me is unacceptable. Since there are no others to send, I'll face you myself," the Weavile grinned maliciously, readying his claws.

"What about your 'new recruits'?" Volt asked suspiciously.

"Not the time, Volt. I'll discuss your concerns when I've dealt with this piece of junk," Diablos said quietly. I noticed, or maybe just imagined, that Diablos used a more favoring tone when speaking to the Umbreon. "Come Fear...I will be the object of your destruction..."

**To be continued...**


	165. The War's End

**I've been a bit sidetracked with my other fic, Dark Eons, but I finally got this chapter done.**

The Weavile and Porygon2 faced each other, the dark type smiling maliciously, the cyber Pokémon's expression impassive. I tensed, only finding the situation half as amusing as before. I was curious to see if Diablos could defeat Fear, but the phantom's presence both worried and infuriated me. I hadn't had the chance to really beat him around recently, excluding the brief encounter in the Rocket base while searching for Blaze. Ember seemed similarly discomforted, but she had been acting like that around the phantom for quite some time, so that was nothing new.

"Weavile form analysis complete," Fear reported smugly. "Conversion: Dark. Conversion 2: Ice."

"Interesting combination, Porygon. But you overlooked a few details of this form," Diablos whispered maliciously.

"Did I?" Fear inquired, launching a powerful burst of electricity at the Weavile, but a barrier of light intercepted the blast, startling the Porygon2. "H-how?" Fear demanded.

"There's so much you do not understand, Fear...I am greater than any opponent you've faced thus far. My weaknesses aren't known to you, but yours are known to me," Diablos sneered. Fear lunged its body forward, intent on stabbing its sharpened beak into the Weavile's chest, but he slammed against another barrier, bouncing backwards. "Nice try," Diablos mocked.

"Light Screen and Reflect? Data indicates this is impossible," Fear protested.

"Data indicates this is impossible," Diablos repeated mockingly. "You fool...you turned against me without even having a clue how to fight me?" the Weavile's pitiless red eyes focused on the Porygon2's and his mouth curled into a wicked grin.

"Regardless, I will overcome you," Fear muttered mechanically, launching another Zap Cannon at the Weavile, but rather than block it with the barrier, Diablos lunged forward, swiping his wickedly sharp claws across the Porygon2's face, leaving deep, bloodless gashes.

"You're not doing a very good..." Diablos paused his mocking as the missed Zap Cannon circled around behind him and struck him in the back, the Weavile falling forward, but rolling back to his feet, looking alarmed for a moment.

"Lock On. All my attacks shall strike you," Fear explained smugly. Despite the injury, Diablos grinned triumphantly.

"Good, you're very strong. Pity you threw your life away," he sneered, moving towards Fear, but the Porygon darted out of the way of a claw swipe, blasting a tri-colored bolt of energy at Diablos, all three colors hitting the Weavile and hurling him backwards, sparks flying from his body as he hit the ground.

"That had to hurt," Volt commented, licking his paw casually. Fear fired another large blast of electricity, the Zap Cannon striking the stunned Weavile with tremendous power.

"I'm not beaten, Porygon...you cannot beat me," Diablos snarled, shrugging off the blast, although I doubted any regular Weavile would still be standing after that assault. To confirm this suspicion, I noticed that one leg was completely paralyzed, but the Weavile seemed completely unfazed by this.

"You're barely standing, oh great one," Fear retorted smugly, launching another Zap Cannon, but Diablos deflected it with another barrier of light. Without missing a beat, Fear rammed his body forward, slamming his sharpened beak into the Weavile's neck. There was a startled gasp from several spectators, but Ember and I narrowed our eyes, almost simultaneously.

"There's no way..." Psycho protested weakly. He seemed to have been healed, but appeared too tired to resume the battle. With him down, the remaining Eons also seemed unwilling to engage the Porygon2 with maybe the exception of Frost, although he was watching Darkness warily.

"Looks like I win," Fear sneered, reversing direction. The Weavile's face was twisted into an expression of shock and pain, blood practically gushing from the wound in his neck, the red eyes wide with horror. A moment later, the dark type fell to the ground, twitching once before going still.

"Not yet, you haven't," a cold voice sneered and the Porygon flinched, gazing around in alarm. "I'll simply possess you and win by default, just to save me some time," the voice continued. A shadow seemed to flit forward and contact the Porygon, but was deflected as the Porygon2 changed its color to purple.

"Conversion: Ghost," Fear explained, sounding a little worried. "You cannot possess a ghost."

"Ah, so you weren't clueless after all," Diablos said softly and I spotted the shadowy shape, the yellow eyes gleaming sinisterly in the darkening area. It was almost shapeless and seemed to shift its form every few seconds, as if indecisive of what shape it was supposed to be, but only the yellow orbs remained in the same place, staring unblinkingly at Fear.

"No, I'm not clueless about your weaknesses," Fear said coldly.

"You're not very clever either. I may not be able to possess ghosts, but I can seal a ghost's spirit in the Void for all eternity. Farewell," Diablos cackled. The shadow shifted its shape slightly, and an arm like appendage was formed, of the same material as the rest of the strange shadow. The arm glowed black and a strange small stone image appeared as white energy surrounded the Porygon2, but Fear didn't flinch or change color. After several tense seconds, the glowing faded, as did the image of the stone.

"Surprised?" Fear sneered.

"How did you evade that?" Diablos demanded, sounding enraged.

"I do not have a spirit or a soul. I am a machine with intelligence and capable of emotions through complex programming," Fear explained.

"Then we're back to the original plan. Which is that I tear you apart. I refrain from battling in this form, but I think I'll make an exception," Diablos sneered maliciously. Fear blinked, but didn't comment immediately, instead launching another powerful blast of electricity at the phantom. Diablos didn't move, the powerful blast striking his form, but with no effect.

"What?" Fear demanded, silenced by the phantom's cruel laughter.

"You cannot possibly comprehend my power, Porygon," Diablos sneered, forming an orb of energy in the odd arm-like appendage and flinging it at Fear, the cyber Pokémon pivoting to avoid the Shadow Ball, which detonated against a building with impressive power, scattering debris from the damaged wall across the ground.

"Interesting dilemma. Fear can't use Conversion or he'll be in danger of being possessed, but Diablos is using Shadow Ball, which would be very destructive if it contacts him," Frost commented, amused. Psycho glared at the Glaceon, but didn't comment.

"I don't like this," I admitted to Ember, the Charmander giving me a surprised look. "It's interesting, but...I don't like it. I think we should get out of here, soon. No matter who wins, we could get hurt," I explained.

"Alright. I'll tell Sapphire," Ember said, walking towards the female Dragonair as I turned my attention back to the battle. I felt a strange sense of anxiety. The phantom seemed much more dangerous in this form, not just because he appeared invincible, but because I could almost feel how powerful and evil he truly was. This was the being that had nearly killed me and my friends in various forms, and had killed Spark parents. This was the being that attempted to possess me, helped cause Ember and possibly Blaze to snap, and had killed random humans for no real purpose. It was this form I feared, his hosts were a mask, hiding his true nature. Only now did I truly see how dangerous Diablos was.

"You shouldn't have crossed us, Porygon," Volt whispered, his red eyes fixed excitedly on the battle. The defeated Eons had slowly begun to recover from their unconsciousness and were staring at the battle with wide eyes. Diablos continued to form Shadow Balls, blasting them towards Fear, who was dodging with greater panic, the ghostly orbs detonating powerfully, sending larger chunks of rock, brick and gravel across the ground, nearby people scattering in terror. Many of the spectators to the battle seemed to detect the change between the entertaining battle and a far more dangerous fight. It would not surprise me if this quickly turned to chaos and I was almost afraid to stay here, but Crystal would never forgive me if I left Blaze behind.

I floated over to the Eons, poking Blaze with my tail until he glanced over at me. "We need to leave, Blaze," I told him seriously. He gazed at me blankly, but I fixed him with my best 'no arguments' look and he nodded, moving past me towards Sapphire, Spark, Ember, and Crystal.

"Can't even give me a challenge?" Diablos sneered softly, ceasing his barrage of Shadow Balls. The shadowy form seemed to pause, almost as if catching his breath. I stopped, staring at the phantom.

"Don't have the stamina to continue?" Fear asked. Diablos chuckled maliciously, the Porygon's expression becoming nervous once more.

"I barely used any energy, Porygon. Watch this!" the phantom seemed to glow for a moment, lunging forward too quickly for me to follow and striking Fear, the impact launching the cyber Pokémon into the heavily damaged wall. The wall crumbled when struck, the rubble collapsing over the cyber Pokémon. Diablos' yellow eyes glinted with triumph and a large orb of energy formed before him, launching forward and striking the pile of rubble. There were human screams from the other side of the rubble pile as the large green orb exploded, a powerful shock wave rippling through the surrounding area, weakening the structures of other minorly damaged walls and buildings.

"Not finished," Fear announced weakly, hovering into the air from the remains of the rubble pile. Despite the seemingly boldness of reappearing, the Porygon2 seemed almost beaten, much of his body was damaged in some way, while Diablos didn't seemed affected at all.

"So I actually have to make an effort to destroy you?" Diablos sneered, slamming against the Porygon, which resisted the collision, sparks flying from his body. "You're nothing to me, Porygon," Diablos snarled.

"Take this!" Fear growled back, discharging a burst of electricity from his blade-like beak. Diablos extended part of his shadowy form, intercepting the electricity and slamming this part of his form into the Porygon2's side, before the electricity had even faded. The force of this attack sent Fear reeling, part of its body torn open, but there was no blood. "Recover..." Fear called.

"No time!" Diablos laughed, colliding with the Porygon, another part of the Porygon2's body tearing open, but the damage began to slowly fade as the cyber Pokémon was engulfed in light. "Persistent to the end? So be it," the phantom sneered.

"Recover!" Fear shouted, sounding panicked.

"It's over, traitor," Diablos said softly and struck the weakened cyber Pokémon with its phantom form, just as Fear lunged at him, the dual impact creating a massive surge of energy, the phantom's yellow eyes narrowed in determination, Fear's eyes showing desperation.

"Dragonair, let's go!" Ember urged me, and I turned to her, noticing the rest of group right behind her. Spark was clinging to Sapphire anxiously, hiding his face in her coils. I nodded in fervent agreement, glancing back at the battle for another moment, freezing at the sight of the two combatants becoming engulfed in a dome of intense white energy that seemed laced with electricity.

"What the hell?" I demanded to no one in particular. Psycho's silver eyes narrowed as he studied the dome, taking on a silvery glow. Instantly, the dome shattered apart, the shockwave thrusting me backwards against the rest of my group, since we were the closest to the dome. "Oh Celebi, that hurt," I grumbled, floating back up.

"What go on?" Spark wailed, now clinging to Blaze's tail, to the Flareon's apparent annoyance.

"Not sure, Spark...not sure," I admitted, squinting towards where the energy dome had been. Both the phantom and Porygon2 were still there, although they both seemed far more drained than they had been earlier.

"Re...cov...er..." Fear panted. Not sure how a machine Pokémon would pant, but somehow Fear pulled it off. His body began to glow slightly, but Diablos slammed into Fear again. There was some sort of strange electrical explosion and a flash of light. And then all went black.


	166. Explaining the Past

**Leaf POV**

Diablos slammed into Fear one last time, cutting off the recovery attempt. There was an odd electrical explosion, the light from the explosion temporarily blinded me, and when it faded, there was no trace that the Porygon2 had ever existed. Aura gasped in surprise, while Shadow and Frost seemed impressed. Jolt was silent, glaring at the phantom figure, which now hovered before the male Umbreon. Darkness was also silent, but she was more distracted trying to make sure Shadow was alright.

I gazed around the surrounding area; silently taking note of the amount of destruction the various battles had caused. Dragonair's group was gone, but I had heard them planning to leave, so this didn't concern me. "Now what do we do?" I asked Shadow nervously.

"We're leaving," Shadow informed me monotonously. "We have nothing more to gain from remaining here. From the looks of it, we never had anything to gain in the first place," he added with a trace of irritation in his tone.

"Hang on, Psycho," Jolt interrupted, my brother fixing him with an annoyed glare. "Remember what we were talking about earlier?"

"Which topic?" Shadow asked impatiently.

"Uh..." Jolt faltered, glancing over at the phantom and Volt nervously for a moment. Shadow followed his gaze and then nodded.

"That topic?" the black furred Espeon inquired. Jolt nodded. "I think you're wasting your time and risking your safety, but that never stopped you before," Shadow said seriously.

"I'm not giving up," Jolt replied seriously. "I'm not quite obsessed, but it's something I need to keep working at," the Jolteon insisted.

"Last time you tried, Kira was tortured, Jolt," Shadow said coldly. I was starting to feel left out of the conversation. Darkness and Frost both seemed to understand what they were talking about, but the Vaporeon member seemed similarly confused.

"What are you trying?" I asked finally. Aura nodded in agreement, looking at Jolt for explanation. Kira had wandered back over, but she was also eyeing the phantom and Volt apprehensively. I wondered for a moment why Diablos and Volt were ignoring our group, but tried not to be too anxious about it.

"Jolt can explain it later," Shadow told me.

"Leaf can come with me," Jolt said, watching my brother's reaction carefully. Shadow's silver eyes narrowed.

"And why would I do that?" he demanded, his tone emotionless, although I could almost detect anger. Jolt seemed unfazed by this question.

"Because you let Leaf go with Frost and I'm more trustworthy than he is," Jolt replied seriously. "Who else would go? You'd be no help, Darkness doesn't want anything to do with it, Frost...let's not get me started on him. And I know Leaf's experienced with this, so he'd be more helpful, no offense, Aura," Jolt explained. Aura shrugged, flicking her tail slightly, the motion attracting Frost's attention for a few seconds.

"Fine," Shadow said coldly. "The rest of us will return to the base..."

"Whoa, we need transportation," Jolt protested.

"I'll get Gem to help out," Frost replied, whipping out a small device and muttering into it for a minute before grinning and snapping the device shut.

"Frost...where did you get a cell phone and do I want to know where you keep it?" Jolt asked, eyeing the Glaceon uncertainly.

"You know those pouches we used to carry for healing berries?" Frost asked, rolling his eyes. "I still have mine, just for my phone."

"Oh...good, explains that," Jolt said. He jumped slightly as a Sableye appeared abruptly, but settled down quickly.

"So you need transportation, eh?" Gem asked Jolt, his gem eyes glittering slightly. The Jolteon nodded simply and the Sableye cackled briefly. "Fine. Anyone else coming?"

"Leaf," Jolt replied. I gave Jolt a puzzled look, which he ignored. Am I even going to be ASKED to come along, or am I being forced to? Is he going to explain what we're doing before we attempt it? Sure, they gave me the choice with the Frost thing, but no one was interested in letting me go with him. Why weren't they checking with me this time?

"Okay," the Sableye replied and the area around us changed abruptly, making me feel extremely disoriented. It was much darker here than it was back in the city and my nocturnal eyesight wasn't that good. I could tell Jolt was next to me, so I rounded on him.

"Where are we?" I demanded. "What are we doing?"

"I am not certain on our exact location," Jolt admitted and I groaned. "And we're working on something that I've devoted a great deal of time to," he said vaguely.

"Care to explain?" I asked, calming down slightly, but very unhappy that he wasn't explaining what he meant, talking almost like I should know. "And what do the others know that I'm being left out on?"

"Fine, I'll tell you a little bit. It all started a long time ago...about two years, I think," Jolt said and his tone made me forget about my annoyance. It was a bit sad, almost longing. And Jolt had always been hushed about his past, although not nearly as bad as Darkness. I barely knew anything about her.

"Go on," I prompted slowly and Jolt sighed, his outline barely visible, even in the bright moonlight.

"Volt...he's my brother. I know you learned that earlier," he said. "You're the only one who didn't know. We never told you about him," he continued.

"Why not?" I asked, tilting my head at him.

"I'm not proud that he's my brother. Two years ago, he was like you. Happy, carefree, playful. But it all changed one day and he disappeared when my parents and I were captured by a Rocket group based in Sinnoh," Jolt said, a faint growl in his tone.

"What happened?" I asked seriously.

"I saw him again at the base. I had been evolved into a Jolteon by the humans, and I didn't really mind this. Maybe it was a bit soon for my liking, but I decided to look at the bright side. I was alive and I was alright," Jolt said seriously. It was so unlike his normal tone, which was light and joking, that I wasn't sure what he was thinking.

"So what was wrong?" I asked after a long silence.

"Volt hated me for it. He found it pathetic that I was untroubled. He didn't care that our parents had died. He had changed," Jolt said with a sigh. "He left, leaving me behind. Later, your brother and Frost bailed me out of there and invited me to train with them. I had been injured and exhausted, but I agreed. That's when I met you," he added.

"I remember that. Sort of," I said, thinking a bit.

"I met Volt again, after he evolved. He was much worse than our last meeting. He had attacked the same base that Frost, your brother, and I had. We fought and he fled. He got away and we were blocked from following by Diablos. It was a while before I saw Volt again," Jolt continued and he growled again.

"What happened then?" I asked tentatively. It sounded like it was going to be a sore subject, but yet I longed to know.

"He was much worse..." Jolt said, shuddering. "I...I rather not talk about the details," he said finally. "I worked harder at training after that. I believed that Volt's change was because of Diablos. The monster had corrupted my brother to his twisted ways. I don't feel the need to kill Diablos, like your brother does. Vengeance solves nothing, Leaf. It never does," Jolt finished quietly.

"I know," I said awkwardly. "Why was this kept secret from me? Everyone else seems to know," I asked. "Frost said I'm the only one who never fought Volt," I explained.

"Frost is only half right. You did fight Volt. You just don't remember," Jolt said, wincing. I gave him a confused look, but the Jolteon shook his head. "Your brother hypnotized you so you wouldn't remember. He did the same to himself and Frost," Jolt said seriously. "Darkness and I are the only ones who chose not to. Darkness was immune to it, and I chose to remember."

"What happened with Kira?" I asked, getting the impression Jolt wasn't going to elaborate on whatever event triggered the need to suppress the memory, and Jolt flinched. "Volt mentioned it," I pointed out.

"Kira and I were in Sinnoh, where Volt was supposedly located. I went to investigate a base and encountered Diablos, who proceeded to torture Kira with a shock collar," Jolt said, choking back a small sob. I winced, feeling sick. "I had to do him a favor or Kira would be killed."

"What was the favor?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, although Jolt probably couldn't see the expression.

"I didn't understand the purpose of the favor. I later contacted you and Psycho to try to encounter Diablos, but we aborted the plan to try to infiltrate the Cave Army," Jolt said.

"But what was the favor?" I repeated.

"I had to meet with some sort of ghost and deliver something," Jolt said with a small shrug. "The notebook with the details was destroyed. But here's the odd thing...I was expected by the ghost. I wasn't just a messenger...I was the intended deliverer," he said.

"What are we doing here, though?" I inquired, not sure how to respond to this odd remark.

"No guarantees, but Volt may be less hostile during the full moon, as compared to most Umbreon," Jolt said, as if that would explain everything.

"And that would mean..." I prompted.

"I want to try to make up with him somehow," Jolt said sadly. "It's more likely I can talk to him without getting mauled if he's calmer."

"But..." I protested, but the look in Jolt's eyes was unrelenting determination and I let the protest fade.

"This way," Jolt said and I followed him, squinting a little in order to see where he was.

"Where are you going?" I asked, stumbling over a small rock in the darkness.

"You didn't see it?" the Jolteon inquired, "The flash of light?"

"Uh...no," I said, but decided that Jolt probably knew what he was talking about, so I didn't argue. After several minutes of walking, we arrived at a large meadow area, where Jolt stopped abruptly, throwing out an arm to stop me. "What is it?" I asked, but he shushed me quickly.

"Over there, by that tree," he whispered. I squinted, finally spotting the Umbreon, which was accompanied by a Sableye, which I assume was Tarot, but couldn't be sure on that one. A moment later, the ghost type vanished, leaving the Umbreon alone. I was only certain on the specie due to the pulsing yellow rings, which confirmed that it wasn't Darkness.

"Okay...now what?" I muttered.

"We get closer," Jolt replied, leading me around the trees, nearer to the Umbreon. I felt a little nervous as we approached, expecting to get spotted at any moment, but so far we were seemingly undetected. Jolt stopped abruptly, resulting in me bumping into him, barely suppressing a yelp as his fur spines poked me.

"What?" I hissed and he gestured for me to be quiet again, pointing through a break in the trees. I peered through, squinting in the darkness. I spotted Volt easily, since his rings were glowing.

"That you, Volt?" a female voice called tentatively and Jolt abruptly snickered.

"What's funny?" I asked the Jolteon.

"Volt actually does have a mate," Jolt replied, grinning. Not sure what he found that amusing, and decided not to ask.

"No, it's another random Umbreon that stumbled upon you," Volt's voice replied and Jolt's ear twitched. I understood why: Volt's tone was far gentler than I had ever heard it previously. I could barely even tell it was the same Umbreon.

"Right. How are you?" the female voice replied as the speaker stepped into view. It was a female Eevee with well groomed white fur.

"Tired," Volt replied wearily. "A bit of a complication with a supposedly simple task," he added with a growl. "No matter, I get the week off, same as always," he continued with a grin, licking the Eevee's ear. She giggled slightly, but suddenly paused. "What?" Volt asked, narrowing his red eyes for a moment.

"I thought I heard something," the Eevee said, listening carefully. I unfortunately chose this moment to sneeze loudly, to Jolt's horror.

"Nice work," Jolt growled at me.


	167. Conversations

The instant Jolt finished speaking, a Shadow Ball ripped through the bush we were hiding behind, narrowly missing my head. "Ack!" I yelled, earning another enraged look from my Jolteon companion.

"That was just a warning shot. My next one won't miss!" Volt sneered. "Show yourself!" I glanced at Jolt uncertainly. He nodded irritably and we both stepped forward into view. The Umbreon's eyes widened for a moment, clearly not expecting to see us.

"Uh...hi," I said awkwardly, waving my paw at the Umbreon. Jolt closed his eyes and sighed deeply before opening them again. Volt's expression slowly changed to a dark scowl and I tensed, expecting a fight.

"Hi?" the female Eevee said, tilting her head at us uncertainly. "Who are you?"

"You're Volt's mate?" Jolt asked seriously, earning an annoyed look from the dark type and a slightly puzzled look from the white furred Eevee.

"Uh, yes...who are you?" she asked, glancing at the Umbreon nervously.

"I'm Jolt, he's Leaf," the Jolteon said quickly before Volt could reply, pointing to me when he mentioned me. "And you are?"

"I'm Icicle," the Eevee said, shifting a little bit. "I'm afraid I don't understand who you are," she said calmly.

"Icicle, huh?" Jolt muttered thoughtfully, grinning at Volt for a moment. "The name rings a bell. I thought you said you didn't like her that way," he said teasingly.

"Things change, Jolteon. How the hell do you remember something from two years ago?" Volt replied coldly. I briefly wondered why he wasn't attacking us. Did the Eevee even know about her mate's violent tendencies? Was she aware of his 'usual' personality?

"Er...excuse me, but who are you?" Icicle repeated, staring at Jolt and me. "How do you know each other?" she asked, gesturing to Jolt and Volt.

"I'm Volt's older brother," Jolt explained resentfully. The Eevee's face brightened for a moment.

"Nice to meet you," she said kindly. Volt's red eyes narrowed slightly, but he remained silent. I was feeling increasingly nervous. Volt's mate might seem nice, but I still wasn't comfortable here. The glare the Umbreon was giving us didn't help matters at all.

"Why the hell are you two even here?" Volt abruptly snarled. Jolt seemed to have been expecting the question, since he had an answer ready, although it was not the most truthful response.

"I wanted to meet your mate. I didn't believe you really had one," he said. I remained silent, but the feeling of anxiety started to return. I had a feeling that Jolt's comment wasn't going to help us. And anything I said would probably jeopardize whatever plan the Jolteon had prepared, assuming he wasn't making things up as he went along. Which he probably was.

"Then you were wrong," Volt said indifferently, but then his voice became menacing. "And if you even think of trying to even the score for the Kira thing, I swear I will rip you apart," he said coldly, his voice making me shiver for a moment.

"Relax, Volt," Icicle said quietly, licking the Umbreon's cheek, the dark type's expression clearing up.

"Unlike you, I don't go for petty vengeance," Jolt retorted coldly.

"How lucky for you," Volt sneered.

"Wait...aren't you part of that group that Volt fights a lot?" Icicle asked, tilting her head at us again. Jolt and I nodded simultaneously, watching the Umbreon a bit warily. "Oh. So you and Volt are enemies in a way?" she asked and we nodded. "Can you leave them alone while they're here, Volt?" she asked in a cute tone, smiling at the Umbreon.

"Maybe they should leave," Volt said irritably.

"Come on...let them stay a while," the Eevee pleaded, putting more effort into the cute expression.

"Ignoring the fact they were spying on us and that we had a previously unfriendly encounter today?" Volt asked incredulously, but his aggravation seemed to be diminishing as he stared at her expression.

"We weren't spying on you," I protested, feeling that the comment was a bit unfair. I was, of course, ignored.

"Please? Pretty please? Pretty pretty please?" Icicle begged. Jolt was watching the exchange with a small smile and I noticed that Volt seemed on the verge of giving in.

"Fine. But start anything and you're dead," he growled at us. Jolt and I nodded quickly and the Jolteon seemed slightly relieved. Maybe his plan of talking to Volt wasn't lost after all.

"Thank you," the Eevee said brightly, cuddling up to the Umbreon's chest. I shifted awkwardly, but didn't say anything. Volt smiled faintly at the Eevee, lightly stroking her head. I'm not sure why Volt's mate seemed so interested in having us nearby, but it didn't bother me too much. She seemed capable of keeping Volt from attacking us, so it was a small benefit.

"So..." Jolt began, looking about as awkward as I felt. "I don't really know who you are, either. I think Volt mentioned your name once way back when, I only remember because he said you had white fur," he said. "Can you tell me a little about you?"

"Um..." the Eevee began thoughtfully. Volt eyed us warily, but other than that he had no noticeable hostility towards us. This realization allowed me to relax a little bit, but not very much. "I don't know what to say," the female Eevee said finally.

"Uh...how'd you meet?" Jolt prompted.

"We met the day after the incident, Jolteon," Volt said quietly, his red eyes staring at Jolt menacingly, an odd emphasis on the word 'incident'. I glanced between the brothers uncertainly, but neither seemed keen on elaborating. Icicle shifted uncomfortably, which the Umbreon took notice of, the dark type slowly stroking the Eevee's head gently.

"No offense meant, but...why do you like him?" Jolt asked Icicle seriously. Volt scowled at the question, but the white furred Eevee shot him a look and he settled down. I just stared blankly. I'd seen Kira do the same thing to Jolt before, and Darkness often tried to do it to Shadow, but the results were varied between a flinch and no reaction at all with that example. Frost often flinched when Darkness did it at him, but he once commented that other females have no control over him. Not that I'm any better. Darkness has a very short fuse and a violent temper. She scares everyone.

"He's usually nice and helpful. He listens well..." Icicle recited, but Jolt's sudden laughter stopped her from continuing.

"S-sorry," Jolt gasped, still chuckling. "I could have sworn you said he's nice."

"I did," the Eevee said, looking confused.

"You're not joking?" Jolt asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I'm not," Icicle insisted, now looking a little offended. Volt's expression was unreadable, but I was willing to bet that I didn't want to know what he was thinking.

"So...he's not a psychopathic, sadistic killer around you?" Jolt inquired. The female Eevee's expression didn't change, nor did Volt's. It sort of reminded me of Shadow, except they used emotion when they were speaking.

"Not unless you threaten me or..." she broke off, looking awkward. Volt tensed slightly for an unknown reason.

"Yes?" Jolt prompted, visibly confused by the sudden halt in conversation.

"Nothing. Personal subject," Icicle said hastily and Volt growled to make the point clearer. I silently hoped that Jolt wouldn't press the issue, because I knew Volt could probably do extensive damage to us at a whim and would if we annoyed them too much.

"Uh, okay," Jolt said slowly, then a faint teasing grin appeared on his face. "So...any chance of me becoming an uncle?" he asked, half jokingly. Volt and Icicle exchanged looks for a moment.

"Can I hurt him?" Volt asked hopefully. The Eevee shook her head, to the Umbreon's disappointment. Jolt and I exchanged looks of our own.

"You probably shouldn't ask questions like that," I whispered, shifting uncomfortably. Jolt shrugged, still grinning slightly. I glanced back at the female Eevee and Volt, noticing that they were whispering in a low tone.

"They didn't even know you existed until a few hours ago," Volt muttered with a snarl. Icicle whispered something else and Volt rolled his red eyes. "Why would I bring it up? Unlike my brother, I don't make a habit of letting slip information that can be used against me!"

"Really makes me wonder what Volt does bring up," Jolt muttered to me. I shrugged, straining my ears to try to catch more of the conversation.

"We'll talk later," Icicle hissed in the Umbreon's ear. Volt noticed me attempting to eavesdrop and growled, slowly advancing towards me threateningly. The female Eevee abruptly bit the Umbreon's paw and Volt stumbled, wincing in pain as he turned towards Icicle. "Leave him alone, Volt," the Eevee reminded him.

"Sorry," Volt muttered, almost inaudibly. Jolt blinked at his brother in disbelief, but wisely chose not to comment. "Enough of the pleasantries, bro. Get to the point," the dark type ordered.

"Okay, let's cut to the chase then," Jolt said, taking a deep breath. "We've been feuding for about two years now," he said.

"A very memorable amount of time," Volt said dismissively, casually stroking Icicle's head, without taking his eyes off the Jolteon.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, slightly puzzled and Volt chuckled.

"Two years..." the Umbreon whispered. "So much has happened in that time, but several memorable things stick out, don't they?"

"Huh?" Jolt and I said simultaneously and the Umbreon grinned.

"Think about it, bro. What happened to you, two years ago, give or take a month or two? The Leafeon might know a few as well," Volt replied.

"Uh...the incident, our parents died, I evolved, I joined the Eon group..." Jolt began, counting on his paw.

"My parents died, Shadow evolved, I evolved, we met Frost, we met Jolt, we..."

"It goes on and on," Volt interrupted me. "Most things we remember clearly occurred two years ago," he said softly, but he shuddered. Icicle licked his cheek and the Umbreon relaxed as he resumed stroking the Eevee's head.

"I told you to look to the bright side of things," Jolt pointed out.

"I don't care," Volt said coldly. "Get back to the point," he ordered firmly.

"Our feud has gone on too long, bro. Haven't you gotten over the whole revenge thing?" Jolt asked seriously. Volt laughed softly, shaking his head slightly.

"Y-you actually think I'm still holding that grudge? You're a bigger idiot than I thought," Volt sneered. Jolt flinched, looking a little disoriented.

"Then...why are we still fighting?" Jolt asked, puzzled.

"Because we're on opposite sides, idiot," Volt sneered, rolling his eyes.

"We've devoted too much to fighting each other," Jolt continued, almost as if finishing Volt's sentence. "But why aren't we fighting now?

"Ice won't let me," Volt replied with a smirk.

"Why are you so nasty all the time?" I asked and Jolt shot me a warning look. The Umbreon's fur bristled. "Earlier, you mocked Kira getting shocked, but right now you don't seem so...nasty."

"Haou's shock collar is one of the most amusing devices around, Leafeon. You're lucky Ice had a fit, or you'd probably be wearing it now," Volt said darkly and I shivered.

"What'd Ice do?" Jolt asked. The reaction was instantaneous: Icicle's fur bristled and Volt lunged forward, slamming a paw into the Jolteon's face and knocking him backwards, Jolt's nose bleeding. "What the hell was that for?" Jolt demanded as Volt backed off.

"No one calls her that, except for me and her close friends, bro. Consider that a warning," the Umbreon said coldly.

"Ow...damn it," Jolt grumbled.

"She'll accept a verbal apology now. Refusal will result in a sacrifice of blood, and then the verbal apology," Volt said, smirking maliciously.

"Okay, geez...I'm sorry. Didn't know I wasn't supposed to call you that," Jolt said quickly. The white furred Eevee smiled brightly and the Umbreon nodded in satisfaction. "What'd she so?" Jolt inquired.

"Nothing you need to know of, Jolteon," Volt replied coolly, slowly running a paw down the female Eevee's back. She made an odd 'eep' sound when he touched her tail, a faint blush appearing on her face. I focused my attention on an uninteresting tree branch overhead. Jolt followed my gaze, looking confused, but then grinned understandingly.

"So...is that a 'yes' on the uncle thing?" Jolt asked loudly.

"Go to hell, bro," Volt snarled. "I could help you get there, if you want," he added, baring his fangs threateningly.

"It's getting late. I'm going to bed," the white furred Eevee said. "You two can stick around for the night, if you want. We can talk tomorrow," she suggested.

"I won't kill you in your sleep," Volt promised, but his voice dropped to a creepy whisper. "I'd wake you up first."

"How generous," Jolt said under his breath. "Where do we sleep?" he asked clearly.

"Volt, can you make a second bed of leaves?" Icicle asked. Volt scowled, but didn't argue.

"Whipped," Jolt muttered, fortunately unheard by Volt. I got the feeling that Volt would seriously kill us if he heard that. The Umbreon completed the task a few minutes later and curled up beside the female Eevee. "Good night!" Jolt called brightly.

"Night," Icicle mumbled before falling asleep.

"Shut up or it'll be your last night," Volt growled at us.

"I can't sleep," I whispered to Jolt. "They scare me," I admitted.

"Eh, she's not bad," Jolt said with a yawn. "Just Grasswhistle or something to relax," he suggested. I nodded, plucking a piece of grass and quietly playing a soothing tune to myself until I fell asleep.


	168. Morning Confusion

**Ember POV**

I awoke, yawning widely as I slowly returned to consciousness, blinking in the bright sunlight. Unfortunately, I was almost immediately bombarded with a massive headache, which caused me to cry out in pain by the suddenness of it. Why did I have a headache? I couldn't remember what I had done the previous night that may have resulted in the headache. Actually...I couldn't seem to remember anything about yesterday at all.

I turned my head away from the glare of the sun and gazed around. I almost immediately spotted Dragonair and Sapphire, both of which were sleeping, half coiled around each other. I winced as my headache throbbed and glanced at the other side of me, where Blaze and Crystal were sleeping, lying similarly close to each other, with Spark using Crystal's tail as a pillow. I scowled, feeling envious of Crystal. She had a mate and I was alone. The same feeling also seemed to apply to the two Dragonairs, but I couldn't immediately place my renewed source of envy.

"Morning, Ember," Spark said brightly, opening his eyes and spotting me awake.

"Good morning, Spark," I said, holding my head with one paw as another throb of pain shot through me.

"What wrong?" Spark asked, bounding over to me and giving me a hug.

"Headache. I'll be fine," I said, patting the Pichu on the head gently. I gazed around the surrounding area and suddenly got the feeling that something wasn't right. "Um...where are we?" I asked, feeling really confused.

"Me no know," Spark said, looking around curiously. We seemed to be in a grassy location, but I didn't remember ever seeing this place before, but I could probably attribute that to my temporary loss of short term memory.

"Spark, what happened yesterday?" I asked, feeling a little foolish asking a kit about events that I couldn't remember.

"Me no know. Me sleepy so me nap," Spark said, scratching his head slightly. Something told me he wasn't going to be able to help me with this issue. "Me go wake Dragon," he said, running over to Dragonair before I could stop him and poking Dragonair in the face.

"Ow," Dragonair muttered, opening one eye and looking at the Pichu blearily.

"Ember feel lost," Spark said brightly. The male Dragonair stared at Spark blankly before lifting his head and looking at me, suddenly wincing.

"Ow...headache," he muttered.

"You too?" I asked, trying to ignore my throbbing headache. "Do you have a clue what happened? It's all a blank to me," I asked. Dragonair was about to respond, but Sapphire stirred, distracting him from answering.

"Good morning," she said, yawning slightly, but then abruptly winced.

"What's wrong?" Dragonair asked, concerned.

"Small headache," she replied, sounding untroubled. "I'll just meditate a little. One moment, please," she said, closing her eyes. Dragonair and I exchanged looks as the silver orb on her neck glowed briefly. I felt a strange sense of calm overcome me and my headache throbbing slowly subsided until it was barely noticeable. About a minute later, Sapphire's eyes opened again and she smiled. "Much better," she said.

"Wow, that helped mine, too," Dragonair said, kissing the female Dragonair's cheek. I nodded in agreement.

"Now what were you discussing?" Sapphire asked gently.

"I don't remember anything about yesterday, so I have no idea what's going on," I said quickly. Both Dragonair frowned thoughtfully, but Sapphire recovered first.

"If I remember correctly, we had left Blackthorn City because of the large battle going on there, so we are..." she trailed off, looking around the area with a concerned frown.

"What's wrong?" I asked, half afraid of the answer.

"This isn't anywhere near Blackthorn City," she said slowly.

"Wait, what?" Dragonair asked, looking around, puzzled. "Then how'd we get...wherever the hell we are?"

"And where exactly are we?" I asked nervously. Sapphire uncoiled from around Dragonair and narrowed her eyes, staring around.

"I'm not sure," she admitted finally. Dragonair's jaw dropped.

"You...you don't know?" he gasped. "But you travel all the time, so how could we be somewhere you don't know?"

"The problem is that I travel so much, I don't remember every area," Sapphire explained calmly. Dragonair nodded, prodding the sleeping male Flareon with his tail sharply. Blaze growled, opening one eye (his yellow left eye) to glare at Dragonair.

"Good morning, Blaze," the male Dragonair said with exaggerated enthusiasm as he poked Crystal as well. The female Flareon's reaction was a lot more irritable, although similar.

"What the hell do you want?" Crystal growled.

"I pity you, Blaze," Dragonair said, shaking his head. "Just wait until she's..."

"I know the story by now, Dragonair," Blaze interrupted irritably. "Why'd you wake us?"

"We have no idea where we are or how we got here," I answered. Both Flareon blinked, looking around the surrounding area. "Any clues?" I asked.

"I've spent most of my life with the breeder, so I'm not familiar with most non-Kanto regions," Crystal said with a shrug. Dragonair snickered at the mention of the breeder, but I scowled. Stupid human thinking he could set me up with a Charmeleon.

"Weren't we near Blackthorn City?" Blaze asked, puzzled.

"We're not anymore," Sapphire explained.

"That doesn't make sense. Where did we go, then?" Crystal asked, petting Spark as the Pichu hugged her randomly.

"None of us seem to remember anything beyond the fight in Blackthorn," Sapphire replied. "Judging by the fact we all seem to be well rested, we hadn't gone far before going to sleep, but Dragonair, Ember, and I all had headaches," she said.

"Did you get drunk?" Blaze asked.

"Good question. Ember, did you get intoxicated?" Dragonair asked. I stared at him blankly.

"Why would I have? Did you?" I asked irritably.

"I really don't think so," he said thoughtfully. "And I doubt Sapphire did. Even if we had, we couldn't have gotten all the way over to..." he paused, gazing around uncertainly. "I don't even have a clue where the hell we could be," he said finally.

"We could ask some random wild Pokémon where we are," I suggested with a hint of sarcasm.

"And if it's a male, you can hit on him," Dragonair suggested brightly. I glared at him.

"I have more self control than you give me credit for," I said coldly. Seriously, his comments were really starting to piss me off, and my Dragon Claw was itching to be used on the snarky dragon.

"Well, I rarely give credit to anyone, so it's really not that surprising," Dragonair pointed out, but I ignored him. "Alright, let's go look for someone for Ember to hit on," he said, but then paused. "I really didn't mean to say that."

"Just shut up," I growled. I turned at the sound of rustling nearby and tensed, just in case the cause was hostile.

"Hello?" Sapphire called in a friendly tone, moments before the source of the rustling came into view. I flinched as a large snake Pokémon appeared, It had yellow markings along its body and a few purple colored slash-like markings as well. Its tail seemed to end in a blade and its long fangs were red, matching its eye color.

"Hello," the snake said, sounding surprisingly friendly.

"Hello. Could you tell us where we are?" Sapphire asked, without missing a beat. The strange snake studied us briefly before nodding.

"You are a short distance away from the human town of Fortree," the snake replied. "You also are near the lair of the Hoenn branch of the CA," the snake added.

"We...we're in Hoenn?" Dragonair asked. The snake nodded with a small laugh.

"Yes, you're in Hoenn. I could guide you to your destination if you are new. My name is Vipera, of the Seviper species," the snake said, gesturing to herself with her bladed tail.

"Right...stay away from me," Blaze said, eyeing her anxiously.

"Okay," Vipera said slowly. "May I ask your names?" she asked kindly.

"I'm Dragonair, this is Sapphire," Dragonair said, gesturing to the female Dragonair with his tail.

"I'm Ember," I said, watching her warily. I do not like snakes, never have.

"Me Spark!" Spark said, from behind Blaze. The Pichu also didn't seem too fond of snakes, either. Vipera blinked at the kit, but didn't say anything.

"I'm Crystal, this is Blaze," the female Flareon said, licking Blaze's ear lightly, in an obvious display of informing the Seviper that he was taken. Vipera didn't seem bothered by this at all.

"Now where are you trying to go?" she asked. We all exchanged glances.

"Uh..." Dragonair began, looking at Sapphire inquisitively. "Where is your clearing that you live in?"

"To be honest...I'm not entirely sure which city it's near," Sapphire said. "It's bordered on a forest, so..." she trailed off thoughtfully.

"If you don't mind me asking, I'm curious as to how you have no idea where you are and no idea where you're going," Vipera commented.

"We have no idea. We were in Blackthorn last night, and this morning we're somewhere in Hoenn," I answered with a shrug.

"Blackthorn? As in Johto?" Vipera asked, sounding shocked.

"Yeah, northern Johto. Now we're in...northern Hoenn?" Dragonair asked. Vipera nodded, scratching under her chin lightly with her tail. "Sapphire, do you know any other landmarks around the clearing?"

"There was a stream. Sorry, it's been a while since I last was there," the female Dragonair said apologetically.

"Well, there's a bright side to this, other than the extremely suspicious circumstances that brought us here," Dragonair said flatly.

"Sapphire wanted to come here?" Blaze asked.

"We can find a place to settle down?" Crystal asked, brushing her tail against Blaze, to the male Flareon's momentary discomfort.

"Ooh, me cute?" Spark suggested.

"We can finally relax?" Sapphire suggested.

"We don't have a group of homicidal ghosts trying to kill us?" I asked. "Assuming they don't know we're here."

"Yeah, you all pretty much covered everything I wanted to say," Dragonair said with a small grin.

"So where are you heading to?" the Seviper asked patiently.

"Do you have a general location idea where the clearing was?" I asked the dragoness, who frowned a moment.

"I think more to the south. I was lucky to come across that area," Sapphire said uncertainly.

"Are you sure that another group or clan hasn't taken over?" Vipera asked.

"It's guarded," Sapphire replied vaguely.

"If you say so," the snake said.

"We'll figure it out. Do you know where we can get something to eat?" I asked.

"Yes...the closest spot is a quarter mile that way," Vipera replied hesitantly, pointing her bladed tail in one direction.

"What's the catch?" Sapphire asked, noticing the serpent's hesitation.

"There are...occasionally unpleasant beings that eat there. There is a possibility that going there would trigger a feud. However, the best food is located there, so it's a worthwhile risk. Another option is past Fortree, by the shore, but that sounds like a step backwards," Vipera explained, pointing her tail in a different direction.

"Is there something to the south that would be worthwhile?" I asked.

"Ember, she pointed to the south. Fortree is to the east," Dragonair said seriously.

"There are options past the quarter mile, if you still want to head south," the Seviper said seriously.

"Me hungry," Spark said with a whine. Dragonair grinned.

"Spark didn't use the baby-talk word," he said when he noticed my look of confusion. "Next he needs to work on proper pronouns," he added.

"Good luck with that happening," I muttered under my breath. "Well, I think we should take the risk, just because it's the closest option. And Dragonair takes risks all the time, so he'll probably take the chance, anyway," I said.

"Yeah, I probably would," Dragonair admitted. "Lead on, viper," he said.

"The name's Vipera," the Seviper corrected calmly. "This way," she said, slithering in the direction she had first indicated.


	169. Unlucky Encounter

**Dragonair POV**

I allowed my mind to wander a little bit as we traveled, but remained just alert enough to keep my eye on the snake. Due to the past experience we had with snakes of either gender, it was no surprise to me that just about everyone in our group, Sapphire excluded, was wary of the Seviper. She didn't seem particularly dangerous or hostile, but no one was willing to wager their lives on trusting her completely. Despite this, we were willing to let her guide us, but only because we were unfamiliar with the Hoenn area.

Many thoughts and questions came to my mind, most of them concerning recent or future events. How had we ended up in Hoenn? Did Diablos or his minions know we were here? Could the Seviper be trusted? And what did she know that we didn't know? Our destination wasn't very far away, so I didn't get too much time to consider the answers to the questions that I asked myself. One of the few benefits I saw about being in Hoenn was, as mentioned earlier, that we could finally go to the clearing where Sapphire wanted to settle down in. It was an opportunity to be free from all the dangers that pursued us.

"When we there?" Spark asked suddenly and the Seviper turned her head towards him. The Pichu whimpered and hid behind Sapphire, peeking out at the snake. Vipera, or whatever her name was, seemed a bit surprised at his reaction, but didn't comment on it.

"We'll be there shortly," she said gently and returned her attention forward. Spark nodded nervously, still clinging to Sapphire, who seemed amused by the kit's behavior. We continued in general silence, stopping only when the snake did. "I'm going to check to see if the area is clear," she explained, slithering into the small area, returning a few moments later.

"Well?" Crystal inquired when the snake did not immediately announce her findings.

"The immediate area is clear, but I cannot say for sure how long it will be like that," Vipera replied.

"Meaning?" I asked, raising an eye scale at this comment.

"Don't dawdle," Vipera replied simply and led us towards the various bushes and trees, all laden with fruit and berries. Spark excitedly ran to each bush and began sampling various berries, announcing which ones he liked and didn't like, although at this point, we all pretty much knew his tastes. It made me wonder why he bothered eating the berries he should know that he doesn't like, but maybe he just has a poor memory or an adventurous sense of taste. I knocked down an apple or two from a tree for Ember, and spotted Blaze by a small stream, checking for fish.

"Any luck?" Crystal asked the male Flareon, who shook his head, slightly disappointed.

"There's fish in my clearing," Sapphire said. I gave the female Dragonair an odd look, which she either ignored or didn't notice. What made her think Blaze cared that there was fish in some other unknown area of Hoenn, when there wasn't fish where he was when he wanted it now? Maybe I'm just thinking into this too much for no real reason.

"Hey Viper, what are we concerned about?" I asked the snake, who sighed slightly.

"The name is Vipera. Pronounced Vee-pear-a. Spelled V-I-P-E-R-A. Please use the name correctly," the Seviper said, but without any aggravation in her tone. "And the concern is about a few Pokémon that use this area as their typical hang out spot. Many prefer never to tangle with them."

"Why not?" I asked, not really caring that much about the response, but I wasn't hungry anymore and the conversation was something to do while the others ate. The Seviper paused thoughtfully, as if considering the best way to answer the question.

"It's very difficult to describe, since I don't stick around that long to actually see what they do for myself, and the stories all sound fabricated. So I guess I can't really help you answer that question, but I still advise that you do not attempt to tangle with the small group. I suspect they work in close contact with the CA," she said.

"CA?" Ember repeated.

"Also known as the Cave Army. An extensive group of Pokémon that operate throughout Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn. Some follow the Johto Dark Organization's lead and engage in kidnapping or other such crimes," Vipera said.

"And how do you know this sort of thing?" I asked, a bit suspiciously.

"One of my old friends went to join the group. She eventually transferred to the Kanto branch, but she told me a few things," the Seviper said, ignoring my suspicious tone.

"Everyone finished?" Sapphire asked, to a silent chorus of nods (although Spark quickly grabbed an armful of berries to take with him). "Alright, then let's get..." she began, but trailed off suddenly. I glanced around to see what had attracted her notice, and Vipera winced.

"Dang, too late," she muttered, pointing the bladed tail at three approaching Pokémon. One was a quadruped with snowy white fur, an odd sword like horn on its head, but the most noticeable detail was its eyes, which were red in color, but intensely focused. To the left of the Absol, but trailing a few feet behind was a large blue quadruped dragon creature with bright red wings. Hovering on the other side of the Absol was an odd dragonfly like Pokémon with green wings and eyes.

"I have no idea what any of those Pokémon are," Ember muttered.

"Salamence, Absol, and Vibrava, respectively," I muttered to the Charmander, who nodded as if she understood, but I knew my answer had explained next to nothing. "A fully evolved dragon, a dark type, and a dragon that looks like a bug," I continued.

"Let's see here...two Dragonair, a Pichu, a Charmander, two Flareon, and a Seviper," the Absol muttered thoughtfully, its red eyes pausing on each of us in turn, but narrowed when they reached me. "Identify yourselves now," the dark type ordered.

"Um...I'm Ember," Ember said nervously.

"Yawn," I said indifferently, then pointed my tail at each member of the group. "Blaze, Crystal, Vipera, Ember, Spark, Sapphire, and me," I said.

"Your name?" the Salamence inquired, growling slightly.

"My name is Dragonair," I said, trying not to roll my eyes. The Absol's eyes widened slightly and his mouth curled into a small grin.

"Dragonair, huh? Ever been to Hoenn before? Say...two, three years ago?" he inquired. I hesitated and his grin widened as he placed a paw into a small bag around his neck and withdrew two dice, which he threw towards me, the dice bouncing off my nose and hitting the ground. "Want to try your luck, Dratini?" he sneered. I shuddered involuntarily, trying to block out the memories that began to surface.

"Eight," I said finally, glancing at the dots on the dice before hesitantly scooping them up with my tail and rolling them on the ground between us. The Absol lifted his head so as to get a better view of the dots on the dice.

"Nine," the Absol said finally and grinned. "Well, well...you got lucky, Dratini," he sneered. "Wasn't your first time, but I'm still a bit surprised..."

"Shut up, Gamble. I beat you fair and square. Game over," I said coldly and the Absol's grin faded, replaced by an ugly look.

"You still haven't learned when to shut up, Dratini," Gamble said coldly, his red eyes staring at me with frightening intensity, but I remained as calm as possible. "I would have thought you'd have learned what happens to those who don't know when to hold their tongue..."

"So you're still playing your sick games?" I snapped and the Absol smirked, retrieving his dice and replacing them in the pouch around his neck.

"Games are only fun with a high risk investment," he said quietly.

"Well you need a life," I scowled and the Absol smirked, causing me to realize what I had just said, prompting a shudder again.

"I'm sure I'll find one soon, Dratini," he said sinisterly. I glared at him, even as he turned away from us, the two dragon types following behind him. I hurriedly led my group in the opposite direction.

"What the hell was that all about?" Ember demanded to me.

"Kit nearby, don't swear," I said.

"Don't dodge the question," the Charmander growled, her claws glowing blue. I glanced at the claws briefly, but continued moving without another word.

"Dragonair," Sapphire said softly and I sighed, turning towards the rest of the group.

"Fine, since none of you seems to respect bad past memories. Long ago, when I first visited Hoenn, I encountered an Absol that was obsessed with gambling to decide people's fates, okay?" I said rapidly.

"You visited Hoenn?" Ember asked, raising an eye scale.

"Years ago. Not good memories. Don't like talking about it," I said irritably.

"I didn't know you didn't like Hoenn," Sapphire said uncomfortably.

"Hoenn's great. That damn Absol isn't," I said shortly.

"Why? What did he do?" Crystal asked curiously. I shivered.

"You don't want to know what happened to those who lost. I ended up winning," I said, frowning slightly. Crystal was still curious, but no one else looked too interested in pursuing the details.

"What was with the dice back there?" Vipera asked uncertainly. I sighed.

"Typical game. If I win, we can leave. If I lose...the sick game begins," I said with a shiver. "He's got this whole system worked out, or at least he did years ago. It's probably different now," I muttered.

"I know he's a bit nasty, just don't know any details," the Seviper said.

"You don't want details," I said firmly. "Please drop it, for the love of Celebi."

"Okay, sorry," the snake muttered, slithering away from me. She suddenly stopped and tilted her head. "You hear something?"

"Um...no, not really," I said, listening carefully for a second. Sapphire and Ember both listened, but they shook their heads. Blaze nodded, and Crystal looked at him, puzzled.

"I hear something," Blaze said seriously.

"What does it sound like?" Crystal asked, glancing around anxiously.

"I don't know that," the male Flareon said finally. "But it's coming closer," he said finally.

"Damn it," I muttered. Moments later, several strange bipedal cat-like Pokémon stepped into view. Vipera cursed under her breath as I took the moment to study them. They had white fur with splashes of red, including a zigzag shape on its chest. Their paws had a set of deadly sharp claws and their pale red eyes studied each of us in turn before stopping on the Seviper. Many of the Pokémon glared at us suspiciously before the assumed leader spoke up, its voice a low growl.

"Kill the Seviper," he ordered.

"What?" Ember demanded. "She was helping us..."

"Bad move, Ember..." Sapphire said in a small sigh. "Not your fault, but Zangoose and Seviper have a huge feud...so telling a group of Zangoose we're involved with a Seviper makes us targets," she explained in a whisper.

"Kill the snake's friends," the leader ordered and the Pokémon split up and approached us, claws bared to strike, making some sort of battle cry sound.

"Isn't it ironic that we, being snake haters, are going to be killed by snake haters?" Ember asked, baring her own claws.

"Thank you, Ember. Sapphire and I look like snakes," I commented, rolling my eyes as I tensed to fight. "Alright, let's just get this over with," I said with a small grin.


	170. Back to the Base

**Leaf POV**

I was awakened the next morning by Jolt rolling into me, his spines poking into me sharply. I yelped, jerking away from the Jolteon. He yawned and opened his eyes, looking at me in slight confusion. "What's wrong?"

"You just pricked me!" I said, a bit crankily, plucking one of his fur quills from me and tossing it aside. The Jolteon smiled weakly, looking apologetic.

"Good morning," the female Eevee said brightly, also awake. Volt was still sleeping, which was a slight relief to me, since he made me incredibly nervous, even when he wasn't directly threatening us.

"Uh, morning," I said awkwardly. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you," the white furred Eevee replied, licking a paw idly and grooming calmly. I nodded and gazed around. Jolt stretched out and muttered something about taking a small walk and left the immediate area. This wasn't unusual; Jolt usually took a walk every morning.

"Erm...not trying to pry, but does it ever bother you that Volt is...um..." I paused, unsure of how to word this.

"Exceedingly violent?" Icicle prompted, raising an eyebrow.

"Well...that too, I suppose," I said, shifting uncomfortably. "I mean...you do know what he does...right?"

"What he does?" Icicle repeated, "Can you be more specific?"

"Well, I don't want to cause problems," I said hastily, already starting to regret starting the conversation.

"I'm fairly knowledgeable about his activities," the female Eevee said flatly, "Very little would surprise me."

"Well...if you know a lot of what he does...erm...why do you like him?" I asked, feeling like I was crossing the line with this comment.

"Do you have a mate, Leaf?" she asked me seriously. I blinked at the question.

"No, I'm only two," I said, tilting my head at her uncertainly.

"Volt and I were two," she replied with a hint of coldness. "If you don't have a mate, you're not really in a position to question whether his negative qualities override his positive ones. If you had a mate, you might understand."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to say that," I said quickly, noticing her aggravated expression. "I was..."

"I'm not going to discuss this with you," she said firmly, turning away from me. I winced, looking around awkwardly. A few minutes later, Jolt returned from his walk, smiling slightly.

"I'm back," he said and walked over to Volt and prodded him sharply.

"What are you doing?" Icicle demanded, sounding alarmed. "He hates..."

"WHAT?!" Volt snarled, waking with a start as Jolt plucked one of his own quills and prodded the Umbreon in the cheek with it. "What the hell do you want, Jolteon?" Volt growled, glaring furiously at Jolt.

"I want to talk to you. Now. Privately," Jolt replied seriously. Volt's angered expression changed briefly to surprise, but then confusion.

"Okay..." he said slowly and followed Jolt from the area, giving Icicle a puzzled look. She shrugged and continued grooming.

"Look, I'm sorry if I upset you," I said tentatively. She glanced up at me irritably, but nodded.

"It's fine," she replied shortly, stretching out slightly and glancing in the direction Jolt and Volt had gone. "Wonder what they're talking about," she muttered. I shrugged. Jolt had said originally that he was going to try to end the feud between them, but I got the impression the feud was never going to end, not the way Jolt would want it to, anyway.

"I don't know," I said, mainly trying to break the awkward silence that had fallen. Icicle shrugged and tossed me a fruit.

"Eat something while you're waiting, I guess. Volt won't want you to stay around long," she said. I nodded in silent agreement while I bit into the juicy fruit. I didn't want us to stay around long, either. Shortly after I finished eating, the two Eons came back, both their expressions serious, although Volt seemed a little ticked off about something.

"Leaf, we're leaving," Jolt said. I nodded, licking my paw and using it to wipe some of the juice from my face, and got up to follow Jolt. Icicle gave Volt a confused look, but Jolt gestured for me to hurry up, so I didn't get any clues what was going on.

"What happened?" I asked, almost the instant we had left the sheltered area where Volt and Icicle seemed to live. The Jolteon didn't immediately answer, which led me to believe that he didn't really feel like telling me. "What did you talk to him about?" I pressed.

"Not important, Leaf. Let it go," Jolt said, a bit snappishly. I flinched, deciding to drop the subject. "Volt said Tarot will take us back to our base in a few minutes," Jolt said, seemingly unaware of how much his snappy retort had affected me. Or aware of it and too uncomfortable to show he was aware of it, which seemed far more likely.

"Why Tarot?" I asked, confused. Jolt sighed slightly.

"Leaf, Tarot is the only one Volt can contact and he has teleportation abilities. Stop worrying about things. I have everything covered," Jolt said firmly. I nodded understandingly, just as the Sableye appeared, looking mostly recovered.

"Volt told me to take you two back to your base," the Sableye said, gazing at us carefully. Jolt nodded impatiently, which was a bit unlike him, but whatever happened during the conversation with Volt that had irritated him was probably to blame for that. I managed to shut my eyes just before the flash of light, and when I opened my eyes, I discovered that we were outside of the building that served as our group's base.

"I expected to be teleported inside," I said, gazing around. I very rarely saw the base from the outside.

"There's a built-in ghost barrier that prevents me from entering," Tarot explained as he faded out. Jolt nodded absently and led me towards the door that led inside.

"Out of curiosity, I've never been here without Shadow. How do we get in?" I asked uncertainly.

"Every member has a specialized entrance inside," Jolt replied with a small smile. "I'm surprised they never told you about them. See this?" he pointed to a strange device on the wall near the door. I nodded and Jolt plucked one of his quills, charged a tiny shock of electricity into the quill, and quickly slid the quill into a small slot on the device. A light lit up on the device and the door slid open.

"How does that work?" I asked, awestruck.

"It's a bit complicated. Firstly, the opening is only large enough for a long thing object, like my quill. However, the machine is inactive unless it receives a small charge. And the charge has to be delivered on the inside. But here's the brilliance: it also scans the quill to determine it's one of mine," Jolt explained after a moment's thought.

"Can't someone just steal a quill and charge it?" I asked.

"Nope. My quills absorb any electricity except my own, so only I can charge the quill," Jolt replied with a grin. I nodded approvingly. That really was a clever device, making me wonder how the others were able to access the building.

"Where did we get something like that?" I asked curiously.

"I think Chaos created it. According to Bane, he specializes in making devices like that," Jolt replied with a small shrug.

"How do I get in?" I asked curiously.

"That I don't know. Psycho's the only one who knows them all, aside from maybe Frost," Jolt replied, leading me inside. Once inside, he pushed a button near the doorway and I heard the lock click. "We're back!" the Jolteon called loudly, but no one answered, not that either of us expected an answer. The building was quite large and very rarely were we willing to shout across the base to communicate with each other.

"Hello," I jumped slightly when Aura spoke from halfway down one of the passageways. Jolt didn't react at all.

"Oh...hey. Um...where's my brother?" I asked her. The Vaporeon tilted her head at me slightly.

"Psycho? I don't know. The Glaceon is in his room and Darkness is in the training room with Kira," she said after a moment's thought.

"Frost's still here?" Jolt muttered irritably, but he turned away and walked down a different passageway. Apparently he still wasn't over Frost's abandonment of the group. I understood the problem, but I was still willing to get over it.

"So how are you doing?" I asked Aura brightly.

"I'm fine," she replied.

"Everyone treating you okay?" I asked, half trying to make conversation, half concerned that she wasn't being treated nicely.

"Yes. Well, your brother ignores me most of the time. Kira is very nice. Frost's attitude changes a lot," she said.

"That happens," I said with a shrug. "What about Darkness?"

"I don't think she likes me that much," Aura said with a small shrug. I chuckled quietly and the Vaporeon gave me a puzzled look.

"Sorry. Is it true you referred to my brother as handsome and cute when you first met him?" I asked, trying not to laugh as the Vaporeon's face flushed.

"I didn't actually mean to say it," she mumbled.

"Darkness is a bit...protective," I explained. "Shadow mentioned that incident in passing."

"Oh. Is she likely to get over it?" Aura asked.

"Eventually," I said with a shrug. "Don't worry about it too much," I suggested. She nodded and followed me down the corridor, in the direction of the training room. I casually knocked on the doorway to the training room as I walked inside. Darkness and Kira both turned towards when I entered the room.

"Oh, you're back?" Kira asked, looking surprised. "I would have expected Jolt to come here first."

"He's not in the best mood. He probably went to his room," I said cheerfully.

"So how was your visit with Volt?" Darkness asked, sounding surprisingly cold.

"Uh...fine, I guess. His mate's nice," I said with a shrug. Darkness and Kira both gaped at me. "What?" I whined, feeling extremely self conscious.

"How long has he had a mate?" Darkness asked cryptically.

"About two years from what I heard. Why?" I asked, a bit confused.

"So he was taken," Kira said thoughtfully, confusing me further. "What specie?"

"Eevee with white fur," I replied, studying Kira in confusion.

"He has an Eevee mate, just like Jolt. His name is Volt, which has its own set of similarities to Jolt. But...he's had a mate longer than Jolt has," Darkness said thoughtfully.

"He's seriously twisted," Kira grumbled, shuddering slightly.

"Around her he's not that bad," I admitted.

"Wait...white fur?" Darkness asked, exchanging a meaningful glance with Kira, who giggled for no reason. Aura and I stared at them blankly for a moment. Darkness shook her head. "Well, see you later, Kira," she said and left the room. Aura shook her head and also left, leaving me and Kira alone.

"I'm totally confused," I admitted and the Eevee giggled again.

"Don't worry about it, Leaf. Inside joke," she explained.

"Okay. Well, I guess I'm leaving, too," I said, turning towards the doorway, but Kira followed. "Where are you going?" I asked.

"My room. That's probably where Jolt is," she said, but stopped when Jolt stepped into the room, paying us little to no attention. "Oh, hi Jolt!" Kira said brightly, but suddenly stopped, fear appearing on her face. Jolt glanced at her, smiling briefly, and then accessed one of the room's computers.

"What's wrong?" I asked Kira anxiously.

"His eyes," she whispered, shaking madly. I stared at her in alarm, just as Jolt chuckled in triumph, clicking something on the computer. The Jolteon turned to me and I stared at his eyes carefully before freezing in horror. I hadn't noticed it earlier due to his yellow fur, but the irises of his eyes had a yellow tinge to them.

"And now..." Jolt murmured, holding out a paw, which glowed with black energy for some odd reason. Hovering above his paw, a strange stone image appeared with a Haunter seemingly carved into the stone. "I need you this time..." Jolt murmured in a strange malicious tone. The image blanked and a ghostly shape appeared before the Jolteon. It was purple with a large mouth and two eyes; its entire body was its head, although with two disembodied hands floating before the head.

"Huh?" the ghost spoke in a definite female voice, looking slightly surprised until she caught sight of Jolt. She then immediately made a respectful bowing motion, speaking in a reverent whisper, "Haou."

"Lera," Jolt whispered maliciously. "Contact the ones Volt will have missed. I know you can contact Soul. Tell that damn Ninjask to show up. We're finishing the job here." The Haunter made another bowing gesture and faded out. Jolt's yellow tinged eyes focused on me and Kira, his mouth curled into a cruel grin. "Soon the Eon threat will be no more..." he breathed.

**To be continued...**


	171. Personal Blow

**To be nice, I'm updating a little earlier than expected. Thank me later.**

"Wh-what?" I stammered, my mind going blank. Jolt's malicious grin widened.

"Now, now, Leafeon..." Jolt whispered coldly, his yellow eyes glinting briefly as he stepped closer to me and Kira. I felt frozen to the spot, unable to muster up the courage to move. "You act so surprised to see me..."

"Jolt?" Kira whimpered, cowering behind me. Jolt grinned wickedly, shaking his head mockingly.

"You're so slow on the uptake, Eevee...perhaps this will refresh your memory!" Jolt sneered, launching a small burst of electricity at Kira, hitting her shoulder. She cried out in pain, the struck fur slightly singed. I growled angrily, but hesitated from attacking. It may have been a fiend within, but it was still Jolt's body.

"N-no...d-don't," Kira sobbed, shaking with fear.

"You're all alone this time, Eevee," Jolt whispered, licking his lips sadistically. His fur bristled into needles and fired another surge of electricity at Kira, but I leapt in front of the blast, wincing in pain as the shock flowed through my body.

"She's not alone!" I snarled, even as my muscles went limp, my face impacting painfully with the floor as I collapsed forward.

"All the better, an audience. Déjà Vu, only I don't have to be harmed to get the fun," Jolt hissed. Kira seemed to snap out of her daze and ran for the door, but Jolt chuckled maliciously. "You're going nowhere!" he cackled, releasing a wave of electricity, the wave striking the Eevee, sending her sprawling to the ground, most of her muscles paralyzed.

"Kira!" I called, growling angrily as I pushed myself to my feet, lunging at Jolt, but he sidestepped, kicking me forcefully with one of his legs, sending me sprawling sideways to the ground.

"Watch this," Jolt whispered, charging a bolt of electricity and launching it at Kira. The Eevee cried out in pain, her legs twitching as the electricity flowed through her. "What's wrong? I thought you liked getting shocked when intimate," Jolt sneered, laughing maliciously.

"You're sick!" I growled, pushing myself back up and slamming my shoulder at Jolt, but he ignored me. I had unfortunately overlooked the fact that his fur quills were needle-like, resulting in them digging deep into my shoulder as I impacted with him. "Oh damn," I cursed, trying to pull away from the possessed Jolteon.

"Oh this should be fun," Jolt sneered and I felt electricity building up in the quills that were lodged into my flesh, the charge flowing through my body, pain shooting through every inch of my skin, starting as an unpleasant tingle, but quickly evolving into outright agony. Jolt dismissed my presence and fired the electricity from the other quills, the shock striking Kira, who screamed, her body twitching in agony. I wondered briefly why no one was hearing these yells, why no one was coming to help us. My own shouts of pain had to reach Darkness or Aura, at the very least, and Kira's were piercing cries that even Shadow would take notice of.

"Stop it!" I cried, blinking away tears, pulling away from the Jolteon, the quills still embedded into my skin.

"And let you alert your little friends before my associates arrive?" Jolt sneered, slamming a paw into my face, the force of the blow causing me to literally see stars as I was flung backwards. The Jolteon fired yet another bolt of electricity at the helpless Eevee, cackling with sadistic glee as she writhed on the tiled floor. Her eyes shimmered with tears and her expression was one of tormented agony. She was in physical and emotional pain. There was no way to describe the pain she had to feel, having her mate, possessed or otherwise, deliberately hurt her.

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded, staggering back to my feet, feeling so helpless. Could I hurt Jolt to save Kira? The answer came to me in a flash. I'd have to. Jolt would want this cruelty stopped, even at the cost of his own safety. I could force myself to hurt Jolt, but only if I remembered what was at stake. Kira shouldn't be forced to endure pain because of some sadistic phantom.

For the briefest of all instants, I saw exactly what Shadow had always said when asked why he was so willing to do some of the things he did to battle Diablos. "I will do whatever it takes to stop him. I will use any means necessary. I cannot allow him to do what he has done to others. No matter the cost, I will stop him." I understood where he was coming from. I could also see why he gave up his feelings, his emotions. He was gaining immunity from one of Diablos' most sinister tricks: the use of loved ones against you. A lone tear fell from my eye at my next thought. Shadow didn't want to be attached to me, because he was trying to keep me safe, but also so he would never have to make a decision to harm me in order to stop the phantom.

I may not agree with Shadow's methods, but I had never seen his reasoning clearer than I did right now. Did this mean I was expendable if the situation called for it? Would Shadow kill me to kill Diablos? Were any of us safe? Any means necessary...no matter the cost...I shook myself. Even if I thought I understood, I didn't have to go to that extent. I wouldn't need to kill Jolt; I just needed to cripple him. I lashed out a vine, catching the Jolteon by the leg. I closed my eyes and yanked, twisting the vine as I tugged, wincing as the Jolteon's bone snapped, sending the electric type crashing to the ground.

"Do you have it in you to kill me, Leafeon?" Jolt sneered, his yellow eyes gleaming with malice, his body glowing for a moment. I didn't answer, just glared into the Jolteon's yellow tinged eyes. "Do it...if you have the guts..." he whispered.

"I'm not listening to your words, Diablos. They are empty and meaningless," I replied coldly. The stories were true...once beaten, the phantom would tempt you to kill him, but I knew that he would leave the host and I would actually end up killing Jolt, not him. Shadow had warned me against this ploy. Despite his own behavior, Shadow didn't want me to kill if I could help it. I agreed with this view, of course. Frost and Jolt both agreed that killing was rarely needed.

"You cannot defeat me. You're as weak and pitiful as your parents," Diablos sneered. He was using Jolt's body, using it to manipulate me. He had used it to make me hesitate, but the illusion was gone. I could see him for what he was, a monster that sought to destroy us.

"That won't work on me," I said coldly. It really wouldn't. Unlike Shadow, I had moved on from my parents' deaths. I had been a kit then, and I had not witnessed the death. I refused to listen to Shadow describe the scene. Shadow, Frost, and Jolt were more than adequate authority figures.

"You never really knew your parents...you slept while they were killed," Jolt, no Diablos, whispered. I didn't reply. "Go ahead...your brother doesn't respect you. He never will...he's in it for the greater good. He'd kill you without any hesitation if it meant my end," Diablos whispered, his eyes glinting. I flinched.

"You lie," I said coldly. I wouldn't listen to his lies. I wouldn't even consider the possibility of their truth. Shadow cared about me. He wouldn't be willing to kill me. But what if my fears were true? No, I couldn't allow myself to be distracted by the phantom's words.

"Accept the truth, Leafeon. He might even be glad to be rid of you. You've been nothing but a hassle since the day your parents fell. He had to shelter you, to care for you...he hated it. Just like he hates you now. You're an embarrassment to him, being so weak," Jolt, no it was Diablos. Jolt would never say such cruel words.

"Shut up," I growled, lashing out another vine, snapping his other leg with it, fully immobilizing the Jolteon. Kira got to her feet shakily, the paralysis mostly worn off.

"You okay, Leaf?" she asked nervously.

"I'll be fine," I assured her. "Get Shadow. Tell him..."

"It's too late, Leafeon!" Diablos cackled and a golden orb of light descended upon him and his body glowed brightly, the wounds vanishing, the bones healing. In a flash, he was on his feet and body slammed me, the quills digging deep into my skin, blood seeping from the wounds. I cried out in alarm, taken by surprise from the sudden attack. Kira hesitated, unsure of what to do.

"Get Shadow!" I snapped at her, and she ran for the door, but I knew she wouldn't make it.

"Try again, Eevee!" Diablos cackled, releasing a powerful blast of electricity, the bolt striking the Eevee halfway to the door and she screamed in pain, sprawling onto her face, but she didn't move again, except for a slight twitch. I bit down upon the Jolteon's neck, drawing blood from the wound, Diablos cackling maliciously, almost as if taking pleasure from the pain. "You'll have to do better than that!" he sneered, releasing a Thunder at point blank range, the force of the shock hurling me against the wall and I slumped to the ground limply.

"Leaf! Kira!" Darkness' voice shouted from the doorway and I struggled to stay conscious, staring at the blurry figure of the female Umbreon. "Jolt?" she gasped.

"It's Diablos!" I tried to cry, but my words were muffled by the floor. Diablos' malicious chuckle filled the air following the stunned exclamation. I shivered at the sound. It was even more frightening than Volt's sadistic laughter, and that's saying something.

"This is the end for your little group, Umbreon," Diablos hissed. "I gave you your chance to join me, but you rejected it. Now you will die, just like the others will. I think I'll start with your Eevee friend..." he whispered.

"I'll kill you, Diablos," Darkness snarled. Her rage was remarkably under control, but I doubted this would last much longer.

"You do that," Diablos replied mockingly. "Rip this Jolteon's throat out, savor the bloodlust. You want to...I can feel your anger and hate. And you know what? I'll still kill Kira before you even try to harm me," he breathed maliciously.

"Leave her alone!" Darkness growled, her rings glowing intensely.

"Make me. Zap! She's dead!" Diablos cackled, releasing another powerful Thunder attack, the enormous electrical blast striking the unconscious Eevee and hurling her body across the room, where it slumped against the wall, falling limply, unmistakably dead.

"KIRA!" Darkness shouted, her tone one of great pain and sorrow. I made a weak moan, feeling a lump form in my throat. Kira and I never were real close, but the thought of her being killed was still painful.

"And now to absorb her life force...she'll never live again!" Diablos crowed in triumph, his paw glowing black. His triumphant laugh was cut off by the female Umbreon slamming into him, her expression one of pure rage, her paws slamming relentlessly into Jolt's face and I heard a crack as the Umbreon broke his nose with a powerful blow, blood streaming from the wound.

"Bad choice, Umbreon," Volt said coldly from the entrance of the room, "The only one who can hurt my brother is me." Darkness turned and glared with rage at Volt, who smirked. "Come on...take me on if you can," he whispered. "Let's make this quick. I'm supposed to have this week off," he sneered. The female Umbreon tensed, but Volt moved first, launching a Dark Pulse from his body. Darkness growled and launched her own Dark Pulse, the two attacks meeting in midair and exploding, casting the room momentarily into darkness. I pushed myself up, turning towards Diablos, but the Jolteon kicked me aside and ran from the room.

I rushed over to Kira's body, stumbling slightly over my partially paralyzed limbs and studied her carefully, the lump in my throat making it difficult to swallow. I could only imagine what Jolt's reaction would be, to know that he was technically responsible for her demise. It wasn't fair! Kira wasn't even part of the group; she just lived with us. My eyes filled with tears, both of anger and sadness. I knew I couldn't go to the same extremes Shadow was willing to reach, but I could still fight back. I wouldn't do it for revenge, though. Jolt had warned me many times that revenge was the wrong way to live. I turned and ran out of the room, avoiding a stray Shadow Ball from the brawling Umbreon. I had to tell Shadow and Frost what was happening. It was our only chance.


	172. Preparing Counterattack

My thoughts raced as I ran, fighting the burning sensation in my weakened muscles as I pushed myself to keep moving. I trained to give myself a lot of speed and stamina, and now I truly appreciated the amount of time I had spent. I didn't encounter Jolt on the trip, so I assumed he went in the other direction. I stopped at Shadow's room and burst in. Under normal circumstances, I would have knocked, but I don't think courtesy is very important during a crisis. The black furred Espeon barely glanced up when I entered. "You're supposed to knock, Leaf," he said flatly. Apparently he didn't share my opinion about times of crisis.

"Shadow, there's a problem!" I said desperately. "Jolt is possessed and..."

"I know," he replied with a hint of indifference. I froze, staring at him in shock.

"What? H-how do you know?" I demanded.

"Several things. Firstly, I can read your mind and have done so," he said, looking at my face for the first time since I had entered. "Secondly, I extended my psychic reach throughout the base ever since the most recent incident. I can locate all of you at any point, although Dark shows up as a hole," he said monotonously.

"Incident?" I repeated, confused.

"Not the time, Leaf. When you returned, I was puzzled. I could not detect Jolt at all, not even a hole to represent a dark type. However, I knew you had not returned alone, because Jolt's key device had activated," Shadow explained calmly. "There is only one known being that can avoid showing up on my psychic radar, and that is Diablos. My theory was confirmed when I detected the ghost barrier being deactivated."

"WHAT?" I shouted, alarmed.

"I moments ago detected a familiar ghost, a Haunter named Lera. Her reappearance is significant," Shadow said, leading me from his room.

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"Lera is the Haunter that began it all, Leaf. I heard from Bane that she was punished two years ago for the information she passed me. Not only did this confirm the ghost barrier is inactive, but since Diablos is the only being that could possibly release her, it confirms his presence," Shadow explained.

"Shadow...Kira's dead," I said miserably, only half taking in what my brother was saying to me.

"An unfortunate loss," he said, almost dismissively. I glared at him.

"You could at least pretend to care," I said.

"Jolt and Dark are not present, I see no reason to fake concern," Shadow said, "Death is the end. It's inescapable. Kira knew the dangers associated with this group. She was reminded of this when Diablos targeted her."

"Volt and Darkness are fighting in the training room," I said, not sure how he'd react.

"Nothing I can do about that. Dark will be defeated, and Volt will be after us next. Frost is the only one who can deal with him," Shadow said coldly. I sometimes wondered whether he was concerned about me at all, if he used a dismissive attitude in reference to Darkness.

"How much did it hurt to admit that?" Frost asked, appearing from a nearby passageway. I tensed, but relaxed when I saw who it was. "There's a problem, Shadow," the Glaceon reported.

"I already know about Jolt and Kira," Shadow said, clearly irritated over the use of his name, but didn't seem to be bothered to correct Frost.

"What happened to Jolt and Kira?" Frost asked, blinking in confusion. Okay, apparently Frost wasn't referring to Jolt and Kira if he didn't even know what happened to them.

"Jolt's possessed and Kira's...dead," I said, wiping a tear away. The Glaceon frowned thoughtfully.

"What was the problem if Jolt and Kira aren't it?" Shadow prompted impatiently, although he still used a dull monotone when speaking.

"It has come to my attention that our ghost barrier is down," Frost replied seriously.

"We know that, too," Shadow said coldly.

"Oh, then you know that this place is soon going to be under attack by as many of Diablos' associates that he can throw at us? Our only advantage is that the ghosts are still tired out from the Fear incident," Frost retorted, but then chuckled. "Not like you're much better," he said, looking at Shadow's chest, where the faintest scar remained from where the Porygon2 had jabbed him.

"I am fine, Frost. Worry about your own health," Shadow said, passing by the Glaceon without another word.

"Where the hell are you two going?" Frost demanded, following us. "Shouldn't we be fleeing this place?"

"With what purpose? Dark is occupied with Volt, according to Leaf, and Jolt is the foe. Why would I pass up the opportunity to deal with him once and for all?" Shadow asked and my blood ran cold for a moment. He couldn't possibly mean...could he?

"Shadow?" I asked tentatively, staring into the Espeon's silver eyes. He paid no attention to me and I glanced back at Frost worriedly. The Glaceon shrugged uncertainly.

"Diablos may plan to eliminate us, but we'll crush him. If we reactivate the ghost barrier, he will be trapped within Jolt's body," Shadow said finally.

"But then you'll kill Jolt?" I demanded, appalled by how casually my brother had brought up the possibility. "Jolt's been our friend for almost my whole life, Shadow. He's like a second brother to me..."

"That's enough, Leaf. Don't make this harder for you than it already is," Shadow told me sharply.

"Harder...harder for ME?" I demanded, outraged. "Do you truly feel nothing about the prospect of killing Jolt?" I demanded. He didn't reply and I scowled, stepping into his path and glaring at him. "Answer me!" I ordered, my fur bristling.

"I do not intend to kill Jolt," Shadow said, pushing past me coldly. I was about to retort, but I spotted the Vaporeon up ahead, engaged in battle with a Dusclops. "Perhaps this will assist," Shadow suggested and his eyes glowed. Aura fired a burst of water, which the Dusclops was too slow to dodge, the jet knocking it backwards.

"Thanks," Aura panted, noticing our approach. "What's going on?" she asked nervously.

"Jolt is possessed by Diablos. Darkness is battling Volt, but Kira..." I stopped, the lump in my throat stopping me from continuing. Aura's expression fell as she realized what I was going to say.

"I see," she said quietly, looking rather upset.

"No time to sulk," Shadow said coldly and his eyes glowed, the Dusclops becoming engulfed in psychic energy and then hurled against the wall, the impact knocking it unconscious. Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound and the whole building seemed to shake.

"What was that?" I asked, looking around.

"Stay calm, Leaf," Shadow advised me, his eyes glowing, but he didn't seem thrilled. "Looks like the backup showed up. I detect Venom, Machamp, and a dark type," he said calmly.

"Their new recruits, huh?" Frost muttered, smirking slightly. "Is it true the Tyranitar is more powerful than Dragonair?"

"You care too much about things like that," Shadow muttered.

"According to Dragonair, yes," Aura replied quietly.

"Leave it to me," Frost said, grinning.

"Where are they?" I asked.

"Main entrance," Shadow replied calmly, "So far, only Doom and Chaos have shown up, excluding Diablos, Volt, and those 3."

"We're officially under attack," Frost said, untroubled.

"Indeed you are," the malicious voice sneered from behind us and I cried out, falling forward as electricity surged through my body. Frost and Shadow turned, the former launching an Ice Beam, while Shadow made no offensive attack. "Now I can take you out, one by one..." Diablos whispered maliciously.

"Don't count on it," Frost said arrogantly, but the Jolteon's mouth curled into a grin.

"You're a fool if you think you can win," Jolt sneered, "It's only a matter of time before the rest of my associates arrive, and then you'll be crushed, assuming you survive this match..."

"Bring it on!" Frost said eagerly. Jolt smirked in reply, launching a bolt of electricity at Frost, whose fur gleamed brightly for a moment, the bolt rebounding upon the caster, but the fur absorbed the shock, doing nothing against the electric Eon. "Even if I can't hurt you with Mirror Coat, it keeps me safe. I fought Jolt many times, Diablos. I know every strategy he can employ and how to counter each one," Frost said smugly.

"You're so confident, Glaceon. Attack!" Jolt sneered, the ice type's expression changing to alarm as he was abruptly struck from behind, sending him sprawling to the ground. The Machamp chuckled, slamming another of his four arms at Shadow, but my brother calmly deflected it with a psychic barrier, countering with a Psybeam from the silver forehead gem, but the Machamp twisted out of the way, chuckling slightly.

"Error, neglected to be alert of those behind me," Frost grumbled, slowly pushing himself up, wincing in pain. I lashed out one of my vines at Diablos, but he dove aside easily, releasing a blast of electricity in a wave, but I had expected the attempt and focused, my body glowing briefly before the room was filled with dazzling sunlight, a strange green barrier forming around me, the Thunder Wave dissipating as it hit the barrier. "What the hell was that?" Frost asked, surprised.

"Leaf Guard. My photosynthesis gets kicked up a notch and makes a barrier against certain techniques," I explained and Frost nodded, visibly impressed.

"Sorry, but you'll have to do better than that if you want to defeat me," Diablos said dismissively, his yellow eyes glinting as he stared at me. "Or maybe that's all you've got. You'll never earn respect if you fight like that. You've beaten Jolt before...this should be easy work for you," he sneered.

"Shut up!" I growled and Jolt chuckled.

"You're right. I'll just kill you," he said and the Jolteon moved in a blur of motion, tackling me, his fur quills needle like, the quills ramming into my chest, piercing deep into my flesh, more blood staining my tan fur. I barely had any time to react before my body surged with electricity and my heart rate picked up dramatically, my chest throbbing with pain with each beat. Jolt laughed, staring into my eyes as I struggled to remain conscious, my vision beginning to blur. Then it all went away, the throbs of pain continued, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before.

"Leaf, use Synthesis!" Shadow ordered, his tone commanding. I focused, feeling my wounds healing rapidly, thanks to the existence of the Sunny Day technique I had used to counter Diablos' Thunder Wave. I twitched, my body still surging with agony, but the pain was slowly lessening. I looked up and saw Shadow and Jolt fighting, the Jolteon backing away slowly, but the Espeon's strategy seemed to revolve around teleporting out of the way of each attack and striking as soon as he reappeared. The strategy was foiled by barriers of light that rapidly formed to block each attack, but I knew that Diablos wouldn't be able to keep up the perpetual shield.

"You okay, Leaf?" Frost asked me and I glanced over at him, spotting an unconscious Machamp next to the Dusclops. It looked like it was Shadow's handiwork, but I'm sure the Glaceon had contributed something to the defeat.

"I guess so..." I said uncertainly.

"Hurry," Frost said, leading Aura and I from that part of the corridor. "Psycho can deal with that himself, we should cut off the other invaders before they do too much damage." As if on cue, we heard a loud explosion from a nearby room and changed direction towards it. We entered the room from a large hole in the wall and spotted a long snake-like Pokemon with vicious looking fangs. It turned to us when we entered and grinned wickedly.

"Excellent. Remember me, Vaporeon? I am Venom," the Gyarados hissed to Aura, who nodded, looking a bit anxious. Despite the intimidating figure of the Gyarados, I felt a surge of confidence as the three of us separated, watching the Gyarados carefully. "Three on one? I'm up for that," Venom hissed quietly.

"You'll be a suitable warmup for your Tyranitar friend," Frost said confidently. The Gyarados scowled in annoyance.

"Then let's go!" Venom sneered.


	173. Eon Duel with Venom

I watched the Gyarados carefully, my body preparing to dodge any attacks that might come my way. Frost was already displaying his (over)confidence by grooming his fur idly, not even looking at the large serpent, and Aura was tense and alert. Venom narrowed his eyes at each of us in turn, his face an eternal scowl. He suddenly lunged, snapping his vicious jaws at me, but I dove aside, releasing a flurry of Razor Leaves at the serpent, but most bounced off his scales with little to no effect. The Gyarados swung his tail, striking me and hurling me backwards. Frost responded to this attack with a beam of white energy, but the draconic serpent countered with a burst of flame, surprising me. Since when did Gyarados know Flamethrower?

"Be careful," Aura warned, just as Venom swiped his tail, narrowly missing my head. Frost leapt over the large tail, releasing a flurry of Ice Shards, but they shattered against the Gyarados' scales, prompting Frost to frown in slight irritation.

"What's wrong? Can't take me down?" Venom mocked, releasing a powerful jet of water from his mouth, the water bowling Frost over.

"Error, slow in countering," Frost muttered, shivering as he stood, blowing snow flecked wind over his fur, freezing the water upon it. Venom spat another jet of water, but this time Frost's fur glistened, the water rebounding upon the giant snake Pokémon, but Venom ducked his head, the water splashing onto the ground, soaking the floor, water slowly spreading through the room, but it wasn't deep enough to cause more than wet feet. Aura fired her own jet of water at Venom, who brushed it off as if it was nothing.

"You'd never have a chance against Fiend, Glaceon. You're no match for me!" Venom mocked, snapping his jaws at the ice Eon, but Frost rolled to the side, the teeth missing his body by an inch. Venom immediately flicked his tail, sending Frost sprawling to the ground. Venom chuckled and bit down at Frost, but I lashed out a vine, catching Frost's leg and pulling him out of the way, the Gyarados slamming his jaws into the tiled floor, shattering several of the tiles apart. Frost stared at me in slight awe, but got to his feet dismissively, almost as if he hadn't been about to get ripped apart mere seconds ago. I hadn't expected him to thank me, so I wasn't surprised.

"Come on, we have to work together to beat him," I urged, dodging a jet of water and slammed my glowing tail into the Gyarados' tail, but he shrugged it off, biting at me viciously. Aura spat her own jet of water into Venom's face, but he chuckled indifferently, swinging his tail and throwing her backwards, lunging at her, snapping his teeth upon part of her leg, blood gushing from the wound, but other than a deep gash, she was relatively unharmed. Frost focused, his body glowing briefly as Venom laughed at the Vaporeon's misfortune, but he was distracted from killing her by me head butting him.

Admittedly, that wasn't my smartest moments as the impact did nothing to him, but gave me a decent headache. Venom laughed mockingly, biting his teeth at me, but Frost forced him to abandon the attack by leaping beside me and forming a hail storm around us both. Being within a hail storm when you're sensitive to temperature changes was one of the most unpleasant sensations in the world, but still better than being bitten by fangs as long as I was wide that existed in a mouth that could probably bite me in half with no difficulty. Thankfully, Frost settled the storm as soon as Venom recoiled from the hail barrage. At that moment, a golden orb descended upon Aura, healing her injury. I guess Frost had used Wish on her, which was a bit of a surprise to me. He rarely ever uses healing techniques on anyone else, excluding when Darkness threatened him.

"Good trick, Glaceon. Here's one for you," Venom sneered, spitting a burst of fire, but Frost reacted immediately, forming a blue orb in his mouth which rapidly extended into a beam of water, neutralizing the fire, but Venom seemed prepared for this, his fangs suddenly charged with electricity and he bit down upon Frost's Water Pulse, the electricity flowing down the water stream and into the Glaceon's mouth. Frost let out a horrified shout, stumbling backwards in obvious agony.

"Here's one of my tricks!" Aura said, a pulse of energy appearing around her, forming a spiraled ring around her body. With that, the Vaporeon lunged forward, slamming her body into the Gyarados, who laughed off the attack, flicking his body violently, knocking the Vaporeon off him and biting her again, Aura cried out, but the wounds were already healing. Venom chuckled, his fangs becoming engulfed in electricity and he darted at her, trying to bite his charged teeth into her, but I lashed out a vine, wrapping it around his neck and tugging, stopping his lunge less than an inch from her body. Venom growled angrily, twisting his neck, the vine snapping with absurd ease, but he focused on me, spitting a powerful flame towards me.

"Damn," I cursed, my body freezing up in fear as the fire approached, but the flames were intercepted by a jet of water from the Vaporeon. Frost took the moment's distraction to strike the draconic serpent with an Ice Beam, but Venom seemed to shake it off, using a Flamethrower to heat up the chilled area of his tail.

"We're not getting anywhere with this," Frost grumbled, spitting a Shadow Ball, but Venom batted it aside with his tail, destroying a small portion of the door frame as the ghostly projectile exploded.

"Don't you have something to deal with this?" I asked hopefully.

"All my ice moves he counters with fire, my Water Pulse he counters with Thunder Fang, my Shadow Ball is ineffective, and my Hidden Power element is Fighting, which isn't very useful against a Gyarados," Frost explained irritably. I wondered briefly how hard it was for him to admit that Venom was an opponent that would require more effort than he expected.

"His defenses are too strong for my Razor Leaf and Leaf Blade," I said, ducking a powerful jet of water, although I was still hit by a splash of water, although it didn't do much to me other than briefly make me lose my balance.

"And my ice and water moves aren't going to do much," Aura muttered unhappily, her wounds healing steadily. I wanted to tell her that she was doing fine, but Venom lunged at me, forcing me to focus more on staying alive than making the Vaporeon feel better. I released a flurry of Razor Leaves, but they bounced off the powerful scales, while the Gyarados chuckled triumphantly. I growled in frustration. Despite all my training, I still couldn't defeat the Gyarados. Maybe I just wasn't as good as I thought I was. How did anyone think I had the potential to become the strongest of our group if I couldn't even dent a Gyarados? No one else could, either, not even Frost, but I'm sure Shadow would crush this serpent with almost no trouble.

"That's it...you two use Hidden Power!" Frost said suddenly. Aura and I hesitated.

"I don't know what element I have," I said, slapping the Gyarados with a vine, but the serpent bit down on the vine, biting it apart with almost no effort, ducking a jet of water from the Vaporeon, using a burst of flame to counter Frost's Ice Beam.

"Neither do I," Aura admitted, using her own Ice Beam to try to help out, but Venom batted her aside with his tail, grinning wickedly as he moved in for the kill. I focused on the hidden energy within me, feeling the warmth of the orbs as they circled my body, focusing on them attacking the Gyarados, my eyes shut tight to improve my focus.

"Argh! What the...?" Venom snarled and I opened my eyes, spotting the last of the orbs strike the water serpent, who visibly twitched.

"I have no idea what element that was," Frost admitted, but grinned briefly. "But it hurt him, so it's not bad."

"You still don't have a chance!" Venom snapped, slamming his tail down upon me, the shockwave of the tail hitting the ground sending me tumbling backwards. I couldn't really complain, since the attack itself missed me. Aura recovered from her previous spill and focused, orbs forming around her body and firing towards Venom, the orbs striking him. Venom let out a startled shout, a yell that was more pained than it was for mine, and his eyes showed intense rage. "You'll die, Vaporeon!" he snarled, slamming his tail at her, sending her sprawling to the ground weakly. Without hesitating, the Gyarados bit down on her body, tearing some of her flesh. I gagged, looking away, afraid to turn around again, trying to block out Aura's scream of agony. Frost focused, his body glowing brightly and I knew he was using Wish.

"No..." I whispered, afraid that Aura had died too. If she died, I don't think I'd ever forgive myself. Why could I never seem to save those who were nicest to me? I forced myself to look, wincing when I saw how bad the wounds were, but they were already beginning to heal, thanks to the weird spiral of energy around her, but Venom's sinister laughter infuriated me. I growled with anger and lunged at the serpent, my tail glowing a vibrant green as I spun around, slashing him across the neck with the tail. To my slight surprise, the tail cut through the scaly defense and a small trickle of blood seeped from the wound, the Gyarados making a choking sound, although he was still more than capable of continuing the fight.

"You'll die!" Venom snarled, coiling his tail around me and constricting, cutting off my air. I gasped for breath, trying to break free from his coils, but the Gyarados' grip slowly tightened, forcing the air from my lungs, my body practically screaming in pain as I desperately prayed that my bones wouldn't break. Frost's attempts to fight the Gyarados were in vain, as the water serpent shrugged off everything the Glaceon tried to throw at him. "Farewell, Leafeon!" Venom sneered as my vision slowly began to fade to black.

"No..." I moaned, but then I heard a strange shriek and I felt my body slip from the Gyarados' grasp, my body striking the tiled floor limply. I panted for breath, looking around desperately. I could barely see anything, although my vision was clearing little by little.

"You alright?" an unfamiliar female voice inquired gently. I nodded, still gasping for air, although the pain in my lungs was starting to subside as I gulped in oxygen. My vision cleared at last and I saw a young female Glaceon, young even by my standards. She couldn't be more than a year, give or take a few months. I wasn't that good at predicting age.

"Who? What?" I panted, feeling extremely confused. I looked around hastily and saw the Gyarados snarl some sort of threat, smashing his tail through the opposite wall and slither out of the room. Frost was looking dumbfounded and Aura was suddenly engulfed by the bright light of Frost's Wish, her wound healing rapidly. I let out a small sigh of relief, but stared at the Glaceon uncertainly.

"Who the hell are you?" Frost demanded to a young Flareon, who looked about the same age as the Glaceon.

"You must be Frost," the Flareon said, not even bothering to answer the question. The Glaceon looked up in alarm.

"You're Frost?" she asked. The male Glaceon looked confused.

"Yes...now who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"You remember Blizzard?" the female Glaceon asked.

"I might. Who cares?" Frost challenged evasively. Actually, he seemed truly uncomfortable for some reason. "Who the hell are you?" the male Glaceon demanded for the third time.

"Don't talk to her like that," the Flareon snapped, stepping closer to the female Glaceon and blowing a very gentle stream of fire onto her neck. She shivered and giggled, blowing an equally harmless Icy Wind onto the Flareon's neck. He shivered, making a slight purring sound and then they cuddled up to each other. Aura, Frost, and I stared at them strangely, as neither seemed too keen on breaking apart any time soon.

"I'm guessing they're mates," Frost said unnecessarily.

"If they start playing with each other's tails, I'm gone," Aura said seriously. I nodded in agreement. But seriously, who were they?

"Erm...excuse me?" I began tentatively. The two Eons glanced at me. "Thanks for the help...but who are you?" I asked uncomfortably. Frost and Aura both nodded in agreement, the male Glaceon looking a bit aggravated.

"My name is Glacia," the Glaceon said with a cute smile.

"I'm Vice," the Flareon said, licking the Glaceon's ear, prompting a slight purr from the female. Cue strange look from me. There was practically a war going on in the building. Did they have to do that now?


	174. Zangoose War

**Dragonair POV**

"You know what I find funny? That Ember's the one who said something that got us into a fight," I said, smirking slightly. "Usually I'm the one who does that."

"Shut up, Dragonair," the Charmander growled, her attention on the group of Zangoose that were slowly approaching, their vicious claws bared to strike. Ember's claws glowed with a purple aura, her eyes narrowed at the closest Zangoose. "I didn't do it on purpose, unlike you," she said, slamming her claws into the Zangoose's chest, catching it by surprise. It made a screeching sound and swiped at her, but she ducked, the claws passing over her head.

Blaze and Crystal were watching the nearest Zangoose to them, the female Flareon growling slightly and Blaze was looking anxious. The Seviper had assumed an offensive position, her tail poised to strike, her red eyes narrowed hatefully at the small group of clawed Pokémon approaching her. Sapphire coiled her body protectively around Spark, leaving me to defend them both if any would be so foolish as to try to attack either of them.

As if by some invisible signal, many of the Pokémon lunged forward. No less than 4 Zangoose surrounded Vipera, but she repelled them with her bladed tail, which glowed a dull purple as she struck, sending the Zangoose backwards with surprising force. Ember bit into one of the Zangoose's tails and it let out a screech, jabbing at her with its claws, but Ember blocked the blow with her own claws, using her free paw to slash the Zangoose across the chest, drawing a great deal of blood from the wound. The wounded Pokémon collapsed and Ember rolled to the side to avoid a new Zangoose attacking her.

Crystal was trying to hold off about three Zangoose at once with her Flamethrower, but they kept dodging the streams of fire, moving quickly. One of them nearly hit her, but she sidestepped and snapped her teeth over the offender's arm. Blaze used his own Flamethrower to keep more from joining the fight, but they were too fast for him to aim properly. I floated over their heads, sending down Thunderbolts on some of the unsuspecting Zangoose, but the single shock didn't seem strong enough to make them quit and they would just get back up.

I noticed that the leader of the Zangoose was standing further back, not directly joining in the battle, so either he wasn't that good, or he just didn't want to fight. Considering the little knowledge I had of Zangoose, I was more willing to believe the first part. I twisted my body out of the way as one Zangoose leapt up at me, swiping at me fiercely, and I hastened to blast him with a Flamethrower while it was descending, causing it to collapse weakly, its fur singed. I turned in time to send a Thunder Wave to paralyze another of the Pokémon before it could sneak up on Ember, who smiled gratefully at me.

"You alright, Sapphire?" I asked, glancing at the female Dragonair. She nodded, her eyes alert and checking for any possible sneak attacks on her, as well as the dangers around her, though she was thankfully more off to the side. Spark was whimpering anxiously, covering his eyes with his paws.

"Damn it," Ember growled, just as her opponent lashed out a foot, kicking her to the ground and jabbing at her chest. She blocked the blow, grunting slightly with the effort, but smirked briefly as she flicked her tail, the burning tip landing on the Zangoose's foot. At first it didn't notice its fur burning, but it yelped a moment later, leaping back from the Charmander. Ember hurried back to her feet and stabbed the Zangoose with her claws, scowling slightly, even as the Zangoose collapsed weakly. "I hate doing that," she muttered.

"That's the cost of mastering claw combat," I pointed out. "Watch it," I warned as another Zangoose moved towards her, Ember crouching to avoid the first hit, but the Zangoose kicked, striking her in the face, a small amount of blood trickling from her nose as she hit the ground, groaning slightly. I retaliated with an Ice Beam, but the opponent dodged, bringing its claws down upon Ember, but my distraction had given her enough time to get out of the way.

I glanced back at Blaze and Crystal's progress. One of their opponents had been defeated, its fur severely burned, but Blaze had a fresh scratch on one of his legs and Crystal was growling with frustration, snapping her teeth threatening at the nearest Zangoose. One of them suddenly leapt forward, swiping its claws across Crystal's face, sending the female Flareon sprawling backwards. Blaze growled angrily, and spat a Flamethrower towards the offending Zangoose, but it dodged nimbly, pointing at Crystal mockingly, the female Flareon wincing as she got back up.

"Smart move," I commented sarcastically as Blaze stiffened, his previous nervousness fading. He glared at the Zangoose coldly and he growled aggressively, startling the three Zangoose that were still fighting him.

"You'll regret that," Blaze said in a harsh tone, the forcefulness and coldness of his words causing me to shiver slightly. Ember glanced at Blaze strangely, undoubtedly also remembering this mood, although I thought it had ended a while ago. Then again, Ember still had her feral mood swing on very rare occasions, so maybe it would never truly be gone. Just like that creepy yellow eye never seemed to disappear.

"Kill him," the leader Zangoose ordered. Blaze smirked slightly and spat a small fireball, which expanded into the now familiar shape of Fire Blast, shocking a previously unafraid Zangoose, which desperately tried to evade, but was a moment slow. Its screech of pain made everyone in the vicinity wince, except for Vipera, who grinned and bit one of the distracted Zangoose still fighting her, sending her fangs into its throat and killing it almost instantly.

"That was fun to watch," I said sarcastically.

"Not really," Ember said, slashing her claws into her last opponent. She must really not be able to tell when I'm sarcastic. Blaze ignored my comment and lunged at the nearest Zangoose, biting into its arm viciously, his teeth blazing with fire, scorching the Zangoose's flesh and fur. It screeched in agony and Crystal blinked at Blaze in surprise.

"You're next," Blaze said harshly to the third Zangoose, but it was unintimidated. It also wasn't very smart, as it lunged forward blindly, giving Blaze the opportunity to incinerate it with a Fire Blast. I gazed around, double checking to ensure there weren't any other Zangoose running around and ready to try to kill us. Vipera hissed in pain as her last opponent cut into her coils deeply, but she flipped it off her and finished it off with a bite to the throat.

"Hm, I underestimated you," the leader Zangoose said, scowling with irritation.

"Going to fight us now, coward?" I asked with a small sneer. The Zangoose growled angrily.

"Don't underestimate me, snake," he snapped. "I'll kill the Seviper first..." he said, turning to Vipera, but Blaze stepped forward, growling threateningly. "Or maybe the Flareon," the Zangoose corrected, moving forward quickly and kicking the male Flareon in the face, sending him skidding backwards. The Zangoose leapt into the air, descending with his foot slamming down, but Blaze rolled to the side, the Zangoose grunting in pain as his attack hit the ground. Blaze retaliated with a Fire Fang attack, but his bite was blocked by the Zangoose's paw, the opponent striking Blaze with his free paw, forcing him to lose his grip and tumble backwards.

"Ouch," Ember commented, watching the Zangoose carefully, flexing her claws, but I tapped her shoulder with my tail, shaking my head when she glanced at me questioningly.

"Is that all?" Blaze snarled, getting back to his feet. Crystal glanced at him with an odd expression on her face. I stared at the female Flareon, before glancing at Ember.

"Er...is she drooling?" I asked in a low whisper.

"Almost," the Charmander whispered back. Our conversation was cut short by a sudden blast of electricity being fired from the Zangoose's paw, but Blaze took the shock with barely more than a flinch, his expression still mostly impassive, although there was still anger in his eyes.

"Zangoose can use electric attacks?" Ember gasped.

"Not all, just a few," I corrected. "They have a surprisingly diverse move pool, from what I hear."

"Is that all? Hardly," the Zangoose said, looking a bit wary of the male Flareon, but he formed an orb of water in his paws and the orb extended into a beam, but Blaze grinned, countering with the small fireball, which expanded into the Fire Blast, the flames so hot that the water evaporated into steam upon contacting with the fire and the Zangoose narrowly leapt out of the way of the attack, gazing at Blaze in alarm. Vipera darted at the leader, but he blocked her strike and slammed her head to the ground, dazing her.

"Should we help out?" Ember asked uncertainly, but I shook my head again.

"Blaze can probably handle it. And if not, that's probably because he's Blaze," I said indifferently. The male Flareon shot me an aggravated glare, but returned his focus (wow, he can focus) to the Zangoose, moving towards it in a blur of motion and biting into the Pokémon's shoulder, but he was almost immediately thrown to the ground. Crystal growled slightly, but Blaze rolled back to his feet without missing a beat. I was starting to get impressed, so I turned my attention to Sapphire and Spark, the latter of which was still hiding his face. Sapphire was petting the Pichu kit's head gently with her tail, trying to keep him calm.

"Crystal's acting weird again," Ember muttered from beside me and I glanced at the female Flareon, whose breathing pace had increased slightly. "What does she find so appealing when he acts like this?"

"I'm not sure I want to know," I said flatly. Blaze dodged a Water Pulse and vanished from sight for a moment, reappearing on the Zangoose's other side, biting into him fiercely. The Zangoose screeched, but used his free paw to pummel the male Flareon in the face, sending him to the ground yet again, but Blaze growled slightly, pushing himself up much slower than before. The Zangoose lashed out a foot, sending Blaze forcefully backwards.

"Stay back!" Blaze snarled to Crystal, who had made to move forward and she blinked before obliging. The male Flareon got up, watching the startled Zangoose closely. There was a tense silence, which Vipera broke by trying to strike the leader Zangoose with her tail, but he dodged nimbly, retaliating with a blast of electricity. Blaze spat another Fire Blast and the Zangoose hastily dodged, his confidence rapidly fading.

"This isn't the end," he spat, and then turned and fled in a completely non-dramatic fashion. There was a puzzled silence.

"Coward," I muttered, leading the group from the site of the battle. Spark was sitting on Ember's tail, to her immense irritation. Then again, I fully expected Ember to start getting annoyed at random intervals. Or sulk, which was her usual behavior around this time of year. And she's still clueless to why she doesn't have a mate (It might have something to do with sulking when every other female of her specie is overly excited).

Blaze seemed much calmer now that the battle had ended, and was acting a bit more...normal just doesn't seem to do this description justice, considering it's Blaze, but I guess more Blaze-ish. I will never use that word again. I glanced back, just in time to see Crystal tackle Blaze in an oddly playful manner. Blaze blinked, a bit confused. "Um...hi?" he asked weakly. She replied with a playful growl and hopped off him, watching him carefully, her tail flicking regularly. Blaze just stared blankly as he climbed back to his feet.

"Not going to ask," Vipera said, slithering past me. Sapphire tilted her head at the female Flareon thoughtfully. Crystal seemed to lose patience and tackled Blaze again, growling playfully again; although this time she also gave him an affectionate, but playful nip on the ear.

"I'm going with the snake," Ember muttered, following Vipera, Spark yawning slightly. Sapphire and I exchanged looks.

"Um...I'm not at all sure what to do about this scenario," I admitted finally.

"It appears to just be playful affection," Sapphire said, kissing my cheek. I felt my face grow warm, but made no comment. "Come, let's let them be," the female Dragonair said, turning and floating after the rest of the group. I followed shortly afterwards, meeting the rest of the group at a small stream.

"Do they know where we are?" Ember asked.

"I told them," I assured her. "Crystal's response was 'okay' and Blaze glared at me."

"Uh huh...and you only told them where we were?" Ember asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And 'Have fun. We'll see you later'," I said dismissively. "Did you hear something?"

"What did it sound like?" Ember asked suspiciously.

"Like music," I replied, glancing around, listening carefully. Just then, a pink ball like creature with ears and small limbs walked into the area, waving to us cheerfully. Spark waved back enthusiastically. The Jigglypuff smiled and took a small drink of water.

"Hi pink fluffy thing!" Spark said, hugging the Jigglypuff, which blinked its large eyes at him.

"I thought Blaze was 'fluffy thing'," I pointed out. The Jigglypuff smiled oddly and suddenly began to sing soothingly. Instantly, Spark cuddled with the Jigglypuff and fell asleep. Ember yawned and curled up. I blinked in alarm, just as Sapphire coiled up and also fell asleep. The Seviper followed suit, leaving me as the only one awake, although I was rapidly feeling myself tire. "Stop!" I ordered wearily, but the Jigglypuff's strange grin widened as I felt the darkness of sleep overcoming me.


	175. Unusual Activity

**Leaf POV. Yay, earlier update than originally planned.**

"Here's a new question for you two. How did you get in here?" Frost demanded impatiently, glaring at the Flareon and female Glaceon.

"Door was open," the female Glaceon replied, giggling quietly as she blew another small Icy Wind on the Flareon's neck and he shivered again, grinning happily and cuddling with her again. I shifted my weight awkwardly and Aura calmly gazed around the room, pointedly looking away from the two younger Eons.

"I see. And you randomly chose to just walk inside a building simply because the door was open?" Frost asked with a sneer.

"Don't talk to her like that!" the Flareon growled, spitting a strong stream of fire at the male Glaceon, but Frost countered with his Water Pulse, neutralizing the fire. The female Glaceon hastily fired an Ice Beam from her mouth, freezing the water solid, allowing the Flareon to melt it with his fire. And yet somehow it still ended up with the Flareon wet, but he dried his fur with another stream of fire.

"That was...odd," Aura commented.

"Until you have the firepower to back up your aggression, I advise you don't start a fight with me, Flareon," Frost sneered, his tail flicking arrogantly.

"I took out the Gyarados for you," the Flareon muttered.

"Yes, congratulations," Frost said flatly, unimpressed.

"Thank you," I said quickly. The Flareon smiled briefly at me, but then turned to exit through the hole in the wall. "Where are you going?" I called.

"Who cares?" Frost sneered, ignoring the female Glaceon's growl. "Be silent, Glaceon. You have nothing on me, either."

"Let's go, Glacia," the Flareon said, glaring briefly at the Frost. The female Glaceon followed, shooting Frost an annoyed glance, which Frost replied to with a smug smirk.

"Hang on," I called, following the two younger Eons, noting that Frost was exiting the room from the other end of the room, Aura following him.

"Yes?" the Flareon asked, glancing at me.

"What was your name again?" I asked.

"Vice," the fire type said simply. "And yours?"

"I'm Leaf," I said.

"Ah right, I've heard of you," Vice said thoughtfully, still walking with the Glaceon right next to him.

"You have?" I blinked, tilting my head at him uncertainly. "I've never heard of either of you two and my group does a lot of information searching."

"Nice to meet you," Vice said. "You seem nicer than Frost, anyway," he said, with a slight growl in his voice when he said Frost's name.

"Uh...thanks," I said, feeling my face grow warm. "So...um...why are you here?"

"Does it bother you?" Glacia asked uncertainly.

"Well, there's a big fight going on in here now, so I'm just sort of confused," I explained, gesturing a paw at the nearby traces of destruction, probably caused by the retreating Gyarados.

"I have a reason for showing up. Where's Jolt?" Vice asked, turning towards me. I winced slightly. "Is he alright?" the Flareon asked, looking concerned.

"I don't know. He's...not himself," I said, shifting my gaze. I had last seen Shadow fighting Jolt, and all things considering, I wasn't sure if Jolt was still alive anymore.

"Possessed?" Vice asked and I nodded uncertainly, although I tried to appear confident, with some success. The whole scenario had shaken my usual confidence in battle, especially with Diablos possessing Jolt. What if I needed to fight Jolt again? I hated the prospect of having to hurt someone I was so close to, but I would hate it more to feel nothing at the thought of hurting him. "What about his mate? Kira, right?"

"She's..." I began, but faltered, shaking my head, hoping that they understood what I was trying to say. The Glaceon made a sad whining sound and cuddled with the Flareon, who licked her comfortingly.

"Oh. I see," Vice said finally, a slight scowl appearing on his face, although he still nuzzled the Glaceon gently. "When did it happen?" he asked, turning his gaze back onto me.

"Not that long ago," I mumbled. It was maybe twenty minutes ago, maybe more. I wasn't really keeping track of time, what with the fighting and running going on.

"Where?" Vice pressed. I winced, but gestured in the direction of the training room, although I knew they didn't know where I was referring to. I just hoped they didn't want me to show them the location, because not only was Volt and Darkness probably fighting in that room, but I didn't want to go back to the room. It was bad enough seeing Kira die.

"We're not going there," Glacia said seriously.

"Probably for the best you don't," an unfamiliar female voice said, but neither of the other Eons seemed surprised.

"Why's that, Gel?" Glacia asked, turning towards the voice and I saw a strange floating Pokémon with some sort of cloak like body, its arms slightly fin like. On top of its head were two ice crystals and its eyes were visible through strange eyeholes, giving the face an almost mask like appearance. I just stared at it uncertainly, not sure what it was, but it wasn't acting like a threat.

"There's a fight going on," the Pokémon replied in an overly sweet tone, but the voice was definitely female. "Between Volt and the female Umbreon."

"Big surprise," Vice muttered. "Who's winning?" he asked.

"Excuse me, but...who and what are you?" I asked, this time managing to sound confident.

"Hello, Leaf. My name is Gelid, a Froslass, and it's nice to meet you," the female Pokémon said sweetly. "You're very cute for a Leafeon, by the way."

"Uh...nice to meet you, too," I said, feeling my face flush slightly. I wasn't aware that so many people knew me. Of course, her comment also removed much of my confidence. Maybe Jolt wasn't that far off by saying I was anxious around females. "Um...what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Thought I'd give your side a bit of support. That's why Vice and Glacia are here, after all," Gelid told me sweetly. "After all, Diablos has Nightmare, Lera, Doom, Chaos, Tarot, Ninje, Soul, himself, Venom, Machamp, Fiend, Volt, and Bane," Gelid listed.

"Actually, I've been ordered to stay out of this fight entirely," Bane corrected maliciously as he appeared beside the Froslass. "He's pulling out the stops this time. Oh...hey Leaf," the Banette said, noticing my presence for the first time.

"Whose side are you on?" I growled, preparing to attack.

"Relax, Leaf. I'm off duty, so even if I was purely on the master's side, I wouldn't have a reason to fight you. Trust me, we suck up every minute of off time," Bane explained maliciously.

_"Volt's really ticked, by the way,"_ Nightmare said as he and the Haunter from earlier appeared next to Bane.

"Um...not that I'm complaining, but why aren't you attacking me?" I asked, glancing at the ghosts uncertainly.

_"Oh, Leaf's here,"_ Nightmare said, glancing at the Haunter, who rolled her eyes.

"Here's our excuse," the Haunter said, gently pushing me so I was standing very close to the younger Eons. "There, no problems now," she said.

"Huh?" I blinked in confusion. "How does that eliminate the problems?" I asked, puzzled, glancing between the ghosts and the younger Eons.

"Why are you complaining?" Tarot inquired as he appeared among the small group as well.

"I'm just confused," I said seriously. "Why are you all over here, anyway?" I asked, my sense of uncertainty increasing.

"Trying to track down the members of our group. Do you have any idea how large this base is?" the Haunter replied, one of her hands stroking the Gastly's gaseous form. "So we know where Haou, Volt, Bane, Nightmare, me, Tarot, and Doom are. Chaos is probably in the computer system. That leaves Ninje and Soul, plus those three new recruits," she recited.

"We know where Machamp is, Fiend's fighting Frost and that Vaporeon, and Venom joined the battle with the master," Bane corrected.

"Can you go away? You're bothering Glacia," Vice asked, cuddling with the Glaceon, who was watching the ghosts uncomfortably, snuggling very close to the Flareon. The ghosts exchanged looks for a moment, but the Haunter bobbed her body and they all faded out, except for the Froslass.

"Thanks Vice," Glacia whispered in the Flareon's ear and he nodded, wrapping his tail around her gently. She purred quietly and seemed to cuddle even closer to him. And this whole time I'm just staring at them in confusion.

"Um...so why did you bring them here?" I asked the Froslass, tearing my gaze away from the affectionate Eons.

"To give your group a bit of support," she explained sweetly. "They already saved you from that Gyarados," she pointed out.

"I guess we are a bit outnumbered, especially with Jolt being possessed," I said thoughtfully, gazing down the hallway. "Where should be go?"

"This way," Gelid said, floating in the opposite direction we had been traveling before, the Eons breaking apart to follow her, with me taking the rear of the group. We walked in silence and a feeling of apprehension began to creep into me, but I remained alert, pushing the nervousness away. I had been in worse situations and gotten through them. I could do the same here.

"Gelid, Gelid, Gelid...I should have known you were a traitor," Jolt's voice sneered and I flinched, whirling around to see the yellow eyed Jolteon step out from a doorway. The Froslass seemed a bit surprised by his appearance, but recovered quickly.

"For me to be a traitor, I'd have had to be on your side," Gelid replied sweetly.

"You are a ghost, so you serving my foes is an act of betrayal," Diablos snarled.

"There you are, Haou," Volt said coldly, stepping into view from the corridor leading from the training room. He bore several minor injuries, but otherwise seemed unharmed. I moved away from the Umbreon slightly, watching him nervously.

"Hiya boss!" a bright and cheerful voice said and the Rotom appeared, smiling happily. "Volt's mad at you," he added in a bright whisper. The yellow eyed Jolteon raised an eyebrow, turning towards Volt.

"You broke our deal, Haou. I told you to leave Kira out of this!" Volt snarled.

"What's your point?" Diablos inquired coldly.

"I don't think killing her when she's unconscious is the same as leaving her out of this, is it?" Volt snapped, the last two words demanded in a forceful tone.

"Is that what you believe I did?" Diablos asked softly.

"Cut the crap, Haou!" Volt snarled.

"Fine, so I killed her. Why do you care?" Diablos sneered, but then chuckled. "Let me guess…your little white furred…"

"Utter another syllable and I'll defect," Volt warned. Diablos' yellow eyes narrowed.

"You want to be a traitor?" he whispered.

"Not at all. But consider this your last warning, Haou," Volt snarled.

"What makes you think you can threaten me?" Diablos whispered menacingly. Volt smirked sadistically.

"Remember, those who cross me will pay. You're no exception," Volt hissed. "Now let's continue our work, shall we?" he turned towards the small group and paused thoughtfully, glancing at the Jolteon with a raised eyebrow. "And what were you up to here?"

"Gelid is a traitor," Diablos said, forming a Shadow Ball in his mouth and launching it at the Froslass, but she faded out, the orb missing.

"Not aligned with you in the first place," Gelid reminded him. Diablos formed another Shadow Ball, but was suddenly psychically hurled into the wall with surprising force, the Jolteon slumping to the ground.

"You will not escape, Diablos," Shadow said coldly. Volt grinned and stepped forward.

"I'll take you, Psycho," the Umbreon suggested.

"This does not concern you, Umbreon," Shadow said monotonously.

"The only one who can attack my brother is me, Espeon," Volt insisted, with a threatening note to his voice.

"Watch me," Shadow said emotionlessly. He suddenly teleported, just as a burst of fire from the Flareon nearly hit him. He reappeared a few feet from where he had been standing a moment ago.

"Shadow, don't!" I pleaded. The black furred Espeon glanced at me indifferently, and his eyes narrowed at the Flareon.

"Leave Jolt alone!" Vice said firmly.

"You think you can order me around, Flareon?" Shadow sneered, his eyes glowing. I expected him to fling the Flareon across the room or something, but he suddenly stopped, his eyes showing momentary fear as the glowing stopped. Jolt groaned slightly and his eyes opened, no longer yellow in color.

"Jolt?" I asked tentatively. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Diablos left his body," Shadow said, scowling in annoyance. "But he's not finished here, that much I know," he added, and then vanished in a small flash of light.

"No…Kira…" Jolt whimpered, almost as if he was having a bad dream, except that he was awake. He raised his head, staring around in a panic. "Leaf…please tell me…is…is Kira…?" he trailed off, noticing Volt's presence.

"I'm sorry, Jolt. I truly am," Volt said quietly, averting his gaze. This was a new emotion for the Umbreon, but it didn't last long. Without another word, the Umbreon walked off, with only a brief glance towards the younger Eons.

"Not a dream, then. Damn it…this…this can't be…" Jolt muttered, desperately trying to deny what had happened. "Who the hell are you?" he suddenly demanded, noticing Vice and Glacia.

"I'm Vice and this is Glacia," the Flareon said quickly, giving the Jolteon a comforting hug, to Jolt's confusion. "Is there anything that can be done, Gel?" the fire Eon asked, but the Froslass shrugged.

"Diablos probably absorbed her life force. Only he can resurrect her," she said.

"Jolt…" I began, but my throat closed up. I wanted to tell him everything would be alright, but I couldn't. I could never hope to understand the pain he was going through. Yet I wanted to understand. "You…can talk to me if it'll help. But we need to drive Diablos out of here," I said, fighting back tears.

"Thanks, Leaf," Jolt whispered softly.


	176. Capture

**Ember POV**

My eyes opened and I found myself staring at a rock floor, like the ground you would find in a cave or something. This was the second time in a short span of time that I had awakened and had no idea where I was. On the bright side, there was no headache attached. I raised my head and pushed myself into a sitting position, glancing back at my tail to make sure the flame hadn't gone out or anything like that. I glanced around, trying to get an idea of where I was. The first thing I noticed was that there were metal bars trapping me in a fairly large space. That's a great place to start assuming I'm not in a good situation.

I glanced to the side and spotted Dragonair, also asleep and separated from me by bars. On my other side was the Seviper, and then Sapphire. Blaze and Crystal weren't here, and Spark was nowhere to be seen. Okay, now that I knew where some of them were, where were we?

"One of them is awake," a voice said suddenly and I flinched, baring my claws before I remembered that there were still bars and the speaker wasn't within claw reach.

"Good," a second voice said and two Pokémon stepped into view, examining me carefully. I spat a fireball at them, but they quickly moved out of the line of fire. One of them was a small green canine with a stripe of yellow across its face. The other was a Vibrava, although I couldn't tell if it was the same one encountered earlier.

"What the hell?" Dragonair grumbled and I glanced towards him, surprised that he was already awake. On my other side, Sapphire was also stirring, but she also seemed a bit more concerned about the situation.

"What's going on? Where are we?" she asked, a small note of panic in her voice.

"Sapphire, calm down," Dragonair called, wincing slightly and glaring at the two Pokémon in view. "Who the hell are you?"

"Electrike," the canine said.

"Name, not specie," Dragonair snapped in reply.

"I don't have a name. I'm known as Electrike," the canine said, growling slightly. "You're known as Dragonair, but you don't see me commenting," he added.

"I was named that as a Dratini," Dragonair retorted, sounding way too smug for someone who had just revealed an embarrassing detail about his name.

"I am Emerald," the Vibrava said, sounding like a female, but I couldn't really confirm the gender.

"Emerald? For a Vibrava?" Dragonair sneered. He must be in a bad mood if he suddenly starting jumping all over people's names, something he hadn't done for a while.

"Yes, Dratini," the Vibrava growled.

"Don't start anything, Emerald, not yet anyway. Ceal, we've..." the Electrike began but Vipera suddenly spoke out, surprising everyone, as no one had realized she was awake.

"Ceal's here?" she asked questioningly.

"That's me. Vipera?" another voice hissed and a second Seviper slid into view, smiling at the caged Seviper.

"What the hell is going on?" Vipera demanded.

"I was reassigned to the Hoenn branch a few days ago. I was going to visit, but then something came up," the other Seviper said apologetically.

"I meant about this!" Vipera hissed, gesturing to the cage. The other Seviper hesitated and glanced at Electrike and Emerald.

"Why is she in a cell, anyway?" she asked.

"I don't know," Electrike replied seriously. "I just follow orders, not question them."

"Speaking of orders, Tryce told me to tell you that Inferna wants the Charmander," the Seviper said.

"What?" I asked, suddenly confused.

"Tell Inferna to go to hell," Emerald snapped. "She's not the Hoenn leader, so she can't order me around. I was told by the Hoenn leader to..."

"Sketch overrides the order. The Charmander is to be taken to Inferna," Ceal insisted, her bladed tail swishing.

"Who's going to take her? I'm sure not going to," Emerald muttered.

"And I'm a guard here, so I'm not going to," Electrike added.

"Tryce said he would, but then Elma said something about most of the guards being too busy to be taken off duty because of something Inferna should do herself. I was going to, but Vipera's unnecessary imprisonment is more important. Thank you whoever decided not to put me in the Johto branch, because being forced to follow Inferna's orders would be worse than hell," Ceal said.

"Someone going to explain what the hell's going on?" I demanded irritably.

"None of the males are going to want to escort the Charmander while she's in heat," Electrike said thoughtfully.

"Burn," Dragonair said snidely. I lunged at the bars separating me from the male Dragonair, but Dragonair hastily moved out of range, grunting as a collar on his neck suddenly released a shock of some sort. "Restraining collars?" he muttered.

"Only for you and the female Dragonair," Emerald said smugly.

"Not for me?" I asked coldly. Did that mean they didn't think I was as great a threat to them? I could so prove them wrong.

"Hell no. Those shocks amplify hormones," the Vibrava said. I growled under my breath, my claws glowing blue.

"Okay, NOW the comments are getting out of hand," Dragonair said, watching my claws warily, inching further away from me. "Seriously, leave Ember alone," he said.

"We're not mocking her, Dratini. Only morons insult a hormonal female," Emerald replied. Dragonair promptly began humming to himself innocently while I was undecided whether to laugh or not. "So we just wait until a willing female shows up to escort her to Inferna."

"Who the hell is Inferna?" I scowled and the Vibrava blinked at me.

"I'm going to assume you're joking," she said, turning her attention to the Seviper. "If you want your friend released, you have to take it up with Gamble," she told her.

"I will," Ceal hissed and slid out of the room quickly. Electrike and Emerald exchanged looks, but didn't comment until Sapphire broke the silence.

"What is going on? Where are we?" she asked, sounding uncomfortable. Well we are in cages, so I wasn't that surprised that she was uncomfortable.

"We are members of the Hoenn branch of the Cave Army, led by..." Electrike began, but Dragonair interrupted.

"Let me guess...Gamble?" he asked irritably.

"Yes, Dratini," Emerald said sarcastically. "Our Jigglypuff was sent to put you all to sleep so capturing you would be easier."

"Where's Spark?" Dragonair demanded, noticing the Pichu's absence. "I swear, if he's hurt..."

"The Pichu? I have no idea. Sketch threw a fit about the Pichu earlier, so I doubt he's hurt," Electrike replied.

"Just saying, if you idiots DARE to hurt that kit..." Dragonair continued angrily.

"We didn't hurt it and we don't plan to. Sketch told Gamble that he'll send the whole Army after him if he harms a kit. He's already pissed off because of something involving an Eevee," Emerald interrupted, rolling her eyes.

"Inferna sent me to bring the Charmander," a new voice spoke and an Electabuzz stepped into the room.

"Hey Volt," Electrike said, grinning at the electric type.

"Volt for an electric type. How creative," Dragonair drawled, but the Electabuzz replied with a rude hand gesture. I groaned, knowing what was coming next. "Oh wow, a hand gesture. I'm so offended. Then again, your name creativity tells me that you're not the brightest bulb around, but maybe you didn't pump enough volts into your brain," Dragonair sneered.

"I'll pump some volts into YOUR brain you accursed dragon!" the Electabuzz snapped.

"And we all wonder why he got transported from the Kanto division," Emerald muttered sarcastically. The Electabuzz's fist was abruptly charged with electricity and he slammed his fist into the Vibrava, who laughed it off. "I'm a ground type, Volt. Nice try," she said.

"Whatever. Just give me the damn Charmander so I go," Volt grumbled. Emerald chuckled and flew over to something located near the top of the cell door and a moment later, the lock clicked. I briefly considered making a run for it, but ultimately decided against it. I didn't know where I was and I didn't know what else lurked outside of the room. Same problem with trying to fight my way out. The Electabuzz gestured for me to go first and followed two paces behind me.

"Where's she going?" Sapphire asked, but I didn't hear the answer as I left the area, going down a small incline. I once again toyed with the idea of running or attacking the electric type, but was forced to abandon the idea whenever we passed another Pokémon, most of which turned their attention to us as we passed. I growled irritably at a few and they shifted their attention for a moment, but I knew they looked back when I was facing away from them.

"Turn left," the Electabuzz instructed when we reached a branching path and I obeyed, glaring at the electric type regardless. "Don't try anything," he warned.

"Don't flatter yourself," I snarled in reply.

"Huh?" the electric type asked, clearly confused, but decided against asking for clarification. Good, because I wasn't in the mood to explain anything.

"Where the hell are we going?" I snapped.

"To Inferna," the electric type said, as if that was an explanation in itself.

"Who or what is Inferna?" I snapped, annoyed by how vague the explanation was.

"Inferna is the leader of the Johto branch. She carries a lot of weight, but I think that's because she's Sketch's current mate," Volt said, but then paused. "Okay, that's the rumor, not a fact. They could be mates, but there's no evidence."

"I don't care," I growled irritably. Why should I care whether two people were mates? It was like rubbing it in that I was still alone.

"Right. Anyway, Inferna is often looking for some sort of apprentice or something, so this could actually be a benefit for you if she called for you personally," Volt continued, chuckling slightly.

"What's funny?" I asked, my temper rising again.

"Turn right here," the Electabuzz ordered as we approached another fork in the path. "Inferna is the closest thing to hell we have as a living being."

"I've seen worse," I said coldly.

"The hell you have," Volt laughed, but then grinned at his unintentional joke. I just rolled my eyes and kept going. "Anyway, Inferna will make your life hell if you become her apprentice," he said.

"You have a misconception of hell then," I replied coldly.

"I worked closely with her. Trust me that I know what I'm talking about," the electric type said, but then stopped speaking, prodding me to go inside a cavern room where a Smeargle sat calmly.

"Ah, the Charmander," Sketch said, flicking his tail, catching it with his paw, and examining me carefully. I narrowed my eyes at him, but didn't speak.

"Can I go?" the Electabuzz asked and the Smeargle nodded.

"Ember, is it?" Sketch inquired, gesturing for me to come closer. "I have heard so much about you," he said, gesturing for me to sit down on one of the stones that littered this room. I did so reluctantly, but stayed as far away as possible without making it too obvious that I was staying away.

"What have you heard?" I growled.

"Your fighting prowess is exceptional," Sketch replied simply, sipping from a cup almost daintily. "I considered offering you a position to work with our organization," he said.

"Why would I do that?" I demanded.

"Well, I can blackmail you so that you agree, but let's face it, that's not very good business," Sketch said. "I say that your potential can be maximized."

"I'm not interested," I replied coldly.

"Nor are any males," Sketch said casually, but the insult was definitely there.

"Well you can't help me there," I said calmly.

"Maybe not. Besides, picking a mate is a delicate procedure and I think it's only fair I leave that up to you," Sketch said dismissively.

"You do that," I replied indifferently. "Now what do you want?"

"Inferna asked to see you and I'm taking you to her. I suggest you consider the offer, because I really would hate to let Gamble have his way with your friends. I really wonder how wise it was to give him so much power, but he won the position through gambling, which is perfectly legitimate as long as I witness the event," Sketch said lightly

"You trying to blackmail me?" I snarled, baring my claws threateningly.

"No. You can deny the offer without consequence," Sketch said with a shrug. "Accepting the offer might be to your advantage, though. Think it over," he said.

"I'll think about it," I muttered dismissively. Sketch bowed his head slightly.

"Good. Now I'll take you to Inferna," he said, standing and walking over to me. He flicked his tail, tapping me with it and muttered 'teleport'. There was a momentary flash and the area around us changed. "She'll be with you shortly," Sketch said and vanished again.

"Yippee," I muttered sarcastically, gazing around the small cavern. I wondered who this Inferna person was and what she wanted with me. And why did Sketch want me to join their stupid Cave Army anyway?


	177. Venom and Machamp

**Leaf POV**

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked Jolt and he nodded distractedly. I glanced at the younger Eons. "Are you coming with us?" I inquired, and both nodded solemnly. "Good, then let's get going," I said, walking briskly down the hallway in the direction Volt had taken. In my opinion, the Umbreon would probably know where the rest of the fighting was going on. We had been caught by surprise at first, but the battle wasn't over yet. We were outnumbered and outgunned, but we could still fight back. Frost had taught me that when I was younger.

"Do you know where we're going?" Vice asked me a few moments later.

"Yeah, he does," Jolt told the Flareon sharply, wincing slightly when I turned my head back at him, raising an eyebrow slightly. Since when did Jolt have much of a temper? "Sorry. I'm just a little stressed out," he said quickly.

"It's okay, Jolt," the Flareon said, hugging the Jolteon gently. Both Jolt and I stared at the fire Eon blankly. "You don't know who I am, do you?" he asked with a sigh. "I thought Gel would have told you..."

"Who?" Jolt asked, bewildered.

"Gel left, Vice," the Glaceon said.

"Oh...I didn't notice her leave. The Froslass, didn't you meet her?" Vice asked Jolt, looking a little upset.

"I think so...but I don't really remember," Jolt said, shaking his head. "It was a short meeting, I just gave her something..." he said with a pained expression. I could only wonder what it must feel like to lose someone you're so close to. My parents had died when I was too young to remember them and Kira was closer to Jolt than to me. Though that was a good thing, her being his mate and all.

"Oh," Vice said, frowning a little. "I've always wanted to get to know you, but...I haven't been able to," he muttered, suddenly seeming shy. Glacia tilted her head at him, as if surprised by his sudden shyness. Jolt blinked at the Flareon oddly, but shrugged.

"Maybe you two can get to know each other later," I suggested.

"Leaf!" Jolt suddenly shouted and I instinctively ducked, just in time to avoid a jet of water. I quickly searched for the attacker and spotted the Gyarados from before, smirking coldly at me.

"I'm back, Leafeon," Venom hissed softly, but froze at the sight of Jolt, his eyes narrowing. "I'll take you all down," he whispered coldly.

"Yeah right," Jolt said, his fur bristling. He seemed much more eager to fight now than he normally did, but I worried that he might not have the strength to fight for long. After all, Shadow said Diablos' hosts usually were exhausted after possession, if they even survived. The Gyarados grinned and spat another high pressured jet of water, but Jolt dodged nimbly, releasing a charge of electricity from his fur, but Venom twisted his body, the bolt striking the wall, sending small bits of plaster from the wall.

"Come on, let's help," Vice said to the Glaceon, who nodded and they stepped forward, sending a stream of fire and a beam of white energy from their respective mouths, but Venom dodged these attacks as well, moving very quickly for a large water snake on land.

"I'll rip you apart," Venom sneered, snapping his jaws at the Flareon, but I wrapped a vine around the fire type's midsection and pulled him out of harm's way. The Gyarados swiped his tail, sending both me and Vice sprawling, the fire type ending up on top of me. "How cute. You make quite the couple," Venom jeered.

"Not funny," Vice muttered, his face flushed with embarrassment as he quickly got off my back and he sent a stream of fire at Venom, but the Gyarados countered with a jet of water, neutralizing the flames. I nodded in silent agreement, trying not to blush as I sent a flurry of razor leaves towards the Gyarados, but they bounced off his scales almost harmlessly. Glacia shifted her weight anxiously, unwilling to get closer to the massive water snake. She whined as Venom swiped his tail, sending the Flareon sprawling across the floor. Jolt released another bolt of electricity, but Venom twisted out of the way, smirking smugly.

"What's wrong? Can't beat me?" he mocked, snapping his teeth at the Jolteon, but Jolt leapt backwards, growling with frustration. Venom suddenly grinned wickedly and formed an orange orb of energy in his mouth and spat it towards Jolt. The orb struck the ground with surprising force, creating a shockwave that sent the Jolteon sprawling weakly to the floor. He groaned in pain as Venom chuckled.

"Jolt!" Vice whined, glaring at the Gyarados as he pushed himself back to his feet. I couldn't quite understand why Vice was so concerned about Jolt, who he hadn't really even met before. Oh wait, that makes me sound like I'm not concerned about Jolt and I am. I care about all people, strangers and friends alike.

"Don't glare at me, Flareon, or I'll tear your head off," Venom sneered.

"You do that and you're dead," Bane said maliciously as he materialized behind the Gyarados, who didn't as much as glance at him. "Behind you, Leaf," the Banette said calmly and I glanced behind me in time to receive a powerful punch, sending me skidding across the tiled floor, the Machamp delivering the blow laughing as I groaned in pain, blood trickling from the scrape across my side where I had skidded.

"Nice one, Machamp," Venom said grudgingly as Jolt ducked a punch from the four armed fighting type, retaliating with a wave of electricity, but the Machamp side stepped in time to avoid it. Jolt growled slightly, but Machamp kicked the Jolteon in the face, chuckling again as he stepped towards the two remaining Eons. Glacia whined anxiously and Vice growled threateningly.

"I don't think you should hurt them," Bane said seriously, a look of panic starting to appear on his zippered face.

"Who cares what you think?" Machamp sneered, lashing out a fist at the female Glaceon, but Vice countered with a large stream of fire, which drove the fighting type back a pace, the fist pounding the ground and shattering a hole into the tiles.

"I'm sure I can find someone that might," Bane said quietly.

"Oh shut up," Venom snapped, firing a jet of water at Vice, who cried out as the force of the jet sent him tumbling across the floor, his fur drenched. Some of my own fur got wet as well, but it soothed my injury a little and I pushed myself to my feet, shaking some of the water from my tan fur. Jolt only got his feet wet, as did Glacia. "Let's finish these idiots off," the Gyarados ordered the Machamp, who grinned and grabbed the female Glaceon.

"Let her go!" Vice wailed, scrambling to his feet.

"After her skull gets snapped," the Machamp said, readying a fist, but the Glaceon suddenly slid from his grasp as he choked, clutching his chest in agony. Everyone stopped and stared at the fighting type in confusion as he slumped to his knees, his eyes showing intense pain.

"What's going on?" Jolt asked, looking a bit disturbed.

"Are you okay, Glacia?" Vice asked, cuddling closely with the frightened Glaceon, neither of them seeming concerned on how soaked the Flareon's usual fluffy fur was. She nodded, whimpering a little bit. I stared at them; it was better than watching the Machamp, anyway.

"Machamp?" Venom hissed, forgetting us completely. The fighting type made an agonized roar of pain, desperation appearing as its face, sweat trickling from his brow, his breathing sharp and agonized.

"Idiot gets what he deserves," Volt's voice said coldly as the Umbreon stepped into sight, his eyes glowing slightly and Machamp's eyes bulged.

"Let him go!" Venom snarled.

"Be thankful I don't kill you, too," Volt said coldly as Machamp flailed his four arms, almost as if having a seizure. I winced, looking away again. "You should thank your brother for showing me this, Leafeon," Volt said, chuckling darkly.

"Stop it or I'll..." Venom began, but Volt turned his red eyes to the Gyarados, breaking the psychic link between him and the Machamp.

"You'll what?" he asked dangerously, the Machamp slumping against the wall, his breathing coming out in sharp gasps, but the flailing ceased. There was a sudden quiet, aside from the Machamp's gasps.

"Volt..." Jolt said quietly, but the Umbreon ignored him, stepping forward towards the Gyarados. I quickly pressed myself against the wall, the dark type passing me without paying me any attention.

"What will you do, Gyarados? What will you do if I fill your lungs with venom? You'll struggle to breathe, struggle to move...struggle to even beg me for an antidote, but I'll ignore you, merely savor your cries of desperation..." Volt said quietly, the ground beneath Venom glowing purple, but the large snake didn't notice until the fumes rose up to his face. "Embrace death, Gyarados..." Volt sneered as Venom choked.

"Toxic," I muttered, wincing as the Gyarados made a wheezing sound, already feeling the effects of the Umbreon's poison.

"Why'd you do that?" the Flareon demanded, drying his fur with a gentle stream of fire, still cuddling with the anxious Glaceon.

"No need to thank me," Volt said dismissively, his eyes glowing and the Gyarados was hurled backwards, slamming into the wall, part of the wall crumbling where it impacted with the wall. Venom's grunt of pain and his weak wheezing breath made me shiver a little. It was...disturbing, to watch someone slowly die in such a fashion, but there was nothing I could do.

"I warned him," Bane said with a small chuckle, watching Venom writhe a little. I glared at the Banette, but he ignored me.

"And to finish the job with this fool," Volt murmured, his eyes glowing as he glanced towards Machamp, lifting him into the air and slamming his muscular form into the wall he was slumped against. The fighting type grunted in pain and Volt hissed in glee, repeating the slam, this time I heard a sickening popping sound as one of the Machamp's arms dislocated. Jolt, Vice, and Glacia all winced and looked away.

"Stop it!" Vice growled. Volt ignored the Flareon's cry and slammed the fighting type mercilessly into the wall again. "I said stop!" Vice shouted. Volt ignored him again and repeated the slam. There was a dull crunch as the fighting type hit the wall, sending large chunks of the wall scattering across the damp tile floor. Vice growled and tackled the Umbreon, biting Volt in the back of neck.

"Vice!" Glacia yelled, looking mortified. Jolt snuck over to the Gyarados and threw a Lum berry into its mouth. I gaped at the Flareon in shock, amazed at his boldness. Vice's fur was bristling with fury as he continued to bite and claw at the Umbreon, but Volt rolled, the Flareon stumbling and collapsing onto the Umbreon's chest, only to be psychically shoved off him, enabling Volt to climb back to his feet, panting slightly.

"I'm okay," Vice assured the female Glaceon, pushing himself back to his feet, seemingly unharmed. He glared at Volt for a moment, who returned the glare indifferently.

"Hiya, Volt!" the Rotom said brightly as he appeared, ending the tense glare between Vice and Volt. "Hiya Vice!" Chaos added, waving one of his lightning bolt shaped...whatever those were, at the Flareon. "Aw, and ya brought Glacia! She's as cute as ever. You have really good taste," Chaos continued, the Glaceon blushing.

"What do you want, Chaos?" Volt snapped impatiently.

"I want to talk to Vice and Glacia," Chaos replied cheerfully. "And the boss wants ya," the Rotom added as an afterthought. Volt growled irritably and disappeared down a corridor without another word. "So…how ya doing?" Chaos inquired to the Glaceon.

"Why are you so civil?" Jolt asked, puzzled. "Aren't you supposed to, you know, fight us or something?"

"Nope!" Chaos said cheerfully. "I'm supposed to be frying your electronics, hacking your data, stuff like that. I'm already done!"

"Great…" Jolt muttered.

"Yup!" Chaos said happily.

"Um…I'm fine," Glacia said uncertainly, resting her head on Vice's shoulder. He smiled briefly and wrapped his tail around her. Jolt sighed, suddenly looking really depressed. The young Eons broke apart, glancing uncomfortably at the Jolteon.

"Come on, we need to try to get the others out," I said, trying to return to the goal at hand. I didn't know how Shadow, Frost, Darkness, or Aura were doing, although I think Darkness had lost the fight to Volt, but I couldn't be sure whether or not she was okay.

"Bye!" Chaos said brightly as the others nodded, following me down the hallway.

"Which way?" I asked, noticing the fork in the hallway. Both showed recent damage, so either way would probably lead us to a problem of some sort.

"Straight," Jolt said seriously and we continued down the hall, glancing around just in case of an ambush. It wasn't long before we located where the action was coming from. In the room we usually used for relaxation, I was surprised to see Darkness, looking a bit worse for wear, but otherwise fine, battling the Ninjask and Shedinja. In the same room, Aura was fighting the Haunter and Gastly. "Alright, let's help out," Jolt said, staggering a little as we entered the room.

"Be careful, Jolt," I urged and he nodded, launching a bolt of electricity at the Ninjask, but the Shedinja darted forward, intercepting the shock, which had no effect. "Alright, let's go," I said confidently.


	178. Team Brawl

Almost immediately, something sharp slashed across my side, leaving a deep gash. I cried out, turning my head wildly to locate the attacker, but there was nothing in sight. I looked around, trying to think logically and not panic, just as the invisible attacker struck me again, but this time I caught sight of a golden body of the Ninjask as its sharpened wings hit me. I groaned, tumbling across the floor, but pushed myself back up quickly, sending a flurry of Razor Leaves in the Ninjask's direction, but it moved too quickly for my attack to hit.

"Move, Jolt!" Darkness shouted, sending a Dark Pulse from her body towards the Shedinja, but a green barrier deflected the attack, the female Umbreon growling angrily, her blue rings glowing brightly, whether from anger or the phase of the moon, I wasn't sure. Shadow always slept in my room during the full moon, saying that Darkness would be looking for him in Jolt's room and was less likely to disturb me. Never quite understood what the problem was, other than her increasingly volatile temper. The Jolteon looked up, just in time to receive the Shadow Ball that the Shedinja had launched his way. Jolt howled in pain, clutching his burned face.

"You okay, Jolt?" Vice asked, a little nervously, turning his attention from the Ninjask (which he had been spitting streams of fire towards) and gazing anxiously at Jolt. The Jolteon's body glowed for a moment, which told me he was conjuring Wish. I had always been so envious that Jolt and Frost knew Wish, but Shadow and I didn't. Something about their parents knowing the technique and that Eevee could only learn it based on their genetics. At least I still had Synthesis, although Shadow had the overkill recovery techniques of Recover, Moonlight, and Morning Sun.

"I'll be fine," Jolt said, smiling weakly, but then he lost his balance and collapsed, breathing hard from exhaustion. I cried out as the Ninjask made another swoop, striking me with his wings again and creating another bloody scratch down my side. Darkness fired off another Dark Pulse, this time at the practically invisible Ninjask, but it was still too fast to hit.

"This isn't working," Aura muttered, dodging a Dark Pulse from the Gastly, who frowned in annoyance at the evaded attack. The female Haunter calmly deflected an Aurora Beam from the Vaporeon with an almost dismissive gesture of her disembodied hand.

"We can't give up, though!" the female Umbreon growled, spitting a Shadow Ball at Soul, but the Shedinja dodged easily, forming another Shadow Ball and sending it at Aura, who was caught off guard by the sudden attack, but managed to recover quickly. I scowled and lashed a vine at the Shedinja, but it bounced off it harmlessly, not even triggering a flinch.

"You forgot Wonder Guard," Darkness told me sharply and I frowned. That meant I didn't have any techniques to deal with the strange ghost, except maybe my Hidden Power, but I didn't know what element that was. I shrugged and focused my energy, conjuring up the orbs of energy, which circled me briefly before firing towards the Shedinja...but didn't hurt it a bit.

"Dang!" I grumbled, turning towards Aura. "Trade opponents?" I asked.

_"You'll do no better against us,"_ Nightmare told me with a sneer as Aura leapt backwards, allowing me to take her place while she went to try her paw at fighting Ninje and Soul alongside Darkness. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a golden orb descend upon Jolt and his visible injuries began to fade.

"We must do what Haou has ordered. Nothing personal, just business," the Haunter told me quietly, forming a Shadow Ball in her paw and throwing it towards me, but I leapt out of the way, directly into the path of Nightmare's Dark Pulse. I grunted as the dark energy sent me sprawling backwards, but I managed to push myself back up, focusing my energy to activate my Synthesis technique. Within seconds, my body glowed brightly, several of my injuries healing, but the healing abruptly ceased and the Ninjask chuckled.

"Heal Block. Good work, Soul," he told the Shedinja. I frowned. That was a complication I hadn't expected, but I'd have to make do with what I had until it either wore off or the Shedinja was dealt with. My moment of distraction also enabled the Haunter to strike me with a Shadow Ball, sending me sprawling backwards.

"You don't seem that nice, anymore," I grumbled, but I doubted the two ghosts heard me.

_"Excellent shot, Lera,"_ Nightmare praised, brushing his gaseous body against the Haunter, who grinned and patted the top of his orb shaped body, but then shook her head.

"We're on duty, Nightmare," she said, gesturing to the battle. He bobbed slightly and launched another pulse of dark energy at me, but I rolled to the side, grunting as the tiles where I had been standing were blasted, leaving an unpleasant looking scorch mark and my roll caused some dust to cling to my tan fur, but I had bigger things to worry about. Lera, I assume that was her name, formed yet another orb of ghostly energy between her hands and threw it towards me, but I leapt over it, sending a vine from my body towards her, but she faded out to avoid it.

_"Do you have the experience to take on both of us?"_ Nightmare asked me with a smirk.

"I'm doing my best," I said, with a hint of defiance in my tone, but the Gastly rolled his eyes, unimpressed. I released a flurry of Razor Leaves at him, but he faded out to avoid them, reappearing on my left, but I had expected him to do this and quickly pivoted, my tail glowing the vibrant green of my Leaf Blade technique. This time, Nightmare was slow in fading out and grunted in pain as my attack cut through his gaseous form.

"You okay?" Lera asked Nightmare, but I cut off his reply with a quick lash of a vine, hitting him between the eyes and he let out a small yelp. The Haunter's eyes narrowed slightly as she formed another Shadow Ball, launching it at me, but I dodged, the ghostly energy grazing my tail tip, but doing no real damage.

"Leaf, duck!" Jolt shouted and I obeyed, lowering myself to the ground in time to avoid a Shadow Ball from behind me, sent by the Shedinja. Jolt suddenly grunted, a gash appearing across his chest as the Ninjask struck him. Darkness and Aura both sent their attacks towards the ghostly bug, but it deflected them with a barrier of green light. Vice sent a fire stream towards the golden blur, but he was too slow to hit it. Glacia came over to my part of the battle, spitting an Ice Beam at Lera, but the Haunter blocked it with a small barrier of yellow light.

_"Back off, Glaceon,"_ Nightmare ordered seriously.

"No!" Glacia protested in a stubborn whine, firing another Ice Beam, this time at the Gastly, but he faded out with ease, reappearing beside Lera, and the two ghosts exchanged nervous looks.

_"What are we supposed to do?"_ Nightmare muttered.

"We cannot disobey Haou," Lera said slowly, but frowned. "But you said Volt insists that they are unharmed?"

_"Not so much insisting as much as saying 'so much as touch them and you'll cease to exist'," _Nightmare said. I glanced at the two ghosts in confusion, keeping a wary eye on Soul and Ninje, both of which were still causing chaos for Jolt and Darkness, the former which was on the verge of collapsing again and Soul's Heal Block was preventing another Wish. Darkness was also rapidly tiring, while Vice was doing everything he could to try to hit the two opponents.

"I see..." Lera murmured, studying the female Glaceon thoughtfully, deflecting another Ice Beam with a Light Screen technique.

_"Ugh, I'll deal with this. Sleep!"_ Nightmare growled, his eyes glowing brightly. Glacia shuddered and slumped to the floor, curling up instinctively as she was dropped into sleep.

"What did you do to her?!" Vice shrieked, sending a huge burst of fire at Nightmare, and Lera formed another Light Screen to defend them, but the strength of the fire shattered the barrier, the flames licking at the Haunter's body.

"She's just asleep, Flareon," Lera said, grunting as she defended herself against the fire. I decided to add to the fray by sending razor edged leaves towards the two ghosts, but they faded out to avoid, reappearing on either side of Vice, the Flareon growling as he spotted them.

_"Should I hypnotize him, too?"_ Nightmare inquired and Lera bobbed.

"Whatever keeps him from interfering with our orders..." she said softly. Nightmare's eyes glowed, but Vice shut his eyes against the Hypnosis. "Leave him. With his eyes shut he can't fight us," Lera said, forming a Shadow Ball at hurling it at me. I managed to jump aside just in time, but the Ninjask did another swoop, sending me sprawling to the ground, leaving a fresh gash across my side. I growled in slight annoyance, pushing myself back to my feet. I was beginning to tire from my constant fighting, but the battle was far from over and I knew it.

"Got you!" Aura cried triumphantly and I turned to see the Shedinja jerk as the Vaporeon's Aurora Beam struck it, sending it sprawling to the ground limply. I immediately focused on using my Synthesis, but was prevented from doing so by a Dark Pulse, which hit me with considerable force, knocking the wind out of me. My vision blurred as pain shot through me, but I focused harder on my Synthesis, but felt another stabbing pain, this one feeling like a Shadow Ball. I writhed, biting my tongue to keep from screaming. Nightmare and Lera formed another one of their respective projectiles, but the Flareon suddenly lunged in front of the path, glaring at the two ghosts.

_"Get out of the way, Flareon!" _Nightmare snapped.

"Why? You won't hurt me," Vice said with a slightly mocking tone. The ghosts exchanged uncertain glances again, dissipating their projectiles.

"Why are you so confident?" Jolt asked, confused, releasing a wave of electricity at the empty air, somehow catching the Ninjask in the blast, sending it sprawling to the floor, paralyzed. "I got him?" the Jolteon asked, blinking in alarm.

"Good," Darkness said wearily. Jolt staggered over to the downed Ninjask and smacked him hard on the head, knocking it unconscious.

_"Now what? Ninje and Soul are down and Vice is blocking us,"_ Nightmare muttered and Lera sighed, holding her face with one hand.

"We need to report to Haou, then," she said finally and both ghosts faded out. I smiled gratefully at the Flareon and shakily climbed back to my feet, focusing yet again on the restoring power of Synthesis and sighed in relief as my injuries faded.

"You okay?" Vice asked me and I nodded shakily, the Flareon nudging Glacia with his nose until she stirred. "You alright, Glacia?" he whispered and she nodded, getting to her feet quickly and tackling the Flareon, licking his neck and purring. "Um…what are you doing?" he asked, suddenly looking worried.

"Nothing," she purred. Jolt and Darkness stared, looking bewildered.

"How old are you two?" Darkness asked seriously. "My next question is who you are," she added.

"I'm Vice, this is Glacia," the Flareon muttered, trying to slip out from the Glaceon's grasp. "I'm a year and…ugh…nine months? It's March?"

"Yes, middle of March," Jolt agreed.

"She's about a month younger," Vice continued, his face flushing as the Glaceon rubbed a paw down the side of his stomach. "What are you doing?!" he practically shrieked, staring at Glacia in disbelief.

"And why are you here?" Darkness asked, tilting her head at the Flareon.

"They showed up earlier," Aura said helpfully.

"Gelid is a friend of my mother's and she brought us here to help," Glacia said, lightly petting the Flareon's tail, to the fire type's embarrassment.

"Can we do this later, Glacia?" Vice asked weakly. The Glaceon suddenly blushed and hastily moved away from the Flareon, who climbed back to his feet, looking awkward.

"Why are the ghosts afraid of you?" I asked, tilting my head at them.

"You heard them. Volt threatened to kill anyone who touches me or my mate," Vice said, scowling slightly.

"Why?" Aura asked. The young Eons exchanged looks and Vice sighed.

"He's protective of me," the Flareon mumbled.

"Say what?" Jolt blurted, staring at him. "Volt is protective of you? Why the hell would he be…" the Jolteon suddenly paused, sudden understanding appeared on his face. "You're younger than two…" he murmured. Vice shifted uncomfortably and Darkness blinked.

"And his age coincides with the usual May heat season…" the female Umbreon murmured. Aura and I exchanged blank looks, uncertain of what they had just understood. And I had a question.

"What's the heat season?" I asked finally. There was a sudden silence. Aura even stared at me incredulously, which tipped me off that I had just said something incredibly stupid, causing my face to burn with embarrassment. Jolt started laughing, eventually wiping a tear from his eye.

"Not the time, Leaf…so not the time for this discussion," he said, chuckling for several more seconds before becoming serious again, a pained expression appearing on his face.

"Shadow and I will explain it later," Darkness said, chuckling slightly.

"No we won't," Shadow's voice said from the doorway. Darkness glanced up at him.

"How long have you been there?" she asked, eyeing him oddly.

"Long enough," the Espeon replied coldly.

"What's going on?" I asked, wincing when I heard a loud explosion. Shadow frowned briefly, his silver eyes flashing.

"I thought Frost took down the Tyranitar," he muttered.

"I did. That's not the Tyranitar," Frost said from behind Shadow, startling me, but Shadow didn't flinch.

"It's not?" Jolt asked, confused. "But Diablos doesn't have anything stronger than that…"

"Not in brute strength, but he's got that Lucario," Shadow said and there was a note of pure venom in his tone.

"What Lucario?" I asked, now really confused.

"Force, male Lucario. Age and most details of past unconfirmed. Rumored to be one of Diablos' earliest hosts," Frost said solemnly. "The only known proof that prolonged possession corrupts the soul…"


	179. Battle of Force

"So what are we going to do?" I asked.

"Keep fighting. It's our base to defend," Shadow said emotionlessly.

"Why wouldn't we just leave? Go somewhere else and rest up? This base is too damaged now to be much use," Jolt asked, a note of desperation is his voice.

"If we leave, it will have been lost with nothing to show for it," Shadow replied coldly. Jolt growled in rage, his fur bristling into needles.

"And what will we have to show for it if we stay?" Jolt snapped furiously. "Half of us are too tired to keep fighting and all we'd be doing it putting our lives on the line for something we can't hope to win!"

"The opportunity should not be thrown away," Shadow said quietly.

"This isn't a freaking opportunity!" Jolt practically screeched. Glacia whined and hid behind Vice, who glanced at her in surprise. "Do you even care if we get hurt or killed?"

"Casualties are to be expected," Shadow replied indifferently. There was a moment's pause.

"Is that so?" Jolt hissed, positively shaking with anger. "Kira was just a casualty to you, wasn't she? You feel nothing so you don't even care if someone else is hurt by this obsession of yours, right?" Jolt demanded forcefully.

"Kira knew the risks involved," Shadow said dismissively. "If she was unwilling to take the risks, she shouldn't have..."

"You shut up, Espeon!" Jolt raged and everyone backed away, excluding Shadow, who watched Jolt indifferently. I had never seen him this upset before, nor had he ever called Shadow 'Espeon'. He was usually much more polite, even when aggravated.

"Calm yourself, Jolt," Shadow said coolly.

"How the hell am I going to calm down? My mate's dead and you're saying we should all go get ourselves killed just so you can go pursue your stupid revenge thing!" Jolt shouted.

"I doubt you could understand," Shadow said dismissively. Jolt's eyes narrowed.

"I can't understand? What can't I understand? How Diablos ruins lives? How it feels to lose your parents? What, do you think you're the only one who suffered?" Jolt hissed angrily. No one spoke for at least a full minute.

"I didn't say that," Shadow said finally, his tail flicking arrogantly.

"Is that what you think? Here's what I think: I think you're on a path of self destruction. You have so much, but you may as well have nothing because you don't appreciate it. Because you can't appreciate it. Here's my question: if you ever complete your path of revenge...what will you have left?" Jolt asked.

"I don't understand," Shadow said finally. "What do you mean?"

"If you kill Diablos, name one thing in your life you'll have left to go back to," Jolt insisted, but he seemed less angry and smugger.

"That explained nothing," Shadow said, now sounding annoyed.

"What do you see yourself doing with your life? You don't live it now, how will you live it then?" Jolt asked. "You devoted yourself to revenge...what will you have left? It's an empty life the way you run it. You're motivated by your hate, but one day you'll learn," Jolt said, turning away from the black furred Espeon.

"And what motivates you?" Shadow challenged. Jolt closed his eyes and I saw a lone tear escape the lids, leaving a tiny watery trail on his yellow facial fur.

"Volt," he said, almost inaudibly. There was another long silence, finally interrupted by another loud explosion. Frost and Shadow tensed, looking down the hallway. Darkness and Aura moved to the door, looking a bit concerned. Jolt shook himself, opening his eyes again and wiping them with his paw.

"What do we do?" Vice asked, seemingly uncertain about whether he and Glacia were supposed to join the fight. Frost glanced at them for a moment.

"Oh...you're still here," he commented dismissively.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vice growled, placing his tail around Glacia in a protective manner. She purred, seemingly enjoying the warmth of his tail, and cuddled up to his side.

"Simply that I don't see why such useless additions such as yourselves..." Frost began, but I bristled indignantly.

"Stop it. They helped me out several times, so just leave them alone," I said irritably. The male Glaceon studied me with a raised eyebrow, but stopped speaking, something I was glad of.

"Thanks," Vice whispered to me and I nodded. I also slid out of the doorway of the room, glancing around cautiously, just as a figure appeared on the opposite end of the hall. It was bipedal with blue fur with traces of black and its face and paws reminded me of a canine. As it approached us purposefully, other features became more noticeable. Its torso was yellow and each paw had some sort of spike on the back. It stopped moving about 20 feet away and its paws glowed with blue energy. From this distance I could make out the eyes, which were yellow with a bloody red tinge to them, giving it a crazed look.

"Force," Frost said dismissively. Glacia made a quiet whimper and cuddled closer to Vice. He licked her ear comfortingly, but kept a wary eye on Force.

"You're all dead," Force rasped, forming an orb of energy in his paws and hurling it at Shadow, who teleported out of the way, reappearing behind Force, but the Lucario suddenly vanished and Frost grunted as the canine Pokémon slammed into him with tremendous speed, sending the Glaceon sprawling back painfully. At the same time, the orb of energy changed paths midflight, moving towards Shadow again, catching him off guard and slamming into him.

"Damn..." Jolt breathed, staring at the Lucario as it formed another of the orbs of energy and flung it at Aura and she countered with an Ice Beam, but the strange orb of energy cut through the beam, hitting her in the chest. She grunted in pain, but pushed herself back into her original position. I lashed out a vine at the Lucario, but it vanished, slamming into me a moment later, the impact sending me across the floor painfully.

"Not fun," I muttered. The Lucario leapt into the air as Jolt launched a Thunderbolt at it, and kicked the Jolteon while descending. Jolt cried out in pain, his legs giving way and he collapsed. Vice growled and spat a stream of fire at the Lucario, but it dodged nimbly.

"You're next, Flareon..." Force rasped, his eyes gleaming psychotically. Vice backed away nervously as the Lucario formed a large orb of energy in his paws, laughing insanely as he threw it at the Flareon. There was a massive explosion, covering Vice in smoke. Glacia wailed in terror. Before the Lucario could gloat, he was struck from behind by a powerful Ice Beam, courtesy of Frost. Shadow came next, his eyes glowing as Force was engulfed in psychic energy, but the effect suddenly vanished and Shadow was psychically shoved backwards.

"What? Lucario don't know Psychic!" Shadow grunted, rolling back to his feet. Force cackled insanely, a strange blue orb of energy forming in his mouth before he spat it at Darkness, who leapt aside at the last moment. The orb exploded with shocking force, the shockwave causing Aura and Glacia to lose their balance and fall. I glanced back at Vice and blinked, seeing the Flareon unharmed.

"How?" I gasped, staring at him, but he shrugged, just as confused as I was.

"Actually, we can with a TM," Force sneered at Shadow. "But I was using Copycat, just thought you'd like to know before I kill you," the Lucario sneered.

"He's totally kicking our tails!" Jolt complained, struggling back to his feet. Force slammed a paw into Darkness' face, blood trickling from her mouth as she staggered from the blow. She lunged at him, trying to sink her fangs into his leg, but he pivoted and slammed his foot into her head, sending her face first to the floor with a loud thump. I sent a flurry of Razor Leaves, but he waved his paw, sending a pulse of dark energy from his paw, obliterating the leaves with absurd ease. Aura fired a jet of water from her mouth, but Force countered with his own stream of water, the two jets of water meeting in midair. Shadow's eyes narrowed in fury for some reason.

"Recognize it, Espeon?" Force sneered.

"I don't get it," I muttered to Jolt, who also shrugged.

"Beats me. I only met this thing as a Riolu and he was possessed at the time," Jolt said. "Never saw it again." The Jolteon launched a Thunderbolt at Force, but he vanished before it hit, slamming into Aura with great force and she bounced off the wall, grunting in pain. I ran over to her to see if she was alright, but she was out cold. Shadow stepped forward angrily, just as Force kicked Jolt aside again, but I heard the crack of Jolt's leg breaking from the impact of the kick.

"I'll make you pay, Lucario," Shadow snarled, his eyes glowing brightly. The Lucario grunted as he was psychically hurled backwards into the wall with enough force to create a deep imprint into the wall, but the canine Pokémon seemed mostly unharmed. Force cackled insanely.

"Make me pay? I'll kill you one by one!" he laughed, obliterating my Razor Leaves with another Dark Pulse and vanishing from sight, slammed his fist into Shadow's chest. He swung his paw, striking Frost with the spike, tearing a deep wound into the Glaceon's stomach. I gagged as I saw the blood spilling from Frost's stomach, but the Glaceon only cried out, his body glowing brightly. The Lucario cackled, waving his paw in an odd gesture, which I assumed was of triumph.

"This isn't good," I muttered anxiously. Shadow gasped when he was hit, but his eyes glowed, hurling Force into the wall again, this time sending him through the wall and into the room where the earlier brawl had gone on.

"He's mine!" Shadow snapped at me when I moved to help him out, the black furred Espeon teleporting into the room and psychically lifting the Lucario into the air. Force laughed insanely, even as Shadow's eyes glowed intensely, the Lucario's neck suddenly jerking to the side with a loud snapping sound and Shadow released the psychic grip, Force falling to the ground limply.

"You upset Glacia!" Vice said, wrapping his tail around the young Glaceon, who was shivering in terror, sobbing into the Flareon's shoulder. Shadow ignored him and stepped from the Lucario's body.

"Are you sure he's dead?" Frost asked, just as his Wish healed his injuries, although he still seemed a little unsteady, his stomach fur and paws drenched in blood.

"It's a snapped neck, Frost. I did it fast to ensure he wouldn't survive," Shadow said monotonously. There was no regret or sorrow in his tone, as if killing Force was easy for him to do. I could never kill someone and be that casual about it.

"Is everyone okay?" Jolt asked weakly, just as his own orb of light descended upon him, his broken leg healing and he sighed in relief as he pushed himself back up.

"Ow…" Darkness muttered, pushing herself up, her muzzle bleeding freely.

"Aura's still unconscious," I said, gesturing to the Vaporeon. Shadow's eyes glowed for an instant and he shrugged as the glow faded.

"She'll be fine," he said emotionlessly.

_But will you be fine, Leafeon? Will your brother kill you should the need arise? It would be easy for him to do it…just snap your neck, just like he did to Force._

"Are you okay, Leaf?" Jolt asked, staring at me oddly. I shook myself, refocusing on things going on around me.

"Um…I think so," I said, not sure at all.

_You'll be fine this round, Leafeon. Your darkness just needs to flourish...I have a different target in mind this time. One that's more valuable than a weakling like you. You will never be strong. You're not a threat…_

The voice faded from my find and I felt a sense of dread, just as Aura stirred slightly. She winced as she slowly climbed to her feet and I instinctively looked at her eyes. Just as I expected, her irises burned a yellow gold.

"Hello, Leafeon…" she sneered maliciously. The other Eons whirled around to face her, and Aura chuckled. "We meet again, Eons," she said softly.

"Diablos," Shadow breathed, smirking in a chilling fashion. "I will end this now…"

"Kill me then, Espeon…" Aura sneered. "Or are you afraid?"

"I have no fear," Shadow spat angrily.

"Then do it…take the Vaporeon's life to eliminate me. I dare you…" Aura said coldly. Frost flinched. "The Glaceon is infatuated…do you risk his unhappiness?" Aura challenged.

"I don't care," Shadow retorted, engulfing the Vaporeon in psychic energy. Aura didn't resist, only smirked.

_And to think…he would do this to you if I had possessed you instead, Leafeon._

"Don't do it!" I yelled, instinctively firing a flurry of Razor Leaves at Shadow. My brother was so surprised by my attack that he teleported out of the way, releasing Aura in the process.

"You couldn't do it, Psycho…" Aura sneered, "You're weak and you'll never defeat me," she laughed coldly. At that moment, Tarot appeared beside the Vaporeon and I saw Volt approaching from the end of the corridor. Shadow scowled angrily at Aura, sending a psychic beam from the gem on his head, but she blocked with a barrier of yellow light.

"Damn it!" Shadow snarled as Tarot's eyes flashed and the Vaporeon disappeared.

"Let's wrap this up," Volt said lazily, but with noticeable frustration. "Here's how it works. I poke each of you once and you fake defeat. Then we leave, I get back to Ice and that's the end of this. But, if you fight, I'll be spending less time with Ice and I will get particularly pissed off. Did I mention it's the full moon?"

"That plan made no sense," Jolt said irritably.

"I wasn't ordered to kill you," Volt explained and sighed. "I'd just really like to get back to Ice so can you possibly make this easy for me?"

"Kira's dead, you dumb Umbreon. I'm not making anything easier for you," Jolt snapped. Volt's eyes narrowed.

"So be it. If you prefer to feel agony, that's fine with me," he said coldly.

**To be continued...**


	180. The Memories

**Blaze POV. A fast update.**

"Blaze? What's wrong?" Crystal asked, staring at me strangely as I moved away from the female Flareon, frowning to myself. She followed, her face showing concern, but I growled at her. She blinked, tilting her head at me. "Blaze?" she asked, rubbing against me slightly.

"Stop," I said firmly, taking another step away from her.

"What?" she asked, practically a whine.

"I need to think!" I said irritably, walking a little ways off. She scowled, but backed off as I lay down under a tree, lost in a sudden worrisome thought. Crystal's sudden affection was starting to get to me. I know I said I wanted a kit...but it just didn't feel right the way we were going about it. Maybe that was why Dragonair made such an effort to tease us about it. Maybe he could tell that it was rushed or something. He could just be acting like a jerk, but Crystal wasn't bothered by his comments and I was.

There was just this nagging thought in the back of my mind. I had agreed to have a kit way too soon. Even back in the clan, that stupid place, many were urged to decide on a mate carefully because once you had a kit with them, you were bound to them. Why that had stayed in my memory for so long was beyond me. I never paid attention to the leaders or lectures, least of all when it came to mates because I was too young for it to matter. So why was I so concerned? Crystal seemed to like me and I...did I like her back? Yes, of course I did...but then why wasn't I comfortable with her?

"Ugh..." I grumbled, closing my eyes in frustration. When I opened them, I found myself in the familiar circular room where the young Eevee, the yellow eyed Flareon, and the elder Flareon were lying down. The Eevee waved when she noticed me.

"Hey Blaze!" she chirped brightly. For once she wasn't stammering.

"Come back to visit?" Solace asked, standing up lazily, her yellow eyes studying me thoughtfully.

"Sort of," I said, frowning. Solace walked over to me and brushed her tail against my side. I yelped. "Don't do that! Crystal's bad enough!"

"Sorry," she muttered, backing away.

"Problems with Crystal?" Lunar asked, his brown eyes watching my expression. I sighed and shrugged.

"I-I l-like Cr-Crystal," Solar stammered anxiously.

"No, you don't," Solace said, blinking at the young female Eevee.

"Sh-she s-scares m-me," Solar admitted.

"Just wait until she has mood swings," Solace muttered. I glared at the yellow eyed Flareon.

"That's a Dragonair joke, Solace," Lunar said calmly, noting my reaction. Solace rolled her eyes.

"Right, my bad," Solace said, bowing her head apologetically, but then whispered to me, "Seriously, in a month's time, you're going to be in hell."

"Thanks," I muttered angrily.

"So what's the problem, Blaze? I take it you need some advice or something?" Lunar asked, but I shrugged again.

"Something just doesn't feel right," I said finally. "I don't know what's bothering me."

"You feel rushed? Apprehensive? That you decided too soon?" Solace guessed and I paused, thinking for a moment.

"A little, but there's something else..." I said, trying to think of what seemed to be nagging me.

"You feel like you made the decision impulsively? Or maybe that...oh I see..." Lunar murmured.

"What?" I asked, looking up at the elder Flareon.

"Why do you want a kit, Blaze? Think about it," Lunar said and I scowled. Couldn't he just tell me what he was thinking?

"I don't know," I said, holding my head in frustration.

"That's the problem, then," Lunar said seriously.

"Wh-what is?" Solar stammered, looking confused. I nodded in agreement, having no idea where the brown eyed Flareon was going with this.

"I think the truth is you don't want a kit yet, but felt pressured to agree. This is why you're uncomfortable around Crystal, because she does want one and she's not being very subtle," Lunar explained.

"B-but...I do," I insisted.

"For the wrong reasons," Solace finished. Everyone stared at her. "You want to replace what you have lost..." the yellow eyed Flareon told me. I felt a strange twinge in my gut and winced.

"I...can't dwell on that," I stammered, shaking away the feeling. It was the past, it couldn't be changed.

"You never did," Solace said firmly.

"What?" I asked, really confused.

"Think, Blaze...think..." Solace urged. "After she died, what did you do? You buried it inside, I became your emotional shield and you hid from the truth. Anything that reminded you of the pain had to go, so you turned on everyone who could remind you."

"Then what can I do?" I asked desperately, clenching my fists.

"Let the emotion free..." Lunar said, as if he suddenly understood. "You never accepted the loss. You denied it, buried the feeling, and even when you came back to your senses..." he shot a nasty glare at Solace, who flinched, before looking back at me and continuing, "you didn't talk about it, but kept it locked up."

"Crystal seems to like when I'm like that," I said, puzzled. Lunar and Solace exchanged glances.

"That's not the real you, Blaze. That's the one thing you lost from the whole affair. The yellow eye you bear is the symbol of the darkness within you. It may never fade, for some pain is eternal," Solace said softly.

"Accept that she's gone, Blaze. Then you can move forward without regret," Lunar said gently. I shuddered.

"I can't...it hurts," I whined, pushing the memory aside. I couldn't bear the sight of the broken Eevee in my arms again...didn't want to feel the pain again.

"The feelings will only get worse, Blaze..." Lunar told me seriously. Solar whined and I patted her gently, but then shuddered. It reminded me of Sis when she was a kit...I always comforted her when she was upset. I clutched my head, feeling a sense of panic.

"I can't..." I insisted.

"Then Diablos has won with you. You can't hide forever," Lunar told me. Solace nodded in agreement.

"The eye...it burns, doesn't it?" she asked quietly. "The darkness intensifies. If you hold those fears and feelings in, they will slowly destroy you from the inside. We will be powerless to stop it."

"I...I..." I stammered, not sure what I wanted to say, the sense of panic closing in on me.

"Talk to someone," Lunar suggested and I felt my attention fading from that room and I opened my eyes again, finding myself under the tree where I had laid down. Crystal was pouting or something a few yards away, but I didn't let that bother me at the moment, although I walked over to her. I rather try talking to her than Dragonair, anyway. Even if she did make me nervous a lot of the time I spent with her.

"Crystal?" I asked, a bit nervously. She glanced up at me indifferently, although her tail flicked happily. "Can we talk?" I asked her.

"Sure," she said, rising to her feet and curling around me affectionately. I sighed, but decided not to comment. "So what do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"I…I don't think I'm ready to have a kit," I said, speaking quickly. It would be easier just to say it rather than try to find the right way to phrase it. Crystal blinked.

"Oh?" she asked, looking at me thoughtfully.

"Just...not yet," I said uncomfortably. Crystal was visibly disappointed, but I didn't know what to say.

"What changed your mind?" she asked, finally breaking the silence. She didn't seem upset but she's not easy to understand, either.

"I'm..." I began, but sighed. "I keep thinking about Sis," I muttered finally. Crystal blinked, clearly startled by this, but her next comment really didn't help me out.

"Why?" she asked seriously. I growled irritably.

"Because it's too soon from when she died, okay?!" I snapped. Crystal recoiled, narrowing her eyes at me. "I think I'll just want a kit to replace her, so I don't want one now," I said angrily. The female Flareon's expression softened a little, but she still didn't seem too happy.

"I see," she said, frowning to herself. "I thought you got over it, though," she said carefully. I shook my head sadly. "Oh that's right, you instead just bottled it away," she said and I growled irritably. "Don't get snippy, I'm trying to help," she warned.

"Sorry," I muttered. Crystal came closer again and nuzzled me comfortingly, wrapping her tail around me.

"Maybe it would help if you talked about her a little," she suggested quietly. I shifted my weight unhappily a little. It might help, but I didn't want to think about the past. I didn't want to remember the clan or anything about it. And I definitely didn't want to remember Sis' death. Anytime in the past that I had reflected on being separated from Sis I had felt a deep pang of longing. Leaving her behind was my only regret about leaving the clan after evolution. I had missed her for over a year and when we finally caught up to each other…she was taken away. I shivered at the memory and my left eye seemed to burn for only a moment before the pain vanished. I had gone through so much to try to save her, only to have her…no, I couldn't dwell on it. I didn't want to remember her lying there in my arms…no, I didn't want to remember!

"I can't," I whined and Crystal stared at me oddly for a moment before gently rubbing my back soothingly with one paw. I shivered, but I still pushed the thoughts away. I didn't want to think about Sis. I didn't want to think she was gone. I loved her, she was my sister, my only friend in the clan and now she was…no, she wasn't gone. She couldn't be gone…she just couldn't be.

"Blaze," Crystal whispered softly. "Did she ever want to evolve? Into what?" she pressed.

"She…she wants to be…a…" I paused, trying to remember. Sis hadn't spoken much about evolving. "An Espeon," I said finally, smiling at the memory. It wasn't long after she had been bullied one day and she talked about how cool it would be to be able to just use Psychic on the bullies and never have to worry again. I had always said it would be cool to be a Flareon and my wish had one day been granted.

"What did you two do together?" Crystal asked quietly.

"We…would play tag, hide and find, a lot of things," I said, tears forming in my eyes, but I hastily wiped them. We had spent a lot of time laughing and playing together. We weren't just siblings, but also friends. I could remember how her smile could cheer me up, even after a boring lecture by the Jolteon clan leader. What an old windbag.

"You two were close?" Crystal prodded and I nodded miserably. We were practically inseparable. I stuck up for her when she was bullied, even though I usually got in trouble for it. We played together and I cared for her, almost like a parent. I was the only family she had. I don't think our parents were dead, but I never met them. Then the image returned, the memory of the Electrode exploding, of Sis' last words to me and mine to her. "What happened to her?" Crystal asked. "How did she die?"

"I…I...found her and…" I began, the memory shining brightly in my mind. I could clearly see the cavern room where she was chained and almost see me approaching her, freeing her from her binds. She had run towards the exit, only for an Electrode to show up and explode. I remembered the ceiling collapsing and me frantically unburying her from the rubble.

"_Sis?" I said softly, scooping the Eevee up in my paws. She seemed so small and her eyes shimmered with tears. I told her desperately she was going to be okay, but she knew I was wrong._

"_I'm scared, Blazey," she whined and then sobbed miserably. She buried her face in my fur and I held her close. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her, but my voice refused to work. But again, she knew the truth. "I love you too, Blazey," she whispered, cuddling with me the way she used to when we were younger, before I had evolved._

"_I'm sorry, Sis," I whispered miserably. I hadn't been fast enough to save her. I had failed her; I had allowed her to die._

"_Don't let Crystal boss you," she said as she kissed my cheek. She sobbed again, shuddering slightly. "Just hold me," she begged. I obliged, hugging her to my chest and rocking her gently, like I used to when she had a nightmare when she was a kit. "I love you Blazey…don't forget me," she said._

"_Never," I promised her and her sobbing slowly stopped and her breathing slowed as I continued to rock her. At last, she went limp in my arms and I knew she was gone. "Sis…say something, please," I begged the Eevee's body, but there was no answer. There never would be again._

_With the Sneasel dead, I stood, my mind in a haze. I had passed out briefly from the exhaustion of fighting the evil Pokémon. I turned to leave, but stopped. My left eye burned painfully as I looked down upon the Eevee and I gently lifted her in my arms again, draping her over my back. I couldn't leave her here. I couldn't forget her. I couldn't discard her like I had the Sneasel. I left the room without a backwards glance. Something seemed to be guiding me…a sense of purpose. Like I knew where to go without truly knowing. Several minutes passed as I navigated the twisted passages of the cave. I felt numb, the shock of Sis' death hadn't seemed to truly sink in yet. I pushed the thought away angrily. _

_It wasn't my fault Sis was dead. It was Dragonair's. That damn snake had refused to help me, had treated my mission like it was unimportant. I'd show him. I'd show him I wasn't going to take his abuse any more. I had let myself be pushed too far this time. A faintest hint of a smile appeared on my face, but I pushed it aside as well. The feeling was nothing but a distraction. I finally reached my unknown destination and gently placed the Eevee's body in the center of the room. I stared at the limp form of my sister, practically praying that she would stir and that I might see her smile one last time, but she remained immobile._

"_It's not fair," I growled, my eye burning painfully. I shut my eyes tightly, more tears escaping and rolling down my face, but I flicked them away irritably. Tears wouldn't help me here. There was nothing left to do. I gazed down once more at the bundle of brown fur and spat a gentle stream of fire upon it, the fur finally igniting. I looked away, unable to bear the sight of my sister burning, even if she was already dead. I didn't turn around until the embers of the flames died down and even then I didn't want to see, afraid that maybe part of her remained, but only ashes from the fire remained. As I watched a gust blew through the room, scattering the ashes, leaving no signs that Sis had ever existed. Now all I truly had was the memories._

I stopped talking here and broke down, tears falling from my eyes freely. It was just too much to remember. The pain I felt seemed to tear at my heart, slowly eat away at me until I couldn't stand it any longer. But now the memories seemed to stand out stronger than ever. Crystal nuzzled me comfortingly, but it didn't help enough. Sis was gone…I would never see her again. Never hear her voice, never see her smile. Never play with her again. She was truly gone.

"Are you alright?" Crystal asked me, but I shook my head.

"I need…some time alone, please," I said in a hoarse whisper. Crystal nodded understandingly.

"Um…I'm going to go by the rest of the group," she said awkwardly, gesturing towards the river where Dragonair had said they would be. I nodded weakly and the female Flareon kissed my neck before walking in that direction.

"Hello, Flareon," a smug voice said and I hastily wiped my eyes before looking up towards the speaker. It was a tan furred quadruped with a leaf like tail and sprouts growing on its body. "Oh, were you crying?" the Leafeon snickered rudely.

"What do you want?" I demanded impatiently, glaring at the newcomer. There was something oddly familiar about this one, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Was that your mate that just left?" the Leafeon asked, gesturing to where Crystal had gone. I nodded half heartedly, not sure what the Leafeon wanted. "Good, good. Were you traveling with this little guy?" he asked, gesturing to a Pichu who was tied with vines. I stared in shock as I recognized Spark.

"What the hell?" I snarled and the Leafeon chuckled.

"Then you must be 'Blazey'," the Leafeon sneered and his mocking tone instantly hit home.

"Luthor?" I growled and the Leafeon chuckled.

"We meet again," he sneered.

**Longest chapter yet. Finally reached 300,000+ words. Yay!**


	181. Tag Team Fight

"What are you doing here, Luthor?" I spat angrily, my fur bristling at the sight of the vaguely familiar Leafeon. He sort of reminded me of the bullying Eevee that I had known for the year or so I had lived at the clan before evolution. He looked even stupider than he used to since he was a Leafeon now, but he acted just as jerky as always.

"Is that how you treat old friends?" Luthor asked mockingly, his leaf tail swishing. I wanted to roast him already, even if it was just to pay him back for bullying Sis when we were younger.

"We weren't friends," I said, glancing at the bound Pichu for a moment. Luthor noticed my gaze and chuckled.

"True, being friends with you would have been disastrous to my reputation. Your precious Sissy got exiled once she was old enough to leave because of you," Luthor said casually. I felt an odd twinge in my gut, but tried to hide my feelings. Maybe the jerk was lying...but something told me that he wasn't just lying. I always thought Sis had left of her own free will, but we never really had a chance to talk about what had happened to her. And I would never get the chance now.

"Shut up," I said once I was able to speak again. I didn't need Luthor spoiling the few memories that I had remaining of Sis. His existence in half of them was bad enough. If only he hadn't been such a jerk to her when she was alive, I maybe wouldn't hate him so much. I wasn't the best behaved Eevee in the clan, but he always seemed to make me get in trouble more often by being a jerk until I attacked him.

"How is your darling Sissy, anyway? Oh wait, she's dead," Luthor said nastily. I flinched, narrowing my eyes at him angrily. How did he know that? And why was he bringing it up? Luthor smirked at my expression. "Aw, going to cry again, Blazey?" he sneered. No, I wasn't going to cry. I was more likely to roast him to a crisp and laugh.

"Leave fluffy thing alone!" Spark shouted and Luthor's grin widened.

"I almost forgot you were here, little guy. So this is 'fluffy thing', eh?" Luthor sneered, gesturing to me with a tan paw. Spark nodded, his head seeming to be the only thing he could move, since the rest of him was tied with vines, Luthor's handiwork, no doubt. "That's an even wussier name than 'Blazey'," Luthor laughed, his tail flicking with amusement.

"It's 'Blaze'," I growled, getting annoyed.

"I hear you, Blazey. Who wants to be known as 'fluffy thing'?" Luthor asked mockingly.

"Who would want to be named 'Luthor'?" I shot back, but the Leafeon laughed.

"After all this time...you still have nothing better to say to insult me?"

"You've got nothing new, either," I pointed out angrily.

"Touché," Luthor snickered. "So let's just get right down to this, Blazey. Winner gets the Pichu." Luthor gestured to Spark and smiled confidently. I nodded, growling quietly. Before I could react, the Leafeon formed an orb of green energy in his mouth and fired it towards me, catching me in the throat and I gasped in pain as it knocked the wind out of me. The Leafeon chuckled and ran forward and struck me in the face with his paw. I snapped at his paw in retaliation, but he kicked me in the stomach. I whined (in a very intimidating fashion) and clutched my gut.

"Hey!" Crystal's voice shouted angrily and Luthor formed another one of the odd green orbs and spat it at me, hitting me and sending me to the ground. "Who the hell are you?" Crystal demanded as she ran over, and I felt the temperature around us increase slightly in her anger.

"I'm Luthor," the Leafeon replied smugly. I grunted slightly as I pushed myself back up. Crystal growled at Luthor threateningly.

"Leave him alone," she ordered.

"Don't know why you'd want a wussy mate with a freakish eye, so I guess you must just have really poor taste. Pity, you could have someone so much better looking and stronger than the likes of him," Luthor said, grinning.

"What, like you?" Crystal sneered, but Luthor's grin widened.

"I'm flattered, but I have a better mate than you could ever hope to match up to," he replied smoothly. Crystal blinked, but bared her teeth threateningly when she caught sight of Spark.

"What are you doing with the Pichu kit?" she demanded.

"You want him?" Luthor sneered. "He's the property of the Cave Army, you know."

"He's not property," Crystal said waspishly.

"Oh, begging your pardon, ma'am," Luthor said with a mock bow. "He's a prisoner. Is that better?" I was really looking forward to hitting the Leafeon now. Crystal spat a stream of fire at him, so she must have agreed. Luthor dodged easily, landing next to Spark. Crystal growled, but didn't attack again.

"Let him go," I ordered, but Luthor laughed.

"My backup just arrived. You don't have a chance at beating us both. Do they, Lexa?" he asked and I flinched at the name, just as a beautiful female Leafeon stepped into sight. She was just as cute as she was as an Eevee, and her glossy green leaves and tail shimmered in the sunlight. Her tan fur was elegant and well groomed. Luthor's eyes flicked over her body as she approached and it took all my self control not to get too distracted. Crystal would maim me if she noticed me staring. It didn't help that I always thought Lexa was cute before Luthor beat me to her. Lucky bastard. Lucky jerky bastard. Lucky...I'm going to stop now.

"You're both Leafeon. We're Flareon," Crystal pointed out. Lexa shrugged, but didn't say anything.

"Let's take them out," Luthor said and Lexa nodded in agreement. Both Leafeon stepped forward and Crystal and I both watched them carefully. We didn't have to wait long before the female Leafeon's body glowed brightly while Luthor smirked, his body also glowing. Crystal and I blinked uncertainly as the sunlight seemed to intensify and Luthor's plant on the top of his head released a massive beam of green-white energy, striking Crystal in the face and sending her collapsing to the ground.

"Solar Beam and Sunny Day, a powerful combo, is it not?" Lexa asked with a smile. I growled, more because of her smug tone than her words. What happened to the friendly Eevee that I had secretly liked back at the clan? Apparently Luthor managed to warp her a bit. She was always a bit exclusive, but not mean. I could never have imagined her fighting me to keep me from saving a kit.

"Poor little Blazey is no match for us," Luthor snickered, sending another one of the Solar Beams from the sprout on his head, but I ducked, the energy missing me by inches and hitting the ground, but not doing any damage to the grass, although some dirt went flying. I scowled at Luthor and spat a fireball at him, grinning as it expanded into the massive Fire Blast. Luthor's eyes widened, but Lexa leapt into the path of the flames, a green barrier surrounding her body. I cried out as the Fire Blast exploded upon hitting her, but when the smoke faded, neither Leafeon was harmed in any way.

"Protect," Lexa explained, glaring at me.

"Nice work, Lexa," Luthor praised, smirking at me. Crystal got back to her feet and lunged at the male Leafeon, but he leapt into the air, slamming his weight down on her back as he came down, landing on top of her and sending her crashing to the ground. Lexa's brow furrowed a little and I suddenly felt weaker for no noticeable reason, at least until I saw small green orbs of energy leave my body and fly to Lexa, becoming absorbed into her fur.

"Giga Drain," she explained and the sprout on her own head glowed, sending a Solar Beam at me, but I dodged, panting a little. I was so tired after having my energy drained. I spat another Fire Blast in her direction, but the green barrier formed around her again and I growled in frustration. She was countering my strongest attack without any trouble, and was able to drain my energy. If this kept up, I wouldn't have a chance of saving Spark.

"You're so weak," Luthor commented, and I glared at him, just in time to see a cloud of glowing leaves fly towards me. I rolled to the side, but the leaves changed direction, embedding themselves in my side. I howled in pain, knocking them off me with my paws, but the male Leafeon laughed regardless. Crystal bucked, sending him off her and she bit at him, but Lexa grinned triumphantly as orbs of energy flew from the female Flareon's body, becoming absorbed by both of Leafeon.

"Giga Drain also, Luthor?" she asked him and he nodded. Crystal grunted, losing her balance and falling forward, practically gasping for air.

"Two grass types beating two fire types?" an unknown voice asked, sounding amused. I glanced towards the new arrival, spotting the weird blue dragon from the clearing earlier, the one who had been with the Absol that Dragonair had argued with.

"Stay back, Dia," Luthor ordered the Salamence who rolled her eyes. At least I think it was female. Hard to tell with dragons sometimes. Sapphire was an exception. But I wasn't staring at her.

"I really should ask why you think you can order me around, since I'm in Gamble's inner circle and you're just the Kanto branch leader," the dragoness said dismissively. "Why the hell are you even in Hoenn?"

"The Pichu, Dia," Lexa pointed out. Neither Leafeon seemed to be paying attention to Crystal or me anymore, so I decided to remind them by sending another Fire Blast, but Lexa intercepted the attack with the weird green barrier again.

"Why didn't Sketch give it to someone from the Hoenn branch?" Dia asked impatiently.

"I'm the most trustworthy and the Pichu was bait to round up Blazey and his female of the week," Luthor replied. Not smart. Crystal lunged at the male Leafeon, but more green orbs escaped her body and was absorbed by Luthor, who calmly punched the female Flareon in the gut and then slammed his forehead into her face, causing her to collapse limply, barely conscious. The Salamence chuckled as I growled.

"The battle ends as one member is unable to continue. The Leafeon win," Lexa announced.

"The hell you do!" I snapped, lunging at Luthor, my fangs becoming engulfed in fire and I snapped my teeth at him. Luthor chuckled and the sprout on his head glowed, the intense green light hitting me and catching me in midair, hurling me backwards into the Salamence. She picked me up by the scruff of my neck and dangled me above the ground triumphantly.

"We win," Lexa repeated as Luthor tied Crystal with some sort of vine he produced from his leg. I do not want to know. I growled with anger, trying to get free from the Salamence's grip.

"I'll take this one in. You can take the other two," Dia said, poking me with a claw. I whined (trying to intimidate again) and she chuckled before flapping her wings, rising into the air. I immediately stopped trying to get free. I may not be the smartest guy around, but I know not to get dropped when I'm over 50 feet in the air. She flew over to a large mountain and landed on a cliff on one side of it. The mountain looked a little bit like a volcano, but I couldn't be sure. I might have had my eyes closed for most of the time.

"Where are we?" I demanded, the instant the large dragon dropped me.

"At my nest, where I will feed you to my kits," Dia said, grinning wickedly. I flinched and she laughed. "Got you. No, we're at Mount Chimney, which serves as one of the many Hoenn entrances to the Cave Army Caverns. One of the few I can access, for that matter," she said, gesturing a claw towards a large boulder in front of us.

"I don't get it," I admitted. She chuckled and stomped past me, pushing the boulder to one side, revealing a large cave. "Oh," I mumbled unhappily. She gestured for me to go through, and grinned at me, revealing her sharp teeth. I growled angrily, but walked through without a backwards glance. I walked down a steep incline, finally emerging in a small, brightly lit passageway.

"Who brought you?" a large rock snake demanded, coiling around me, catching me completely by surprise. He constricted a little; I whined (threatening the snake).

"He's mine," the Salamence said, catching up to me, although I didn't know why she had needed to catch up. The Onix released me and I whined as I massaged my side.

"Pity," the Onix muttered, burrowing into a large hole in the cavern and disappearing.

"Come," Dia ordered me, but I didn't move. "Fine, I'm carrying you," she said, moving towards me, prompting me into motion. "That's better," she said with a smirk, gesturing for me to go down a passage; I reluctantly obeyed, muttering angrily to myself.


	182. Tense Struggle

**Leaf POV**

I glanced between the two Eons a bit nervously. Jolt glared at Volt angrily, his fur bristling. Volt smirked coldly, but there was a faint hint of frustration in his expression. "You could have made this easier for yourself, bro, but I'll have no mercy," the Umbreon sneered, spitting a Shadow Ball at Jolt, but the Jolteon rolled to the side, releasing a Thunderbolt from his fur, but the bolt shattered harmlessly in mid air, as if it had hit an invisible barrier. "Have you learned nothing, Jolteon?" Volt sneered while Jolt growled.

"You've learned nothing, either," Jolt shot back. Volt was unfazed.

"I gave you a chance to leave unscathed and you denied it? Not very clever on your part," Volt said softly. "For one who seems to think our feud can be worked out...you aren't very smart, are you?"

"I'm smarter than you are," Jolt growled. Volt's red eyes flicked over to Vice and the Glacia, both of which were watching him nervously, the Glaceon shivering as she hid behind the Flareon. The Umbreon laughed softly. "What's funny?" Jolt demanded, narrowing his eyes at Volt.

"Didn't you know, Jolteon? The only reason you're alive is because of me. And now I'll get to kill you," he whispered, and then laughed again, the sound becoming more psychotic. A shiver of fear shot through me and my body seemed to freeze in place. Vice growled slightly, just as Volt darted forward, blocking Jolt's punch with his forearm and then bit the Jolteon's neck. Jolt gasped in pain as Volt laughed, releasing his hold on Jolt's neck. There was a shallow wound where the fangs had pierced the skin and blood was rapidly spilling from the wound.

"Stop it!" Vice shouted, running forward and stepping between Volt and Jolt as the Jolteon collapsed weakly, his body glowing briefly. Volt stopped his advance and studied Vice with a slightly amused expression.

"Do you think you can stop me, Vice?" Volt sneered quietly, but didn't make any threatening movements, his red eyes simply narrowed at the Flareon.

"Leave Jolt alone!" Vice growled, but Volt was unimpressed.

"Why should I?" Volt inquired coldly, stepping towards Jolt, but Vice cut off his path. "Move aside," he ordered impatiently.

"No!" Vice snapped, his fur bristling. Volt rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Oh no, I guess I can't finish a job because a Flareon under MY protection won't let me. Move aside!" Volt said, his last words snarled with fury and he shoved the Flareon to the side roughly. Vice whined in shock as he slid across the floor. Volt moved nearer to Jolt, who was gasping for breath, waiting desperately for the Wish to kick in. Frost and Darkness tensed, eyeing Volt uncertainly, but neither moved forward. They didn't have to because Glacia suddenly tackled the Umbreon, catching him completely by surprise.

"You hurt Vice!" Glacia yelled, sinking her teeth into Volt's ear. The Umbreon howled, whipping his head to the side and using a paw to smack the young Glaceon from him, sending her sprawling across the ground. Volt laughed coldly and slowly approached her, smirking chillingly.

"You threw away your life by attacking me, Glaceon. I don't care if you're Vice's mate..." he whispered, baring his fangs. She wailed in terror, but his eyes gleamed red, freezing her in place. "You're not escaping..." he whispered. She whined anxiously as he laughed psychotically.

"Leave Glacia alone!" Vice shouted, rushing at Volt, but the Umbreon whirled around, his red eyes glowing brightly. Vice was engulfed in psychic energy, his body immobile. Volt stepped over to the unmoving Flareon, his expression unreadable. "P-please?" Vice whined, his brave demeanor fading instantly.

"And why should I?" Volt challenged quietly. There was a tense silence which no one seemed to want to break. The golden orb of light descended upon Jolt, his neck wound healing, the Jolteon breathing a sigh of relief, but Volt paid no attention, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the Flareon.

"I-I love her," Vice said finally, sniffling loudly. "I-I c-can't live w-without h-her," he stammered. Volt's expression didn't waver and Vice sniffled again. "Please..." Vice begged desperately, tears falling down his face. Glacia whimpered anxiously, still not moving. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, waiting to see Volt's response.

"I see," Volt said coldly.

"Don't you dare harm Glacia," a voice said and the Froslass materialized, her face livid. Volt glanced briefly at the ice Pokémon. "Blizzard will be furious if you harm her daughter," she told the Umbreon. Frost blinked.

"Wait, you're Blizzard's kit?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Glacia, who whimpered in reply. "How old are you?" he asked seriously. Shadow, Darkness, and Jolt all turned and stared at Frost. I was more confused than curious.

"Is that relevant, Frost?" Shadow inquired emotionlessly. The male Glaceon shrugged dismissively, but it wasn't enough to divert Darkness' interest. Volt abruptly snarled, lunging past Vice and tackling Jolt, slamming the Jolteon to the ground. Vice blinked, looking lost for words, but he hurried over to Glacia and nuzzled her, the female Glaceon pushing herself slowly to her feet, her eyes watering as she cuddled with him.

"Jolt!" I yelled, my fur bristling. I wasn't content with just standing around and watching my allies get harmed. First Kira and then Aura were harmed without me being able to stop Diablos. I wasn't going to let Volt hurt Jolt, personal grudge or not. Frost casually walked over to the younger Eons and whispered something.

"She's about one and 8 months," Vice said, loud enough for me to hear him. I guessed that Frost had asked her age again. I was about to send some Razor Leaves at Volt, but Jolt managed to knock the Umbreon off him, releasing another blast of electricity, this time managing to hit the Umbreon. Volt snarled in fury, releasing a pulse of dark energy at Jolt, who dodged quickly.

"This is nothing personal, Gel. It's just my job," Tarot said, flinging a strange bolt of energy forward, but it was absorbed into a weird portal and vanished. The Froslass sent a beam of white energy at the Sableye, who faded out, the Ice Beam striking the floor, creating an icy spot. Tarot reappeared beside Vice and Glacia and flicked a card from the top of his deck, turning it around without looking at it.

_"You need a life,"_ Nightmare muttered. _"The Lovers, of course. Do you get that every time?"_

"Love plays a large role in life, Nightmare," Tarot replied calmly, replacing the card and fading out to avoid a Dark Pulse from Darkness, who had turned her attention to him. He reappeared besides Shadow and flicked a card to his paw, this one glowing brightly. "Justice, symbolizing insensitivity, responsibility, coldness, and justice," Tarot murmured, flinging the card at the black furred Espeon, who deflected it psychically without batting an eye.

"You'll have to learn a new trick to beat me again, Sableye," Shadow informed Tarot, orbs of light surrounding his body and firing at Tarot, who faded out quickly, reappearing beside me and pulling another card from the deck.

"The Strength. This card represents patience, compassion, and kindness," Tarot explained, flicking the card at me. I ducked quickly, the glowing card missing my ear by an inch. The Froslass prepared to send another Ice Beam, but the portal appeared again and the bolt of energy flew from it, catching the Froslass in the head. She cried out in alarm and slammed into the wall, fading out upon impact.

"Nice one, Tarot," the Haunter praised calmly, stroking the top of the Gastly's gaseous form with one hand. The Sableye nodded, fading out again and reappearing beside Frost, who tensed, preparing for the card. Tarot flicked a card to his hand.

"The Emperor. This card represents control, inflexibility, power, and experience," Tarot said calmly, the card glowing brightly. Before he could throw it, Frost knocked it from his paw with Ice Shards. Tarot blinked, fading out again and reappearing beside Jolt and Volt, pulling a new card from the deck.

"Back off, Tarot," Volt sneered, dodging a bolt of electricity and grinning. "He's mine!"

"The Fool...this card represents the journey, the need to confront the fears, and taking chances is a necessity to make progress," Tarot said softly, but he didn't throw this card, instead replaced it in the deck. He faded out as Darkness lunged at him, attempting to bite him, and he reappeared behind her, pulling another card, which glowed intensely.

"Damn," Shadow said, his eyes widening.

"I regret doing this, but it has to be done," Tarot said, raising the card into the air. Huge beams of energy flew from the card, one hitting Jolt, one hitting me and hurling me forcefully against the wall. A third hit Darkness, who gasped in shock. Another one hit Frost, but his fur glowed, the beam reflecting back and hitting Volt, who snarled in rage as he was sent sprawling across the floor. Several smaller beams seemed to fire from the card, hitting various spots on the ceiling and walls, doing shocking damage.

_"We can go now,"_ Nightmare said and all the ghosts faded out, except for the Sableye, whose gem eyes studied the corridor critically. Shadow reappeared abruptly, surprising me as I hadn't realized he had left. Volt pushed himself back up, growling angrily.

"I'm not done here. I'll kill you first, Jolt," he hissed, advancing on the weakened electric Eon, but I lashed out a vine, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't mess with me, Leafeon," Volt warned coldly.

"Volt, the building is unstable. It's not safe to remain here," Tarot warned seriously. As if on cue, a large chunk of the ceiling dropped, narrowly missing Frost. Shadow scowled, placing a paw on Darkness, and there was a brilliant flash of light. When my vision cleared, I gazed around nervously.

"Where are we?" Darkness asked, looking around in confusion. We seemed to be in some sort of outdoors clearing, but the trees were closely knit together in some areas, resembling a forest.

"We retreated," Shadow said emotionlessly, but I could sense his annoyance.

"Damn it!" Jolt snapped, looking extremely upset. Vice and Glacia flinched and I silently wondered why they were with us, not that I minded. I would have been very upset if Shadow hadn't brought them along if the building was in danger of collapsing.

"What's wrong?" I asked tentatively, not wanting to agitate him further. Jolt lay down miserably, burying his face in his paws.

"I...I wanted to get Kira's body," he whispered. "To bury it or something," he mumbled. Shadow was about to say something, but I shook my head at him warningly. The black furred Espeon glanced at me with a briefly amused expression, but decided against making his comment.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked him quietly and he shrugged. "You should maybe try to get some sleep," I suggested.

"I won't be able sleep after all that," Jolt said unhappily. I smiled faintly and plucked a piece of grass, which was plentiful in this area and gently blew it, playing a soothing tune. Jolt resisted the effect at first, but he eventually curled up, yawning openly. The other Eons ignored the tune altogether and were unaffected. Then again, my Grasswhistle still couldn't actually put people to sleep, just help them relax.

"Dark, get away from me. I need physical contact to teleport a dark type," Shadow snapped abruptly. "That is not an invitation to cuddle with me." I glanced over to see the blue ringed Umbreon licking my brother's ear affectionately

"Oh. Can I cuddle with you?" Darkness asked seriously, taking a step away from my brother, her rings glowing.

"No, you can't," Shadow replied. She ignored him and rested her head on his shoulder anyway. I turned my attention to Vice and Glacia, both of which seemed much calmer now. Frost was studying Glacia thoughtfully, but he eventually turned and walked to a secluded area of the clearing, curling up lazily, forming a vortex of hail around himself. I moved further from the Glaceon, not wanting to be too close to the temperature decrease. I was a little too sensitive to the changes in temperature at times.

"I'm turning in also," I muttered, curling up and using Grasswhistle to help me drift into sleep.


	183. Ember's Past

**Ember POV**

I waited impatiently in the small cavern for what felt like hours, but I knew it couldn't be that long. I was sitting on a rock, my tail coiled partially around myself. I glanced up as another Pokémon entered, but it stopped at the sight of me, looking confused. "Who are you?" it asked, stepping cautiously closer. The Pokémon in question reminded me of an Oddish, only that it had more of a flower on its head and it had stubby arms. A strange fluid, similar to drool, was hanging on the edge of its mouth. I recognized the specie as a Gloom and instinctively covered my nose with a paw. The Gloom looked momentarily offended, but unsurprised, by my reaction.

"I'm Ember," I muttered, feeling a little uncomfortable making such an obvious sign of repulsion, but Charmander have a good sense of smell and Gloom are said to stink horribly.

"My name is Unusual," the Gloom replied with a small bow. "I also don't stink like most Gloom do, which makes me a bit 'unusual', wouldn't you say?" it grinned at me for a moment, but I didn't reply except to hesitantly move my paw from my nose, not entirely convinced of his claim. "So...what are you doing here?" the Gloom asked gently. It seemed to be a male, but that's not the easiest thing to be sure of with plant Pokémon.

"Captured," I replied irritably. The Gloom looked a bit taken aback by this, but recovered from this quickly.

"Oh. Why are you **here** here?" he asked, pointing to the room.

"I was called by Inferna or whatever her name is," I replied with an annoyed shrug. The Gloom flinched. "I don't know what she wants, though," I said, betraying a hint of nervousness in my tone, which the Gloom seemed to catch.

"Mind if I keep you company until she arrives?" Unusual asked. I shrugged and the Gloom sat down on another rock near me. "How old are you?" he asked me.

"8," I said. The Gloom blinked.

"You don't look that old," he said.

"Uh...thanks?"

"So what's your life been like for that long?" he asked.

"One hell after another."

"You're not very optimistic, are you?"

"Nope," I said.

"Why not?"

"You really want to know?" I asked. The Gloom nodded and I sighed. "Okay, let's see...where should I start...?"

* * *

"I'm tired of walking," I complained to my dad, who glanced back at me. He was an older Charmander, about 6 years old compared to my 2 years.

"Just a little farther, Ember," the elder Charmander said gently and I groaned as I climbed over the tough rocky ground until I caught up to him. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he asked, patting me on the head slightly.

"Where's Mom, anyway?" I asked as he led me over to a small river. He hesitated, but it went unnoticed, my interest shifting to the apples growing over head.

"She might catch up to us later," he said finally and I blinked, looking over at him and noticing he was absently stroking a recent scratch on his stomach, but I looked away quickly. Mom and Dad got into fights a lot and she was a Charmeleon, so she usually won. I was always told not to worry about it, but Dad looked more beat up than usual. He seemed tired and tense, and his body sported many scratches and bite marks, all of which he dismissed as typical everyday injuries. I knew he was lying, both about Mom catching up, and the nature of his injuries. I was young, but I wasn't stupid.

"Why'd she leave?" I whined. I knew she had abandoned us, but I didn't understand why. I wish Dad would just admit it, though. I had heard their argument the previous night, with Mom getting angry about something and beating him up before storming off. Dad came back to me and tried to calm me down, telling me that everything was alright, but I knew it wasn't.

"She'll come back, Ember," Dad assured me brightly. I sighed quietly and dipped my paw in the river, washing some dirt from my scales with the damp paw and then looked up longingly at the apples again. Dad followed my gaze and chuckled before spitting a fireball, striking the tree branch some apples grew on. It took three fireballs to bring the branch to the ground and he threw one of the green fruits to me. I fumbled with it, dropped it, and hastily picked it up from the ground before finally being able eating it.

"Dad?" I asked quietly. The elder Charmander looked at me.

"Yes, Ember?" he asked gently.

"You'll stay with me, right?" I asked uncomfortably.

"Of course I will. Why wouldn't I?" he asked.

* * *

Months passed. We never saw Mom again, never heard anything else from her. Dad didn't show it, but I knew he was upset about it. True to his word, he never left me, even though I was technically at the age where I should be able survive in the wild without a parent. However, I noticed that many of the injuries he had sustained so long ago didn't seem to fade. He had a permanent limp, however slight, and he was easily tired, although a bit better than I was.

We were on the move a lot, with no explanation for where we were going or why. I think maybe he was trying to move on with his life, but he protested this theory adamantly. He continued to insist that someday we'd see Mom again, but I knew the truth. She had abandoned us. She didn't care.

One day, we were traveling as usual when a pair of Pokémon attacked us. Dad told me to stay back so he could handle them. I wanted to help, but my fire wasn't very strong. I was helpless, and Dad didn't fare much better. The Houndour and Growlithe leapt upon the elder Charmander, crippling him within moments. I couldn't just stand and watch anymore, so I lunged at them, punching the Growlithe in the nose fiercely, dazing it, but the Houndour tackled me to the ground. I punched it as hard as I could, but the forehead was protected by the bone placed on its forehead. The Growlithe recovered and bit down on my tail. I yelped in pain and was tackled again by the Houndour, which growled fiercely at me, its breath was hot and smelled of blood.

"Heel!" a loud voice shouted and both dog Pokémon stepped back obediently. I growled and looked over at my dad, whose breathing was ragged. He was bleeding profusely from several wounds upon his body, but he managed a weak smile when he saw me looking at him.

"It's not your fault, Ember," he whispered to me. "I just wasn't strong enough." He lifted a paw and held my paw, looking into my watering eyes. "I love you," he said softly. Then his eyes closed and his paw went limp. I was too stunned to notice the flying projectile until it hit me and I felt a strange tugging feeling before I lost consciousness.

* * *

I awoke in a strange room, but I quickly determined that I wasn't alone. There was a human with black clothing reclining near a gap in the wall and a weird pink Pokémon with an egg in a pouch on its stomach. She smiled when she noticed that I was awake. "Hello. What's your name?" she asked.

"Uh...Ember," I groaned, holding my head, which throbbed painfully. The Chansey (I learned the specie later) made a mark on a slate she was holding. "Where am I?" I moaned.

"You've been caught by a member of Team Rocket. He's your trainer now," she replied brightly, pointing to the human in the corner. I growled slightly, but didn't say anything else. I didn't really know what a 'trainer' was, and my mind focused more on the memory of my dad. I didn't feel quite as sad anymore, but I felt a surge of hatred for my mom. My dad hadn't been strong enough to fight our attackers, and I wasn't strong, either. Maybe, if my Mom hadn't beaten him all the time and if she hadn't abandoned us, he'd still be alive...

"Now what?" I asked myself. It would do no good to mope about the fact I didn't have a family. I could live with that. I was old enough where I should be able to care for myself. So I'd need to train up a little, something I had neglected to do for most of my life. If I had trained more, I wouldn't have needed to stay back while my dad died trying to fight. But like he said, it wasn't my fault he had died. It was my mother's. We'd most likely never meet again, but I'd never forgive her for what she had done to us.

The first few months were rather boring. I spent some time in a special room where I could try fighting other Pokémon, but my fire attacks weren't getting stronger and they felt too awkward to use. However, after fighting a Sandshrew (and losing), I realized that I could try using my own claws in battle, rather than fire. It took some getting used to, but I felt far more comfortable using my claws instead of my fire attacks and many of my opponents were confused when they fought me, as they tried to get closer to make fire less effective (it's hard to aim fire at close range), only to get slashed by my claws.

However, my 'trainer' was getting fed up with me. I had completely ignored every command he sent my way and had only used claw attacks, rather than the "Flamethrower" that he was telling me to use. I don't have a clue how to use Flamethrower, anyway. Finally, he forced me back into the Pokeball (that's what I was told it was called) and when I was released, I was in a completely different room. I took a few moments to look around and I saw another human, wearing a weirder set of clothing than my 'trainer'.

"What's wrong with the Charmander?" the unknown human asked.

"She doesn't listen and I don't want to deal with her anymore!" the trainer said angrily. "She's no good to me."

"And who should I give her to?" the other human asked seriously.

"I don't care," the trainer said. The other human sighed and lifted up a Pokeball, but it suddenly burst open of its own accord and a snake like creature appeared. It was about 4 feet long and had some weird fin or something on the side of its head. It was definitely male and was sort of cute looking. Then again, that was probably my heat talking. (Yeah, my first heat. It sucks. It wasn't even March; it was early December, nearing my 4th birthday)

"Dragonair," the human said and the snake Pokémon frowned briefly before glancing at the human. "Keep an eye on the Charmander until I find her a new trainer," he ordered.

"Sure, because you own a weird ball so I must obey everything you tell me to do," the snake muttered under his breath, prompting a small smile from me. He glanced at me lazily, looking me up and down. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Ember," I replied. The dragon promptly snickered and I stared at him blankly.

"Do you need to practice your name attack?" the snake asked mockingly. I growled angrily, and the dragon chuckled. "Too easy," he said, gesturing with his tail for me to follow him as he slithered from the room with me a step behind him. We passed a fire slug Pokémon and the snake paused, "Hey Flare, need the fire extinguisher?" he called. The Slugma glared at him, but didn't comment.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Insulting people," he replied casually as we passed a Chansey, but he didn't comment on her.

"Why didn't you insult that one?" I asked, feeling confused.

"Common sense. Do you have that? If you get on the wrong side of a Chansey, you're almost asking for them to neglect you when you get hurt. Or even worse, if you need surgery, for them to botch it," the snake said with a smirk. I growled again at his insult. "Wow, you have a temper, girl. That just makes it more fun."

"Shut up," I muttered.

"My name's Dragonair, but I am a Dratini. Mock the human for that one. He did it on purpose," the dragon said, rolling his eyes as he turned a corner, entering a room which was fairly large in size, with a comfortable looking bed in the center of the room. There also was a bunch of devices around that I had no idea what they were. "Heh, my room. The perk of being an executive's Pokémon," he said, smirking smugly. I stared at the room enviously. The room I had been given was either my Pokeball or a tiny room with a hard cot.

* * *

"I'm done talking about this," I muttered. The Gloom nodded understandingly.

"I see," he said kindly. "I'm sure it's hard talking about unpleasant pasts," he added. "Your mom sounds like she's a total...you know," he said, trailing off awkwardly.

"Yeah," I agreed, scowling, "She never wanted me. Never wanted a kit at all."

"Really? Ouch," Unusual said sympathetically. He really was sort of nice and he was right about not reeking, since I barely noticed that he was a Gloom. The scent was sort of sweet, actually.

"There you are," a voice said and I flinched, turning towards the cave entrance as a Charmeleon entered the room. My gaze was immediately drawn to her eyes, where a scar existed above her left and below her right, and I smirked briefly as I noticed the third scar directly between her eyes, lined up so it matched the angles of the other two. The one I had given her. "I see you two got acquainted," the Charmeleon sneered.

"Do you want me to leave, Inferna?" the Gloom asked nervously.

"Inferna? You're Inferna?" I snarled, my anger rising up. My mom nodded coldly.

"You know her?" Unusual asked, surprised and I scowled.

"Of course she does. She gave me this scar," my mom said, gesturing to the middle scar.

"And she's my mom," I growled.

"Oh...awkward..." Unusual mumbled.


	184. Escape Plan

**Dragonair POV**

Several hours passed since Ember's departure and there was no sign of her returning. The 'guards' had shifted at least twice, so I actually had no clue how much time had passed. Sapphire was constantly meditating, but I knew she was having a hard time staying calm. I never knew she was claustrophobic, although it probably shouldn't have surprised me that much, all things considering. She never seemed too bothered by cramped locations, but those were usually short term arrangements that she could leave if uncomfortable. I felt unhappy that she was so discomforted, especially since I knew it was my fault that she was in the situation.

"Are you all right, Sapphire?" I asked her seriously. The female Dragonair glanced at me, smiling lightly, but I noticed the smile seemed a little more forced than normal.

"Yes, I will be fine. Thank you," she replied, taking a deep breath. Vipera glanced between us lazily. The Seviper was looking a little smug. She had at least five more feet of room in her cage and a friend that was working towards getting her released. Sapphire and I weren't as fortunate, although I had spent some time thinking of a chance to escape. My only idea was that escape would be simple if the collar was removed. It was a more sophisticated collar than the one the Rockets had put on me, which shocked me whenever I focused energy for any purpose, including weather control, but meditation wasn't restricted (a lot of good that was doing me).

"Hey Viper," I whispered to the Seviper, who blinked at me, frowning briefly.

"Vipera," she corrected. I sighed, deciding that it was best to follow her rules, since I needed her help.

"Okay, Vipera, can you use your tail to get this collar off?" I murmured softly. The serpent looked over towards the guards, neither of which was paying attention to us. A Mightyena was looking down the passage that led out of the room, and the other guard was sleeping. Vipera very carefully laced her tail through the bars and placed the bladed edge on the collar in question. "Be careful," I muttered.

"I know," Vipera muttered back, lifting the tail a few inches, the bladed edge glowing black as she slashed it downwards. The impact made a loud clanging sound, but the collar remained intact, although a small chip appeared in the metal. "Sorry, hit with the side of the blade," she muttered, correcting her position and trying again. The clang was even louder, but the vibration I received felt like the attack had created a respectable gash in the metal. However, the noise had attracted Sapphire's notice and had awakened the sleeping guard. Vipera pulled her tail back inside her cell and coiled up innocently.

"Need something?" I sneered at the awakened guard, an idiotic looking green lizard Pokémon with a red zigzag stripe on its stomach. It yawned and shook its head, looking at the Mightyena, which was walking over.

"What was the noise?" the dark canine demanded, glaring at me suspiciously.

"What noise?" I asked indifferently, flicking my tail against the cell wall boredly. The canine growled, but turned his glare onto Vipera.

"What was the noise, Seviper?" he snarled.

"I was carving my name into the wall," Vipera replied, gesturing to the wall behind her, which had 'Vip' carved in. When did she do that? The dark type stared at her blankly, but growled and stormed back over to the entrance. The green Pokémon shrugged and closed its eyes sleepily again. I chose to examine the collar, curling my tail up to my neck and examining how deep the gash was. "How is it?" Vipera whispered to me.

"Good enough," I replied with a wide grin. "I think you hit the volt generator or whatever the hell they put in these things," I told her, demonstrating my theory by spitting a small stream of fire from my mouth, without getting shocked by the collar. Vipera nodded in satisfaction. Sapphire smiled a little bit as I studied the cell door. It wasn't anything too special, which explained why Sapphire and I were given restraining collars, but now I could attack without getting the annoying shocks. But which technique would be best suited to blowing the gate off? Well that was a no-brainer. I charged my Hyper Beam and released it at the door, the large beam of orange energy slicing easily through the metal and hitting the drowsy reptile Pokémon, sending it flying into the wall, where it slumped, unconscious.

"What the...?" the Mightyena growled, running over as I quickly exited my cell, panting a little bit. Now I remember why I stopped using Hyper Beam so much. It wasn't the most useful move for frequent fights without much time to rest, but it was excellent for blowing things apart. "Bad move," the canine growled.

"Was it?" I asked mockingly. "I took out the cell door and your partner. Oh, and this helps, too," I added, floating higher and tapping the lock on Vipera and Sapphire's cells with my tail, their doors unlocking. The females exited their cages and the Mightyena hesitated. I took the time to send a bolt of electricity at the dark canine and it leapt to the side, retaliating by leaping forward, sinking its teeth into my scales, but failing to do any real damage. Sapphire frowned, but I grinned to show her I was okay. I didn't need the dragoness getting too upset, especially not with the risk of receiving a shock if she made any sudden movements. The Mightyena seemed to realize the danger it was in, just as I blasted it with a powerful Hyper Beam, sending the idiot into the wall. It yelped and crumpled to the floor.

"Very good," Vipera praised.

"Don't move, Sapphire," I said, floating over to the female Dragonair and carefully directing a stream of fire onto the collar around her neck, which broke apart when I struck it with a Thunderbolt. Sapphire kissed my cheek gratefully and directed her own Flamethrower onto the damaged restraining collar allowing Vipera to slice it off with her tail. I kissed Sapphire's cheek, smirking as the dragoness blushed. "Nothing for you, viper," I told the Seviper which was eyeing me uncertainly. She looked visibly relieved.

"Come on, we have to get out of here," Vipera said.

"We need to find Spark and Ember," I reminded them, leading them hurriedly down the passageway.

"We don't know where they might be," Sapphire said, frowning a little bit as she floated after Vipera, who was slithering after me with surprising speed for a land traveling snake. As a Dratini, I wasn't that fast. I was also about half her size, but my point still stands. Unless I remember that Dratini are swimmers, not slitherers. Ugh, that's not even a word.

"We could ask someone," I suggested sarcastically. Both females stared at me. "I'm being sarcastic, sheesh," I said, rolling my eyes. They really should get that by now. Asking directions never helps when you're in hostile territory.

"Be alert. Ceal told me that this place is well guarded," Vipera warned, her red eyes scanning the surrounding cavern passage. I nodded in agreement and focused my attention on checking that no opponents were nearby.

"Escape in progress!" a loud voice screeched. I cursed, looking up near the ceiling and spotted a Crobat.

"Did either of you see that bat?" I demanded to my companions, both of which shook their heads. The Crobat flew from its ceiling perch, repeating its alert loudly. Sapphire fired an ice beam from her forehead horn, the beam catching the bat in midflight, freezing its wings so that it tumbled helplessly to the ground. Vipera winced at the thudding sound the bat made when it hit the ground.

"No one will escape," another voice said seriously and two Pokémon stepped into the corridor in our path. One was the Electabuzz that had taken Ember and the other was the Electrike from earlier. I narrowed my eyes at the two of them.

"Stand aside," I ordered, preparing to attack. The two Pokémon exchanged looks and then stepped aside obediently. I blinked, puzzled. "Just like that?"

"No, trying to lull you into a false sense of security," the bipedal electric type said, its fist crackling with electricity as it punched at me, but I twisted my body to the side, slammed my head down upon the Electabuzz's head, dazing it. Electrike charged a ball of electricity in its mouth and spat it towards Sapphire, who twisted her body in a similar fashion to how I had, the electricity missing by a wide margin. Vipera swiped her tail, which glowed purplish as it struck the Electrike. The electric canine howled in pain as it fell to the ground, the wound taking on an ugly purplish appearance.

"Poisoned?" Vipera murmured, smiling a little as she struck her fangs at the Electabuzz, but he kicked her aside. Sapphire sighed softly and spat a burst of blue fire from her mouth, engulfing the electric type's face. He roared in pain, the yell intensifying as I slammed his gut with my tail, bowling him over with ease.

"Where's Ember?" I demanded of the Electabuzz, who clutched his face in agony, the fur and flesh singed black. Sapphire looked a little uncomfortable when she saw how much damage the Dragon breath had done, but I pushed this thought out of my mind. "And where's Spark?"

"Inferna has the Charmander," the electric type wailed, but there was a strange note of triumph in his tone.

"Where's Inferna?" I demanded impatiently.

"I don't know. Only Sketch knows," the Electabuzz sneered. I sighed and slammed him forcefully with my tail, knocking him unconscious and turned to the Electrike. Vipera struck him with the side of her blade, the impact sufficient to knock the electric canine into unconsciousness.

"We're going to get swarmed if we don't hurry," the Seviper warned, taking the lead and moving down a side passage. Sapphire and I exchanged looks, but followed without a word. The Seviper suddenly hissed in anger as two more Pokémon moved into our path, smiling smugly at us. One was an orange bipedal bird with sharp claws. The other was more familiar: a Geodude.

"Combusken and Geodude?" Vipera murmured, studying the two opponents curiously, flicking her tail into an aggressive pose. Sapphire didn't seem too enthused, but she also took a more aggressive stance. I understood that she didn't like fighting, but she was so skilled we needed her assistance.

"No escape for you," the Combusken said, engulfing its body in flames and lunging at Sapphire, but the dragoness' aura orb glowed, conjuring a rain cloud overhead, the rain dousing the fire. Sapphire flicked her tail quickly, catching the fire type in the stomach, knocking the wind from it. Vipera lashed out with her bladed tail, but the Geodude deflected it with its arms, flying at the Seviper quickly. Vipera tried to dodge, but was too slow, resulting in the impact sending her into the side of the cavern wall, dazing the snake. I fired an Ice Beam at the rock type, but it blocked by breaking a boulder from the side of the wall and hurling it at me. However, Sapphire used this moment to hit it with her own Ice Beam, freezing the boulder Pokémon into a block of ice.

The Combusken recovered from its moment of weakness and its claws glowed blue as it leapt into the air, swiping at my underbelly with the glowing paw. I grunted in pain, tenderly touching the injury with my tail and noticing a few drops of blood on the tail. Sapphire's eyes narrowed, but her demeanor remained calm. However, she still released a blast of electricity at the fire type, the Thunderbolt conducted by the rain cloud and easily flowing through the Combusken's dampened fur.

"That had to hurt," I commented with a smirk, sending my own Thunderbolt at the weakened fire type, but it leapt out of the way, slashing Sapphire in midair. I scowled furiously as the dragoness made a quiet cry of pain. "Oh...you did not," I snarled, feeling my energy collecting. The fire type didn't seem to notice, too intent on striking Sapphire as many times as possible. I couldn't take it anymore. "No one should EVER hurt Sapphire!" I raged.

That Combusken was going to be in a world of pain for its stupidity. I felt my energy building, and upon reaching the breaking point, a burst of energy fired from my body, striking the fire bird forcefully, the Combusken staggering backwards, caught by surprise. The energy released again, hitting the stunned fire type, knocking it to the ground, but my Outrage went off one more time, completely out of my control. My only concern was beating that damn fire type to a pulp.

"Dragonair, calm down," Sapphire urged, nuzzling me gently. I blinked at her, confused. Wasn't she happy I had just helped her? She didn't seem upset, but she wasn't quite as grateful as I thought she might be. "Um...are you okay?" she asked, giving me a confused look. I shook myself, trying to get my thoughts in order, but that's easier said than done. I was feeling a bit dizzy and was having trouble thinking straight.

"Um...fine?" I replied uncertainly. Sapphire kissed me gently, watching my reaction carefully. The gesture did nothing to help my current emotions. What were we just doing? Where were we? Oh right, we'd been captured...I shook myself again, this time forcing my focus onto the dragoness, who looked a little unnerved.

"Outrage leaves him a little confused for a while, Sapphire. Nothing to worry about," a gentle, moderately familiar voice said and we turned to stare at the speaker. The speaker was a moth Pokémon with a lavender colored body.

"Venomoth?" I blinked, staring at her. "How did you get here? And why are you here?"

"Boris brought me," the female Venomoth said with a giggle as an elderly Alakazam nodded solemnly at us. I noticed the male Venomoth behind them, looking strangely shy and hovering very close to Venomoth.

"Why are you here?" I repeated.

"Boris wished to come for personal reasons. Veeno and I just decided to tag along and we stumbled upon you," Venomoth explained.

"Why did Boris want to come?" I asked, getting a little impatient. The Alakazam was about to reply when a voice interrupted. A voice that made me shudder.

"Impressive escape, Dratini," Gamble sneered, the Absol stepping from the shadows, smirking at me coldly.

"Gamble," I snapped in reply. The Absol nodded, his smirk widening into a grin. "Where's Spark?"

"I don't have the Pichu, Dratini," Gamble replied casually.

"Where is he?" I demanded.

"I might tell you...but..." the Absol began, but shook his head. "No, not a good idea."

"Tell me, Gamble!" I shouted.

"If you truly want to know the locations and/or fates of your friends, then I might be willing to tell you...if..." Gamble trailed off, shooting a glance at the newcomers.

"If what?" I snapped impatiently and the Absol returned his attention to me.

"If you can defeat me," Gamble replied.

"Ugh. What's the sick game, Gamble?" I demanded. Gamble smiled in an almost sadistic fashion.

"Let's have a little fun. I challenge you to a 'Roulette Duel'. If you win, I'll answer your questions. If you lose, and you will, then a friend of yours dies," Gamble said.

"What?" I protested, my anger rising up immediately. So the Absol was still at his twisted games, wasn't he? Gamble smirked.

"What choice do you have, Dratini? You may have beaten me in the past, but can you do it again? A roulette duel will combine our respective skills. Care to try your luck, Dratini?" the Absol sneered mockingly. I shivered at the use of the phrase.

"I don't gamble for lives, you sick Absol," I growled.

"It's much more fun when lives are on the line, Dratini," Gamble pointed out.

"Then why don't you wager yours?" I snapped.

"Who would kill me?" the Absol replied coldly. I scowled with rage. "So what do you say?" Gamble asked mockingly. "Or are you afraid that luck isn't going to help you this time?"

"Fine. Roulette Duel it is," I spat contemptuously. Gamble's grin widened.

"Excellent."

**I'd really appreciate reviews at this point, especially if you haven't reviewed for a while or ever. Feedback is essential to let me know how I'm doing. I'd like to know what characters you like or dislike and why or chapters/events you like/dislike. Let me know if there's anything you think I can improve on or am doing well with. I might be asking a lot, but I'd appreciate it nevertheless****.**


	185. Roulette Duel

**Thanks to all who reviewed. Criticisms, opinions, etc are very valuable.**

**Dragonair POV**

"What's a roulette duel?" Sapphire asked, glancing between me and Gamble uncertainly. I blinked, realizing that I also had no idea what that was. Gamble chuckled to himself and gestured for me to enter a side chamber.

"You first," I said coldly, not willing to trust the Absol with entering after me. Gamble shrugged and entered the chamber with me a few paces behind. Sapphire, Vipera, and the two Venomoth followed, but the Alakazam had vanished. This room was decently large, definitely bigger than the room where our group had been imprisoned in.

"This seems like a good battle location," Gamble said, turning to face me with a creepy smirk. I scowled in reply, forcing away the flickering memories of my last encounter with Gamble, several years ago. "And the judge of the duel has just arrived," he added nastily as a Mr. Mime teleported into the room.

"We need a judge?" I asked incredulously.

"A Roulette Duel is very strict on rules, Dratini. Here's how it works," Gamble said, withdrawing two dice from the pouch around his neck and threw them. One was red, the other was blue. "Pick one of the dice, Dratini. They're identical and untampered with," he said.

"Red," I said, using my tail to seize the die. The Mr. Mime picked up the blue die and handed it to Gamble without a word. Gamble chuckled.

"Each attack is considered a round. Only one attack can be used per round. At the start of each round, we roll our dice and the number we get determined which technique we can use. There is a thirty second time limit. If the technique is not used within the limit, you pass the round. You may pass the round voluntarily if you wish. If you pass voluntarily, you will not be allowed to use that technique anymore during that round. Do you get the rules, Dratini?" Gamble explained.

"Wait, how do we determine what technique fits with each number?" I asked irritably.

"That's why the judge is here. We tell him which technique is with each number. Use of another technique will result in disqualification, which is automatic defeat. And since a friend's life is on the line, I don't think you'll be breaking any rules, will you, Dratini?" Gamble sneered.

"What friend?" I growled. He better not try wagering Sapphire, but he's such a bastard he probably would.

"Because I am nice, your mate is exempt from this game," Gamble replied. I relaxed a little, but my eyes narrowed at him suspiciously. "Any more questions?" Gamble asked seriously.

"So this whole fight is based on luck, not skill or strategy? That's sort of cheap," I said passively.

"It makes the game more exciting. In a straight on fight, we're even. This way, a winner can be decided," Gamble said, unfazed by my comment.

"Why don't we just flip a coin? It's faster," I pointed out dryly. Gamble laughed.

"I doubt you want to wager a life on a coin flip. This way you actually have a chance to win, rather than put it all up to fate. Plus I know you want to hurt me, so this is another chance," the Absol explained.

"Fine. Let's just do this," I said irritably. Gamble smirked and walked over to the Mr. Mime, whispering in his ear. The psychic type nodded and made some marks on a clipboard or something like that.

"Your turn, Dratini," Gamble said and I floated over to the Mr. Mime, who glanced at me inquisitively.

"What information do I give you?"

"The number of the die and the corresponding technique," the Mr. Mime said seriously.

"Okay," I murmured, thinking for a few seconds, lowering my voice to a whisper. "One, Hyper Beam. Two is Thunderbolt. Three is Flamethrower. Four is Ice Beam. Five...damn, I'll choose Slam. And Six...Outrage."

"Very well. Take your battle positions," the Mr. Mime ordered, making a mark on the clipboard. Gamble smirked at me as I floated to the side opposite him. I cast a quick look around, silently taking note that the area was in Gamble's favor. It was plenty big enough for me to move around in, but it was still a little cramped for my usual dodging techniques. Gamble had no such limitations.

"Care to try your luck, Dratini?" Gamble sneered, flinging his die. I flicked my tail, releasing my own die. They bounced, rolling across the floor and spinning before finally stopping. The Mr. Mime waved a paw and two numbers, one red, one blue, appeared above their respectively colored dice. The red number was 3. The blue one was 2. Gamble laughed. "Luck doesn't favor you, Dratini," he sneered.

"Whatever," I growled, spitting a stream of fire at the Absol, which spat a beam of pale white energy towards me. Gamble dodged my Flamethrower and I hastily twisted out of the way of his Ice Beam. The Mr. Mime flicked his paws, lifting the dice and psychically guiding them back to us. I flicked the die with my tail and Gamble took it and flung it into the center of the room.

"Don't you just love the tension, Dratini? Reminds me of our last dice game," the Absol whispered. I flinched, even as the numbers appeared above the dice. A red 1, a blue 2.

"DAMN IT!" I shouted. That meant I had to use Hyper Beam while he gets to use Ice Beam. I wasn't sure if I could afford to tire myself out so early in the duel. Gamble raised an eyebrow at my reaction. But if I could hit him...it was a high risk, high return gamble and I wasn't much of a gambler. But risks were required when facing this Absol, that much I knew. A shiver ran through me at the thought.

"Bad luck, Dratini?" Gamble mocked. I cursed under my breath and charged my Hyper Beam, firing it at Gamble, who chuckled and rolled to the side, firing his Ice Beam at me again. This time I was slow in dodging, the icy energy sending a brutal chill through my body, which burned agonizingly. I panted, feeling drained and disappointed.

"Don't give up, Dragonair!" Sapphire urged, sounding worried. I nodded weakly, glaring at the Absol, who grinned sadistically.

"This is so much fun, Dratini. You'll pay for disgracing me. No one has ever defeated me until you came along. And now I'm going to defeat you at last, taking you and your little friends down," Gamble hissed.

"You're sick!" I snapped, flicking the die as the Mr. Mime guided it to me. Gamble tossed his own. The cubes bounced and finally stopped. A red 5 and a blue 4. "Damn...I pass," I growled. I was too tired to try to hit the Absol with my body and getting close was not a good idea.

"Pity," Gamble said, lunging forward, swiping his claws at me. I twisted my body quickly, mentally cursing myself. I shouldn't have declared that I passed so soon, that meant he could attack without fear of retaliation. His claws missed me by an inch, but the Absol recovered from the surprise quickly, leaping back from me. "Not bad, Dratini."

"Whatever," I said, flicking the die again. Gamble threw his own and I waited with bated breath. A red 6 and a blue 1 appeared above the dice, causing me to frown. My luck totally sucked. Now I had to use Outrage or pass again. And I wasn't sufficiently pissed off to be able to use it reliably.

"You don't seem too thrilled, Dragonair. Is luck letting you down?" Gamble asked, sounding amused. He lunged forward, the strange blade on his head glowing black as he approached. I reacted instinctively, focusing on my anger at Gamble's sick game. I couldn't lose this fight, because if I did, one of my friends would pay for it. I felt the energy within me rise to the surface and a blast of blue energy fired from my horn. Gamble leapt up, over the blast and raked me with the horn. I cried out in agony as the blade cut through my scales, my body searing with pain.

"Damn you!" I snarled, releasing a second burst from my horn, and then a third. Gamble looked surprised, but jumped out of the way of the second, rolling backwards, the third shattering a large dent into the ground, narrowly missing him.

"Dragonair!" Sapphire cried. I gazed at her blankly, feeling a little dizzy from the overload of energy I had just used. Gamble's laughter filled the room.

"You've lost Dratini. You have no chance to defeat me in your current condition. But I know you won't give up, so let's end this," the Absol whispered, throwing his die. I absently flicked my own die, feeling my attention drift around the room as the cubes rolled. The glowing numbers appeared: a red 5 and a blue 6. Gamble's grin widened.

"Which one is that again?" I asked the Mr. Mime, who blinked and checked the clipboard.

"Slam," he replied. I nodded and floated towards the Absol as quickly as I could, bringing my tail forcefully upon him. The Absol glowed black and he slammed a paw into my gut, the force of it hurling me backwards and I hit the ground weakly.

"Sucker Punch...how valuable against a sucker like you," Gamble said triumphantly.

"Dragonair, are you okay?" Sapphire called anxiously. I groaned, lifting my head blearily and rising back into the air.

"You can beat him!" Venomoth called gently. The male Venomoth remained silent. I nodded, flicking the die with my head. Gamble tossed his own die and I waited anxiously. My focus was still a bit off, but I knew I couldn't let the Absol win. I was a better fighter than he was, but the Roulette style was making the whole fight based on luck, putting things in his advantage. I had to win, for the sake of whichever friend Gamble planned to kill if he won. The dice stopped and the numbers appeared. A red 5 and a blue 6, again.

"I pass," I said promptly. Gamble growled.

"As do I," he said. The Mr. Mime blinked, but steered the dice back to us. With a small grin, I flicked my die again as Gamble rolled. A red 1, a blue 5. I hesitated. That meant I had to use Hyper Beam against an unknown attack from Gamble. Could I take the risk again? Last time it didn't pay off. Gamble seemed to know the thoughts that were crossing my mind. "Do you feel lucky, Dratini?" he whispered.

"Yeah, I do!" I snapped in reply, charging my Hyper Beam and firing it towards Gamble. The Absol's red eyes glowed and he split into 3 copies. The powerful beam hit one of the Absol, which shattered into smoke. I cursed loudly, panting from the Hyper Beam use. I was totally screwed.

"I guess you weren't lucky enough," the two Absol laughed, simultaneously hitting the dice with their head. I tapped mine weakly with my head. A red 4 and a blue 2. That meant my Ice Beam vs. his. And he had two shots while I only had one. I took a deep breath and spat the Ice Beam, which fired towards the left Absol, which shattered just like the first. Gamble laughed and spat his own pale white beam, just as I collapsed weakly, my energy too low to try to dodge. On the plus side, this made the Absol's attack miss me, but it hardly mattered.

"Don't give up!" Vipera shouted.

"Dragonair..." Sapphire whispered, but I could hear her as clearly as if she was right next to me. I switched my gaze to the female Dragonair, who was looking at me sadly. She wasn't crying or anything, but the look was pleading, as if she was afraid that I had failed. Gamble laughed as he picked up his die.

"We're not through yet, Dratini. A true gambler plays on to their last chip," he said seriously. I grunted, straining myself to get back up and fight. I gazed at the red die hovering in front of my face and nudged it with my head, sending it rolling. Gamble tossed his own die; his red eyes alight with excitement. He was sick, twisted, and taking glee from my pain and the knowledge that he was probably going to win. I hated to admit defeat, but at this rate, I didn't have a chance. I was just so tired...and Gamble was at perfect strength. A red 4 and a blue 5 lit up and I frowned. That meant Gamble could use his Double Team again. The Absol didn't hesitate, his body splitting into three identical Absol, which watched me calmly.

"I'm not done..." I muttered, spitting my Ice Beam at the middle Absol. To my surprise, the Absol cried out when hit, jerking as his fur was covered in frost, the two clones fading from view. "Yes..." I said, smiling despite how much it hurt to breathe.

"This match isn't over, Dratini! You'll soon fall!" Gamble snapped and flung his die with unnecessary force. I flicked my own die (a bit cockily). A red 6, a blue 5. Outrage vs. Double Team. 3 shots, three clones...those are good odds. This time, I allowed my mind to drift back several years, to the memory of the cruel acts the Absol did to the ones he beat. A Yanma had gotten his wings torn off after losing in Poker, and later killed. I growled to myself at the memory. My eyes opened as the surge of energy flowed through my serpentine body, culminating at my horn.

"Take this!" I snapped, releasing one pulse of the violent energy. Gamble split into 3 again, but the clones didn't look too confident. The first blast shattered the clone and I steered my aim to another of the Absol, the bolt hitting the Absol, who yelled in shock and pain, the last clone fading from view. The force of the blast left a dark scorch mark on the dark type's white fur, sending him sprawling to the ground. I smirked in triumph and fired the third blast from my horn, watching in excitement as it flew towards Gamble, but he rolled to the side at the last moment, to my immense disappointment.

"Not bad, Dratini," Gamble panted. The fight was beginning to take its toll on him, but I was completely exhausted now. This last roll might be the end of the fight. The Absol flung his die and I flicked my own. The cubes bounced, colliding with each other and bouncing off in different directions. I had to remind myself to breathe, no matter how tense the situation was. The dice finally stopped and a red 2 appeared, followed by a blue 6. Without a moment of hesitation, I released a Thunderbolt from my body, sending it at the Absol, whose body glowed black. However, the electricity surged through his body, the dark type stumbling from the shock, the glow fading. I grinned triumphantly. Maybe my luck was coming back after all.

"Had enough?" I asked snidely.

"My chips are still in," Gamble snapped, flinging his die forcefully. I flicked my own die, trying to hide my signs of fatigue and nervousness. A red 6 appeared, followed by the blue 5. Outrage...again? I could barely stay conscious or focused and now I had to try to conjure up that much energy AGAIN? Against his Double Team, no less. Gamble laughed triumphantly. "You're finished Dratini!"

"Not yet I'm not!" I snarled, taking my memories back to the last encounter with Gamble. How I had seen him have a Bellsprout set on fire when it lost the dice game against him. My hatred of sadistic Pokémon had begun from that moment and I had tried to never remember the memories. But that fear had to be faced. My anger boiled to the surface and the now familiar tingle of energy flowing through me occurred. I felt the energy gather in my horn and I aimed at the Absol, releasing the powerful burst.

"Did you forget?" Gamble mocked and he split into three, my attack shattered the middle copy. I turned my attack to the far right clone and released a second burst. When it struck, the far left clone faded and Gamble let out a shriek of pain. I didn't hesitate to fire the third shot at the downed Absol. This would make him pay for some of his crimes. Gamble climbed to his feet, just in time to receive the blast to the chest, hurling him backwards against the wall, but he slowly pushed himself back to his feet. I panted, my vision beginning to blur. There was no chance in hell of me using another attack like that soon...I maybe had one last roll. If I didn't take out Gamble this round, I was done for.

"Let's end this," I gasped and Gamble smirked, fondling the die in his paw before tossing it forward. I tossed my own die, struggling to remain awake. The two dice rolled, clicking loudly in the abruptly silent room. I gazed around, my feeling of anticipation increasing with each second. I saw Sapphire watching with a terrified expression on her face. Vipera was twitching anxiously, and the two Venomoth were sharing anxious looks. The Mr. Mime was completely calm, but Gamble was looking confident. The red die was about to stop, but then slid down a small groove in the floor, the one caused by one of the missed Outrage attacks. The blue die rolled down the small crater created by one of my Hyper Beams. But then they both stopped and the numbers appeared above them. They were both 2.

"Well that was dramatic," I said sarcastically, releasing my Thunderbolt while Gamble smirked and fired his Ice Beam. Everyone gasped as the bolt approached the Absol, but he crouched, the bolt hitting the ground behind him. That's when I remembered that I probably should have focused on dodging and not the progress of the electricity. The icy beam struck me in the upper body, the pressure of the beam shoving me against the wall. I grunted in pain, the chill flooding my body, the burning sensation tearing at my nerves...and then all went black. The last thing I heard was Sapphire's shocked cry and Gamble's triumphant laugh.


	186. Eon Aftermath part 1

**Leaf POV**

I awoke early the next morning, when the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. I yawned, looking around, trying to remember where we were and why we were there. Why weren't we in our...oh, right. The memories came flooding back and I sighed, climbing to my feet and walking through the clearing, both to try to clear my head (morning walks are great for this) as well as to see what everyone else was up to. Jolt was still sleeping, although he whimpered occasionally. I paused to watch him warily, wondering whether I should wake him or not. Not that far away, I saw Darkness and Shadow, the blue ringed Umbreon curled up next to the black furred Espeon. Shadow was sleeping, although his forehead gem was glowing, informing me that even when he was asleep, he was fully aware of who was near him. He had mentioned that to me once.

Frost was in the coolest area of the clearing, helped by his miniature hail storm that encircled him. I had once asked him about that and his reply was that Glaceon prefer colder temperatures and it doubled as a shield to ward off attackers. Then he had gone on to explain how if anything came in contact with the shield, he'd be able to tell due to something and something. I didn't understand half of his explanation, which may have been his point. I shivered against the cold and moved further on, coming across the two younger Eons. The Flareon was curled up next to the female Glaceon, his fluffy tail coiled around her protectively.

I frowned a little to myself and continued my lap around the clearing. I was reminded that Aura was possessed and that Kira was dead. Each reminder was like a blow to my gut. I had never doubted the benefits of our mission, even with Jolt protesting several elements of it. Yet our group seemed so...broken right now. Barely anyone trusted Frost, Kira was dead, I couldn't seem to get over my failures. Shadow's behavior was troubling me, Jolt and Darkness were upset...and we weren't accomplishing anything now. We had lost our base and our most recent member was now possessed by Diablos.

"Jolt?" I called tentatively when the Jolteon twitched, whimpering quietly. He didn't reply, but one leg kicked out in agitation. I sighed to myself and walked over to him, gently prodding him. He yelped, waking with a start, his fur bristling into needles, but he relaxed when he saw me.

"What is it, Leaf?" he asked worriedly.

"I think you were having a nightmare," I told him quietly. He nodded absently, pushing himself up to his feet.

"A bad reality, more like it," he muttered.

"Want to talk?" I asked gently. He shook his head.

"Not now. I might later," he mumbled vaguely and began walking, in the same general path that I had taken for my morning walk. I watched him until he moved around a tree, no longer in my sight. I sighed, stretching out in the grass and watching the sun rise a little bit.

"Leaf," Shadow's voice startled me and I looked up, surprised to see my brother sitting behind me, looking a little irritable.

"Huh?" I asked. Why did he teleport behind me in order to talk to me? It was a little annoying.

"There will be a group meeting soon. Be there," he replied flatly and vanished again. In the older days, he'd at least have asked me how I was before telling me about meetings. It was almost as if he was distancing himself from me more and more as time went on. We barely even worked together anymore, but I was a rarity on missions until I was one. In the older days, he'd talk to me sometimes, although seeing him was rare. In the more recent days, he spent almost all his time in his room. It was worse after Frost's abandonment of the group, however short lived.

I shook myself of the thoughts and began walking in the opposite direction of the lap I had taken before, passing the two younger Eons first. As I passed, the Flareon stirred, growling at me threateningly as he opened his eyes. I paused, blinking at him strangely. "Heh, sorry..." Vice mumbled.

"Is it normal to be that defensive?" I asked. The Flareon shrugged, uncoiling himself from around the Glaceon, who awoke slowly, blinking sleepily around the area. Her light blue fur bristled upon noticing me, but she relaxed a few seconds later. "Um...am I really that worrisome?" I asked.

"No, I'm just not used to others around me," Glacia said uncomfortably, stretching her legs and yawning. "Good morning, Vice. And...what's your name again?"

"Leaf. And good morning to you both."

"Thanks," Vice replied, licking the female Glaceon's ear, earning a small purr from Glacia.

"So what's going on?" Glacia asked me. I shrugged weakly.

"I don't know. Shadow's holding a meeting later, other than that..." I trailed off, sighing again. Both Eons raised their eyebrows with identical expressions on their faces.

"You feeling all right?" Vice asked. I nodded silently, just as Jolt appeared in view again, looking annoyed. "Are you feeling all right?" the Flareon asked Jolt, who jumped slightly and blinked, as if just realizing they were there.

"Um...yeah, I'll be fine, I think," Jolt mumbled, looking at the ground. "Um...did you hear Psycho's holding a group meeting, Leaf?" he asked.

"Yeah, he told me. Are they invited?" I asked, gesturing to the younger Eons. Jolt hesitated.

"Has he told you about it yet?" he asked, the younger Eons shaking their heads.

"They just woke up," I explained quickly.

"Knowing your brother, he probably doesn't want them there," Jolt whispered to me. I scowled.

"Then I'll invite them if he doesn't," I said angrily, but then calmed down. I didn't need to get upset over this. I was just stressed from the situation at the base.

"Can you do that?" Jolt asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well if they don't get the chance to come, I'm not coming, either," I said, a bit stubbornly.

"And this is the type of situation that makes me remember that you're really just a kit, Leaf," Frost said, walking over. I said nothing in reply. I was the youngest of our group by at least 2 years. I knew Frost was the eldest, aside from possibly Darkness, since she never told us her age, but she couldn't be much older than Frost, if at all.

"What do you want, Frost?" Jolt asked with an annoyed sigh. The male Glaceon seemed untroubled by this lack of enthusiasm at his appearance, merely smiled and sat down among the group, beginning to groom himself idly.

"I'm killing time until the meeting. Shadow's pretty pissed off, you know," Frost said smugly.

"Is it related to you using his name?" Jolt inquired bitterly. Frost rolled his eyes.

"Tsk, this is precisely why I don't get attached to females for long," Frost said thoughtfully. Jolt bristled.

"Do you keep male mates around longer?" he snarled. Frost's eyes narrowed, the air around us becoming at least 10 degrees colder in the matter of seconds. Vice shivered a little, while Glacia relaxed, her tail flicking almost happily. I shuddered, a quiet whine escaping me before I could stop it.

"Not at all, Jolteon," he replied with a sneer. Jolt's fur sparked a little due to the dry chill of the air, but neither Eon seemed particularly aggressive just yet.

"What's going on?" Darkness inquired as she entered the area. Jolt and Frost immediately stopped glaring at each other.

"Nothing, Dark," Frost said lightly. The female Umbreon bristled, but didn't comment.

"Why is it so cold here?" she asked finally, shivering briefly. Frost blinked, as if he just now realized that he had affected the temperature, which I noted was slowly returning to normal. Jolt turned and walked off without another word. I was torn between following and giving him time to think. I decided on the latter for now. Trying to force Jolt to talk wasn't going to help anything and I had my own problems to work out.

"Leaf, you okay?" Darkness asked, looking at me oddly. I nodded quickly, averting my gaze. "If you want, I can get Shadow to explain the heat..."

"And I said that I will not participate in this discussion and frankly, there is nothing you can do to make me," Shadow said dully as he appeared. Darkness got an odd grin on her face and my brother's eyes narrowed.

"Oh really?" she asked casually, her grin widening.

"Jolt gave the first part, he can handle this one," Shadow said, a trace of coldness in his tone.

"Jolt's not up to explaining this, not after...not after Kira," Darkness said, her ears drooping. Shadow's silver eyes flashed.

"If you are so upset, then you should not bring the topic up, either," he said dismissively, an obvious attempt to drop the subject.

"I could cover this one," Frost suggested. Shadow snorted.

"You'd traumatize him," he said. "I'm glad he asked Jolt for info rather than you, because considering your...hm, how to put this...unbiased approach to the topic, who knows what you'd have taught him?"

"How long have you known about that?" Frost demanded.

"Since the day you showed up to ask Leaf for the favor. We accessed your profiles," Darkness said. Frost sighed, conceding defeat.

"That explains a lot, but no matter," Frost said dryly.

"We could help out with this topic," Glacia suggested, earning a bewildered look from Darkness. Shadow seemed indifferent to their presence, I was just confused and Frost merely blinked.

"Fine, be my guest," Shadow said finally.

"What?" I said, confused.

"They're closer to your age, Leaf," Shadow explained and teleported. Frost and Darkness exchanged looks, shrugged, and sat down, facing the younger Eons.

"Um...how hard is this to explain?" Vice muttered to Glacia, who giggled.

"Very simple, really," she said, a faint blush appearing on her face. "Um...the heat is a time of year where a female is more...excitable, if you know what I mean," she said meaningfully.

"Uh..." I began, thinking for a second. Frost rolled his eyes.

"Jolt told you about that, right?" he asked with a sneer. I nodded. "Good, then you should understand," he said, licking his paw boredly.

"Why does it happen?" I asked.

"Instincts, as far as I know," Vice said, shifting his weight a little bit.

"Is the time of year the same?" I asked curiously. The female Glaceon flushed darkly and Darkness shifted her weight awkwardly. "Is that a no?"

"Heh...usually it's set, but sometimes...not so much," Glacia mumbled. Frost made a coughing sound that sounded like the word 'cold'. Darkness glanced skyward for a moment.

"As a side note, most males seem either terrified by the prospect or they look forward to it," Frost said dismissively, but grinned. "I'm the latter. Shadow's the former," he added.

"Why?" I asked uncertainly.

"Why what?" Vice asked.

"Why are some scared?" I explained.

"Sorry, your brother said I'm not allowed to traumatize you," Frost said. I stared at him worriedly, unsure whether he was serious or not. "Let's just say that some females go...a little crazy after too long," he said seriously.

"Cr-crazy?" I stammered, mentally scolding myself for this sign of anxiety.

"And why do you look forward to it?" Darkness asked, raising an eyebrow at the male Glaceon.

"Less time courting and the competition usually ran for the hills," Frost said sarcastically, but then smirked. "Not that there's much _worthy_ competition," he drawled.

"Um...I think I have all the answers I need," I muttered nervously.

"You don't have that much to worry about, Leaf. Meet a female when she's not in heat and you'll be fine," Jolt said, walking over to us again. "You're very likeable and should have almost no trouble finding a mate when you're ready for one."

"Thanks, Jolt," I said, smiling at the Jolteon.

"Psycho said it's almost time for the meeting," Jolt added, gesturing over to one area on our surrounding, telling us where we were to meet. Darkness promptly got up and walked over to the area Jolt had indicated. Frost shrugged and followed a few paces behind her. The younger Eons stretched and followed after the male Glaceon, with Jolt and me following them.

We stopped in an open area where the black furred Espeon sat, his forked tail flicking with a hint of impatience. "Why are they here?" he asked coolly, gesturing to Vice and Glacia.

"Were they not supposed to be here?" I challenged.

"Whatever," Shadow said, waving a paw dismissively, "Just keep them silent."

"What does he have against us?" Vice muttered, lightly draping his tail around the female Glaceon, who cuddled up to his chest, purring happily.

"Your presence is unnecessary, Flareon," Shadow replied coldly.

"They still helped us out. I'd probably be dead if it weren't for them," I growled, my tan fur bristling indignantly.

"You're right, Leaf. We should use them as living shields rather than increase our own skills so that such a situation is unnecessary," Shadow said emotionlessly.

"Just leave them alone," I said, glaring at my brother.

"I will not harm them, since I see no reason to incur the wrath of their parents, one being a worthless Glaceon...whose mate is unknown..." Shadow paused, his eyes glowing. "And of course, there's the Flareon's parents..."

"Stay out of my head!" Vice snapped, his fur bristling. Glacia also bristled, most likely because of the comment about her parent.

"Develop a mental barrier, Flareon. If your mind cannot keep me out, you cannot complain if I examine it my leisure," Shadow said calmly.

"What kind of logic is that?" Vice demanded.

"It is a fact, Flareon. Now be silent," Shadow ordered, turning back to the group as a whole. Vice sighed in frustration, relaxing a little as Glacia blew a gentle Icy Wind on his neck, cuddling up to his stomach. "As I was about to say before the interruption, we should focus on our next objective."

"And what would that be?" Darkness asked, frowning.

"Ideally, it is to locate a new base of operations," Shadow replied seriously.

"And what good would that do? That last one was very high security and suited our purposes perfectly," Jolt said crankily.

"It did, until someone decided to pursue a goal that put us all at risk," Shadow said coolly. Jolt looked downwards, but I growled in reply.

"That was uncalled for. He couldn't have known that that'd happen," I said angrily. It was true. How was Jolt supposed to know that Diablos would possess him, use him to attack the base and kill Kira?

"As Frost would say 'Error, overlooking risks'," Shadow retorted. That was an unfair comment. Jolt knew there would be risks involved in trying to settle the feud with Volt, but he couldn't have known the risks would endanger others.

"I'm right here. I could have said that myself," the male Glaceon pointed out.

"Don't blame Jolt, it's not his fault!" I insisted.

"So is it your fault for not noticing his condition until it was too late?" Shadow inquired monotonously. This comment crossed the line. He was not going to start blaming me just because I was standing up for Jolt.

"You know what, Shadow? I'm sick of this! You want me to leave the group? Fine, I'm out," I snapped. The Espeon studied me impassively.

"So be it. That choice is yours," he said loftily.

"Yeah, you don't even care," I snarled.

"I won't stop you, Leaf. Leave the dangers behind, you're free from the stress and you can work on life your way," Shadow said dismissively. I growled. He was almost mocking me now.

"You don't think I'm serious, do you?" I demanded. "Just try me."

"One step ahead of you. We're leaving. Have a good life," my brother said and the group teleported, leaving me alone with Vice and Glacia. I had to admit I did not expect him to do that.

"Your brother's a prick," Vice said seriously.


	187. Eon Aftermath part 2

**Leaf POV**

It took about a day for me to realize that Shadow wasn't just testing me and had seriously left. I felt a little saddened by this realization, especially since Vice and Glacia made it very apparent to me that I had no chance at surviving in the wild on my own. They never said anything to me about it, but after demonstrating their skills at catching a fish and finding some rare berries, I knew that I was in trouble. Food wasn't so much a problem because I got my energy and nutrients from photosynthesis, but it was still nice to eat actual food. Finding water, on the other paw, was something far more difficult. Thankfully, we were near a stream, but the younger Eons made it clear that they didn't plan on staying in that area for long. Glacia had invited me to come with them, which I agreed to pleasantly.

They didn't seem to have any particular destination in mind and were simply content with walking together. While walking, we passed some time by asking each other questions about each other. "Leaf? Why is your brother so...I guess 'cold' is the word I'm looking for. What's up with that?" Vice inquired. I considered the question seriously for several moments.

"Well...about two years ago, he saw our parents die," I said cautiously. Both of the younger Eons stared at me. "He was about my age and I was just a few months old."

"How did they die?" Glacia asked tentatively.

"He never gave me details, but they were murdered by Diablos," I said, looking at the ground. "He took care of me and eventually evolved into an Espeon. But after that...he just changed. He began focusing a lot of time on training. I later evolved into a Leafeon," I finished, gesturing to myself.

"Why does he have black fur?" Vice asked curiously. "That's pretty unusual for an Espeon, isn't it?"

"I don't know. He says it's because he evolved precisely at the time between day and night, making him an Espeon with Umbreon characteristics. He can use Moonlight and a strong resistance to psychic probing, among other things," I explained with a small shrug.

"What's his real name? Jolt seems to call him 'Psycho', but you call him 'Shadow'," Vice asked.

"Well, I named him Shadow because of his fur color. He named me Leaf. I...I don't really know why he started going by the name 'Psycho', but he hates if anyone other than me calls him 'Shadow', which is precisely why Frost calls him that," I said uncertainly.

"Frost's a jerk, isn't he?" Glacia asked.

"He's not as bad as he appears to be sometimes," I said seriously. "He's just sort of arrogant, but Shadow is, too. I guess I'm used to it. Frost is the strongest of our group, always has been. To my knowledge, he's never lost a...oh wait, he said something about that Flareon..." I trailed off, thinking hard.

"How did you meet Frost?" Glacia inquired curiously.

"He was in the area of the forest we were living in and talked to Shadow. He's the one who had the idea of grouping together and training. We met Jolt not that long after we got our base, I think they rescued him or something. He never did like talking about the past for some reason," I said, shrugging.

"What about the Umbreon?" Vice asked.

"Darkness? Frost met her somewhere and recruited her. Kira was a friend of hers..." I trailed off, trying to push the feeling of regret from my mind. It wasn't my fault that Kira had died. I did what I could...what a meaningless excuse that was. If I had taken training more seriously, it maybe could have been prevented.

"It's okay, Leaf," Glacia said gently, as if she knew what I was thinking. I nodded weakly.

"Anyway, Darkness always seemed to like Shadow, but he didn't really like her much, as far as we could tell. Most of us just learned a few weeks ago that they were seeing each other, but even now that we know that, it's hard to believe. That's our group, I guess," I admitted.

"What about the Vaporeon?" Vice reminded me.

"Oh...she was recent. Her name's Aura and she was with another group of Pokémon that we helped out on occasion. She joined our group when Jolt needed reinforcements for something," I said.

"Reinforcements for what?" Vice asked.

"He said Diablos was in Sinnoh and something about Kira getting attacked. We were originally going to try to engage him, but we changed paths to go to the Cave Army HQ," I explained with an uncertain shrug.

"Sorry, are we pestering you with too many questions?" Glacia asked nervously.

"Not really. Mind if I ask a few?" I responded. The Eons exchanged glances, but nodded. "Okay. Um...how long have you known each other?"

"Since Glacia was a week old, about," Vice said, smiling fondly at the female Glaceon, who smiled a little.

"How'd you meet?" I asked curiously. Vice frowned a moment, thinking hard.

"I don't know...Gelid had to do something, so she dropped me off with Glacia's mom, but why was I with Gelid?" he murmured, but shook his head. "I don't really remember."

"What are your parents like?" I asked Glacia, who winced marginally.

"My mom's nice, but I don't know my dad. No one knows, other than her," she said quietly. "I gathered that he left her before she found out she was expecting an egg and she never heard from him since."

"Oh...sorry," I apologized, but she smiled.

"It's okay. She did a good job raising me and she was very supportive," Glacia said brightly.

"How did you know of the heat before me?" I asked. The Eons exchanged looks again.

"Um...see, we both evolved early and we were already close, and it was nearing winter, so my mom, worried that my, er, instincts would kick in way too soon, decided to warn me about the heat. Vice was living with us around that time, so he got filled in a bit," Glacia said, blushing deeply. Vice grinned sheepishly.

"Uh..." My mind blanked at that moment.

"Nothing happened!" Vice insisted, noticing my reaction.

"Only if you count agreeing to be mates before we were even a half year old to be nothing," Glacia said casually.

"And your parents didn't flip out?" I asked incredulously.

"Heh...Volt did," Vice said, grinning. Glacia giggled.

"My mom was very supportive," she explained, licking the Flareon's neck lovingly. "She liked Vice."

"Good morning," a voice said, startling all three of us. A four legged brown Pokémon with strange horns on its head, resembling eyes, stood before us, studying us curiously.

"Hi," Vice said, nodding his head at the Pokémon. Behind this Pokémon, several smaller Pokémon peered out from their locations in the trees. They had round bodies with small arms and feet. They seemed to be using their brown striped tails to stand on, probably because of the size of their feet. I knew this specie as Sentret, although I had rarely ever seen one.

"I haven't seen you three around here before," the Stantler said calmly.

"We're new to the area," Glacia answered cheerfully, but she huddled a little closer to the Flareon.

"I apologize, but I ask that you leave the current area. The Sentret that live here are paranoid of strangers," the Stantler said calmly. We nodded and continued on our way, only to meet a Sentret kit about 100 feet away. It was stumbling as it ran, whimpering anxiously, its black eyes looking around frantically. Vice watched it carefully as it ran over to him, whining in terror.

"What's wrong, little guy? Can't find your mommy?" Vice spoke gently to the baby Sentret, which clung to his leg anxiously. The Flareon gazed around thoughtfully, but finally sighed. "Let's check back with the Sentret group," he suggested, turning his gaze back towards where the Stantler had been and frowned when he noticed that the Pokémon had disappeared.

"What should we do?" Glacia asked, whining a little. "We can't just leave the cute little Sentret, but...what are we supposed to do?"

"I have a suggestion...why don't you hand the kit over to me and I shall eat it?" a gruff voice said, startling us. A nasty looking Growlithe stood, watching the Sentret kit hungrily.

"Hell no," Vice said, his fur bristling.

"Then it'd be a pity if your mate had to become my meal instead," the fire type threatened, but then chuckled. "Of course, there's another role I can think of that she could serve for me," he continued, his eyes studying the Glaceon, admiring her while licking his lips suggestively. Vice and I both growled angrily, even though I admittedly had no real reason to be so defensive.

"Just go find somewhere to curl up and die," the Flareon spat.

"If that Glaceon's snuggling next to me, it'd be worth it," the Growlithe said with a gruff chuckle. Glacia whimpered quietly. The Sentret kit whined, hiding behind Vice.

"Leave us alone," I ordered angrily, the fire canine's attention flicking over to me.

"Shut up or I'll roast you, grass type," he sneered. I lunged forward and slammed my paw into his muzzle, catching him by surprise and knocking him back a pace. I followed through with my other paw, forcing him back yet another pace, blood trickling from his snout. He snapped his jaws at me, but I pivoted quickly, slamming my glowing tail across his side, drawing blood from a deep gash that I created. He roared in pain and released a spiral of fire from his mouth, the flames encircling me. I felt a jolt of terror as I realized the fire was too high to jump over and it had surrounded me. A Fire Spin technique.

"Leaf!" Glacia yelled, sounding worried. Vice cried out in alarm as the Growlithe laughed in triumph. My mind raced with anxiety as I fought to keep myself from panicking, but I was rapidly losing the struggle.

"Mhm, the smell of grass burning and meat cooking," the Growlithe chuckled from somewhere outside the ring of fire. I was starting to become dizzy from the intense heat and the smoke from the fire. I fought to remain on my feet, but I felt so drowsy. Sleep would be so nice...no, I had to stay awake! I heard a stunned cry from nearby, but it could have been me; I couldn't be sure where the sounds were coming from. The crackle of fire, the laugh of the Growlithe, or Vice and Glacia's yells and the sound of a struggle. My vision began to spin out of control and I felt a numb ache on my neck before I blacked out.

* * *

"Mhm, the smell of blood and the thrill of a hunt," a soft, slightly sinister voice hissed near my ear. I opened my eyes and found myself staring into the face of an Eevee. I yelped and jerked away, looking around frantically. To my left was the remains of what could have been a Growlithe, although it had been brutally, but effectively, killed. Its fur was matted with fresh blood and the neck and limbs were all broken, various cuts and scratches marked up the visible areas of its flesh or previously unblemished fur. I shivered and looked away.

"Wh-what happened?" I asked Vice and Glacia, both of whom were silent and stony faced. I looked again at the Eevee and realized her fur was snow white, an irregularity to the usual brown or cream of most Eevee. She looked distinctly familiar…It was then that I realized the identity of the one who had spoken near my ear. I slowly turned to face the Umbreon that was seated behind me.

"We meet again, Leafeon," Volt sneered coldly, grinning widely enough to show his bloody fangs.

"Huh?" I blinked, trying to determine whether I had been seeing things. How did he get here? What was he doing here? And why was I still alive? Why was I complaining about that?

"Funny, isn't it? Even on my days off, I can't shake them off," Volt growled to the female Eevee, who sighed.

"I still think you went overboard on the Growlithe, Volt," she said. Volt stiffened.

"I heard what he said about Vice's mate. He's lucky I didn't prolong it longer," he hissed, and there was a frighteningly dark tone to his words. The Eevee inched away from him and he blinked, closing the gap between them and nuzzling her neck with his head. She slowly relaxed, but still seemed discomforted.

"Ugh...what happened?" I repeated, clutching my head, which throbbed painfully. I felt extremely disoriented and sick from inhaling the thick smoke.

"The Growlithe attacked me and Glacia, but he," Vice gestured to Volt, "showed up and killed him in a sadistic fashion," the Flareon told me, glaring at the Umbreon.

"And you disapprove? Shows how grateful you are," Volt growled, his eyes narrowing at the Flareon angrily.

"Don't start," the white furred Eevee warned, turning her attention to Vice and Glacia. "Are you both alright?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Glacia said shyly, cuddling closer to the Flareon, who smiled at her.

"That's good to hear," the Eevee, I think her name is Icicle, replied. "I'm a little confused. What are you doing in this area?" she inquired.

"We were brought here and later left behind by that jerk Espeon after HE," Vice shot a furious glare at Volt, "tried to kill Glacia." The Umbreon's expression did not change, but the female Eevee looked shocked.

"You did what?" she demanded, whirling on the Umbreon, who licked a paw indifferently.

"They attacked me when I was keeping them safe. It was a stressful situation, for they had sided with my enemies and were preventing the completion of my task," Volt said coolly.

"But…"

"They are alive, Ice. Drop it," Volt ordered. The Eevee bristled, giving the Umbreon an angry look. "It was the damned full moon, okay?!" Volt snapped, losing his temper. "I was called in on my week off, it was the full moon, I've been overworked as it is, Haou killed Jolt's mate, they were interfering, and now you won't just drop it until I'm calm enough to discuss it!" The Umbreon stopped his rant, breathing harder than normal.

"It's not healthy to bottle things up like that," Vice said casually, flinching when Volt glared at him.

"Sorry," Icicle mumbled. "Go take a walk and cool off a bit," she said. The Umbreon scowled, but left, cursing under his breath.

"What happened to the Sentret kit?" I asked, noticing that it wasn't clinging to Vice or Glacia, or anywhere nearby as far as I could tell.

"The Growlithe killed it," Glacia said sadly, only calming down when the Flareon nuzzled her comfortingly. I stood up, shaking my head a little bit.

"I'm going to take a walk. Clear my head a little," I said. The three nodded and I set off, no particular destination in mind. As I walked, I inhaled deeply, clearing away the haze that had begun to form in my head. I stopped at a tiny pond and examined my reflection, dipping my paw in the water and using the paw to wipe away some of the ash that clung to my fur. I was lucky that the flames hadn't actually hit me or anything like that, because the damage would have been far worse.

Once I had finished washing, I sighed quietly. I felt so alone now. I couldn't remember a time where I didn't have my brother or one of the other members of our group nearby. Vice and Glacia were welcome company, but it wasn't the same. Change was good, right? I could get past this obstacle, couldn't I?


	188. Why is Ember Always Released?

**Ember POV**

The Gloom's gaze flickered between me and my mom, looking surprised and nervous at the same time. I glared at the tri-scarred Charmeleon, my insides burning with hatred. Talking to Unusual about what happened as a result of my mother abandoning us made seeing the one responsible much worse. It was even worse than my first re-encounter with her, because now I knew how much my father and I were loathed. I flexed my claws, already longing to reintroduce them to my mother's face. "What the hell do you want?" I growled.

"You really are an ungrateful brat," Inferna sneered, stepping further into the room. "This is how you thank the one who got you freed from your cage?"

"I was fine," I growled in reply, but her words did make me wonder a little bit. If her 'calling' me was to get me out of the cage, why'd she do it? I hated her and she knew it. She hated me and I knew it. If she was trying to redeem herself, she wasn't going the right way with that. Nothing she did would ever redeem her for the amount of hell I experienced in the five to six years since she abandoned me and my dad. My mom laughed humorlessly at my comment.

"You were fine?" she mocked. "You were locked in a cell. How is that fine?"

"I don't need your help!" I snarled, baring my claws threateningly. Inferna smirked and bared her own, much more intimidating, claws at me.

"You can't frighten me, Ember. You beat me last time, but it won't happen again. It would be truly dreadful if you forced me to kill you," she said mockingly. I hesitated uncertainly. My mom had come very close to beating me in our last fight, and I was still a Charmander against an older Charmeleon. Unlike past Charmeleon, my mom was a skilled claw fighter. This could explain why I had an affinity with claw combat, but that wasn't really important to me. I finally lowered my paws and took a step back, breathing heavily. The desire to attack was still so strong, but I could resist.

"Should I leave?" Unusual asked again, shifting nervously. My mom glanced at the Gloom dismissively.

"You're fine, Unusual. In fact, you should stick around."

"Oh?" the Gloom blinked at the Charmeleon. "Why?"

"Because Ember here," Inferna gestured to me dismissively before continuing, "needs some companionship. And before you give me that look, brat, I don't mean in that sense."

"Good," I growled.

"Charmander and Gloom aren't biologically compatible, anyway," my mom added with a sneer. Unusual stared at the Charmeleon, his expression a mixture of shock and embarrassment. "Besides, you should only have a mate of the Charmander line," Inferna added coldly. I growled, but didn't say anything in reply.

"So...um...what do you mean?" Unusual asked respectfully.

"You two seem to get along, so you help the brat find her way around the caverns. I have other matters to attend to," my mom replied simply.

"Huh?" I blurted, staring at the Charmeleon suspiciously.

"You're released from the cage, Ember. As long as you're with a trustworthy member, you're free to wander, but not to leave and not to fight us. Oh, and you might want to shower as soon as possible," my mom said seriously.

"Huh? Why?" I demanded, unsure whether to be insulted or not. The Charmeleon laughed.

"You give off a distinct scent during this time of year. Not all the male members care if the female's interested or not if they catch that scent long enough, take it from someone who knows," she said dismissively, smirking at her claws. I got a feeling I knew exactly how she reacted to advances like that, if she was speaking from experience.

"Hm," I grunted, narrowing my eyes at my mom, who had turned to leave the room. I waited for her longer than she was actually here.

"And one more thing...Gamble's the leader of the Hoenn branch. Tread carefully around him," Inferna warned. This seemed to be directed more at Unusual than me, because the Gloom nodded seriously as my mom disappeared from view. I glanced at the Gloom, who sighed and sat down again.

"What's the problem?" I asked him, puzzled.

"Just thinking," he answered softly, looking over at me. "So, um, I guess I'm your escort now. Anywhere you wanted to go?"

"I don't know. Where would someone go to take a bath or shower?" I asked, thinking over my mom's suggestion. I wasn't sure what I expected the answer to that question would be, but I didn't expect the Gloom to promptly hop to his feet and gesture for me to come with him. Slightly perplexed, I followed. Was there actually a designated bathing location within this maze of caverns? I received the answer to this thought several minutes later when I was led to a mid-sized but spacious cavernous room. Unlike the other 'rooms' I had ever noticed down here, this one wasn't plain.

The floor was composed of a dark stone, in sharp contrast to the half dirt, half rock that made up the usual floor of the various cave pathways. I was no expert in this sort of evaluation, but it seemed like this area was purposefully created, and not natural, just because of how smooth the walls and floor were. It reminded me of one of the rooms in the Rocket bases that I had lived in during my five plus years in captivity. When I stepped into this area, I noticed that I left a few footprints on the polished stone floor, but Unusual told me that it wasn't a problem. I turned my head to look up and saw several shiny crystals sparkling from the spike-like formations from the ceiling. I couldn't remember the word for them. Something with a 's'. Dragonair would probably know. And probably go into detail about how it differs from the other word that sounds just like it, but meant the spikes protruding from the floor.

My attention was torn from the crystals and focused on the spot near the back of the room where a clear pool of some sort sat. It was to this pool that the Gloom led me. He suddenly stopped short and I bumped into him from behind, nearly bowling him over. "What?" I asked, feeling annoyed by the sudden lurch. He gestured a stubby paw over to the poolside, where I noticed two other Pokémon. I squinted, trying to determine their specie through the mist rising from the pool water, although I have no idea what was causing this mist.

"Unusual, I presume?" one of the Pokémon inquired, noticing our presence, although my tail flame was probably to blame for that.

"Spore," Unusual replied in a tone of forced politeness. The Pokémon he was addressing nodded curtly and moved closer, revealing it to be a Pokémon I had rarely ever seen. It was insect-like with a large mushroom on its back. Its eyes were white and pupil-less and the mushroom seemed too big for it to lift with its small legs, but yet it didn't seem to feel any strain. "I didn't realize anyone else was here. We'll come back later," he said, turning away, but a second voice stopped him.

"No problem, Unusual. There's plenty of room here and we won't be in your way."

"Um...not sure about that," the Gloom said hesitantly.

"Don't trust us?" the still concealed Pokémon inquired with a falsely hurt tone.

"No, that's not it, Singe," Unusual insisted. "It's just that my, er, companion might not wish to bathe with an audience..."

"Hm? I didn't notice anyone with you," the voice said, sounding surprised and a second Pokémon stepped more into the light and I blinked. It was another Charmander, definitely male, and looked maybe a year younger than I was. He was about an inch taller than I was and his tail flame seemed a little healthier than mine. His claws looked undeveloped, as if they were rarely used, if ever. "Oh, I see," he said upon noticing me.

"How'd you miss her, Singe?" the Parasect chuckled. "The flame gave her away easily."

"You noticed them. I didn't," the male Charmander replied dismissively. "She your mate, Unusual?" he asked.

"What? No!" the Gloom protested. I resisted the urge to glare at him for that reaction. I wasn't THAT undesirable, was I? I let it pass since he was a Gloom and, while he didn't smell badly, even my heat had no interest in him. Maybe because he was a plant and I...very clearly wasn't.

"You have odd tastes," the Parasect commented.

"I said she's not!" the Gloom shouted.

"We know, we heard you," the bug said flatly, turning its white eyes towards me. "My name is Spore," it told me.

"Uh...okay," I replied, watching the Charmander from the corner of my eye.

"It's typically polite to introduce yourself at this point," the Parasect told me.

"Huh? Oh...right. I'm Ember," I said, quickly turning my full attention to the bug Pokémon.

"Singe, introduce yourself!" the bug snapped suddenly and the male Charmander rolled his eyes, stepping forward casually.

"Yes, Master," he said sarcastically, but smiled at me. "The name's Singe," he said, clasping my left paw within his paws, holding eye contact much longer than most typically do. He paused and examined the paw he held, the corners of his mouth twitching faintly as he turned the paw over gently to examine the palm and the back of the paw. His touch was soft, but firm, and I felt no desire to withdraw said paw.

"Um...nice to meet you," I said, feeling a little awkward at the prolonged contact between us. Singe seemed to pick up on this emotion and promptly released my paw, taking a step back from me. I noticed that his tail flame had flared up minutely...not that I was studying his tail or anything like that.

"We'll be leaving soon, Unusual, not to worry," the Parasect said, chuckling quietly.

"We don't plan on lingering," the Gloom replied, nodding towards me. "There's special bathing soap over in that nook," he muttered to me, pointing a paw towards the side of the pool, where I noticed some small bottles shelved in small holes in the rock wall.

"Thanks," I mumbled, walking over to the holes and taking one of the bottles, studying the label carefully, taking notice that most of the bottles mentioned to us it for fur.

"Far left," Singe called lazily and I looked to the left, smiling as I spotted the soap marked 'For scaled creatures'. The bottles were small and seemed to be measured for single use. Holding the bottle carefully, I walked back to the poolside.

"Um...how would I do this, the tail flame and all?" I asked, feeling my face flush. Singe chuckled and gestured to one end of the pool, which was noticeably shallower than the rest of the pool.

"You can stand in there without the tail getting wet. The upper half of your body has to be rinsed manually, since the Cave Army doesn't have a shower system installed," the male Charmander told me. I nodded gratefully and stepped into the shallow pool, which went a little past my waist, but I easily held my tail flame above the water, sighing in relief as the cool water soothed my scales. I examined the bottle of soap carefully and tried to unscrew the top, but it was stuck.

"Mew damn it," I growled under my breath, fiddling with the cap for several seconds, keeping part of my attention on my tail flame in relation to the water level.

"What's wrong?" Unusual asked, noticing my struggle. Spore and Singe also glanced over, making me feel a little self conscious.

"Can't get the Mew damned cap off," I shouted, my temper boiling over. The Gloom flinched, glancing towards the Charmander and Parasect anxiously. They in turn, exchanged glances.

"No paws," Spore hissed, waving a claw leg. Singe frowned and walked over to me calmly, plucking the bottle from my paw and wrenching the cap, easily snapping it from the top of the bottle. He handed me the bottle again and smirked.

"Not that hard," he said, stepping back again. I growled irritably, but allowed myself a faint smile as I poured a little of the bottle's contents into my free paw. Thankfully, the three other Pokémon turned away and began talking amongst themselves while I rubbed the lotion-like soap upon my scales. I was grateful for this because it made me feel less self-conscious.

"What about drying?" I asked, several minutes later, when I had washed to my satisfaction. It felt so nice to clean off the bits of dirt, dust, and lingering grime from my scales. It had been too long since I was able to clean thoroughly, and the small touch up jobs I did at various water sources was nothing compared to how clean I felt now.

"Air dry," the Parasect hissed. I nodded, feeling a bit more cheerful than I had before bathing. There was a different scent hanging around me, a sweet fruity scent. I re-examined the label of the bottle, trying to determine what the flavor or scent was, but it told me nothing.

"What kind of soap is this?" I asked, looking at Unusual.

"It's an imitation of the popular 'Tropical Blast' Pokémon shampoo," he answered with a smirk. "We have a Tropius, currently in the Kanto branch, that works on it, as well as a Chikorita and a bit of my own scent."

"I think we should just steal the originals from humans, but Sketch said that it was unnecessary," Spore added. I shrugged, not knowing the difference. I was rather fond of this smell; it reminded me of berries and bananas.

"Now what?" I asked. What else was there to do around this place? I wasn't a member (more like a prisoner) and they wouldn't permit me to leave. Wow, why does this remind me of Nightslash and the Dark Organization? Oh, because it's the same situation only without the male hitting on me and calling me 'precious' all the time. The Sneasel hadn't been my type anyway. Although he did have his moments where I didn't really care. Until he started getting really obnoxious with the pet name and being near me all the time. He was almost a stalker in that regard.

"Well, it's getting near that time where I sleep, so I guess the next step is to turn in for the evening," Unusual said.

"Where?" I asked, puzzled. This cave was truly massive, but there couldn't possibly be rooms for all the members, since there seemed to be literally hundreds of members.

"There's a sleeping chamber not too far away," Spore replied, scuttling towards the cavern's entranceway. Unusual gestured for me to follow after the Parasect, which I did. The male Charmander and Unusual followed, several paces behind me. I had to pick up my pace a little in order to keep up with the bug, which was able to move surprisingly fast for a creature with an enormous mushroom on its back. "Here we are," the Parasect announced, stopping in front of a partially concealed pathway that was guarded by an Onix.

"New member?" the rock snake growled, looking down at me.

"Not exactly. Long story, but she's approved," Unusual answered quickly.

"Hmph. Diamond came by earlier," the Onix growled.

"Did she now?" Spore responded indifferently.

"An hour or two ago," the Onix confirmed. "She told me to guard the sleeping chambers. Are any of you here to relieve me?"

"Sorry, not this time," Unusual said apologetically. "I thought Dreadscythe was going to."

"Nah, Scythe's out in the Kanto area right now. This is the Hoenn area. Speaking of which, the Kanto leaders reported in a little bit ago. Why the hell are they in Hoenn?"

"Personal motives," Spore replied seriously. Singe raised an eye scale at the bug. "What? I served Luthor before the transfer to Inferna's division. I'm just glad I'm not in transportation."

"You don't know teleport," Unusual pointed out.

"I know. Good thing, too. Otherwise I'd spend all day doing multiple teleports to help out the Guardians and transfers," Spore insisted. I yawned widely, returning their attention to me.

"Right, let her in," Unusual said, looking flustered. The Onix slithered off to the side, allowing me to pass. Unusual and Singe followed me, while Spore remained with the Onix.

"Serving Inferna is hell sometimes," Singe growled. "I'll be glad when Luthor appeals the transfer and I go back to the Kanto branch. I don't see why we're situated in Hoenn right now anyway. We're both Johto branch members."

"We're put where we're needed and Sketch wants more focus on the Hoenn branch," Unusual replied with a long sigh. "I personally don't get why we even have branches. The members get transferred on a daily basis. Did you hear that Elma got pissed because of Gamble trying to transfer the Guardians to the Hoenn branch?"

"She's in one of her moods anyway. Ever since her mate ditched her," Singe said casually.

"Ceal's been cranky last few days, too. She just got promoted, though," an Ekans hissed sleepily.

"Can you all just shut up?" I snapped abruptly. Unusual flinched, but Singe was unfazed.

"We're here. Just pick a spot and sleep," the Gloom informed me, gesturing to the various sleeping Pokémon in the room. Singe tapped my shoulder and pointed to a corner.

"Best spot in the room. Reserved for me typically, but go for it," he whispered. I yawned and walked over to the spot indicated and lay down on the small bed of soft moss, curling my tail around me. The male Charmander chose a spot about five feet away from me, but I barely registered this before sleep took hold of me and I peacefully drifted into unconsciousness.

**If you review, (which is greatly appreciated) please give a comment/criticism beyond a simple 'good chapter', etc. You probably didn't reach this chapter by thinking the fic is crap (and if you did...wow). Do not be afraid to tell me things you don't like that much or think I can improve on. I like compliments (who doesn't?), but criticisms are invaluable if given constructively. If you have questions/comments/etc about anything in the fic, feel free to PM me.**


	189. Fire Reunion

**Blaze POV**

I awoke to almost complete darkness, aside from a few flickers of dying flames, but it didn't bother me too much. One of the many benefits of being a Flareon, aside from being amazingly cute and fluffy and soft and warm and other great stuff, was the ability to use fire for multiple purposes, like lighting up dark clearings so I could see. I was about to spit a stream of fire when a sudden question came to mind. Where was I? I didn't remember falling asleep. I didn't remember much of anything. I frowned, looking skywards, but soon discovered that there were no stars or moon out, only blackness. Seriously, where was I?

Without waiting any longer, I spat a burst of fire into the air, quickly looking around. I was in a cave area where many Pokémon were asleep, explaining the weird snoring sounds I had heard when I woke up. I scratched the side of my head with one paw, feeling like I was forgetting something important. Where was the rest of the group I was in? Was I back in the Rocket cages? No, some of these Pokémon were males and this was just a cave, not a cage. Now why was I reminded of the Rocket cells again? I frowned to myself, pondering this thought. In this time, the flames I had fired had gone out and I shot another Flamethrower, this time at the ground before me. My aim was a bit off and I narrowly missed hitting a sleeping Ekans, which opened an eye to glare at me.

"Sorry," I said quickly, backing away from the snake, but it just hissed in annoyance and recoiled its body, falling back to sleep. I relaxed a little bit, watching the snake nervously. Wait, Rosa was dead, what was I worried about? I shook my head, trying to get my thoughts in order. Or at least better than they were. Now that the cave was lit up, I examined the other occupants from where I sat. There were a few bat Pokémon hanging from the ceiling, but I remembered there being more when I had first arrived here. Oh good, I remembered something. But how did I get wherever I was? And where was here?

"Turn the fire down," a hoarse voice rasped and I flinched as I turned to look over my left shoulder, finding myself face-to-face with an annoyed pink canine that looked like it was wearing a dress, despite the masculine tone to its voice. It was lying down, but seemed to have two legs. Its lower jaw stuck out a little bit and it seemed rather nasty.

"Sorry," I said quickly, but then added. "Where am I?"

"Is that a joke?" the Snubbull growled. I shook my head. The pink Pokémon sighed and jerked his head towards a flower like Pokémon leaning against a wall. "Talk to him. Just turn that infernal fire down!" he rasped, rolling over so his back was facing me. I sighed and brushed some dirt over the flames, causing them to die down. By this dim light, I began moving towards the flower Pokémon, stumbling over at least two sleeping Pokémon, one of which bit my leg in retaliation.

"Shh," one Pokémon hushed irritably when I yelped in pain. I finally reached the flower Pokémon, which I recognized as a Gloom, and prodded him lightly with one paw. The Gloom opened its small eyes and blinked at me sleepily.

"Hm? Who's there?" he asked.

"Um...sorry, but...where am I right now?" I asked, my fluffy tail flicking. I wasn't sure how violent this grass Pokémon might be to the question.

"Uh...the sleeping chamber?" the Gloom mumbled sleepily, almost instantly falling asleep again. I sighed, knowing that I wasn't going to get a better answer than that, at least not for a while. I stepped over another few sleeping Pokémon until I reached the other side of the room. I glanced over to the nearest corner, where the only source of light was, and then did a double take. There were two Charmander, sleeping several feet away from each other, but I recognized the sleeping position that Ember used, where she was curled up with her tail partially wrapped around herself. I tilted my head thoughtfully. The Charmander was a female, so it could be her, but I couldn't be entirely sure in the dim light.

With a shrug, I cautiously approached the female Charmander and lightly prodded her in the side, careful not to wake her too abruptly, out of fear of her biting my head off, like she did that one time I woke her up by accident. And if it wasn't Ember, I'd probably get hurt. The Charmander stirred, murmuring in her sleep a little bit. I prodded a bit harder and she opened her eyes slowly.

"Huh?" she muttered, not looking at me. Figures, I'm getting ignored already. Why did I think I was being ignored? She was just tired and had just woken up. I shook myself a little.

"Ember?" I whispered. The Charmander twitched, turning her eyes towards me uncertainly, blinking several times. Once they were focused, she let out a startled yell and sat up, crawling backwards in alarm. I took a few hasty steps back, feeling really confused. Her yell seemed to have awakened some of the other Pokémon nearby, including the other Charmander and a weird bug with a giant mushroom on its back. Ember blinked at me a few times and relaxed.

"Blaze?" she asked and I nodded, still confused. The female Charmander breathed a small sigh and moved forward, wrapping her arms around me gently. I felt my face flush awkwardly, since the other Charmander and Parasect were staring at us, the first looking annoyed, probably at being awakened, and the bug looked amused.

"Um...can you let go now?" I asked, pulling away until she released me. I quickly groomed the newly mussed up fur, feeling more confused than ever. "What was that about?" I demanded. What on earth made her decide to go from yelling in terror to hugging me?

"Do you have any idea how scary that eye is when you wake up and that's the first thing you see?" Ember muttered awkwardly.

"No, not really," I admitted. "I'm confused. Where are we and what are you doing here?"

"Are you her mate?" the other Charmander asked casually. I stared at him. Why did everyone seem to think that? Ember and I get along okay, but we're not close like that. Of course, her hugging me made me confused, so I can't really blame the Charmander's question.

"Uh...no. I have a mate already," I said with a sigh.

"You sound disappointed," the Parasect commented with a chuckle. I blinked.

"What? No...No, I..." I stuttered, and then shook my head. What did this bug know about me? I didn't have to explain anything to him. My left eye burned briefly, and I instinctively rubbed it. It was more like an itch than pain lately, but it still wasn't enjoyable. "Where are we?" I repeated, trying to get the conversation back to my questions and not something that would annoy me. Dragonair did that enough.

"You're in one of the sleeping chambers," the male Charmander said. I sighed again.

"I know that much, but why are we here?"

"To sleep," the Parasect suggested. Ember chuckled quietly.

"Blaze, our whole group was captured. I'm guessing you got captured later, right?" she asked. I nodded seriously and she winced.

"You know each other?" the male Charmander asked, looking between Ember and me curiously.

"No, we're just on first name terms with each other when we're total strangers," Ember replied, but then flushed awkwardly. "Sorry. I'm just a little cranky," she said, looking at the ground. The male Charmander shrugged.

"We all have times like that," he told her. He looked like he was about to put a paw on her shoulder, but let his arm go limp, the attempted gesture going unnoticed by Ember.

"So what happened to you?" I asked Ember. She glanced up at me.

"Well...we got ambushed by a Jigglypuff and woke up in cages. My dear mother," she said the term with a voice dripping with revulsion, "arranged for me to be allowed to move around freely with an escort, that Gloom over there," she continued, pointing at the Gloom I had awakened earlier. I nodded to show that I understood.

"Then what?"

"I took a bath and met these two," Ember said, gesturing to the Charmander and Parasect.

"Is that why you smell like fruit?" I asked. I had noticed it when she hugged me. It smelled nice, but also gave me the urge to eat something. Ember flushed slightly, but nodded. "I like that smell. I should get some of that someday," I said brightly.

"Uh...thanks?" Ember answered, giving me an odd look. I was used to getting those types of looks. They were better than the ones I got back at the clan; those were a mixture of disgust and disapproval. Ugh, I hate that place. Not to mention it reminded me of Sis and Luthor...what had he meant that Sis had been exiled? I just didn't understand why the clan would banish a young Eevee just because she was related to me, and I had been gone for over a year. Was it just Luthor's way of being a bigger jerk than normal?

"Hey Flareon!" the male Charmander yelled, snapping me from my thoughts. Several disgruntled Pokémon were glaring at the Charmander, but he ignored them. "Finally, you just zoned out when I was talking to you. What's your name?"

"Blaze," I answered, shaking my head to try and clear it.

"I'm Singe," the Charmander said, holding out a paw. I stared at it blankly until he withdrew it with a look of disbelief on his face.

"I am Spore," the Parasect told me politely.

"So what happened to you? You weren't captured with us, I know that much," Ember asked me, stretching her limbs, using the nearby wall to balance her.

"Ran into a familiar bastard, got into a fight, lost, and a Salamence took me here," I growled, the memories of the previous day returning to me rapidly. The Parasect turned its eerie white eyes towards me, this detail noticeable now that both Charmander were awake.

"Familiar bastard? On a hunch, you mean Luthor, correct?" Spore asked calmly.

"Yeah. Him and his mate," I spat, my left eye itching again at the memory of the jerk Leafeon.

"Yes, he mentioned he wanted to engage you in battle," Spore said thoughtfully. "For old time's sake."

"I hate that bastard," I growled.

"He's a better leader than Inferna," the male Charmander grumbled.

"Everyone's better than Inferna," the Gloom said, walking over to our small group. "Everyone favors the Kanto branch ever since he became the leader."

"How did a jerk like him become a well liked leader?" I demanded, my fur bristling.

"He's an amazing fighter, is flexible and actually has conversations with the members than just barking orders," Singe said with a shrug.

"Change the subject," Ember said, growling in frustration. The male Charmander nodded and immediately shifted the topic.

"So, how about we let the others sleep and go to a different room. We're attracting some dirty looks," he said, gesturing to a few of the nearby Pokémon.

"Aren't we sort of, I don't know, prisoners?" I asked, not sure what answer I expected for this question. We were captured, but we didn't seem trapped.

"Apparently we, or at least I, can wander around as long as I don't fight and I'm being escorted," Ember told me.

"You were dropped off here, so the same rule most likely applies to you as well," Spore told me. "Singe and I will join Unusual as your escorts," he added, gesturing a claw leg towards the Gloom.

"Oh, okay," I said with a shrug. "Where is everyone else? If our whole group got captured, where are they now?"

"In a cage still," Ember said, frowning a little. "We don't know where Spark is right now, though," she said, her frown deepening.

"Luthor has him and Crystal, last I checked. I got separated from them," I growled. Ember scowled, absently brushing off the male Charmander's paw from her shoulder. Singe immediately stepped back from her.

"They're not here, are they?" Ember asked, narrowing her eyes and scanning the dark room. I don't think she could see any better than I could and I couldn't see anything.

"We can ask the Onix guard," Spore suggested, walking down a tunnel path not far from where we were currently located. Singe stood and offered Ember a paw, which she took, enabling him to help pull her to her feet. She smiled gratefully and followed after the Parasect. The Gloom, Singe, and I went after her, stopping when an Onix blocked our path, watching us carefully.

"That's the Flareon Diamond told me to guard," the rock snake growled, gesturing his massive tail at me. I backed away nervously, expecting the rock type to try to flatten me into the ground. Which would hurt. A lot. And really do some damage to my fur. And possibly my bone structure, but the fur is the big issue.

"Diamond?" the Gloom repeated, thinking for a second. "That's one of Gamble's inner circle, correct? But Luthor was the one who captured him?" he asked.

"I don't know," the Onix admitted. "I was just told to guard him so he didn't escape."

"We're escorting him," Singe said boredly. "If Dia has an issue, blame..." he looked around at the other two Pokémon, then frowned. "Huh...blame that Steelix, I guess," he said, turning back to the rock snake, which made an odd chuckle.

"Fine. Just don't get into trouble," the Onix said, moving its tail out of our path and allowing us to pass.

"One question: When Luthor and his mate stopped by, did they mention a female Flareon or a Pichu kit?" Ember asked. The rock snake hesitated.

"I do remember something about a kit," it replied carefully. "They did not mention specie, but they said they had to go to..." the Onix paused.

"Go on," the Gloom prompted.

"They had to go see Doppel," the Onix finished. Singe, Unusual, and Spore all flinched. I stared at them. What was the problem?

"Damn it," Spore muttered.

"What's wrong?" Ember demanded impatiently.

"Doppel is perhaps the only member of the Cave Army considered to be better than Sketch. He's the leader of the Guardians, but he leaves Elma in charge more often than not," Singe explained gently.

"I don't get what the problem is," Ember said seriously.

"It's complicated. Doppel and Sketch are rivals, for lack of a better term. Doppel is far more underhanded and amoral than Sketch is," Spore said seriously.

"Amoral?" I repeated, unfamiliar with the term.

"Without morals," Ember said promptly.

"Do you know where Doppel is?" Spore asked the Onix urgently. The rock snake chuckled.

"No. No one ever knows where Doppel is," it said.

"Luthor did," I pointed out. "Did they mention where they were going?"

"Uh...to the Johto branch," the rock snake said after a moment of hesitation.

"Okay, now I wish I could teleport," Spore grumbled. "Let's go..." the Parasect urged, scurrying down a hallway. Our small group exchanged looks.

"We're not WALKING to the Johto branch, are we?" Unusual called uncertainly.

"Of course not. We just need to get into contact with one of the ones who can get us there," Spore called back.

"Can I be of assistance?" a odd feminine voice asked and we all stopped and whirled around to face the speaker, which was a strange creature that practically towered above us. It was a gray black color with yellow markings that looked like a face upon its body, and yellow bands on its arms. A single red eye stared down at us. I instinctively stepped away from it nervously, my left eye itching again. It had some sort of tail where feet would be, which it balanced on with ease.

"Duska?" the Gloom blinked and the mouth on the odd creature's stomach grinned, yet it somehow managed to keep that expression looking angry. "What are you doing here?"

"Long story," the odd creature said, although it didn't seem to be using a mouth to speak. "But I heard you needed transportation, correct?"

"Yeah, we do," Singe said seriously.

"Then which of you will challenge me?" the creature inquired in a playful tone.

"Challenge?" Ember repeated, raising an eye scale. The creature made an odd giggling sound, which made my fur bristle.

"A fun duel. If you win, I'll transport you to and from your destination. If you lose, I don't help," came the reply. Ember paused thoughtfully.

"All right, I'm up for a battle," she said with a grin. The others looked at her, as if doubting her fighting skills. "What?" the female Charmander demanded, growling.

"I don't know if that's a good idea…you could get hurt," the male Charmander said, concerned. Ember shrugged.

"I can handle it," she said seriously.

"Inferna said in passing that Ember beat her," Unusual said. "And Inferna's her mom, too," the Gloom continued. Spore chuckled while Singe looked impressed.

"It's true, I actually saw that battle," I added.

"This area is a little cramped, but the duel will take place here," Duska announced. "So let us begin."


	190. Attendance

**Ember POV**

"Be careful, Ember," Unusual told me as I sized up the ghostly Pokémon. "Duska's no pushover. She's a very powerful Dusknoir."

"Thank you," Duska said with a strange giggle. "Training in Turnback Cave must have done me some good, then."

"But this is just a casual fight, isn't it?" the Parasect asked, its white eyes staring blankly at my opponent. Duska giggled again.

"Yes, but that does not mean I'll go easy on her," she commented, the palms of her arms glowing brightly and she flung her arms out, a bolt of blue energy firing forward, but was sucked into an odd vortex before it came too close to me. I tensed, unsure what to expect from this.

"I'm ready," I said, readying my claws. Duska faded out, reappearing to my left and slamming a large fist into my side, the impact throwing me into the cave wall. I grunted in pain, pushing myself back up and slashing at the ghost, my claws glowing purple a moment before impact, raking across the face on her stomach.

"Ergh, Shadow Claw...good trick," the Dusknoir conceded, but she faded out again, reappearing to my right and swinging another fist, the punch charged with electricity. I was thrown backwards by the impact, my sides aching from the blow, my leg twitching from the sudden surge of electricity. I slowly stood up, determined to keep fighting. As soon as I had my balance back, a hole appeared in front of me and the blue energy Duska had fired earlier shot from it, hitting me in the chest.

"Mew damn it," I gasped, staggering back, miraculously regaining my balance without falling.

"Are you okay?" Singe asked, concerned. I nodded to the male Charmander, narrowing my eyes at the large ghost.

"I think this battle's just about finished," Duska said, sounding disappointed. Her body glowed with purple energy and waves of this energy pulsed outwards. I countered with a fireball, but the waves neutralized my fire and collided with me, a sudden chill flowing through my body.

"Ember!" Blaze shouted, sounding nervous, but I waved a paw, a smile quickly forming on my face. The Dusknoir's single eye blinked at my expression.

"I'm still standing," I pointed out, my claws glowing with a purple aura. "And I can still win." With that comment, I feinted a lunge, the Dusknoir fading out. I smirked and spun around, slamming my claws into the air behind me. Since the walls on either side of me were too close for the Dusknoir to materialize, behind me was the most likely location where she'd reappear. Just as predicted, the ghost appeared in the path of my claws, her own fists glowing purple. My Shadow Claw tore a deep wound into the ghost's ectoplasm and Duska recoiled with a cry of shock, her punches missing my head by inches.

"Nice one!" Singe shouted, but I tuned him out for the moment. The fight wasn't over yet and a distraction could turn the tides back to the ghost type's favor. I pulled back my free paw, which glowed with the fiery blue aura of Dragon Claw, and slashed the face on the Dusknoir's stomach. Duska didn't react as strongly to this attack, but she still recoiled backwards, swiping at me with a ghostly fist. I ducked under the blow, but the Dusknoir faded away, reappearing a few feet away, out of range of my claws. I turned towards her, watching her warily for signs of an attack.

"You're good...Ember, is it?" Duska said, narrowing her eye at me. I nodded curtly, taking a few steps closer. The Dusknoir's shadow abruptly stretched out towards me, extending past me. I looked down nervously, just in time to see the Dusknoir emerge behind me from the shadow. I hastily leapt to the side, narrowly dodging the ghost type's punch. I retaliated with a quick Shadow Claw slash, the Dusknoir wincing in pain as I tore another deep gash in her ectoplasm.

"How long is this fight supposed to go on?" Spore asked seriously. Duska giggled.

"I've seen enough, not to mention I have to get back to my station soon, so I'm going to concede this battle," she said. "Where is it you're trying to go?"

"To the Johto branch. Wherever Luthor and Lexa might be," Unusual answered. Duska giggled again and the area around us grew dark, even the walls disappearing from view, as if we were no longer in that room, but inside a hole. Then the orb of blackness contracted until we could see where we were, and we weren't in the passageway that Duska had battled me in.

"Where are we?" Blaze asked, looking around blankly. I, on the other paw, recognized the room. We were standing on the balcony-like ledge overlooking the conference room where Sketch had held a meeting so long ago.

"Shh," Singe warned, peering over the ledge down to the room. "There's something going on here..." he explained when Spore and Unusual looked at him strangely.

"We're not allowed to eavesdrop, Singe," the Parasect reminded him. "We could get disciplined if we're caught...and we're not even supposed to be in this conference room unless invited!"

"Then be invited," a soft, feminine voice spoke from behind us, causing us all to jump and spin around. "Hey Lava! Mind if there's a few more witnesses?"

"Depends on who," a vaguely familiar voice replied. I remembered the name Lava as being the leader of the organization that had kidnapped me and Spark so long ago, but I had never actually seen him, just heard him once speaking through a speaker.

"Your names?" the speaker, a small Pokémon with two red flowers on its head and a green body with two small arms. Its lower body looked a little like a dress, with alternating green and yellow leaves.

"Ember, Blaze, Singe, Spore, and Unusual," the Gloom answered. The flower Pokémon blinked in alarm.

"Unusual? You work with the Cave Army?" she asked in surprise. The Gloom looked confused.

"Do I know you?" he asked. She giggled and hugged him briefly. He flushed, looking even more confused.

"You don't even remember your own sister? I'm Normal, remember?"

"Normal? You're a Bellossom now?" Unusual asked, his confusion fading and becoming replaced with excitement. "It's so good to see you!"

"One second, got to answer Lava," she interrupted. "They're Ember, Blaze, Singe, Spore, and my brother!" she yelled down to the conference room. There was a moment's silence and I took this time to peer down into the chamber, spotting the Smeargle, a large fiery creature with cannon-like arms, and several other Pokémon that I wasn't paying too much attention to, although I recognized an Ampharos and a Sableye. There was no sign of Nightslash, so that insane Umbreon was probably telling the truth when he told me that Nightslash was dead.

"I have no objection to their presence," the fiery creature answered, glancing towards the Smeargle.

"Nor do I," Sketch said dismissively. "Now what is this proposition you have for me, Lava?" he asked, staring at the fire Pokémon.

"It has come to my attention that the Dark Organization is in danger of crumbling. I wish to officially merge with the Cave Army, forfeiting the majority of my authority in the process if I have to," Lava answered seriously, his eyes flicking between the various Pokémon present.

"I thought your organization was doing well," Sketch replied smugly. "Whatever could have convinced you that your organization is crumbling?"

"If I die, it's been decided to attempt to merge anyway. I'm just not waiting until I die," Lava answered hesitantly.

"Nightslash is dead," the Sableye said seriously, his gem eyes glittering in the chamber's lighting. "If I had not made the temporary alliance with Frost, Lava would also be dead," he rasped.

"And me too," the Ampharos said with a sigh. "Normal and Gem would have been the only elite members left, and the organization would go through a chaos not seen since the original leaders were assassinated almost two years ago," he said. Lava shot him a furious glare.

"The original leaders?" Sketch repeated thoughtfully. "They were assassinated?"

"Yes. It's unimportant, however," the fiery Pokémon said quickly.

"Mhm. And what is it you're trying to acquire from this bargain?" Sketch asked quietly. "You've been using our resources already, so why are you merging?"

"It would aid your organization if we simply transfer the members to your group, rather than hold our individuality," Shock answered before the fire Pokémon could reply. The Smeargle paused, considering this.

"Fine. I'll accept this merger, but all of your members are placed at lowest status until further examination, except for Gem, your Bellossom, and you. And I suppose your Ampharos can be included as well. I've seen him battle and he's good enough for a better status," Sketch spoke finally.

"Can I make a suggestion?" Singe called suddenly, making me jump in surprise. I had forgotten there was anyone else near me, since they were all silent. Blaze looked at the male Charmander in confusion.

"A suggestion?" Sketch repeated, looking up at our location. "What kind of suggestion?"

"Transfer all of the new members to the Johto branch and place me, Spore, Unusual, and a few others back in the Kanto branch," Singe called clearly. Sketch chuckled quietly.

"I'll consider it, Singe. Now if you don't mind my asking...how did you get in here? Weren't you stationed in Hoenn?"

"Right. Uh..." Singe began, but Blaze cut him off.

"Where's Spark and Crystal?" he snapped. Sketch glanced at the Flareon calmly.

"Blaze, is it?" he asked, rising from his seat at the stone table-like structure and flicking his tail into his paw, twirling the green tipped appendage casually. The Flareon growled, his fur bristling.

"I remember you now," Blaze snapped, his yellow eye glinting oddly. "Tell me where Spark and Crystal are...right now!" he snarled. A few Pokémon still at the table flinched, but Sketch remained calm.

"The Pichu kit is in Lexa's custody, while your Flareon friend is..." the Smeargle broke off as one of the inhabitants of the room whispered something, too quietly for me to hear. "Is that right? My mistake, Flareon. The Pichu is in Doppel's custody while the Flareon's whereabouts are unconfirmed. Then again, there's been an escape in the Hoenn branch, so I'm not surprised that we're a bit disorganized," the Smeargle's last comment sounded bitter, but Blaze only scowled.

"Calm down," the Bellossom whispered to Blaze urgently.

"Why?" Blaze hissed back. Unusual frowned.

"Don't talk to my sister like that," he said quietly.

"Well thanks to that bastard Smeargle, MY sister's dead!" Blaze snapped back.

"I didn't kill your sister, Flareon. I'm sorry it happened," Sketch called loudly, able to hear what Blaze was practically shouting.

"Spare me the false regret," Blaze said harshly, his tone flat and cold. I tensed, watching the male Flareon worriedly. He was acting strangely again, something I thought he was getting over.

"False? Not false at all," Sketch answered. "I truly do feel bad that your sister died because of me, indirectly of course."

"Indirectly?" Blaze repeated, narrowing his eyes furiously. "You...freaking...kidnapped her!" he snarled. Sketch blinked.

"But I didn't kill her, Flareon," he said calmly.

"Is that supposed to be a consolation?" Blaze demanded harshly.

"Calm down," Normal and Unusual said anxiously, but Blaze ignored them. Sketch rolled his eyes, turning to the Sableye.

"Gem, since you now directly work for me, I want you to contact the backup member. I get the feeling that the Guardians will have their hands full with the escape. Knowing Gamble's recklessness, he's going to mess something up," the Smeargle said. Gem tilted his head inquisitively.

"Backup member?" he repeated in a dull rasp.

"Ask Tarot for location, if you have to," Sketch said and the Sableye faded out.

"Don't ignore me, Sketch," Blaze hissed, glaring down at the Smeargle.

"Or what?" Sketch asked quietly. "I defeated you the last time we fought."

"Blaze, wait," I urged, but the Flareon ignored me, leaping down from the ledge we were positioned on, landing on a half pillar several feet beneath us and then dropping the remaining distance. "What's he doing?" I muttered to myself.

"Stay back...he's mine," Blaze hissed coldly, advancing upon the table where Sketch stood.

"The meeting is concluded. Stay out of this battle," Sketch ordered to the remaining inhabitants, tossing his tail from paw to paw as he stepped towards the center of the room. "It was a mistake allowing certain prisoners to move about at will, escorted or not. I will not repeat this mistake in the future."

"Your mistake was to kidnap Sis," Blaze said harshly. "And you will pay for it…dearly."


	191. Visiting

**Leaf POV**

I returned to the rest of the group a little while later, once the haze surrounding my mind had lifted and when my fur's condition was satisfactory. When I got back, I sat down a little off to the side, not really wanting to intrude on Vice's and Icicle's conversation, since it seemed a little personal. Glacia smiled at me when she saw me and came over towards me. I noticed the Flareon blinked at her briefly, but turned back to the white furred Eevee and resumed their conversation.

"You look a bit lonely and I have nothing to talk about with them," the female Glaceon said when I gave her a confused look.

"Oh. Thanks," I said, giving her a weak smile.

"I'm a bit curious about you, still," Glacia admitted. "You're pretty young, older than me, but the youngest of your group, right?"

"Yes," I answered, unsure where this conversation was going. I didn't really know too much about Glacia to be able to guess what she was curious about.

"I saw you fighting a little in your base or whatever. You're pretty strong," she told me.

"Thanks," I said modestly, blushing a little. I didn't get compliments often, although I did know that Jolt and Darkness found my battling abilities respectable, even though they were better than me most of the time. Frost even had admitted that I was a decent battler and had potential, not to mention he had me as a possible 'ultimate opponent'.

"You also looked pretty confident most of the time and I was just wondering...how did you get like that?" Glacia added. I shrugged. I hadn't felt very confident during the attack on our base. Most of the time I was worried that I was going to lose or get killed or something bad would happen. The other members of our group had been more confident than I had, I was sure of that.

"I don't know. Frost worked with me a little when I was training, telling me to be confident and other mental training tactics, I guess," I answered finally.

"Hm, Frost is more cocky than confident," the young Glaceon muttered. I had to agree with that. Frost's confidence was justified, as I didn't know anyone that was better than him, and he was always getting stronger because he trained constantly. However, he also seemed to make mistakes based on his assumptions of other people's abilities, even if he ended up winning the battle in the end. One of the first things he tried to teach me was that any mistake could be the last. Shadow somewhat agreed with that concept, one of the few times he and Frost seemed to fully agree about something, but that was before their falling out.

"I guess so. He varies a bit," I replied with a shrug.

"Yeah, I heard about that," Glacia said casually and I blinked at her.

"From who?"

"Oh...my mom told me a little about Frost. I think Vice mentioned wanting to meet Jolt, and the conversation shifted to where Jolt was, and it was brought up that he's in a group with your brother and Frost, and then my mom mentioned knowing Frost," Glacia explained.

"Oh. What'd she say about Frost?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. Frost was the one I knew that kept tabs on people, so I wondered what other people said about him. Hopefully something I didn't already know during the year or so that I've known the Glaceon.

"Not too much. She said that they knew each other for a while," Glacia answered with a shrug. "My mom said that Frost was a bit full of himself at times, but could be really nice, too."

"Yeah, I've seen that before," I agreed.

"Excuse me, but did you see Volt on your walk earlier?" the female Eevee called over to me. I jumped slightly at the sudden sound, but shook my head. Icicle's ears drooped a little, looking a little worried.

"He's over there, coming towards us," Vice said, gesturing a paw in one direction. Glacia and I both turned in that direction.

"Are you feeling any better, Volt?" Icicle asked tentatively as the Umbreon came over.

"I'll be fine for now," Volt answered coldly. Icicle flinched, the Umbreon wincing at her reaction. Vice took a few steps away from Volt and hurried over towards Glacia, coiling his tail around her protectively while glaring at the Umbreon. Volt scowled at this. "I'm not going to hurt her, Vice," he said irritably.

"Hmph, that's what I used to think," Vice retorted angrily. "Then you tried to kill her, so I'm not taking any chances with you!" Vice put a contemptuous emphasis on the last 'you' and Volt growled. The white furred Eevee made a quiet whining sound, returning Volt's attention to her.

"Just stay calm, Volt," she pleaded, looking up at him cutely. The Umbreon's expression softened slightly, but he shot Vice an aggravated glare. "Sorry our visit wasn't very pleasant, Vice," the Eevee said apologetically.

"I'm used to it," the Flareon replied with a dull sigh. Glacia cuddled close to the Flareon's fur, relaxing a little bit.

"It was nice to see you again, and you too, Glacia," Icicle said gently. "I guess you are going to get going?" she asked, sounding a little sad.

"Nice to see you again, too," Glacia told the Eevee happily. "And we were thinking of visiting my mom before going to..." the female Glaceon paused, glancing at Volt uncomfortably. "...the next place we're going to." I blinked at them. Where were they planning on going? I got the feeling they were deliberately keeping the information from the Umbreon, for whatever reason.

"Oh. Tell Blizzard hello from me," Icicle said, glancing at Volt to see his reaction to Glacia's hesitation. The Umbreon was acting like he hadn't heard anything and was all but ignoring us. "Volt, we need to talk," she told the dark type seriously.

"Finally, here you are," a voice rasped and a Sableye appeared next to Volt. The Umbreon glared at the new arrival.

"What the hell do you want?" Volt snapped.

"You're needed," the ghost answered.

"Am I? Tell whoever the hell sent you that it's too damn bad, I'm not available," Volt retorted angrily. The Sableye blinked at the Umbreon.

"You're not available?" he repeated skeptically.

"Apparently, you idiots don't realize that I get a week off every month and this is that week!" Volt spat. "I've already been called once during this week and it would not be wise to try my patience twice."

"I'm afraid that attendance is mandatory," the ghost told Volt.

"Someone is going to die for this, Sableye," Volt hissed. "Give me a minute," the Umbreon turned to Icicle and licked her neck gently, whispering in her ear, too quietly for me to hear. The white furred Eevee whispered something back and Volt nodded.

"But we're talking when you get back," Icicle insisted. Volt rolled his red eyes, but nodded, turning to Vice, who glared at him.

"Going to go be a sadistic killer as usual?" the Flareon asked contemptuously.

"For that, I don't think I'll apologize for attacking your mate, Vice," Volt said coldly.

"You're not sorry, anyway," Vice snapped. Volt smirked.

"Only you could ever hope to get away with saying things like that Vice...just remember everyone has a breaking point," he hissed quietly. Glacia shivered, snuggling closer to Vice anxiously.

"Knock it off, Volt," Icicle growled, digging her claws into one of Volt's paws. The Umbreon winced in pain, but didn't withdraw his paw until the Eevee lifted her paw from him. Volt licked the wound silently, an odd purr escaping his throat as he lapped up the blood from his paw. He grinned at the white furred Eevee and nudged her shoulder with his head, but she batted him with her paw. The Umbreon stepped back, his expression sour as he turned to the ghost Pokémon.

"I'm ready. Also inform Tarot that Vice and his mate need transportation," he said coldly. The ghost nodded and tapped Volt's shoulder, both of them vanishing. Icicle sighed sadly and Vice walked over to her, nudging her comfortingly with her head. Icicle smiled and patted the Flareon gratefully.

"Thanks, Vice," she said quietly.

"We can visit Blizzard later. I don't like you being alone all the time," the Flareon suggested, but Icicle shook her head gently.

"No, it was nice to see you again, but I'll be all right. I'm not always alone," she told him. Vice hesitated uncertainly. "I'll be fine, Vice. Now I want you and Glacia to visit Blizzard like you planned to," Icicle said firmly. I stayed silent, once again getting the feeling that this was a personal affair that I should stay out of.

"Well, we still have to wait for transportation," Glacia pointed out. "We can keep you company until then, can't we?" she asked. "How have you been doing?"

"I've been all right. Vice was just telling me what has been going on for you two lately. I'm sorry to hear about Volt attacking you," the Eevee said. Glacia shivered at the reminder, prompting Vice to give her a comforting hug. I began grooming my fur, despite it being in good condition. I was bored and their conversation wasn't something I wanted to follow. My thoughts began drifting to my brother and the rest of the group.

I wondered what they were doing right now, and how Jolt was holding up. He had expressed interest in talking to me, if I gave him some time, but now that I had left the group, he didn't have that chance. Maybe he would talk to Darkness instead, who was similarly upset about Kira's death. I highly doubted that Shadow or Frost would try to make Jolt feel better, if anything they'd make it worse, Shadow not being very sympathetic in the first place. Likewise, I wondered how Darkness was doing. She made me nervous when she was angry, but Shadow would probably not help out with anything that was upsetting her, because he didn't seem to care. I sighed, already starting to regret leaving the group. Sure, the stress of putting up with Shadow or Frost's indifference or nastiness was gone, but sometimes I wondered whether the only reason the group stayed together was because of me.

From what I could tell, Frost only was 'back' in the group because I was willing to give him the chance. Jolt, Darkness, and Shadow were all against him. Jolt was like a second brother to me, and now that I knew about Volt, I could almost understand that he thought the same about me. While Shadow had protested my continued inclusion in the group, he had admitted that I was valuable. Darkness and I didn't really have much to do with each other, but she stuck around Shadow mostly. I couldn't help but wonder whether I was too hasty in resigning. I didn't really have anyone now, except to tag along with Vice and Glacia.

"I have been informed that I'm needed for transportation. Is this correct?" Tarot asked, appearing near Icicle, shuffling his deck of cards as his gaze shifted between the female Eevee, Vice, Glacia, and finally me.

"Oh...hello," Icicle said, flinching when he had spoken. "Um...yes, Vice and Glacia were going to visit..."

"Are you coming, too?" Vice interrupted, looking towards me. I shrugged, but stepped forward anyways. That counted as an invitation to me and I had nowhere else to go. "Okay, we're visiting Glacia's mom," he told the Sableye.

"Do you need transportation, Icicle?" Tarot inquired calmly, looking at the white furred Eevee.

"Um...I want to go back to that one building, if it's not too much trouble," she replied tentatively. Tarot nodded and tapped her, causing her to vanish from view. He then turned to the rest of us and his eyes flashed brightly. The light faded and I shivered. Wherever we were was much colder than where we had come from. I noticed that we were now standing outside a cave on a ledge.

"Do you need transportation later?" the Sableye asked calmly, but Glacia shook her head.

"We'll get Mystic or Gelid to take us, thanks," she said. Tarot nodded and faded out from view. Glacia turned to the entrance of the cave and both she and Vice walked in without knocking or any other method of waiting for an invitation. I followed nervously, unsure if I was supposed to follow. The interior of the cave was warmer than outside and was brightly lit with lamps near the ceiling, all lit with a single flame.

"Can I help you?" a voice called, but then there was a moment of silence. "Oh, hello you two," the speaker added kindly. Another female Glaceon stepped into view, smiling at the two younger Eons. Her blue-white fur was elegant and well groomed, reminding me of Frost. She looked about five or six years old, but I'm still not good at guessing ages.

"Hello," Vice answered cheerfully. Glacia didn't say anything, just cuddled next to Vice a little.

"Hmm...is this just a random visit or is there something else?" the older Glaceon asked, studying Glacia critically. Vice looked puzzled, but Glacia reddened.

"Random visit," she said hastily.

"Just checking," the older Glaceon said casually, blinking in my direction. "And who are you?"

"I'm Leaf," I said, a little shyly.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Blizzard, Glacia's mother," she told me kindly. I nodded in reply, once again feeling like I didn't really belong here. "Make yourself at home," Blizzard told me, as if she could read my thoughts. "No, I can't read your thoughts."

"Huh?!" I yelped, staring at her in shock. How did she do that?

"Mystic's here?" Glacia asked, giggling a little. There was a brief flash of light and a feline Pokémon with light purple fur appeared inside the cave entrance, giggling to itself in a feminine pitch. It had a gemstone on its forehead and a forked tail, which flicked with each step she took as she approached us, confirming to me that it was an Espeon, but with purple fur instead of Shadow's black. "Hello Mystic," Glacia said.

"Hello," the Espeon replied, her voice soft, but clear.

"Mystic, you can use telepathy if you're more comfortable with that," Vice said.

_"Thank you,"_ came the telepathic reply.

"And this is Mystic, an old friend of mine," Blizzard explained, giggling at my expression. "We sometimes play little jokes like that, where I reply to your thoughts as she tells me them telepathically. I hope we didn't upset you," she said.

"No, I'm fine," I assured her. Shadow invaded my thoughts all the time, so I rarely felt like I even had privacy inside my head. Shadow rarely said anything about my thoughts, but I could tell he knew just about everything.

_"Don't worry, I don't tell a soul about your inner thoughts, if I even pick them up. I only go for the immediate thoughts,"_ the Espeon assured me. I think she was talking to me privately, since no one else seemed aware of the communication. Mystic's gemstone glowed gently and her ear twitched. _"Bliz? I think you have another visitor."_

"What?" the Glaceon blinked, turning to the cave entrance.

"Long time no see," a familiar voice spoke from the entranceway, although not in view yet. Blizzard's fur bristled, apparently she recognized the voice. "I have a few questions for you, Bliz," the speaker continued, entering the cave, pausing at the sight of us gathered. "Leaf?"

"Frost?"


	192. Frosty Revelations

**Leaf POV**

I stared at the familiar ice Eon, feeling confused. He was giving me an odd look, but his eyes flicked to the other inhabitants of the cave. "Is this a bad time, Bliz?" he asked, sitting down casually, his attention on the elder of the female Glaceon. Blizzard frowned slightly.

"No, not bad, exactly. Then again, it's you asking," she said. Frost winced.

_"Odd. I cannot read any of his thoughts, Blizzard,"_ Mystic said telepathically. The male Glaceon raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. I remembered it being mentioned in the past that Frost had developed a hardened mental barrier over time that supposedly even Diablos couldn't pass. This was first mentioned a year or so back when Frost defeated Shadow and claimed his success was because not only was Frost a stronger fighter, but Shadow's advantage of mind reading was useless.

"How did you get here?" Vice demanded, his fur bristling. "We're in Sinnoh now, not Johto."

"I know, Flareon," Frost said dismissively. "I had Leaf's dear brother bring me because Gem wasn't available for some reason. I'd ask you the same question, but it's not really important how you got here."

"What do you want, Frost?" Blizzard asked impatiently, her fur bristling into icy needles. Frost was unfazed by her temper, stepping more into the cave.

"Is it a bad thing if I stopped by?" he inquired in a much more pleasant tone than I was used to hearing from him. I stared at him strangely, but noticed his kinder tone seemed to have soothed Blizzard a little, although her eyes were still narrowed at him.

_"I like how sleek his fur is. It really complements his muscles and curves, and the tail looks like it'd be fun to play with..."_

"Mystic, you're broadcasting your thoughts again," Blizzard said quickly, her face going red. Frost was staring at the psychic type impassively. Mystic giggled, embarrassed. I just pretended not to hear, which is a lot harder to do when you remember the comment was broadcast telepathically.

"Returning to the topic, is it a bad thing I stopped by?" Frost repeated, focusing on the elder female Glaceon.

"You tell me," Blizzard replied shortly. "Seriously, I want to know how you expect me to react to your reappearance."

"How I expect you to react?" Frost repeated, raising an eyebrow. Every other Eon in the cave was silent, staring at the two Glaceon. Mystic's attention was pointedly on Blizzard, but her eyes flicked to Frost every time he spoke. "We did not have much tension between us, so I do not know how to answer that..."

"Think about it for a second!" Blizzard snapped and the temperature of the cave dropped significantly. I shivered as the cold began to invade my body. Ironically, Frost relaxed when the temperature dropped and Glacia casually licked a paw and began grooming Vice's fur, to the Flareon's confusion. Mystic seemed to be used to the sudden changes in temperature as she didn't react at all.

"Logically, I'd be inclined to assume you would not be the most thrilled to see me again," Frost said quietly. "Alternatively, you could be ecstatic."

"You wish," Blizzard growled.

"Now what did I do to earn this hostility?" Frost inquired calmly. I was starting to get the sense of his usual ruder behavior again, but it was still minor compared to how much of a jerk he could be without even trying. He was still acting surprisingly nice.

"Oh don't even try to pull that!" Blizzard hissed, her fur bristling as the temperature dropped several more degrees. I whined in protest, but was ignored. Mystic's tail flicked, but she was otherwise unfazed. Vice was watching Glacia warily as the young Glaceon purred, her tail flicking happily as she continued to groom the fire Eon. Lucky ice type and equally lucky fire type, not freezing. Admittedly, this argument was too interesting to leave, despite the discomfort of being a grass type in a cold cave. I barely knew a thing about Frost's past with anyone, so witnessing this argument was bound to be informative.

"Hm, I'll run the possibilities over in my mind," Frost said with a faint sneer. "I didn't come here to get chewed up, whether I deserve it or not remains to be seen, but I came to ask you a few questions."

"Assuming I answer them," Blizzard retorted.

_"I could answer them,"_ Mystic suggested.

"Stay out of this!" Blizzard growled, the temperature dropping further. I whimpered before I could stop myself. The cold was really starting to get to me and my body quivered constantly as it tried to fight the chill. Vice hastily backed away from Glacia as the female Glaceon stopped grooming him, now staring unblinkingly at his fluffy tail.

"Sorry," Mystic spoke aloud in a faint whisper, looking at the ground uncomfortably. Frost glanced at the Espeon for a moment, but turned back to Blizzard without commenting.

"Leaf? Can you distract Glacia? She's scaring me," Vice whispered from the corner of his mouth. I gave him an odd look, but then noticed the youngest Glaceon had shifted her stance so she looked like she was about to pounce. I took a step nearer to her, but she growled threateningly, her eyes not leaving Vice, while her tail flicked. I hastily stepped backwards. All things considering, fighting her would not be my smartest decision and she would probably attack me if I didn't heed that growl.

"Sorry, I don't think so," I whispered back. Vice sighed and glanced towards Mystic pleadingly, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Tell you what, Bliz. I just met your kit about two days ago and I was very surprised to find out she was your kit," Frost began seriously.

"Why's that?" Blizzard asked, her tone a mixture of coldness and confusion. Frost hesitated.

"It was just a surprise to meet someone related to someone you knew a while back," he answered carefully. "Now here's where I get confused. She's how old?"

"About a year and 8 months," Blizzard replied.

"When's her birthday?" Frost asked.

"A little over four months from now," Blizzard responded. Frost puzzled over that for a moment.

"Hm...how long to lay and hatch?"

"I don't remember."

"Why are you asking this?" I asked, feeling like I was missing out on something very important, something that I needed to know in order to follow the conversation.

"Not really your business, is it, Leaf?" Frost sneered softly. I shook my head, shivering against the cold, which seemed to intensify as the two adult Glaceon stared at each other.

"What part is confusing you, Frost?" Blizzard asked, slowly relaxing, her fur settling down.

"Putting aside the uncertainty on why there's absolutely no data available on her, I'm rather curious on why I wasn't told."

"What do you mean 'no data'?" a sweet voice asked and the Froslass from the base materialized, smiling at all of us. "Quite the party, isn't it, Blizzard?" she asked sweetly.

"And every party has its unwanted guest," the female Glaceon replied, her tail flicking in annoyance.

"So tell me, Frost, what do you mean, 'no data'?" the Froslass repeated with a small giggle.

"I collect data profiles, Froslass," Frost said dismissively. "I have one on Blizzard, but there's no kit data and I find it odd that such data is lacking, considering both Gem and Tarot are very good with data collection."

"Gem works for the Dark Organization and Tarot works for Diablos," Gelid answered sweetly, but in a tone that suggested that her response cleared up the problem entirely. Frost, on the other paw, looked confused.

"Care to elaborate?"

"If kit data existed for Glacia, it would include her mate, which is Vice. If there's data for Vice, there's data on his parents. And the Dark Organization was specifically told to clear all data on his parents," Gelid explained.

"By who?" Frost demanded. Gelid waved a fin like arm to show her uncertainty. "So what does Tarot working for Diablos have to do with anything?"

"...are you kidding?" Gelid asked incredulously. "Do you even KNOW who Vice's parents are?"

"No, how would I? There's no data on him!" Frost snapped impatiently.

"Odd how you have data on Volt, but failed to know he has a kit and mate," Vice said dryly.

"That is odd, Flareon, but I've met Volt before and I know his brother, so he has a profile," Frost replied calmly. "So tell me, Bliz...why wasn't I told about your kit?"

"Why would you have been?" Blizzard asked evasively.

"We were mates, Bliz. Short term or not, we were mates and you had a kit not long after that time. It begs the question 'Who is her father?'" Frost answered after a brief hesitation. Blizzard flinched, her body tensing up again. "That reaction tells me one of three things. One, it's me. Two, it's someone other than me who you were with around that time. Three, you don't even know because of multiple instances of two. So which is it? If she's my kit, I want to know this."

"You would?" Blizzard answered sarcastically. "Why's that? So you can claim that you have a child without actually raising her at all?"

"I'm offended you think I'm like that," Frost replied calmly. "If she was my kit and I was properly informed of it, I would not have left. Our relationship would probably have remained terminated, because I was not ready to settle down, and I'm still not, but I would not have left you to raise her alone."

"And how would I have contacted you?" Blizzard retorted, but I noticed the cave was gradually returning to its original temperature, so she must have been calming down.

"You seem to have a pet Froslass and Espeon," Frost pointed out. Mystic bristled.

_"I'm not a pet!"_

"I apologize. I did not mean to include you in that description. I'll rephrase. 'You seem to have a pet Froslass and an Espeon friend'," Frost amended politely. Gelid giggled as Mystic relaxed. "So tell me, Bliz…who is your kit's father? Me or someone else?"

"I don't know," the female Glaceon said quietly. Frost blinked, but his expression remained calm.

"You don't know? How many mates did you have within that time period?" he demanded.

"Including you…two," Blizzard answered uncomfortably. Glacia tore her gaze from Vice and gave her mother an odd look. Vice took this moment of distraction and moved further from the young Glaceon, still watching her nervously.

"Okay. Who?" Frost asked seriously. Blizzard muttered something that I didn't quite catch. Frost apparently didn't, either. "I missed that. A bit louder, Bliz."

"He was an old childhood friend from when I was a kit."

"His name?" Frost prompted, a hint of impatience in his voice.

"Why do you need to know?" Blizzard asked hesitantly.

"Just tell me the name, Bliz," Frost demanded sharply.

"Rod, he was an Eevee," Blizzard answered in a defeated tone. Frost stared at her in alarm.

"Rod?" he repeated, his brow furrowing in thought. "Did he have a patch of silvery gray fur on his tail?"

"You know him?" Blizzard asked, sounding surprised.

"Yes...yes I did," Frost admitted, nodding a little awkwardly.

"How do you know him?" the Froslass asked curiously.

"Not your business, Froslass," Frost replied coldly.

"I'll just ask Bane to ask Chaos to check your profiles for Rod's data," Gelid said sweetly and faded out. Frost's jaw dropped.

"Chaos hacked my profiles?" he demanded to the air, outraged.

"Yeah, didn't you know that?" I answered. Frost shook his head, scowling. Glacia turned her attention back to Vice, glaring at him when she noticed how much distance the Flareon had put between them.

"What?" Vice asked innocently. Glacia re-closed the distance between them and cuddled next to him, purring quietly in his ear. Vice rubbed her ears with a paw, looking around awkwardly.

_"So you came here to ask Bliz about who Glacia's father is?"_ Mystic asked the male Glaceon.

"Essentially," Frost answered. "I was concerned that she was my kit, and the concern remains, but now that I know the other candidate, I can work out the answer without needing to question Bliz further," Frost explained.

"And what if she is yours?" Blizzard asked seriously.

"It would just be something to keep in mind. Our relationship is long over, Bliz. You're still as beautiful as always, but we wouldn't have a chance of being a couple again. I'm moving on and I'm sure you already have. But if she's my kit, I'll help her out anyway I can," Frost answered, just as seriously.

"You still aren't ready to settle down?" Blizzard inquired. Frost shook his head.

"I see no reason to. Not yet, anyway. I still plan to become the strongest, but I need to avenge my last defeat," he said, more to himself than the female Glaceon.

_"I'm curious...why didn't you two work out?"_ Mystic asked telepathically. Both Glaceon hesitated.

"There's a long story to this and I don't want to get into it," Blizzard said, her ears drooping a little. "And no, he wasn't abusive in any sense of the word," she said, although Mystic hadn't said anything, so it must have been a private telepathic question.

"Abusive?" Frost repeated, alarmed. "I may not be the nicest Glaceon alive, but abuse is one thing I..." he broke off, noticing that Mystic was staring at him fondly. "Thank you," he said politely, a small blush appearing on his face, but it faded a moment later. I'm probably glad I didn't hear the telepathic message.

_"Any compliments for me?"_ Mystic inquired, walking over to the male Glaceon and sitting down next to him.

"You're physically attractive, but I look for more in a mate than just that. What makes you _worthy_?" Frost asked, emphasizing the last word. Mystic looked a bit taken aback and glanced at Blizzard.

"No, he really does that to all his potential mates," Blizzard said, once again causing me to assume that the Espeon was privately questioning Frost's behavior.

_"Why?"_

"Because I have standards," Frost answered smugly. "Only worthy Eons deserve to have me as a mate."

_"So it's more a case of you being too good for me?"_ Mystic asked, her telepathic tone sounding a little hurt.

"Now you're just taking this too seriously. If your abilities are vastly beneath my standards, you're not considered. Some exceptions may exist, but let's face it, if the only thing to offer is physical attraction, then you're not worth it," Frost explained.

"That's a really, really strange way to look at it, isn't it?" I asked. Frost chuckled.

"I don't want to seek out mates for physical appeal only. Attractiveness is a must, but they need to be more compatible than that."

_"Did Bliz pass your criteria?"_

"No, she failed, which is why we had a relationship lasting multiple months and I suspect her kit is mine. Because I rejected her," Frost replied sarcastically. Strangely enough, Mystic giggled at that comment, while Blizzard hid a smile with her paw. Meanwhile, Vice was clearly trying not to laugh and Glacia was sleeping, using the Flareon's tail as a pillow. I also found Frost's comment to be oddly amusing, but I only smiled weakly, since I felt awkward not really being involved in the conversation.

_"Do you consider me unworthy?"_ Mystic asked, biting Frost's neck, the male Glaceon flinching. _"What?"_

"Don't bite me. We're not that close yet," Frost replied kindly. "And no, I don't think you're UNworthy. By the way, Leaf, where are you going after here?"

"I don't know," I answered, a little surprised by the sudden question. "Probably wherever those two go," I said, gesturing to Vice and the sleeping Glaceon. "Why?"

"Jolt wanted to talk to you. He's been really withdrawn since you left and Darkness…the less said about her behavior, the better. For me. Your brother is always coming or going in some fashion, but he agreed to the rest of us taking a few days off to recuperate from the attack. And I just wanted a clue to what your goals are," Frost explained, his tail flicking as he spoke.

"_I could bring him here to visit,"_ Mystic suggested, her eyes watching the tail's movement.

"Possibly," Frost agreed. He paused for a moment, his head cocked to one side, and then smiled slightly. "Sure, why not?"

"_Maybe tomorrow, though. It's getting late,"_ Mystic suggested.

"It's a date…which is oddly literal," Frost said with a nod, the two Eons walking over to a different part of the cave and curling up about ten feet from each other. Vice curled around Glacia protectively and rested his head on her back, closing his eyes tiredly. I lay down near the cave entrance to sleep.

"Now how did I end up with a cave full of visitors all spending the night?" Blizzard asked, confused.


	193. Rematch with Sketch

**Ember POV**

"I think I got lost somewhere. What's going on?" Singe asked, gently tapping my shoulder to get my attention. I jumped slightly at the sudden contact, but recovered quickly.

"I barely understand the situation either. Blaze doesn't really talk about this. About a week ago or so, can't really remember, Sketch kidnapped Blaze's sister and he went to go rescue her. He got separated from our group, but when we saw him again, he had snapped," I explained with a shrug. I didn't really have a way to explain the situation.

"His sister died?" the Parasect asked and I nodded. Blaze had opened up that fact eventually, after I figured out the signs.

"We figured that out later, but that was after he had recovered a bit. I didn't realize he was still in that state," I answered. I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, my own anger issues were seen less frequently, but I knew the power was still within me, waiting to be called upon. I may have control over my extra oomph of power, but Blaze clearly didn't. He was not repressing the memories now, but that may be more bad than good.

"I understand a little bit. I take care of my siblings," Unusual answered, hugging the Bellossom gently. She giggled and hugged him back, turning her attention back to the lower level. Blaze and Sketch were circling each other, the Smeargle twirling his tail casually while Blaze assumed a rigid, confident manner, his yellow eye gleaming slightly. I shivered and turned away from the eye. Singe rubbed my neck soothingly and I felt my face heat up a little bit. I didn't really mind the attention, but I had to stay alert, in case I got too comfortable and had a certain mood swing around him. I don't know him well enough to allow that to happen.

"You have your chance to back off unharmed, Blaze," Sketch said quietly, clenching the green tipped tail firmly in one hand, pointing it towards Blaze like a weapon. The Flareon's angered expression had settled down a little, but he still growled at this new comment.

"I think I can take you this time," Blaze replied, his tone harsh and forceful. Sketch raised a beige eyebrow at Blaze's confidence. Aside from the way he spoke, he seemed to be completely calm, even his anger had disappeared from his face.

"Then make your move," Sketch answered. In reply, Blaze vanished from sight, reappearing next to the Smeargle an instant later, sinking his teeth into Sketch's shoulder, his teeth engulfed in flames. Sketch cried out in pain, pointing his tail at Blaze. "Hydro Pump!" he called. The tip of his tail glowed blue and a pressurized jet of water fired from the tail. The force of the water would have easily sent Blaze flying across the cavern, but the Flareon had disappeared, reappearing on the other side of Sketch.

"Wow, he's fast," Normal commented, impressed. I silently agreed. I had seen Blaze's Quick Attack in action when he attacked Dragonair, but it was still a little cool to see how fast he could move sometimes. Blaze snapped his teeth at Sketch, but the Smeargle vanished, reappearing several feet away, Blaze's teeth closing on nothing but air. The Flareon growled quietly, turning towards Sketch.

"You can't beat me," Sketch said seriously. Blaze smirked.

"Want to bet?" he challenged forcefully, the yellow eye flashing ominously. Several of the Pokémon from Sketch's meeting chuckled at this comment, although others flinched.

"You don't have a chance against Sketch, Flareon. There's a reason he's the leader," a Graveler croaked. Blaze ignored the rock Pokémon, his gaze focused on the Smeargle, which pointed its tail at Blaze.

"Hidden Power!" Sketch called, orbs of energy forming around him and firing at the Flareon, but Blaze disappeared again, reappearing just in front of Sketch and slamming his weight into the Smeargle's gut, shoving him roughly to the ground. There was a startled 'ooh' from the onlookers, but Sketch rolled backwards to his feet, smiling gently.

"It's such a treat to see Sketch in action," Spore murmured, his blank white eyes staring at the battle, but I also noticed a strange smell from the mushroom on his back. It was sweet and relaxing, reminding me a little of Unusual's scent. "He rarely ever battles, but he's an amazing fighter," the Parasect explained when the Bellossom gave him a confused look.

"Same with Lava, I guess," she replied, giggling. "Are you giving off Sweet Scent?" she asked.

"Am I?" Spore inquired, surprised.

"Yes. It's better than when you gave off Poison Powder, but it's still a little distracting," Singe replied with a small chuckle. He shifted his position to get a better view of the fight while the Parasect stepped off to the side.

"Spore has a problem with using some of his techniques unintentionally," Unusual explained when I looked at him inquiringly, nodding my head towards the bug Pokémon.

"Not that often," Spore protested. I glanced back towards the lower level and saw Blaze dodge another jet of water, the Flareon lunging forward and snapping his blazing teeth at the Smeargle, but Sketch chuckled, vanishing and reappearing a few feet to the side. Blaze growled as his attack snapped on air again, but before he could prepare another assault, Sketch waved his tail.

"Shadow Force!" This announcement brought the sounds of excited murmuring as every Pokémon aside from me and Blaze leaned forward in anticipation. Some Pokémon seemed to have caught on to the attack being special in some way, even if they didn't know the technique itself. I remember hearing of the technique, but couldn't remember much else about it. Blaze blinked, looking confused for a moment. Sketch smirked triumphantly and vanished. Just like that, just disappeared. No flash of light, no showiness, just disappeared. It was as though he had faded out like a ghost.

"Coward," Blaze muttered, but several moments later, Sketch reappeared, his body engulfed in black flames as he rammed into the Flareon. The power of the technique launched the Flareon backwards. I winced as he tumbled across the ground painfully, but after a short pause, he pushed himself back up. "What the hell was that?" he demanded coldly.

"Shadow Force is my greatest technique. It makes me nigh unbeatable, for it cannot be blocked and is nearly impossible to counter," Sketch answered calmly. Blaze's eyes narrowed to slits.

"You're not the only one with a strong move," he said firmly and spat a small fireball. The fireball expanded into the large fiery star shape. Sketch recoiled in surprise and flicked his tail, teleporting out of the way of the Fire Blast. I clenched my fist in disappointment, wincing as my own claws dug into my palm.

"You've gotten better, I'll give you that," Sketch said calmly, tossing his tail between his paws. "But I have other matters to attend to, so I'll finish this fruitless fight and then I will revoke the free wandering privilege. Shadow Force!" he called, the tail glowing for a moment. Blaze's expression didn't change, even as the Smeargle vanished from view. There was a tense silence for several seconds as everyone awaited the following blow.

"Does that mean I'll have to go back into a cage if Blaze loses?" I asked, feeling a little agitated. No matter what I had said to my mom, being in the cage was extremely uncomfortable. I hated being confined against my will. In the past, as a Rocket, I had spent a lot of time in my room, but I could leave if I ever wanted to. It wasn't the same with being imprisoned.

"Don't worry about it," Singe assured me. I flinched as he put his arm around me comfortingly. He noticed my flinch and quickly pulled it away, looking awkward. I wasn't sure how to react to that, since I couldn't be sure how I felt about it. Maybe I was thinking too into this and he was just being nice. I was so unused to attention from males that I didn't know what was normal and what demonstrating interest was. And it's pretty difficult to think the situation through when part of me wants to believe that he's acting affectionate.

"Look!" Unusual said, pointing a paw towards the lower area. Sketch had reappeared, his body engulfed in black fire, but this time Blaze was ready and he moved in a blur, clamping his burning teeth onto the Smeargle's neck. Sketch cried out in agony, his flesh burned by the flames, but there was barely any blood. Sketch hastily pointed his tail and mouthed something, although whatever was said was lost by the shocked yells from the onlookers. A powerful burst of water shot from the end of the tail, the Hydro Pump throwing the Flareon off him. Blaze grunted as he tumbled across the ground, his fur now soaking wet.

"You..." Blaze growled, his eyes displaying rage, but he never completed his thought, as if words could not express his anger towards the Smeargle. Blaze spat another Fire Blast, the heat from the flames increasing the temperature of the room and steam rose from Blaze's fur. What no one seemed to expect, however, was for the large fire type to raise one of its arms and release a large ball of flame, which intercepted the Fire Blast, creating an explosion, but neither Blaze nor Sketch were close enough to get caught in the Blast.

"Thank you, Lava," Sketch said calmly, raising his tail one more time. "It's time for me to go. Teleport," he said and swished his tail, vanishing from the room.

"Damn coward," Blaze growled, paying no attention to anyone else in the room.

"Take me down there," I said to Unusual, who blinked at me.

"What?"

"I need to get to the lower level," I insisted firmly in a 'no nonsense' tone.

"All right, this way," Spore said, scurrying down an incline behind us. Singe and Unusual followed, but the Bellossom stayed where she was.

"See you later, Unusual," she called to the Gloom. I didn't pay any attention to how Unusual reacted to this, more focused on reaching Blaze before the Flareon wandered off. Spore led us around a bend and down a passageway until we finally emerged in the same room we had just left, only on a lower level. To my surprise, Blaze was not alone. Now how did Crystal find her way here before we did?

"Blaze?" the female Flareon called, prodding the male Flareon with one paw. Blaze only gave her a small glance, then turned to the other Pokémon in the room, which were chattering amongst themselves about the battle they had just witnessed.

"How did you get here?" I asked Crystal, confused. "Where's Spark?"

"I don't know. I paid the Leafeon to let me go," Crystal replied. Blaze turned to her, his eyes narrowed.

"Paid? With what?" he demanded harshly. Crystal didn't seem to have noticed that this was said rather threateningly, or if she did, she didn't care, because she answered without any hesitation.

"The bag of money," she replied. Blaze's face darkened. I instinctively stepped backwards.

"How much of it?" Blaze asked seriously. Crystal held up her paws, showing that she didn't even have the bag anymore. Blaze growled quietly. "Are you telling me that you gave Luthor about two thousand dollars so he'd release you?"

"I thought it was a clever idea," Crystal said with a shrug.

"There was nothing clever about that," Blaze contradicted coldly. Crystal flinched, adopting a slightly hurt expression, although it seemed a bit phony to me. "You gave the money I entrusted to you...MY money...to the person I hate the most...for YOUR release?" Blaze demanded fiercely.

"Ouch," I muttered, taking another step backwards.

"And you still have no idea where Spark is?" Blaze snarled.

"Whoa, calm down," Crystal said, growling a little bit, but Blaze's yellow eye gleamed for a moment. When he spoke, his anger was all but gone, but his cold, harsh tone was still in full force. If anything, it was stronger than before.

"Don't talk down to me, Crystal," he said coldly and walked past her. The female Flareon exchanged a confused look with each of us.

"Blaze, get back here!" she called in a partially commanding tone. Blaze stopped for a moment, but didn't look back at us.

"Don't try to boss me," he answered harshly and kept walking. Crystal looked confused and made as if to follow him, but I stopped her with my paw, shaking my head.

"I'll go after him," I told her and hurried after the male Flareon. "We need to find out where Spark is and reunite with Dragonair and Sapphire," I called back to the female Flareon.

"But..." Crystal sputtered, but I didn't respond, hurrying off in the direction Blaze had gone. I didn't think Blaze would appreciate Crystal following him, and I had the best chance of trying to talk sense into him again. I did it once, I could do it again. Then we could try to get out of here. I finally caught up to Blaze what felt like miles later. How did the Flareon walk at that pace? He was sitting down in the back of a room which looked like it had been hit with a bomb or something. It was fairly large, with chunks of stones scattered throughout the area. I slowly approached him, climbing over large rocks near the entrance of the room, near the long corridor that led here.

"Blaze?" I whispered, but he paid no attention to me. His entire focus was on a broken chain tied to a rock near the corner. My gaze flicked around the room, wondering what had caused the destruction here. It looked like portions of the ceiling had broken off, but no sign of what caused it. Whatever it was had been powerful.

"She shouldn't have spent my money," Blaze muttered. I was about to say something, but Blaze continued speaking, as if conversing with himself. "It was just money. I didn't need it. It was just..." Blaze trailed off and growled. "It was MY money, damn it! I won it, she shouldn't have spent it!"

"Blaze..." I tried again to get him to notice me, but he still ignored me.

"She gave it to Luthor. Luthor...it's his fault..." his tone got noticeably darker as he spoke these words. "Yes...he'll pay. First the money, and then his life. Bastard exiled Sis? I'll burn him to ashes..." Blaze chuckled oddly, but then flinched, shaking his head.

"Blaze?" I tried again and he jumped, as if noticing me for the first time. "Are you okay?" I asked nervously. The Flareon nodded, but then shook his head.

"I...I don't think so. It's happening again," he said with a slight whine. "I'm so angry...Crystal spent my money, she's always bossing me around...she still wants a kit and I just feel so lost!" he told me, almost pleadingly.

"Calm down," I urged him.

"No," Blaze said harshly, but then blinked. "Sorry," he mumbled, in a less forceful tone. "What am I supposed to do?" He looked at me desperately.

"Give in," a voice spoke from the entranceway and I flinched, turning towards the voice, spotting a familiar looking Vaporeon. Blaze looked at her blankly.

"Aura?"


	194. Temptations of the Heart

**Ember POV**

I frowned slightly as the Vaporeon stepped further into the room, circling around the boulders that were scattered in front of the entrance to the chamber. Blaze looked at her hopefully, as if he expected her to hold the answers to all his problems. I, on the other paw, was a little suspicious. We hadn't seen the Vaporeon for a few days, but it seemed a little convenient that she would manage to get deep within the Cave Army caverns without being caught or injured, and just happen to stumble upon us. Even worse, her last comment seemed out of place, something Blaze hadn't seemed to have heard clearly and even I was unsure what she had actually said.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to hide the suspicion from my tone with minimal success. Aura glanced at me briefly.

"I was with the other Eons," she answered calmly, unbothered by my accusing tone. That didn't clear up all the suspicious circumstances, but it seemed to justify her presence to an extent.

"Aura...I feel so lost," Blaze complained. The Vaporeon turned her attention to the male Flareon, her expression unreadable. "I...don't know what's wrong with me," he mumbled, looking at the ground.

"Nothing's wrong with you," Aura answered in a gentle tone.

"You don't understand what's going on with me," Blaze muttered and then scowled, his tone becoming harsh again. "I'm not going to be pushed around. I should never have trusted her with my money. The money was better in your paws, not Crystal's," he snapped. Aura didn't reply, which struck me as even more suspicious. The words and tone that Blaze was employing should at least be concerning the Vaporeon, but she was acting as if it were normal, and she had only seen him like this for a short time in the past.

"Blaze, just calm down," I urged. If I could get him to calm down enough, maybe we could work the problems out. Maybe I was just being an idealist or whatever, but I knew the anger wasn't helping out.

"No. I've bottled this up too long," Blaze growled. "I want to know what to do."

"Just relax. Stop resisting the feelings," Aura suggested. I raised an eye scale, turning back to the water Eon. What the hell was she saying? Blaze also looked perplexed. "The feelings of hatred, jealousy and resentment within your heart. You enjoy the power they give you, don't you?" she whispered, and a shiver ran down my back, my tail flame flaring up to counteract the sudden chill. There was no question to me now that this was not Aura.

"No, I don't," Blaze said in his normal tone, anger present in his voice as his fur bristled. I'm assuming Blaze had also recognized that Aura was acting strangely. Aura laughed, a cold laugh that did not suit her normally gentle demeanor.

"Not you, Blaze. You're just a whiny Flareon with a dead sister. I'm referring to the darkness...oh yes, you have a darkness within, Flareon," Aura said mockingly. Blaze growled threateningly. "You won't attack me, Flareon," Aura sneered.

"What makes you so confident?" Blaze spat, the temperature around us increasing a little bit.

"Because you can't bring yourself to hurt me," Aura hissed. Blaze flinched, but didn't answer. "And even if you could...Solace would step in." I completely lost her at this point. Who or what was 'Solace'?

"What?" Blaze demanded, his eyes becoming unfocused for a moment, but then refocused rapidly. "You lie!"

"Do I, Flareon? Am I lying?" Aura snickered, her yellow tinged eyes glinting with malice. I bared my claws threateningly, but made no movement to strike. "Everyone has a darkness within, Flareon, and Solace is the embodiment of yours. Let me prove it to you...look at me," Aura hissed. Blaze reluctantly raised his gaze to Aura's eyes and there was a brief flash of light. Instantly, images appeared before my eyes, images I had never seen before. They flickered in front of me rapidly, but each was clear to me. "Show me your fears, Flareon..." Aura hissed.

Upon this command, the images showed an Ekans wrapping herself around a helpless Flareon. It changed to a dark canine Pokémon attacking the same Flareon. Next it changed to a Vaporeon that had been brutally killed. Many other images appeared, but they seemed so similar in nature. Death, pain, and frightening enemies were the majority of them. Blaze whimpered, so I assume he could see the images as clearly as I could. As quickly as they appeared, they vanished, returning my focus to the chamber itself. Blaze was shaking anxiously.

"Your fears can be alleviated, Flareon. Just give in. Let Solace take over. You can be safe, knowing you will not be in danger," Aura urged gently, her yellow eyes flashing. I tensed.

"Don't listen," I warned Blaze, but the Flareon didn't react.

"Look at me," Aura repeated and once again the fire Eon looked into the possessed Vaporeon's eyes. Like before, the images began to form before my eyes, and I was starting to feel like I was invading Blaze's privacy, but couldn't do anything to stop it. "Show me your dreams, your desires for the future," Diablos commanded mockingly. The scenes began to flash before my eyes; I could see them even if I looked away or shut my eyes. Nothing I did would block the sights. There was a Flareon with several young Eevee playing around the fire Eon, who watched them fondly. There was a scene of the same Flareon defeating a snobbish looking Leafeon and being admired by several faceless Eons. Most of all, the scenes showed a vision of happiness and respect from peers, something Blaze never actually seemed to have.

The scenes faded once more and Blaze's expression had changed to a small smile, but once the images had faded, he growled more threateningly than before. Aura laughed coldly and her eyes gleamed again. "That's enough!" Blaze ordered harshly, but the Vaporeon smirked.

"Look at me...now show me your darkness. The darkness that lurks within your heart. The evil within your soul." At these words, another shiver ran down my back and for the third time, images flashed before my mind, but unlike the others, I could feel the emotions Blaze must have felt. The images seemed to be memories, not fantasies or nightmares. There was an Eevee arguing with an elderly Jolteon and then getting dragged off by the ear. There was the same Eevee looking on as two other Eevee frolicked happily, one male, one female. A feeling of jealousy rose up within me, once again making me wonder whether I felt the emotions Blaze did when he experienced the events. There was another scene with the elderly Jolteon, although a Flareon argued in place of the Eevee before running off in anger.

The scenes began to appear faster. There was a burning dislike of humans, who had shoved a Flareon into a small cage and fed him poorly. There was a scene of the Flareon being beaten by several Pokémon and finally shoved into a cage where a female Vaporeon gently groomed the dirt from the injured Flareon's fur. That scene seemed oddly out of place compared to the others, but more scenes appeared. There was an Ekans that would cuddle with the Flareon, prompting a feeling of disgust. And then there were scenes that I did know, at least to a degree. Scenes involving the Flareon and a small group of Pokémon, including a familiar Dragonair who seemed to go out of its way to show animosity towards the Flareon. Anger and sadness seemed to well up inside me as I watched many scenes involving the Flareon being pushed aside by the Dragonair, or blatantly ignored.

The scenes continued to change, the Flareon sitting alone from the rest of the group, watching his reflection, a bitter sadness on his face. I was starting to feel pained as I watched these images, unable to rid my thoughts of them. My own emotions acted up in strange ways. The ever familiar feeling of loneliness, of anger and sadness, so well known to me already, but so strange in this context. Is this what Blaze felt during the time with our group, before he finally flipped out? A scene of the Flareon desperately trying to keep the Vaporeon's attention on him when it seemed to wander to an Espeon, and only succeeding in earning more abuse from the Dragonair. I couldn't understand why the Flareon in the images put up with the treatment. If I had been in his position, I'd have snapped long ago.

As more images flashed, I began to feel dread creeping up on me as I saw the Flareon fighting side by side with a female Flareon, facing a Smeargle who had kidnapped his sister. I knew what an upcoming image would contain and I didn't want to see it. I couldn't see Blaze, but I could hear his anxious whimpering. He knew what was coming as well, and he dreaded it just as much as I did. The scene changed again, and to my shock I realized it was taking place in this very room. "No," I protested softly, trying to block it out, but it was impossible. An Electrode exploded, the ceiling caved in. The Flareon held a dying Eevee in his arms, rocking her slightly. Sadness like nothing I had ever felt tore through me, and many emotions flashed. Anger, guilt, sadness...it was all the same in the end. The feeling was one of hopelessness, the feeling that life would never treat the Flareon well. He was doomed to suffer.

"Don't you see, Blaze?" Diablos mocked softly, even as more images appeared. "There is only one option. Let the darkness win. Let go of honor, let go...you can finally be at peace. You can finally be calm. No more will you worry...take comfort in your solace," the possessed Vaporeon said gently. Blaze shivered, his eyes showing indecision.

"Don't do it, Blaze," I pleaded. If Blaze made any rash decisions, Diablos would win.

"You can't stop me, Charmander," Diablos whispered coldly. "It's only a matter of time before you succumb to your own darkness of heart."

"No, I won't," I growled. The Vaporeon laughed, sending another powerful chill down my spine, but turned her attention back to Blaze, who still seemed uncertain.

"You wanted the answer, Flareon. Solace is the way out, the chance to finally be at peace with your existence. Pass the trouble on. You won't have to feel the pain, but can still receive the acceptance you desire. It's what you want, isn't it?"

"I…I don't know," Blaze whimpered. Diablos chuckled, the mermaid tail flicking casually.

"You do know. Give in to the darkness. You accomplish more than you will by struggling, so why make it harder for yourself?" the Vaporeon's tone was soothing and gentle, despite the moderately malicious tone associated with the speaker, but Blaze's indecision seemed to be fading.

"Blaze!" I snapped, losing my temper. He was not going to just sit back and give up. "Don't you dare try to give up!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Blaze snarled back, his tone becoming harsher and colder with each word. I silently cursed, realizing that I had gone about this the wrong way.

"Let the darkness free, Flareon," Diablos breathed. Blaze hesitated, his eyes becoming unfocused. I clenched my fist in anger. I had to hope that he wasn't going to give in. "Now's the time, Solace, take over!" Diablos said suddenly. The Flareon twitched, his yellow eye gleaming brightly.

"Finally," Blaze mused, his tone forceful, but almost a monotone.

"Dark Blaze is at last in full control, Charmander," Diablos sneered, his malicious tone far more noticeable now that he had dropped Aura's gentle tone. I scowled, not sure how to react to this declaration. "You'll find the old Blaze is long gone."

"I don't believe that crap for one second!" I snapped angrily.

"Yes, use your anger, Charmander. You still have a dark side, even if you think you control it," Diablos sneered. I growled and slashed my claws at the Vaporeon, but the blow was blocked with Aura's forearm and then I was shoved backwards by a jet of water, practically dousing my tail flame.

"Shut up!" I snapped, flaring my tail flame up and regaining my balance, my claws glowing with a fiery purple aura.

"That attack is the symbol of your darkness, Charmander. You can feel the rage, the hatred, the desire to hurt those who dare offend you," Aura whispered cruelly. I hesitated for a moment, but then shook my head.

"I'm not listening to your head games, Diablos," I growled. "You did it once, but never again."

"We'll see," Diablos mocked. "It's only a matter of time, and being immortal gives me as much time as I need. But go ahead, attack this body, attack your friend."

"Shut up," I said, forcing myself to calm down. I couldn't afford to lose control of my emotions at this point. The Vaporeon smirked smugly.

"Can you take us both? I bet you can't even attack one of us, being the bodies of your friends. And you're no Psycho; you aren't willing to sacrifice the 'innocent', even for a shot at killing me. So what are you going to do, Charmander?" Diablos sneered.

"Blaze won't attack me," I growled, glancing towards the Flareon. I couldn't be sure of whether or not that was true, but I strongly hoped the fire Eon wouldn't harm a friend.

"Blaze as you know him is gone, Charmander. Only Dark Blaze remains and he's completely on my side. If you think you could handle him the first time, you're mistaken. If you could see into his mind like you did with that Poliwhirl, you'd see that this is no lie. Blaze has no control now. He's a slave to the darkness within his heart," Aura mocked.

"I don't believe you," I answered coolly. The Vaporeon chuckled maliciously, sending another shiver down my spine.

"That doesn't make it any less true, just because you don't believe it, Charmander. Don't you see? He's mine, just as Dragonair one day will be."

"Well you know nothing," I growled in response.

"You're so alone, Charmander. No one here to bail you out," Diablos sneered, spitting a powerful jet of water, shoving me to the ground, practically pinning me against the wall. I thrashed, freeing myself from the water and hastily reigniting my tail flame. "Why struggle against the inevitable?" Aura whispered.

"You're just toying with my mind!" I growled.

"I can sense your anger, your uncertainty. You still crave the affection of a male, but you're still alone. And without that Sneasel around, you're worse off than when you started. Deny it all you want, Charmander. I can see into your mind and heart and they show the truth. Now you've tasted affection and lost it. Now you know what you're missing out on, and it pains you. Deny it to the world. Lie to yourself and your allies, but you can't lie to me," Diablos whispered softly. I hesitated, unsure of how to respond.

"Just shut up," I ordered.

"It's hard to learn the truth, isn't it? All you want is a mate, a male to appreciate you for your abilities, or at least more than just your gender, but even those are scarce. Wouldn't it be better to just stop the fruitless struggle? I can help you in ways you cannot imagine. You're stronger now than during our last meeting, but you can be stronger still. You're alone, but none of my associates shoulder that burden. Stop resisting, it gives you nothing but pain," Diablos continued and I hesitated. Was he being truthful? Could he really help me in the ways he described? Or was he trying to trick me? I avoided eye contact, my mind racing, desperately seeking an answer.

"You lie," I said softly, my voice lacking the confidence I wanted it to have. "I won't ever help you."

"That's what so many believed. But inevitably, they either join me or die. A pity, you had so much potential," Diablos said softly. Blaze smirked strangely, his yellow eye glinting in the semi-darkness of the chamber. The yellow eyed Vaporeon fired another jet of water, just as Blaze struck me in the gut with his paw. I hunched over in pain, the water striking me in the face and shoving me roughly into the wall. I grunted weakly and collapsed, my vision fading to black. "I'd suggest reconsidering, Charmander. Next time I won't be so gentle," Diablos sneered and I heard footsteps fading away as the blackness consumed my consciousness.


	195. Guardian Chaos

**Dragonair POV (finally)**

My eyes flew open and I struggled to lift my head. My body ached all over and my breathing came out in gasps. My head throbbed painfully as I managed to raise my head and look around. My memory seemed a little foggy, but they all came rushing back when I spotted the accursed Absol. He was sitting down, smirking with cold triumph. "What did you do?" I snapped, remembering the bargain of one friend dying if I lost, and I knew I had lost.

"I won," Gamble answered simply.

"Damn you," I spat. The Absol laughed quietly. Smug bastard, thinking he can just wager the life of someone based on the outcome of a fight. Admittedly, it wasn't the first time a member of our group has done that, but usually we put ourselves at risk also, to the extent where if we lose, we die anyway.

"I wonder who I'll kill," Gamble said thoughtfully. "I said your mate is spared, how lucky for you. The Pichu is off limits because of Sketch's interference. The Charmander is with Inferna, so that leaves the two Flareon, those Venomoth, or the Seviper, but Ceal told me to leave her out of this, so I guess I'll make the decision from there."

"I'm not going to let you kill someone, Gamble," I said coldly. I knew Gamble was a sadistic Absol who enjoyed toying with innocents while claiming fate had chosen to claim their lives by enabling him to win. I had been all but powerless to stop him when we first met, but I had succeeded in escaping his clutches through luck, and by having a decent poker face. I shook my head briefly, refocusing on the Absol.

"You can't stop me, Dratini. I have the might of the entire Hoenn branch behind me and you've lost," Gamble answered.

"Make a different bargain. Spare the victim in exchange for anything else you want," I demanded. Gamble seemed to consider this for a moment, but then shook his head.

"Revenge is far sweeter when the price is something worse for you. You humiliated me, Dratini, so with your defeat comes suffering," the Absol replied, grinning. I managed to recover enough energy to float into the air again, narrowing my eyes at the dark type.

"How about a game of double or nothing?" I challenged. Gamble considered it for a moment and smirked widely.

"Fine. If I win, your mate and friend die. If you win, the first victim is spared," Gamble suggested. I hesitated, thinking this over for a moment.

"I don't accept the terms," I whispered finally, glancing towards the female Dragonair, who had floated over to me shortly after I had awakened. "I can't wager Sapphire for anything."

"And yet you offered the suggestion of double or nothing. That's hypocritical, being too afraid to make the bet when you challenged me to the game," Gamble commented, examining his claws casually. I didn't answer the Absol, more because I didn't have anything to say than to spite him. There had to be some way out of this situation without putting any more people at risk. Sapphire nuzzled me comfortingly, which didn't do much to relieve the stress, but I appreciated the gesture anyway.

"I'm not playing your games again, Gamble," I informed him irritably.

"You don't have to. You already lost the game," the Absol snickered.

"Speaking of losing, didn't you lose two games to me last time? How about we play another game to settle the score? Can't take the prize if you're behind," I retorted, wiping the smile from Gamble's face. "And since last time we wagered my life if I won both, you can't wager another life for this challenge. Play by the rules, Gamble."

"The only rule that matters now is this: You're not escaping," Gamble snarled. It was clear to me that my comment had struck a nerve. "Because you see, Dratini, when fate deals you a winning hand, you bet high."

"Okay, you lost me," I admitted. I was usually very good at understanding weird analogies, but that one didn't seem to make sense in context. Betting high on a winning hand? That wasn't bluffing, that was..."Oh wait, press an advantage when you have one?" I inquired. The Absol stared at me for several seconds, his mouth curling into a smug smirk.

"Very good, Dratini. And my advantage is the arrival of the Guardians," he announced. Sapphire's coils tensed, squeezing me slightly, but a moment later she relaxed, uncoiling herself from me and watching as three Pokémon entered the room. I recognized one as the Beautifly we had encountered the last time we were in the caverns. The second was the Farfetch'd with the ridiculous name. And the last was the Seviper we had seen back when we were still imprisoned.

"Tryce has other matters to attend to, and Dreadscythe is currently in Kanto," the Beautifly announced, a trace of bitterness in her voice, the reason for it was unclear. My guess was she was unhappy having to try to capture us. Sapphire watched the three newcomers carefully as I kept my gaze on Gamble. The Venomoth pair flew over to join us, but Vipera made no movement.

"I will not fight Vipera, Elma," the Seviper hissed softly.

"She is of no importance, Ceal, as long as she doesn't interfere with us. Sketch has approved her permanent release," the Beautifly answered irritably. Gamble's fur bristled.

"Why is it that you always run to Sketch whenever you don't like my answer?" he demanded.

"That's how a hierarchy works, Gamble," the Farfetch'd answered, twirling its leek in one wing. "When we don't like your answer, we go to a higher up. Not like it matters, since Guardians don't fall into that hierarchy at all. Only Doppel, Elma, and Sketch can order us around."

"I'll stay out of this fight," Vipera called to us apologetically.

"I understand," Sapphire replied, nodding her head to the Seviper.

"I assume you know what happens now. You come quietly and go back to the cells," the Beautifly growled. No seriously, she growled. I didn't even know it was possibly for that specie to growl. Then again, Sapphire makes a purring sound sometimes and I'd have thought that sound was impossible for a Dragonair. Then again, she's the only female Dragonair I know, so it might be a sound similar to a mating call and I just assumed it was impossible since any sound like that I make is usually faked and sounds weird. Huh, that thought makes her tactic for calming me down when she had rescued me from the Rockets much creepier. Hm, I should keep an ear open for that, especially if we find that clearing she wants to settle down in. I should probably also be paying attention to the situation instead of getting lost in my thoughts.

"You're right. The logical thing to do when trying to escape is to surrender and allow yourself to be recaptured. Because everyone knows that doing that will aid you immensely in your escape," I commented. Gamble chuckled, but hastily sobered when Elma shot him a withering glare.

"Hard way, then?" the Farfetch'd asked, twirling his leek and assuming an offensive pose. And failed miserably at looking even remotely intimidating. "There are 4 of them and 4 of us. Pick an opponent," he suggested.

"I'll take the female Dragonair," Elma said promptly. Sapphire looked a little startled, but didn't object.

"The female Venomoth," the Seviper said, slithering forward with a smirk. "I know your tactics, Venomoth and how to counter them. You won't beat me. I can't lose so soon after my promotion."

"I'll take the other Venomoth. Kicking Dratini's tail again just isn't sportsmanlike," Gamble said, aligning himself with Veenomoth, who turned his attention to the Absol.

"And that leaves you," I told the Farfetch'd, smirking despite how tired I was feeling.

"And I'll guard the exit," the Mr. Mime piped up, but no one paid it any attention. Come to think of it, I don't think anyone seemed to remember or care that it was even in the room. I also have no idea how long I was unconscious. It couldn't have been more than a half hour, tops, but I really can't be sure. There was a tense silence as each pair of opponents stared at each other. The Seviper launched her body forward, closing her fangs around Venomoth, who split into 3, the bitten Venomoth vanishing. This seemed to be the signal that triggered the other fights, as Gamble lunged forward, swiping his head forward and striking the male Venomoth with the blade horn on his head. Veenomoth split into three just before impact, but Gamble seemed to have anticipated this, since he jerked his head to the side, the horn hitting one of the two remaining clones, sending the male Venomoth tumbling to the ground.

"Your fate is sealed," Gamble smirked. "Luck is on my side, always has been."

"Except when I beat you, right?" I remarked. Gamble growled, but he was distracted by a cloud of orange powder that Veenomoth had released in his direction as the bug flapped its wings, returning to the air. The Absol leapt out of the way of the cloud, watching the male Venomoth critically. I ducked my head as the Farfetch'd leapt towards me, swinging its leek rapidly. I easily shrugged off the two blows that hit me, but the rest missed. "You're not having much luck with that. I'm a dragon Pokémon, so it takes a lot to hurt me," I pointed out.

"That sounds farfetched," the bird Pokémon said, grinning as if it just made a hilarious joke. Judging by the groan from Elma, I assume that wasn't the first time he said that.

"Shut up, Nonsense," the Seviper suggested, opening her mouth and releasing a flurry of star shaped bolts of energy, the last Venomoth clone vanishing as the stars struck the real insect, but she managed to keep from falling to the ground. "Swift neutralizes your lovely Double Team," the snake said smugly.

"I have other strategies," Venomoth answered, her body glowing slightly, but the Seviper quickly swiped at the insect with her tail, countering the attempted Hypnosis and nearly knocking her from the air again, but she again recovered, although she now had a small gash in her wing. I coiled my tail around the bird Pokémon as he attempted another melee of swipes with his leek, tightening my coils quickly, the leek falling from his wing as I caught him, pinning his wings to his body.

"Ack! Get off me!" the Farfetch'd yelled, wincing as I constricted him. I grinned mockingly.

"I'm around you, not on you," I corrected, "And no, I don't think I will." Nonsense stared at me in disbelief, but I ignored him. With my opponent down for the count, I was able to try to regain my lost strength and watch the other battles without interruption. Elma seemed to be getting extremely aggravated as she flapped her wings, releasing silver-white waves of energy towards Sapphire, but the dragoness formed a sandstorm around her body, the Silver Wind fragmenting when it impacted with the storm. Moments later, Sapphire flew forward from the sandstorm, slamming her coils into the bug Pokémon's left wing, the impact turning the Beautifly around, giving the dragoness a free shot with her Ice Beam, completely encasing her in ice.

"Damn it, two down," the Seviper hissed, noticing her companions' condition, but she stayed focused on Venomoth, who released a cloud of blue powder, but the long snake slithered out of range, spitting another stream of star bolts at Venomoth. Unable to dodge in time, Venomoth coiled her wings around her protectively, making a strange cry as the Swift attack struck her. Veenomoth glanced over nervously and Gamble swiped his horn, impaling the male Venomoth's wing.

"So the Dragonair win their matches, but the Venomoth lose theirs?" I asked, raising my eye scale. To my surprise, both Venomoth recovered from their injuries, both firing psychic beams from their bodies. The snake hissed as she was thrown backwards by the Psybeam, but Gamble was unaffected, being a dark type and all. He grinned a bit sadistically and rolled his dice, the blue cube landing on 4.

"If that's fate's choice," he mused and slammed his horn on the ground four times rapidly, the male Venomoth crying out with each blow. The sight of this abuse filled me with rage, retriggering a memory of some of the things Gamble did to those who had lost to him in wagers. I had managed to forget a few of them, but many others remained, buried within my mind. Gamble smirked and tossed his head to the side, Veenomoth sliding off the bladed horn and collapsing on the ground, twitching in pain, his wing severely damaged.

The female Venomoth cried out in horror, and she glowed brightly, forcefully flinging the Seviper away from her and releasing a cloud of purple powder at Gamble, who was too busy laughing at Veenomoth to notice. I blinked in alarm. Venomoth had said when we first met that she preferred not to use poison techniques, especially if she could avoid it. The fact she had just used Poison Powder told me that she was dropping the moral restrictions. Then again, I hated Gamble so I didn't really have an objection to poisoning the bastard. Venomoth flew over to the fallen moth Pokémon, not even waiting to see if the poison had worked. Gamble smirked as he watched the female whisper reassurances to the male, wrapping one wing around him.

"And now to..." Gamble turned towards me and Sapphire, but abruptly choked, his expression becoming shocked for a second, the color draining from his face. I smirked at him smugly.

"Your luck's run out," I said. Sapphire gave me a disapproving look, but didn't reprimand me. "Looks like I win."

"That's what you think," Gamble growled, digging a paw into the small pouch around his neck where he had his dice, finally withdrawing a small fruit and biting it, smirking widely as his color slowly returned. "It was lucky I came across one of these a few hours ago. Who know what would have happened, otherwise?"

"Something much more enjoyable," I said, disappointed. Gamble laughed.

"Tough luck, Dratini."

"Identify yourself," the Mr. Mime said suddenly, attracting our attention for a moment.

"Uh...Volt?" came the reply.

"Let him in," the Seviper hissed quietly and the Electabuzz from earlier walked in, gazing around at the signs of a struggle.

"I guess I'm your backup?" the electric type asked, his fist charging with electricity.

"I'd have preferred Emerald or Dia, but luck works out that way sometimes," Gamble answered in a bored tone. I tensed, blinking as the Farfetch'd squawked in pain. He had been so quiet I barely even remembered the bird was there. I solved the issue by hitting it with a point-blank range Thunderbolt, the Farfetch'd passing out after a few seconds. Sapphire frowned at me again, but I didn't say anything defending my actions, but instead released the Farfetch'd from my coils, watching as it slumped to the ground limply.

"Ready for round two?" I asked. A battle with me on a team with Sapphire, these two were nothing, even if I was still tired from my roulette duel with Gamble.

"You're going to try your luck against us, Dratini?" Gamble snickered.

"Who are you?" the Mr. Mime demanded suddenly.

"Volt, now let me pass or die," a cold voice answered. Everyone went silent, slowly turning to stare at the entranceway to the chamber. The psychic type seemed completely lost for words. "Get out of my way!" the speaker snapped and the Mr. Mime cried out as a Pokémon engulfed in a fiery black aura slammed into him, the force of the impact hurling the psychic type several feet backwards, where it twitched in pain for a few seconds.

"What the...?" Gamble demanded, eyeing the newcomer uncertainly. The black aura faded, revealing the newcomer to be a male Umbreon, and I realized, with a jolt of recognition, that this was the Umbreon that had murdered the creepy Ekans and later fought the Porygon2 alongside Diablos' ghosts. The Electabuzz didn't seem as shocked to see the dark type, but still stared at him in alarm. "Who the hell are you?" Gamble demanded.

"Shut up, Absol!" the Umbreon snapped. "I would not be here if I had a damn choice."

"I just wanted a name," Gamble said, unfazed.

"Volt."

"Huh?" the Electabuzz asked, under the impression the Umbreon was talking to him. A slow, sadistic smile grew on the dark Eon's face, his red eyes gleaming hungrily.

"It's you. Confused when the name is thrown around, Electabuzz? Now you know how it felt when I met you," the Umbreon stepped closer, the electric type stepping back nervously. Sapphire seemed a little spooked by the dark type's behavior. Either that or she just wanted an excuse to snuggle with me. All things considering, it could go either way.

"Your name is Volt?" the Electabuzz asked, regaining his composure a little.

"Did I stutter?" the Umbreon sneered. "So you're an electric type named Volt? I only have one question for you."

"What is it?" the Electabuzz asked. The Umbreon snickered, his red eyes glowing brightly. The electric type shivered slightly and cried out in alarm as he was psychically hurled to the ground. The Umbreon laughed, the sound slightly psychotic. He approached the electric type, the sadistic grin widening.

"Back off, Umbreon," Gamble ordered fiercely. Volt turned his red eyes to the Absol and laughed quietly.

"Why don't you make me?" he sneered and the ground beneath Gamble's feet glowed purple, fumes floating into the Absol's face. When Gamble inhaled, his face drained of color and he coughed, his face wracked with pain. Volt laughed psychotically and leaned in close to the weakened Absol. "Tell me, Absol…do you fear death?"

"No," Gamble choked out defiantly, striking the dark type in the face with his paw. "Life is but a game, and eventually you lose. But I won't yet, I still have a card up my sleeve. Mr. Mime, quickly!" he urged suddenly, the psychic type touching the Absol and they both vanished from the chamber, along with the other Cave Army Pokémon. The Umbreon recovered from the blow and let out a roar of rage upon realizing Gamble had disappeared.

"If I can't have their blood, I'll settle with yours," he growled suddenly, turning to me and Sapphire. His anger slowly changed into a disturbing grin. "So who first?"


	196. Dragonair vs Umbreon

**Dragonair POV**

There was a long silence following the Umbreon's comment. Venomoth's body glowed and she lifted the male Venomoth's body psychically, moving him more to the side of the chamber, next to Vipera, who was watching the dark type warily. Sapphire and I exchanged uncertain glances. "So...who should fight first?" I asked awkwardly. I still hadn't fully recovered from the previous battle with Gamble, so I couldn't be sure how well I'd be able to hold my own.

"We'll fight together," Sapphire answered, kissing my cheek and turning her focus to the dark Eon. I nodded in agreement. The two of us fighting together would simplify and I'd get a better chance to protect her if needed. Or vice versa, I suppose, since Sapphire was stronger than me and had more stamina than I could hope to have at the moment. Volt seemed unbothered at the prospect of fighting two Dragonair at the same time.

"Good riddance," he whispered, his eyes glowing brightly. I felt an invisible force seize me and felt my body move through the air rapidly until I impacted with the cavern wall directly behind me. I grunted in pain, but managed to stay conscious. Before I had a chance to recover, I felt the force seize me again and once more I felt myself collide with the cavern wall, felt a few of the uneven stones protruding from the wall dig into my weakened scales. I winced in pain, but refused to cry out. I had been through worse beatings and injuries in my life, so I wasn't going to back down.

"Are you all right?" Sapphire asked worriedly. I nodded, managing to conjure enough energy to spit a Flamethrower at the dark type, but Volt dodged easily, smirking chillingly. "Save your strength, Dragonair. I can handle this," she told me gently, narrowing her eyes at Volt, who scowled at her. The dragoness met Volt's gaze, her expression calm. Volt formed a Shadow Ball in his mouth and spat it towards Sapphire. The silver orb on the female's neck glowed and a vortex of ice appeared around her, the whirling ice detonating the Shadow Ball's explosive energy prematurely. Volt growled, just as a long white beam fired from within the vortex. Volt leapt to the side, his body releasing a ring of black energy towards the vortex, but like the Shadow Ball, it failed to breach Sapphire's hail barrier.

"Interesting," Volt mused, narrowing his red eyes at Sapphire. A few ice fragments flew from the vortex and hit the Umbreon, but the impact was disregarded by the dark type. "You may pose a challenge, Dragonair..." Volt mused as the storm subsided.

"I do try," I replied with a smirk. The dark Eon scowled at me. "Hard to be condescending when my name is the same as our specie, isn't it?"

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"Dragonair...why do you insist on doing this? I said I could handle it," Sapphire asked me wearily.

"Sorry," I muttered, falling silent once more.

"You done?" Volt demanded, spitting another ghostly orb towards the beautiful Dragonair female, but the hail barrier reformed, the crystalline ice flakes refracting the projectile. This time, the Umbreon seemed unsurprised by the tactic, but a disappointed growl still escaped his throat. A sudden wind blew through the room, making a howling sound as it echoed in the chamber. The wind took on a more visible form as hail and snow was carried from Sapphire's ice barrier and the gust struck the Umbreon, knocking him off his feet and covering his black fur in a thin layer of frost.

"No matter how often I see it, I still think her battling skills are amazing," Venomoth commented from the sidelines. I silently agreed. I didn't know anyone who was a better battler than Sapphire, although that annoying Glaceon, Frost, probably came closest, but Blaze beat Frost, which really blurred the line of skill level since plenty of people can beat Blaze. That win could have been a fluke, but it really didn't concern me. Volt snarled as he pushed himself back to his feet, his red eyes flashing with anger. Sapphire gazed back calmly, the storm around her settling down again. I got the impression she did this because she didn't want to discomfort everyone else with the reduced temperature, because I knew the cold didn't bother her much.

"Interesting," Volt mused again, his red eyes glowing brilliantly. I noticed Sapphire's body was abruptly engulfed in a light blue psychic aura and then she was suddenly tugged downwards, her coils slapping the cavern floor with a dull thud, the dragoness' head jerking from the impact. Volt laughed coldly and Sapphire was shoved backwards, her body impacting with the cavern wall with a similar thud. This treatment crossed the line. I felt a surge of anger flare up deep within me. I was NOT about to just sit and watch my mate get beaten against a wall by some sadistic Umbreon bastard. He could do whatever the hell he wanted to me, but he was not going to do it to Sapphire.

"Leave her alone you Celebi damned...there's not even a word to describe you!" I snapped, launching a powerful orange beam from my forehead horn, draining the little strength I had recovered. At least not a word that Sapphire would appreciate me using in her presence. I had to change the adjective for the same reason. Volt focused and the Hyper Beam struck some form of invisible psychic barrier, but after a moment beam penetrated the barrier and struck the Umbreon in the face. The dark type yelped, the force of the beam hurling him several feet across the cavern floor, leaving long scratches along his side. I panted in exhaustion, trying to take deeper breaths, but found my lungs couldn't handle the delay in inhaling and exhaling without a searing pain in my chest. Or at least the point where my lungs were located, it's a bit difficult to pinpoint.

"Powerful, but weak," Volt sneered, rising to his feet once more. I scowled, breaking it off to resume breathing. Didn't that idiot know when to stay down?

"You're the only weak one," I retorted. The Umbreon didn't flinch or growl, as I expected him to, but instead a slow grin formed on his face.

"Is that so? Good luck drawing breath now, Dragonair," Volt hissed. I gave him a strange look until I suddenly realized that odd purple fumes were rising up to my face. I jerked my face away from the smoke clouds, but the smoke still touched my stomach scales, changing them to a strange purple color. I looked at the coloration uncertainly and winced as I felt a twinge of pain in that area of my body. I wasn't overly worried, just a little concerned. My Shed Skin could deal with the problem, assuming my luck didn't fail me like it had with Gamble.

"Are you all right, Dragonair?" Sapphire asked me, looking worried. I smiled, but a wave of agony slammed me in the gut. The Toxic's power was increasing, and if I couldn't stop the poison before it spread to the rest of my body, I was doomed. I didn't have any berries to cure the venom, so it all came down to my Shed Skin.

"The poison flows through you, destroying you from the inside. It approaches your still beating heart, but soon it will cease to function. The end is near, Dragonair," Volt whispered, grinning. I gasped as another shock of agony spread through my body. I was beginning to feel faint, but I had to stay conscious, to fight the flow of the poison. I could only imagine how fast it spread when inhaled, rather than contacting it. I had a feeling that Muk faced this sort of problem with their non-poison mates all the time. Celebi, I need to change my thought process. I was starting to make myself feel sicker than the Toxic was already causing me to feel. Another throb of pain, but rather than the pain increasing, it started to fade a little. I smiled in relief, and allowed myself to collapse to the ground weakly.

"Dragonair!" Sapphire cried out, nudging me desperately with her head. I was about to assure her that I was all right, but the Umbreon chose her moment of distraction to spit a Shadow Ball towards her, hitting her in the underbelly, the ghostly orb detonating, leaving a scorch mark on her white scales. Sapphire cried out in pain and turned her focus back to Volt, who smirked at her triumphantly.

"I'm not finished with you yet," the Umbreon breathed coldly. I winced as another weaker throb of pain flowed through my body, but it was slowly lessening, so I'm confident that the Toxic was successfully purged from me. Sapphire seemed to have recovered from the sudden attack and was watching Volt calmly, although her breathing was a bit more rapid so she was either angry or tired, with possibly a mixture of the two. Volt's body was engulfed in a black fiery aura and he charged at Sapphire, leaping towards her. Before impact, dust and sand kicked up and formed a shield around the female Dragonair. Volt slammed into the sandstorm and exited through the other end, his fur now covered in sand. He spat out a mouthful of the irritating particles and glared at the storm as it settled, revealing Sapphire, who was completely unharmed by his attack.

"How does she do that?" Vipera wondered aloud. Venomoth giggled, but sobered when Veenomoth made a strange pained sound, probably because of his injured wing.

"Coward," Volt growled, glaring at Sapphire. I was tempted to beat him to a pulp for looking at her like that or even daring to call HER a coward, but I needed to recover my strength first. But if he had been looking at her in another way, I'd definitely be out trying to murder him. Come to think of it, I know I have an active vendetta against someone for flirting with Sapphire. It wasn't Blaze was it? Eh, I'll hit him anyway and then try to figure it out. I know Venom got hurt for insulting her and borderline flirting, but somehow I knew it wasn't Venom I was after. I'd have to think about that later. Sapphire seemed unbothered by the Umbreon's accusation, opting to instead launch a stream of blue flames towards him.

Volt leapt out of the way, growling as the attack singed his leg. His affected leg weakened when he landed, but he managed to keep his footing. I smirked to myself. Dragonbreath was Sapphire's most interesting technique, since it had the lovely side effect of potentially paralyzing the opponent when it hit. "This fight's as good as done," Vipera remarked, earning a death glare from the Umbreon.

"Watch it, Seviper," he warned her coldly. However, I noticed his confidence had diminished a small amount. This did not prevent him from spitting another Shadow Ball towards Sapphire, but his aim was a fair amount off, triggering an angry growl. Sapphire retaliated by sending another burst of blue fire towards the Umbreon, which he was much slower in dodging, the flames catching him in the midriff, but no paralysis seemed to have set in this time. The dark type's body glowed brightly for a second, but nothing happened.

"I do not see a need to continue this battle," Sapphire said quietly. Volt growled and shakily pushed himself back to his feet.

"Then die," he growled and the ground beneath Sapphire glowed purple. I gasped in horror as the fumes slowly rose in front of Sapphire's face, but a strange transparent barrier appeared between Sapphire and the ground, blocking the fumes from coming closer to her. The dragoness blinked in surprise and the Umbreon's expression changed from anger to disbelief. "What the...?" he demanded. It was at that moment I was aware of a strange tingling sensation near my tail and for a second I thought Sapphire was flirting with me again, but then realized that Sapphire was not close enough to be directly contacting me. I gazed back at my tail and noticed the small blue orbs were glowing faintly. The glowing faded almost immediately after I noticed it and the barrier also disappeared. However, the strange sensation remained.

"Uh...what did I just do?" I asked, confused.

"Safeguard," Venomoth answered, her voice sounding intrigued. Volt's eye twitched and he lunged forward, snapping his teeth on Sapphire's tail. The female Dragonair winced in pain while my insides burned with anger. Before I could avenge the damage done to my mate, Sapphire flicked her tail, dislodging the Umbreon. The silver orb on her neck glowed and a raincloud appeared over Volt's head. I smirked, sensing the buildup of electricity through the female's body, which was finally released as a single, massive bolt which was drawn to the soaked Umbreon. At the same time, a golden orb of light descended upon the dark type.

The combined glow of those two effects was blinding and I was forced to look away, drowning out Volt's shout of rage and pain. The light finally faded, revealing the Umbreon to be barely conscious, but otherwise unscathed, his fur still soaking wet. The effect of Wish had healed the injuries, but it hadn't restored his strength. The dark type twitched, somehow managing to press on something tied around his neck. "You're so strong..." Volt gasped, his eyes not leaving Sapphire. Unlike previous stares, this one was one of numb shock, as if he truly couldn't believe that he had been bested in battle. Makes me wonder how Frost reacted after regaining consciousness when Blaze beat him. Sapphire didn't respond, except to nod her head in acknowledgement of the compliment...or whatever it was.

"That was amazing," Vipera told Sapphire, who nodded modestly. Volt growled in rage, struggling to stand, but utterly failing. Venomoth also offered her congratulations to the female Dragonair before returning her efforts to reviving her now-unconscious male companion. I kept my attention on the Umbreon. He was still conscious, so he was still a threat, but Volt didn't make any attempts to attack, just lay there. Sapphire floated over to me to make sure I was all right.

"I'm fine, Sapphire," I told her reassuringly and she breathed a sigh of relief as she gently kissed my cheek and nuzzled my neck with her head. I felt my face grow hot, dimly aware that Venomoth was staring at us. "Um...what are you doing?" I asked.

"I was worried about you," she whispered in my ear as she coiled her tail around me, a bit flirtatiously.

"This isn't really the best time to flirt with me, Sapphire," I whispered. "We need to find everyone else in the group."

"Aww," Sapphire said, giggling a little bit as she uncoiled and glanced around the cavern. "Where'd he go?" she asked, gesturing her tail towards the spot where Volt had occupied.

"A Sableye teleported him," Vipera hissed in reply.

"We might need to get going now. There could be reinforcements on the way," Venomoth said seriously.

"What about your friend?" Sapphire asked, using her tail to point at the wounded male Venomoth. The female smiled gently.

"We'll be fine for a while. We'll catch up, don't worry. You should find the others."

"Okay, if you're sure," Sapphire said slowly. Vipera thought for a moment.

"I shall stay with them. If Cave Army members show up, I'll be able to use Ceal's influence to keep us unharmed. And as a Seviper, I'd be slower than you two Dragonair. Good luck," she said. Sapphire and I exchanged looks, but didn't complain.

"Thank you. Good bye for now," Sapphire answered and led me out of the chamber. Where were Ember, Blaze, Crystal, and Spark anyway? I just hoped that they were all right.


	197. Ghostly Exposition

**Tarot POV (A bit random, but he was the only character who would work)**

I returned to the chamber, gently depositing the weakened Umbreon on the ground. Volt grunted, which I chose to interpret as a sign of gratitude, as unlikely as it was that this was the message he was communicating. I moved away from him, seating myself before a stone table and placing my tarot deck reverently before me. Gem glanced at the cards with barely concealed disgust, but I took no notice. It was not the first time one had expressed distaste for my divinatory practices. It was one of the reasons I served under Diablos, after all. With him I possessed at least a small degree of credibility, even if he didn't admit it. I regarded the deck thoughtfully, debating whether to shuffle it once more or not, but ultimately decided that it was shuffled sufficiently.

Still in silence, I placed one card in the center of the table, facedown, and proceeded to place three consecutive cards directly beneath it and another three above it. The other Sableye watched me from over my shoulder, but still I paid him no notice. I was about to turn over the uppermost card when Lera materialized in the chamber and floated over to Diablos. The leader of our group remained bonded with the Vaporeon's body, but the yellow eyes were glazed, confirming to those nearby that his attention was elsewhere, whether he was exploring the recesses of the host's mind or simply deep in thought was anyone's guess.

I was the eldest of our group and would most likely retain that position. However, at age sixteen, I was still considered extremely young for a ghost. Being a ghost, I did not keep track of my actual 'birthday'. Such a celebration was simply considered unnecessary for a ghost Pokémon. Lera was the closest to my age, being thirteen. I knew her fairly well, as we were both assigned to Diablos at the same time, along with the then-Nincada, Ninje. Nightmare was the next addition, but the Gastly was stubborn and insisted that he be considered a back-up member, rather than full term. This insistence seemed to be created specifically so he could spend more time with Lera, whom he had a mutual crush on, without being forced to obey all Diablos' orders.

I tilted my head at the Haunter. Where was Nightmare? It was unusual for him not to be clinging to her, since she had been sealed from him for almost two years. I refrained from asking, as it was not a genuine concern and drawing attention to his absence was unlikely to be appreciated by either member of the Gastly line. In fact, several of my colleagues were missing from the chamber. Gem, despite serving the Cave Army, was beside me. I had known him for quite some time, and while I could not be certain of his age, I did know he was younger than I was. Ninje and his Shedinja counterpart were almost perpetually absent, as they were disinclined to continue serving in Diablos' service. Since Ninje was a living Pokémon, his loyalty to Giratina's orders was minimal and Soul was bonded to the Ninjask.

And then there was Bane, the Banette who once served as a member of Turnback Cave's security team when he was but a Shuppet. I turned over the card in the upper left hand corner and found it to be the Magician, a card that symbolized talents at ones disposal. However, the card was inverted, which I interpreted as the second, less common interpretation: one who misleads. This suited Bane well, as he was helping both our side and the side of our Eon foes. I personally had nothing against the Eons, but to me it was clear that Bane enjoyed the secrecy and withheld more information than he told. The question remained of who his true allegiance was towards. The Magician in reverse was a reminder that Bane was still shrouded in uncertainty, but not that he was untrustworthy. Bane had been in the chamber until recently, when he received a request from Gelid to ask Chaos for information.

I flipped the card next to the right of the face up card, revealing the card to be the Empress, a card representing sensuality and power, beauty and desire. I had no doubts the card represented Gelid, for the Froslass was an infamous flirt, especially around Bane and Soul, the latter of which was incapable of returning the flirting, so some of our conversations during our time off was about whether Gelid was doing that to spite Ninje or because she actually was attracted to the Shedinja. I'm not surprised Ninje barely shows up anymore. Gelid was not a member of our inner circle, but Diablos was convinced she was supposed to serve under him, and her refusal had angered him. Volt was ordered to eliminate her, but he refused, likewise refusing to state his reasoning for defying the order.

I took a moment to consider why Gelid had wanted to know about an Eevee. It was not like her to ask for random information. She had wanted to view Frost's profile about an Eevee named Rod, a name I recognized, and Bane had taken her to see Chaos, but I also knew the Glaceon's profile would not cover what Gelid most likely wanted to know. To me, it was clear that Glacia had finally asked her mother who her father was. The fact Gelid, a close friend of the young Glaceon's mother, had come to investigate Rod informed me that either it was believed Rod was her father, or there was uncertainty involved. I glanced at the top deck of my tarot deck, smiling widely as I uncovered the Moon card. Just as I had expected, there was uncertainty, but not for me. To me it was clear who the young Glaceon's father was, and I also knew what had become of Rod. The poor Eevee had gotten on the wrong side of someone and was killed for the offense. That was to be expected for whom he had angered, and Volt had been merciful enough to make the death quick.

My gaze turned to Volt, who had recovered enough strength to move over to a more isolated location in the chamber, his red eyes avoiding eye contact from Lera, Gem, and me. Diablos was still unfocused and while I am sure he was aware of Volt's presence, he remained where he was. At times, I pitied the Umbreon. Once he had been carefree, even playful. Within a year, he had been molded so completely the only trace of his old self was buried so deep that none could bring it out again. About a year ago, the spark of hope I had seen inside him had burned out. Perhaps the only joy he experienced anymore was being with his mate and they had had some rough times. The tension between her and Diablos didn't help, as Volt invariably sided with his mate. Despite this, Volt's esteemed position as Diablos' favored associate helped cement his current skill and power.

I glanced toward Lera, who was studying the Umbreon. I sometimes wondered what she thought these days, since her release. Volt had usurped her position; the Haunter had once been Diablos' favored, despite her more pacifistic approach to missions. That had changed when her Eevee friend brought a traumatized Eevee to her for advice. Volt's fate was sealed from that meeting, as was Lera's, Nightmare's, and many more. I care more about the future than the past, but many among the ghosts wondered what might have happened if one thing in the past had been altered. Ganger, in particular, had expressed interest in such an alternate plane of existence. Lera had spent about two years in Diablos' Void, forcing Nightmare to take on her vacant position and enabling Volt to gain Diablos' favor. Did the Haunter hold a grudge? Did she long for her old spot? She showed no sign of either.

Doom was another absentee, but he was frequently considered to be one of the weakest of all our members, and surprisingly was weaker after he evolved. I flipped over the next card in the sequence. I nodded calmly, unsurprised. Temperance, symbolizing unification. It fit Doom well, as he was weak on his own, but was often the one who created the unity between our group using his support techniques. Admittedly it had the tendency to backfire, but it was better than all of us fighting using our own potentially conflicting styles.

Chaos was of course absent, since he had logged onto a computer to find the desired data. The Rotom was also one of Diablos' favored associates, although the phantom couldn't stand being in his presence longer than necessary. Chaos was not very strong as far as battle abilities, but he had legendary skill with electronics, especially computer programming, hacking, and building unique devices. He had been the one who had developed the TM Ray, the shock collar, and a variety of other devices. The Rotom had accomplished more in his year or so of existence than many human scientists, and even some Pokémon who were dedicated to some form of scientific cause. He was indispensable and thus, Diablos forced himself to tolerate the Rotom.

I returned my focus to the cards before me, ignoring the center one for the moment. The center card was the root of conflict. I paused thoughtfully and tapped the card to the lower left, the card turning over to reveal the Hermit card. My brow furrowed as I examined the card's art, my mind searching for a clue to whom or what the card symbolized. I gazed around the chamber absently and my gaze stopped on the Flareon known as Blaze. He was seated not far from the possessed Vaporeon, his stance rigid, his expression calm. The yellow eye seemed to glint in the dim light, but his gaze was similarly unfocused, as if his attention was literally elsewhere. I glanced down at the overturned Hermit card, nodding to myself. After the effort Diablos had invested into the Flareon's life, it was not a surprise that the fire type would be reconsidering his views, reflecting on his past or wondering about his future. Or more likely, his normal state of consciousness was trapping itself in a fantasy or lost memory while his suppressed anger took the stage.

I flipped over the next card and blinked once. The Strength, representing compassion, patience, perseverance, inner strength. The card was known to represent Leaf, the young Leafeon whose life had been virtually unaffected by the negative aspects of his past. That was not to say he shrugged everything off. It was clear during our last encounter that Leaf had been greatly upset by the death of Kira. Many of us had been outraged that the innocent Eevee had been the one to take the hit, compared to anyone else being a more valid target. Volt had thrown a fit over that incident, and that doesn't even cover Giratina's response. Gelid had tried to strike a bargain for the Eevee's soul, but was informed that Giratina was not in possession of the soul, and that Diablos had sealed it in his Void, preventing any other being from acquiring it. Ultimately, the ghost legend had been less angered by the death than by Diablos' blatant theft of his 'property'. I had gathered that the Leafeon had resigned from his training group shortly after the incident, for he had gone with Vice and Glacia to their home, and none of the other Eons were with him.

I flipped over the last card on the lower spread, uncovering the Fiend. I studied it for several moments, a twinge of uncertainty filling my mind. Who would the Fiend represent? It seemed out of place. The Fiend tended to represent temptation, anger, desire, but also self bondage, pessimism, and anxiety. I closed my eyes to sharpen my focus, the connection with the cards. Who contained the qualities seen by the Fiend? My eyes opened and I smiled in triumph, wondering how I had overlooked the answer at first. The Fiend represented the Charmander. During the current time of year, temptation and desire were everywhere. After so long of loneliness, she was bound to be anxious, angry, and pessimistic. I did feel pity for her, which is why I had attempted to help her about a month ago. My efforts were not in vain, but they had originally backfired. All she wanted was respect and love, two feelings she rarely ever experienced.

I turned my attention to the final card, the center one. This was the card that focused the rest of the spread. I jerked a claw towards the card and it flipped over, guided by my psychic abilities. _"Wow, big surprise there, Tarot,"_ Nightmare commented from my other shoulder. I made no comment, nor was I surprised by his sudden appearance. The last card was the Lovers, symbolizing love, romance, and even lust. Perhaps the single most important quality in life, and the only one Diablos dismissed. The phantom understood hate, he understood lust, but he could not grasp the concept of love. He could not see the practicality of the emotion and frequently dismissed it as a variation of lust and nothing more. I re-examined the spread as a whole and began making the connections between the outer cards and the Lovers.

Bane had no known love life, but Doom often suggested that Gelid had some interest in the Banette, which may or may not have been reciprocated; it was not my business to know. Gelid was a flirt and her relationship to the Lovers was not surprising. If the Temperance card symbolized Doom, I could only assume the significance was related to his infatuation with the Dusknoir, Duska, who worked in Turnback Cave and was seen at times in the Cave Army caverns, such as where we currently were. This concerned current interests, and I suspected the lower three cards concerned inactive or future relationships. Blaze, Leaf, and Ember...however, this presented a dilemma. The Flareon already had a mate, so either I was misinterpreting something or there was more to the Lovers card than non-existing relationships. Perhaps it symbolized reconstructing parts of the relationship that were doing poorer than others. Also, Gelid and Bane's cards were next to each other and Leaf and Ember's cards were also beside one another. Whether this was meaningful or not was still unclear. Alleged patterns were not as simple as they appeared. Gelid's card was also between Doom and Bane, which could mean a variety of things. While a card's location in a spread was typically significant, I could not place the significance immediately. It was something to consider for a while.

I scooped up the cards from the table and shuffled them back into the deck, gazing again around the chamber once more. My focus landed on the possessed Vaporeon, whose pupils abruptly dilated, her yellow eyes gleaming momentarily. Nightmare often started conversations about which pronoun to use to refer to Diablos if he possessed a female host (as well as making comments about how frequently such possessions occurred). The debates usually ended with Chaos sending Fear a virus, which tended to end our discussions on the spot, regardless of what was being discussed.

"What do you have to report, Nightmare?" Diablos demanded. The Gastly twitched, surprised by the broken silence.

_"I apologize, Master. Frost's whereabouts are still unknown,"_ the Gastly answered hastily.

"Perhaps if you paid more attention to the Eons and less to Lera, you wouldn't have lost track of him," Diablos responded coldly. The two ghosts exchanged looks, but neither objected. Even if they had, it would do them no good. It was no secret that Diablos despised the affection the two ghosts showed to each other, although he rarely expressed more than exasperation upon witnessing it.

"Found it!" Chaos' cheerful voice cried through the awkward silence that had settled, the Rotom appearing alongside the Banette.

"Found what?" Diablos demanded, his eyes narrowing at the electric ghost.

"I found the profile on Rod," Chaos replied without missing a beat. Diablos and Volt both stared at the Rotom incredulously. "So Bane can tell Gelid that..."

"Bane's services are required, Chaos," Diablos interrupted coldly. The Banette blinked, his zippered mouth grinning.

"What for?" he inquired, his tone sounding more sinister than was needed for the situation, but Bane always talked like that. No one could be sure whether that was his default tone, a habit he couldn't seem to shake, or whether he used it deliberately.

"We'll get to that in a bit. Chaos, you're permitted to inform the treacherous Froslass what you have learned, but do not be long," Diablos said, the Rotom fading out. At the same time, Doom materialized in the chamber, his eye sweeping the room and focusing on the possessed Vaporeon. "Good, you're back. What do you have to report?"

"I still have not found Dragonair or the Pichu," the Dusclops admitted quietly.

"Giratina damn it," Diablos cursed softly. "Volt, what were you needed for? Tarot told me that Sketch wanted you for something."

"Hmph, they wanted me to stop Dragonair from escaping, but they decided to make me work with that damn electric type who shares my name," Volt growled angrily. "I'll kill that damn electric type next time I see it!"

"What happened?" Lera asked, confused.

"Nothing!" Volt snapped. Nightmare glared at the Umbreon.

_"Don't talk to Lera like that, Volt."_

"Shut up, Gastly!" Volt retorted.

"Enough," Diablos commanded sharply, both of them falling silent. "Where is Dragonair?"

"Who cares? He's weak," Volt snarled.

_"Then how'd you get so tired and injured?"_ Nightmare sneered. The Umbreon's eye twitched at this comment, but he didn't say anything. _"I'd love to hear the explanation."_

"Don't mock me, Gastly, or you'll find it's the last thing you ever do," Volt growled. "You can't beat the female, either."

_"His mate beat you?"_ Nightmare gasped. Doom and I exchanged looks, but neither of us contributed our opinions. The female Dragonair was a powerful adversary, even though I had managed to defeat her in the base where Diablos had lured Ember to fight him. Volt growled angrily at Nightmare's comment, but didn't deny it.

"Dragonair is in the Hoenn branch, according to Sketch," Gem said. Diablos smiled briefly.

"Nightmare, keep an eye on the Charmander. Doom, you keep your eye on the other Flareon and her current companions. Tarot, Bane, you come with me," Diablos said seriously, turning to Blaze. "You joining in? We're paying a visit to the Hoenn branch to deal with Dragonair."

"I look forward to it," Blaze answered stiffly, his tail flicking for a moment.

"Volt, you know what to do. Lera, if you will assist..."

"Hold on, Haou," Volt interrupted angrily. "When I'm done, I'm taking a vacation. And not just a freaking week, either."

"How long?" Diablos inquired calmly. It should be noted that I'm perhaps the only other member of the group who can get away with demanding vacation time, but that's partly because the phantom tends to rely on my predictions, without admitting it, of course. At times, he doesn't even ask me to do a spread, simply because he doesn't take it too seriously. Diablos is known to be willing to appease the demands of his associates in exchange for their loyalty. Volt is so finicky, depending on his mood, that several of us are amazed Diablos is so patient when dealing with the Umbreon's demands. It is speculated by Bane that Diablos fears Volt, although there is little evidence concerning this. I personally believe Diablos sees Volt as too reliable to risk his displeasure.

"I want off until after my birthday. I will not want to be disturbed until then," Volt growled.

"We'll talk once the task is complete..."

"No. I'm taking my vacation whether you agree or not. This is not a discussion. I'm doing this last task and then taking off. You and your servants will not disturb me or Ice for any reason. GOT IT?!" the Umbreon shouted.

"Can I visit Ice?" Lera asked tentatively, the Umbreon pausing uncertainly. "I'm still her friend. I'll leave Nightmare behind and not pass messages between you and Haou," she said quickly.

"Fine," Volt grumbled.

"And I'm a bit out of touch. Isn't Rod...I thought he was…" Lera trailed off when Volt nodded irritably.

"Yes, that's him," Volt answered coldly, but smirked. "Was him. He's not really around anymore."

Bane abruptly chuckled, "Do you have any idea how weird it would be if that Eevee was Glacia's father? That would make her and Vice…"

"Shut up, Banette," Volt said impatiently. Bane looked a bit affronted at being cut off, but he obeyed.

"We should be getting about the tasks now," Diablos said in a bored manner. Doom and Nightmare faded out, Lera floating over to the Umbreon and leading him out of the chamber.

"I'll be getting back to Sketch and Lava," Gem said and faded out as well. This left Bane and me with the two Eons.

"Let's go," Blaze grumbled impatiently. Diablos chuckled coldly.

"Very well. Tarot, if you will take us to the Hoenn branch, we can finally deal with Dragonair after all this time. And with his own former allies…it will be entertaining to say the least."

**I'm going to once again ask for reviews/criticisms.**


	198. Cave Encounter

**Dragonair POV**

"Any clue where we're going?" I asked the female Dragonair, trying to keep up with her pace. Seriously, she was even faster than I was. Then again, I was also extremely tired from the battle still, while she was in prime condition.

"No, but we still need to try to go a long way in a short time," Sapphire pointed out, her silver aura orb glowing. I wondered what she was doing, but decided to save my breath for, I don't know, breathing. We had been traveling for what felt like hours, and had passed by several Pokémon, including typical cave Pokémon like Onix or Zubat, and ranging to stranger Pokémon such as Drowzee. Very few, if any, paid much attention to us, so I supposed either they didn't know that we were escapees, didn't care, or maybe had been told to let us pass. I really hoped it wasn't the last one, because that would mean we were heading into a trap of some sort.

"Oh that's comforting," I muttered. Sapphire gave me a puzzled glance, but I shook my head. The dragoness continued to watch me uncertainly, so I relented and mentioned my concern about the potential of a trap.

"Oh. I don't think it matters that much. They know we've escaped, so if we're careful, we'll be able to avoid being taken by surprise as much," she told me, nuzzling her head against me comfortingly. I didn't really need to be comforted, but I enjoyed the closeness anyway. I nodded silently, rubbing my head against her neck gently.

"Let's keep going," I suggested. Sapphire nodded and we continued down the passageway until we reached a fork in the path. "Which one?" I asked uncertainly.

"Left," Sapphire said promptly, going down the left side. I gave her a puzzled look, but followed her anyway. Why did she pick so quickly and why the left fork? Now wasn't the time to ask, and I trusted that Sapphire had a reason for the choice. We passed several more Pokémon, which passed underneath us without sparing us more than a confused glance. Now that I think of it, the Cave Army, or whatever they called it, had so many different Pokémon species spread throughout the regions that it was probably very difficult to remember what looks suspicious and what is of little importance. Even then, two Dragonair is a bit of a stretch, so they must either be used to seeing strange sights or the trap theory is more valid than I'd like it to be. I had to admit the chances of successfully initiating a trap in an enormous labyrinth of caverns riddled with different pathways, twists, and so on were very slim, if not impossible. To pull it off, the ones attempting the trap would need some way to ensure where Sapphire and I were going and have something ready before we got there.

"This place needs a map," I muttered when we emerged in an open chamber decorated with stone pillars. "Why do they have a chamber with pillars?" I demanded. There was nothing else remotely of interest in the room, just a bunch of pillars. Some of them extended to the ceiling of the chamber, others were broken into two pieces, the broken piece lying on its side. I noticed one of the broken parts was crushing a skeleton, although there was no way to verify the specie of the unfortunate victim.

"Laziness," a malicious voice chortled and I stiffened, turning my gaze to the speaker, which was a vaguely familiar black ghost Pokémon. Its red eyes glinted as it grinned at us with its zipper-like mouth. I blinked at it, taking note of the strange yellow tail and the extension of its head in a ribbon of ectoplasm.

"They made a room of pillars because they were lazy?" I repeated incredulously. Isn't it more effort to carve pillars out?

"That's just my assumption, Dragonair. They didn't want to move all the rocks, so they did a half-assed job at giving the chamber an aesthetic look," the ghost said, chuckling. "A bit of a hazard, don't you think?" he asked, gesturing a paw to the skeleton.

"Right. Bye," I said bluntly, moving past the ghost towards the passageway on the opposite side of the chamber.

"Where are your manners?" the Banette hissed. I glanced back at him with a raised eye scale. What was he talking about? I voiced this question aloud and the Banette laughed. "You leave so soon after arriving? That's just not nice, Dragonair," the ghost said in an exaggerated hurt tone.

"So? We're in a hurry," I answered. Sapphire was mysteriously untroubled by my brash comments, but I had a point. We didn't want to spend more time in the caverns than was needed and the ghost was just a distraction. Besides, it was only a matter of time before the Cave Army got organized enough to quickly overwhelm us if they encountered us.

"I could curse you for being rude," the ghost said maliciously, its paw glowing. I flinched, not sure how to react to this, but the Banette laughed at my expression and lowered his paw, the glow fading. "Have fun," he sneered. I prepared a Thunderbolt, just in case this was a trick, but heard Sapphire gasp in surprise. I turned around quickly, but the dragoness seemed unharmed, so I was momentarily confused about what she was shocked by. I followed her gaze and blinked as I noticed a familiar female Vaporeon enter the chamber.

"Aura?" Sapphire whispered. We hadn't really seen the Vaporeon much since she had left the group to join the Eons, aside from the short time in Blackthorn City and the last time we had been involved with the Cave Army. "How are you?" the female Dragonair asked politely. Aura blinked, seemingly surprised to see us, and smiled.

"I'm...just fine," she said softly. There was an odd look in her eyes for a moment, but in the time it took to blink, it was gone. Perhaps I had just imagined it...but I couldn't help but pick up a strange vibe, as if Aura was hiding something.

"Look me in the eye," I ordered, suspicious. How did the Vaporeon reach Hoenn and stumble upon us randomly in this labyrinth? She seemed unaccompanied, and the Banette's presence made the situation all the more suspicious. There are coincidences and then there are suspicious circumstances. This was the latter. The Vaporeon blinked, but obeyed, looking into my eyes. I studied her carefully, searching for the dreaded glint of yellow that I feared was present, but her eyes were black in color and gentle. "Hmm, maybe I was wrong," I muttered. Aura's mouth briefly twitched into what was unmistakably a smirk, a cold expression that did not suit the kind Vaporeon at all. "Or not," I said, not at all pleased that I had been correct in my suspicions. "Let her go, Diablos," I ordered.

"Giratina damn it," Aura growled, her eyes taking on the familiar yellow tinge. Sapphire flinched, inching a little closer to me. "It doesn't matter this time. You won't escape, Dragonair."

"Right," I said dismissively. Diablos chuckled sinisterly.

"I've been waiting for this moment, Dragonair. A body of your power is at last mine. Just give up...make it easier on yourself. Why struggle against the inevitable?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded.

"Look at me," Diablos whispered and I felt my eyes drawn instinctively to Aura's yellow ones. "Your fears are real, Dragonair. The Pichu is dead. You failed to protect him...how do you feel?"

"What?" I gasped. Spark was dead? Or was this a head game? He was good at those; after all, he nearly drove Ember to kill herself, not to mention all the other shit he had done. "YOU LIE!" I bellowed.

"It happened mere moments ago. Let me show you," Diablos whispered. An image appeared before me and I shuddered, trying to look away, but even shutting my eyes did nothing to push the image away.

_I saw Spark at the mercy of a familiar Absol, the Pichu bound with vines and whining in terror. The Absol rolled a die, the cube landing on four. The dark type smirked and kicked the kit in the side, Spark whimpering in pain as tears flooded from his eyes. Again the dark type kicked, and Spark wailed, outright crying now. I heard him cry for Mommy and Daddy, but they were dead...they were dead. He cried out for Dragon, pretty dragon, begged for Ember or fluffy thing to save him, to stop the mean thing from harming him. Gamble rolled the die again, and this time it landed on six. The Absol snickered and raised his head, bringing down the bladed horn upon the Pichu. I shut my eyes tightly, crying out in horror as the blade severed Spark's head clean off. The image was unblockable and the moment in time replayed itself over and over._

"NO!" I screamed, rage filling my very being. Diablos' expression was deadly serious.

"I longed to do it myself, but so long as it was done, I am satisfied," the possessed Vaporeon whispered.

"Spark..." I gasped, the horrifying image replaying itself over and over in my mind. I could still see the blood pouring from the Pichu's body, hear his horrified cries for help before his last moments.

"It was amusing," Diablos sneered and my rage flared up.

"Shut the hell up, bastard!" I raged.

"Make me. The truth is so hard to hear, but yet it is unavoidable," Diablos mocked. "Let the darkness free, Dragonair. Stop fighting it and allow it to consume you, let it reignite the fire within your soul."

"SHUT UP!" I bellowed, launching a Thunderbolt at the Vaporeon, but a yellow barrier appeared, shattering my attack effortlessly.

"That's it...you want to hurt me, don't you? You want me to feel pain. It gives you pleasure, and you lust for the feeling," Diablos hissed. "You want to watch me suffer, see me writhe in agony...go ahead and try to do it. You're no match for me," he mocked.

"I'll kill you!" I snarled, not even trying to control my fury. Sapphire actually whimpered at my tone. Diablos laughed coldly, the sound fueling my rage.

"You will try. But you will fail. Strong as you think you are, you're still beneath me. You still lock up your darkness, but all it takes is to relax and let the anger reveal itself. Stop struggling and accept the darkness within. Let it surface…avenge the Pichu. Not like you could have protected him…you're so weak…but the potential exists, Dragonair. Stop resisting…Blaze did…"

"What?" I demanded, startled for a moment. "What about Blaze?"

"He learned the truth, as you soon will. The pain can only go away when you let your darkness out. Show yourself, Dark Blaze," Diablos whispered. There was a pause and Sapphire gasped again as the Flareon entered the chamber and I shuddered. The Flareon's left eye glowed an intense yellow; his body was stiff but filled with confidence. He glared at me coldly.

"Blaze?" I whispered. This was how he had acted the last time, when he went nuts or whatever term would describe it.

"Dragonair," Blaze responded, his tone cold and harsh, forcefully so. I flinched, remembering how powerful the Flareon had become in the time he had transitioned from normal to this strange state. Was he stronger now?

"Celebi damn this…" I scowled.

"You're the reason my sister is dead, Dragonair," Blaze growled coldly. "You're going to pay for that."

"You're too weak to defeat us Dragonair, and you'll soon be mine…" Diablos whispered.


	199. Dark Eons part 1

**Dragonair POV**

"So what will it be, Dragonair? Will you give in, save yourself pointless pain and suffering? Or will you continue to resist, forcing us to fight you, to force you into submission?" Diablos asked. Blaze sat stiffly next to the yellow eyed Vaporeon, watching me with a cold glare. I didn't know what the Flareon meant by me being at fault for his sister's death, and I frankly didn't care for an explanation. Whatever the answer, it was most likely an idea planted by Diablos, much like Ember's fear that no male will ever be interested in her. I was reminded of the last battle I had with Blaze and knew that if I had to fight them again, I was unlikely to win. Even at full strength, I was barely a match for whatever host the phantom used, and in my current state, I was at a severe disadvantage.

"I'll never give up," I declared fiercely. Blaze smirked, his tail flicking in a gesture of amusement, his yellow left eye glinting. I ignored the Flareon, focusing on the Vaporeon. I couldn't let the phantom mess with me, no matter what.

"I'll make you pay for what you've done to me, Dragonair," Blaze growled, but he continued to wear an amused expression as he stepped forward. Aura blocked the Flareon's path with her tail.

"Not yet, Blaze," Diablos whispered in Aura's voice, but the malicious tinge to the phantom's words were still noticeable. "Look at me," he whispered. I immediately turned away, but at the same time felt compelled to look. "Don't fight it. Look at me," Aura ordered and I reluctantly obeyed, staring into the Vaporeon's yellow eyes. "That's better. Show me your dreams, your desires, your hope..."

Instantly, an image began to appear before my eyes, as realistic as the one involving Spark's decapitation, but this image was...enjoyable. I saw a young Dratini resting its head on my coils as Sapphire lay nearby. I felt a warm, happy feeling as I watched the scene, delighting in the lovely fragrances of the open area where the three of us lay. The sun shone down gently and I felt at peace. The image remained for a short time before disappearing, returning my focus to the pillar-filled chamber. Aura's face had split into a wide, triumphant grin. It was an expression I didn't like one bit.

"Interesting..." she whispered, licking her lips hungrily. "You have rather interesting desires...would you like to see what I've found?"

"No," I snapped. I didn't know what Diablos meant, but I didn't want to submit myself to his head games.

"Of course not. It proves what you don't want to believe: that you have a darkness within," came the reply.

"Shut up," I ordered. I had to block out his words, ignore him the best I could. I couldn't let myself doubt my own feelings, or else I'd fall into the same trap Ember did so long ago, the trap Blaze had fallen into.

"You're right. Actions work far better than words...and look, a lovely target for these actions is right next to you," Aura said quietly. I tensed, glancing sideways at Sapphire, who looked a little worried, although she hid the emotion well. I couldn't let the comment get to me. I couldn't let him know that he had hit home, that he had found a threat that could upset me. He wanted me to get angry, and doing so would play right into his paws. I managed to force a smirk upon my face.

"The Banette is a lovely target, isn't he?" I answered, trying to sound unworried, but I think it came out choked and sounding too forced. My throat had gone dry moments before I had tried to speak, and my heart rate had picked up dramatically. Not Sapphire...I didn't want her dragged into the struggle, but of course she was already involved. Diablos said nothing in reply, while the Banette rolled his eyes. "Speechless?" I inquired, still forcing the unconcerned tone. I was also trying to regulate my breathing so as not to appear flustered or panicked at the unspoken threat, but nothing was regulating my heartbeat and my mind was feeling lightheaded. I couldn't allow myself to panic...but yet panic was closing in.

"I can read into your mind and heart, Dragonair. You can hide nothing from me," Diablos said finally, his words soft, but malicious. They cut into me like blades, tearing into my confidence, filling me with dread. "I see through your facade with ease, much easier than you saw through mine. You fear for her safety...a fear, which, like the Pichu's death, is a fear that is not without truth...is it? You know you can't protect her from me anymore than you could have saved the Pichu from the Absol's blade...I wish I had saved his head, but the Absol wanted a trophy...and a Mightyena wanted his dinner, so the body is also gone," the Vaporeon said, sounding coldly amused. I twitched at these words, fighting to control my anger. Sapphire looked a little queasy, her eyes showing her anxiety and fear. She was actually afraid...the dragoness was almost unshakable even in dire circumstances, but now I could see the emotion clearly. I wanted to try to comfort her, but my insides felt cold. Could I risk lowering my guard, even to try to make my mate feel better, no matter how inadequate the comfort would be?

I took a deep breath, still trying to keep my emotions under control. I wanted to meditate, but couldn't risk lowering my defense that much. In that time, either of the two Eons or the Banette could attack, putting me at a greater disadvantage. I kept my eyes on the three potential foes, silently noting that the ghost Pokémon was not behaving aggressively at all. Blaze was watching me through narrowed eyes and Aura was smirking at me, no doubt monitoring my reactions to her words. I had to find a way to free both of them from whatever control Diablos had over them, but I had no clue how to start. No one had made much of an impact on Blaze except Ember, but even she had a hard time doing more than just upsetting the fire Eon. So I'd have to try to help Aura first, but the only way I knew how to stop Diablos was to nearly kill the host, and I was unwilling to harm the Vaporeon more than what was necessary. It wasn't her fault Diablos had targeted her to get at me, I couldn't force her to suffer for the phantom's fixation with me, but what choice did I have?

"You have no chance against me," Diablos mocked.

"Try me," I snapped back impulsively. I silently reprimanded myself for the hasty response, but I didn't dare try to take it back. The possessed Vaporeon laughed coldly, her eyes gleaming maliciously.

"So be it," Diablos said. Before I could react, the Vaporeon spat a stream of water towards me, hitting me in the face. I recoiled, spitting out the water that had entered my mouth and retaliating with a Thunderbolt. I just hoped the attack wouldn't be too much for the Vaporeon's body, but I was spared this concern by the yellow barrier reappearing to intercept the electricity. Light Screen, a staple among Diablos' techniques, possessing the ability to deflect almost any attack I had at my disposal...that technique alone made the phantom nigh unbeatable since nearly any attack I used would be stopped. I needed to figure out a strategy and fast, or else the possessed Vaporeon would wear out my limited strength. "No strategy can defeat me, Dragonair. Accept it: you can't win!"

"Then you don't know me," I retorted, charging another Thunderbolt, but I released it as a wave of electricity. Diablos vanished from sight, reappearing as a blue blur of motion which slammed into my gut, knocking the wind from me. I cursed. The Quick Attack was not only a counter to several of my attacks, but it made it nearly impossible to keep track of the adversary. This isn't even covering the fact that the technique was much faster than the average Quick Attack, Blaze's and Leaf's excluded, but Blaze was in league with the phantom and Leaf had supposedly trained for most of his life.

"Defiant to the end...what a pity that you would dismiss the chance to further your potential, to fulfill your dreams and desires. You earn nothing from resisting me, so why continue to struggle?" Diablos sneered.

"Because creatures like you must be opposed!" I answered. All those who were sadistic and cruel could not go unopposed. Diablos laughed, the sound sending a shudder down my back (and I have a long back, about thirteen feet long from head to tail).

"How noble," the Vaporeon mocked. "Yet you'll find that the advantage is mine. You conceal nothing in that feeble mind of yours, and my skill and power vastly outstrips a mere mortal like you. A dragon or not, you'll fall. It is inevitable that you'll lose and then you'll be mine," Diablos sneered. I scowled angrily. How long would he pursue me, just to possess my body? He had scarcely left my group alone since we had encountered him, and one by one he was tearing us apart. Spark was dead, Ember was unstable, Blaze was insane, Aura was possessed, Sapphire...she was dragged into this. Had I known the dangers that would spring up as a result of being her mate...no, I'd still have accepted. The year that we had known each other had given me bliss, a joy that no turmoil would ever shake. Everyone we came into contact with had suffered as a result of the association. Spark's parents, pure innocents in the conflict, had been murdered, according to Sapphire. And for what? When would this end? When would the monster be satisfied? If he won and claimed my body as his host, what would his next step be? To use my body to try to acquire an even stronger one?

"Don't count on it," I answered. The water Eon smirked, her tail flicking in amusement. Blaze watched hungrily, his expression unnerving. Sapphire was looking at me anxiously, her expression easily conveying her message to me. She wondered whether I'd be able to squirm my way out of this mess, like I always did. Sometimes her reaction told me that she believed that I was getting what I deserved for initiating the situation, but this time I knew that she was genuinely worried about me. I wasn't fighting Aura because I wanted to kill time or because she annoyed me. I was fighting her because Diablos would never quit and she was just the unfortunate victim of his possession. With this in mind, it blurred the matter of whether I should hold back or not. Diablos was too dangerous and powerful to go easy on, but I couldn't be sure of what to do...

"You want to hurt me, don't you, Dragonair?" Diablos asked quietly. I said nothing in reply. "You want me to pay for all I've done to you and your pathetic friends...you seek vengeance. You still want the Rockets to pay for their crimes...a matter of justice? Or are you simply seeking to justify your own darker acts?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I answered. Diablos laughed again.

"You can't hide the truth from me, Dragonair. You were tortured, whipped, broken for a human's amusement. You want them to suffer, you said it yourself. You want them to feel pain, to feel the same hurt you felt. The struggle...the desperation..." the phantom's voice changed, becoming silky, yet still cruel. "I know you remember. You can't hide from the past, Dragonair. It will always follow you, no matter where you go."

"Sort of like you," I grumbled before I could stop myself. The yellow eyed Vaporeon seemed even more amused by this comment, while I mentally smacked myself with my tail for making such a stupid comment.

"Exactly. The darkness within you won't go away...so stop struggling to keep it locked up. The strain it inflicts upon you to maintain such a barrier...it eats away at you, doesn't it? Let the darkness free. Let your anger and hatred towards the humans come out. You can give them what they deserve, punish them for all they've done. And they're not the only ones...are they?"

"What do you mean?" I demanded, getting annoyed at the phantom's stubborn refusal to shut up. I didn't care what he had to say, but yet...he was right...no, I shouldn't listen to him; I needed to block him out. He was just trying to manipulate me, distract me so he'd have an easier time kicking my tail in our fight.

"You have other desires than just a baby Dratini, Dragonair. You want to punish the humans who made your existence hell, the ones who nearly made you crack, nearly made you break down in tears and beg for mercy...you want to punish the ones who used your abilities for their own gain. You want to make them suffer for their treatment of other Pokémon, don't you? And they're not the only ones. There's Pokémon that you despise as well...the murderer of the Pichu, of course, must die. The Absol that toys with the fates of others, right?" Diablos sneered. I hesitated, unsure of how to respond to that question, if I would respond at all. I did agree; Gamble needed to die for all the crimes he had committed in the past, most recently the murder of Spark.

"Dragonair," Sapphire said softly, but I didn't answer. I couldn't bear the thought of looking upon the expression the dragoness no doubt wore. I didn't want to know what she may have been thinking right now. I had nothing to say.

"And there's more...the Machamp that I employ. The Arbok was killed by the Charmander, but you longed to end his life for good. And don't forget..." Aura trailed off, her yellow eyes glinting as she stared into my eyes. I wanted to avert my gaze, but at the same time I felt no will to do so. The Vaporeon chuckled coldly. "A Quilava?" I heard Sapphire groan softly from beside me, but still said nothing, nor did I look towards her.

"What'd a Quilava do?" Blaze asked, his tone slightly curious. Aura's eyes gleamed brightly for a moment, giving me the sensation of being X-rayed or scanned. There was a silence and Diablos laughed again, turning towards Blaze.

"You'll appreciate this one, Solace. A Quilava tried to seduce his mate," Diablos said, grinning wickedly. It took all my self-restraint to not lose my temper, my anger rising to the surface at the mere mention of the incident Sapphire had described to me. Blaze raised an eyebrow, his expression serious.

"Is that so?" he asked, his tone harsh. "I'm going to kick your tail, Dragonair. You hated me because of something someone ELSE did?"

"No, I pretty much hated you because you were you," I snapped back, finding that this accusation was completely ridiculous. I didn't even know about the incident involving Sapphire until after I had met Blaze and he had earned my distaste. Hell, the Flareon got lucky that I only threatened him. I took a brief moment to wonder how I actually would have acted out some of those threats, if pushed to do so. Blaze must have taken them pretty seriously...anyway, my comment had several effects. Firstly, Sapphire gasped in horror. Secondly, the Flareon's eyes narrowed in rage, informing me that I had most definitely crossed the line with that one.

"I see that you were insincere with your apology to me, Dragonair," Blaze growled. What apology? I don't remember apologizing to the Flareon for anything...then again, I probably had been forced to at one point. Sapphire had a knack for making me do things I normally would never do.

"You're the insane idiot teaming up with a lying bitch of a Vaporeon," I pointed out. In my defense, I meant to say 'phantom', not Vaporeon. Admittedly, that's not much of a defense. Either way, the reaction was instantaneous and violent.

"DON'T SAY THAT ABOUT AURA!" Blaze raged. His body glowed a vibrant red and he spat an enormous blast of fire at me. It didn't take the shape of Fire Blast, so I was clueless as to what technique had actually been used. I honestly shrieked in pain as the flames engulfed my scales, the pain practically unbearable. Not only were my scales' defenses still weak, but the fire was also unbearably hot, much hotter than even the Fire Blast Blaze had used on me during our last fight. I could hear my scales sizzling, could feel some of them peeling away as charred remains of the damaged scale layer. And just like that, the flames faded away, leaving only agonizing burns over the areas where they had contacted.

"Holy Mother of Jirachi, are you okay?" Sapphire asked, horrified.

"What...the frick...was that?" I demanded through gritted teeth, repressing the urge to scream in agony.

"Wonderful move, Overheat," Diablos commented, grinning cruelly as if he was enjoying my pain.

"It's what you deserved, you bastard snake!" Blaze snarled, his eyes showing nothing but rage and hatred. I felt a brief flicker of fear, but pushed it aside. "And it's just the beginning...I was just warming up..."


	200. Dark Eons part 2

**Dragonair POV**

"Blaze, you need to calm down," I said seriously, still gritting my teeth to keep from gasping in agony. The Overheat attack, as Diablos had called it, was the most powerful fire attack I'd ever been hit with before; it almost made me change my mind about fire types being fun to antagonize, but I hadn't meant to anger Blaze this time around. It was a slip of the tongue, but the Flareon obviously didn't care. "Ugh, I'd hate to see what you'd do if I insulted Crystal," I muttered under my breath.

"Don't talk down to me, Dragonair," Blaze snarled in his harsh tone.

"Well I wouldn't, but you sound like a freaking moron when you talk like that," I retorted before I could stop myself. Sapphire twitched, but I wasn't done. "I'll show you what I mean," I said, adopting an exaggerated whine to my voice. "Oh, Dragonair doesn't like me. I know! I'll go all emo and whine about how everyone hates me and that they should respect me, but I'll use a ridiculously harsh tone so that everyone will stop mistaking me for a girl..."

"You're dead!" Blaze snapped.

"You think I would have stopped moving or something," I replied promptly, looking down at myself. "Calm down, hothead," I said firmly. Blaze's enraged expression disappeared, startling me. Who the hell can calm down from a rage that quickly?

"Blaze?" Sapphire asked gently. "Are you all right?" Blaze ignored her, keeping his gaze upon me. He stood stiffly and his face was calm, but the eyes still showed the anger and they held a coldness that seemed to chill the area around him. Diablos' gaze was just as cold, but amusement shown in the Vaporeon's yellow eyes. I grimaced as the burned areas of my body flared painfully. I'd be all right, but I couldn't risk too much more damage. I needed to snap Blaze out of his messed up mindset, but I had no idea how to do it. Likewise, I needed to take down Diablos, but at my current condition, I didn't have much of a chance. I felt so...helpless.

"You are helpless, Dragonair," Diablos sneered. "Your struggles are fruitless, they always have been. What do you have to show for your struggles? Why continue to fight when you're earning nothing but pain and suffering?"

"Shut up," I said, trying to ignore the phantom's words. I already had known that I had accomplished little, but it was not my fault that this had happened. All I had wanted from the beginning was to reunite Spark with his parents. In this simple adventure, my life had been torn apart. My status with the Rockets was all but gone and I was marked as a traitor. That was not inaccurate, but it still was a loss. Ember, one of the few I considered a real friend, had gone through a variety of different troubles, including leaving the group, snapping, and having a close call suicide attempt. Even once we had reunited the Pichu with his parents, our struggles didn't end. There was the issue with the organization that kidnapped Spark and Ember, not to mention trying to rescue Blaze's sister. Wow, that incident was counterproductive as hell, since Blaze had totally snapped and we had to fight our way out of the caverns.

What did we have to show for it? I didn't know. We never entered a situation for gain, but to recover what we had lost. When Blaze disappeared, we had searched for him, to get him back to our group. We had gone to Blackthorn City, only to be dragged into the struggle with the insane Porygon2. Thankfully, I hadn't been forced to engage the machine, but I probably wouldn't have minded it too much. What did our struggles bring us? What did we have to show for it? The answer had come to me in a flash.

"We have our continued survival to show for it. That's all we want," I said, more to myself than to the phantom, but Aura laughed mockingly.

"Then you will lose everything," Diablos whispered, the Vaporeon's gaze turned to Sapphire. I tensed, wincing as another flare of pain shot through me. This time I failed to withhold my cry of pain, prompting a smirk from the Flareon. Diablos' eyes gleamed for a moment. "Sapphire, is it?"

"Yes," Sapphire said, her tail flicking uncomfortably. I had to give the dragoness credit, however. She kept her head up and her voice calm, marking her confidence.

"Look at me..." Aura whispered maliciously. The dragoness closed her eyes and shook her head. "No? Such a simple request...but you have the nerve to defy me?" The Vaporeon smirked and inhaled, firing a jet of water at the female Dragonair. Sapphire, with her eyes still closed, moved her neck to the side, the water soaring past her head and hitting the cavern wall behind her. I noticed her aura orb was glowing and I felt myself relax minutely. Diablos frowned and sent another jet of water, but Sapphire dodged that as well, her body relaxing further as her meditation began to take effect. Her earlier uneasiness had faded away, and my own aggravation and fear had vanished as well. It really was nice of her to give off that calming aura; I knew that more effort was needed to pull it off to the extent that she did. Dragonair naturally gave off a calm aura, but the way Sapphire did it was the equivalent of passing her meditative aura to those in the vicinity. Being a Dragonair myself, I picked up this effect a bit easier than other species did.

Blaze suddenly lunged at me, trying to take advantage of my distraction in order to clamp his fangs over my tail, but I jerked the tail out of the way and floated out of the way, inching nearer to the pillars. I had practiced dodging for so long that the added cover of the pillars would give me an extra advantage, if I could maneuver correctly. It would be tricky, but I couldn't risk getting hit with another powerful fire attack, at least not until my current injuries were fixed up. Blaze seemed untroubled by his failed attack, instead spitting a small fireball, which expanded into the humanoid shape of Fire Blast. I coiled my tail around the base of the pillar, tugging quickly to draw my body close to the stone and duck behind it. The blast struck the pillar and I let out a sigh of relief. The area was too narrow to avoid such a large fire attack without the cover and the space between the pillars was too small to consider the large flames reliable attacks. Blaze seemed to realize this as well, since he growled in frustration.

"Coward," he snapped forcefully.

"Cowardly or self-preserving?" I answered calmly, poking my head out from behind the pillar. "There's a difference."

"Whatever," Blaze said, spitting a Flamethrower at my face, but I ducked behind the stone again, feeling the heat of the flame as it flew past me. I peered out again and blinked uncertainly. Blaze had disappeared from his previous position. I looked around quickly, trying to locate the fire Eon before he got the chance to get the drop on me. "Looking for someone?" Blaze's harsh tone spoke from behind me, giving me only enough time to curse before being slammed into forcefully, my face striking the stone pillar. I swore loudly and lashed out my tail, narrowly missing the Flareon, who smirked at me smugly as my tail impacted with another stone pillar, sending a throb of pain up my body, agitating my burns worse. "How's it feel to be bashed around?" Blaze growled.

"Okay, I'm done humoring you now, Blaze. I don't believe this 'you're the reason my sister died' or the whole 'I want revenge on you' Tauros shit that you're spouting, so why don't you either just chill out or tell me what your real problem is?" I snapped. Blaze blinked at me, but then chuckled. It was a disturbing sound which, while not very intimidating, it still creeped me out a bit. "Okay, you officially cracked now," I said, raising an eye scale at the Flareon. I was tempted to mention that he was cracked from day one, but decided against it in the end.

"You don't get it, do you, Dragonair?" he sneered.

"What am I supposed to get?" I demanded.

"The Blaze you know isn't here. You're not dealing with him," the Flareon told me mockingly.

"Schizophrenia, got it," I answered. This comment was met with a blank look, which was exactly the reaction I wanted. "You were saying?" I prompted, trying to keep the fire Eon from remembering that he and I were fighting. I needed a breather and this seemed like the best chance for it. I just hoped Sapphire was doing all right against the possessed Vaporeon. I chanced a glance past the Flareon, watching as the female Dragonair formed a sandstorm around herself in time to shield herself from a Shadow Ball.

"Don't mock me, Dragonair," Blaze hissed, his fur bristling.

"Wake up," I retorted. "Your behavior is so worthy of being mocked. You're attacking me because of things I supposedly did. How in Celebi's name is it my fault your sister's dead?"

"You wouldn't help!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Our whole group followed you into the caverns! You ran off without us!" I shouted.

"You didn't follow!" Blaze growled, his tone becoming increasingly harsh and angry.

"And why is it my fault your sister's dead?" I repeated seriously. What was the point of this? Just because I wasn't there to help didn't mean it was my fault. "Sapphire didn't follow, is it her fault, too? Ember wasn't there to help, what about her?"

"No. Just you," Blaze said.

"Oh, I get it now. You're just using me as the target of your anger," I said, rolling my eyes. "And I bet Diablos manipulated you into thinking I deserved it."

"I'm not being manipulated," Blaze growled. "And you DO deserve it! You abused me, despised me, and made me feel so alone. So now I'll pay you back!"

"Oh good, I hate having unpaid debts. I think you owe me seventy four dollars and eighty-two cents. Cash only please," I answered. I'm not sure how I expected him to react to this, but I certainly didn't expect him to recoil as if I had slapped him, his expression becoming bitter.

"My money..." he muttered. I gave him a strange look. What was going on in that head of his now? He shook off the strange expression a second later, his focus returning to me, but he seemed a bit distracted now. I was glad about this because it seemed less likely he'd fly into a rage and attack me, provided I treaded cautiously. The question was whether I'd tread in the wrong spot and set off a landmine. I doubted I'd get off the hook that easy, but the chance of the breather was nice. I glanced at Sapphire again, still anxious about her fighting the possessed Vaporeon. If Diablos hurt her...I scowled at the thought, unwilling to let my mind wander that far. The dragoness' expression remained calm as she watched the Vaporeon carefully. Diablos smirked and fired a pale white beam of energy, much denser and faster than the Ice Beams Aura normally was capable of firing. I couldn't be sure if that was Diablos' doing or whether she had just gotten stronger by training with the Eons.

"Give in. You can't defeat me," Diablos sneered. Sapphire twisted her coils, the Ice Beam going past her and freezing a portion of the wall. She responded with a bolt of electricity, but the attack was intercepted by a yellow barrier of light. Aura's yellow eyes gleamed and she slammed her tail upon the ground. Sapphire blinked as a portion of the cavern floor opened, discharging a geyser of thick, brown-colored liquid into the dragoness' face. The force of the geyser knocked Sapphire off balance and Aura laughed triumphantly as she fired another of the powerful Ice Beams at Sapphire, whose vision was obscured by the clinging dirt. I flew forward quickly, tackling the female to the ground, but cried out as the Ice Beam hit my tail, an immensely powerful chill flooding my body, my tail going numb almost immediately.

"You okay, Sapphire?" I grunted. Sapphire used her tail to wipe the dirt from her face, blinking at me in surprise.

"Yes, thank you," she answered, using a quick burst of fire to thaw me from the ice that had formed around my tail. I nodded gratefully and turned my attention to Diablos, glaring at the phantom. "You shouldn't fight anymore," the female whispered to me urgently.

"It may be the only way to help Aura," I whispered back.

"You can't help the Vaporeon. No one can free her from me," Diablos sneered. I scowled, but chose not to comment. "By all means, continue this fight, for when you lose you'll finally be mine..."

"Don't count on it."

"Then let's find out who's right," Diablos answered, the Vaporeon's gaze briefly glancing over to the Banette, who had not moved more than a few inches from his original position. Beside the Banette was the Sableye, who calmly shuffled his tarot deck, the gemstone eyes glinting in the light of the chamber. "Give it your all...or else your mate will die."

"Bastard," I snapped, launching a wave of electricity at the water Eon.

"Your fate is sealed," Diablos mocked, the Vaporeon's body glowed black as the electricity hit him. At the same instant, I felt my body lock up, as if all the muscles had gone numb. "You're finished."

"What did you do?" I demanded, surprised, but unafraid. I could easily shed the ailment in a short time. It might put me at a disadvantage, since Aura seemed unbothered by the paralysis.

"If you are serious about fighting me, you'll have to make the sacrifice. You'll see soon enough," Diablos whispered. I narrowed my eyes and charged a Thunderbolt, releasing it towards the Vaporeon. Diablos casually flicked a paw, conjuring the barrier of light to block the attack. "Pathetic," Diablos sneered, a pulse of energy surrounding the Vaporeon's body, forming a spiraled ring. I blinked, not sure what technique was being used, but I had a feeling I wasn't going to like it.

"Take this!" I said, taking a deep breath as I gathered my energy into a bundle as quickly as I could. Diablos waved a paw again, forming the yellow barrier just as I released the Hyper Beam. The massive orange beam of energy struck the Light Screen, which cracked upon impact, shattering as I focused more energy into the attack. It would drain my strength a great deal, but I knew from experience that the phantom's Light Screen couldn't take a straight on Hyper Beam. The remnants of the beam struck Aura, the Vaporeon stumbling back, winded. At the same time, I felt a powerful, but invisible jab to the gut. I gasped, panting for air. The combination of the exhaustion from Hyper Beam and the strange damage was almost too much for me to take.

"Fool," Diablos sneered and I blinked as the spiral ring glowed a moment, the visible signs of the injury beginning to fade away. "Aqua Ring, a recent acquisition. It allows her to gradually recharge her energy over time. You won't last much longer. So just join me...make yourself one with your darkness..."

"Never," I panted. Sapphire spat a burst of blue fire at Diablos, trying to offer me cover while I recovered from the energy drain. The Vaporeon countered with a pressurized water jet, neutralizing the worst of the flames while the barrier of light repelled the rest.

"Don't you want to be strong? You're so close..." Diablos whispered. "You can finally earn that vengeance you want so badly..."

"That won't work on me," I argued, spitting a thin stream of fire. I was too drained to call up the energy needed for a larger Flamethrower, but this one was so weak that the Vaporeon easily doused it with a small stream of water.

"You must embrace the darkness in order to conquer me," Aura sneered. "Then you'll see the light." Yeah right. As if that wasn't an obvious manipulation.

"Shut up and die!" I snapped.

"Let your anger free. Let it rise above your fear, Dragonair," Diablos said softly.

"I'm not afraid," I retorted.

"Then defeat me," the Vaporeon ordered, smirking. The yellow eyes gleamed maliciously, causing me to hesitate. "I see you know the truth after all...you're finished. It's over," Diablos told me.

"I'm not done," I insisted.

"Oh...but you are," Diablos laughed. "And I'll prove it to you..." Aura's yellow eyes glazed briefly, changing from yellow to black. For the briefest of instants, I saw a shadow shape leave the Vaporeon and contact itself with me. A sudden chill went through my body and everything went black. The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was a cold voice whispering, _"At last, Dragonair...you are mine..."_


	201. Regrouping Challenge

**Ember POV**

I awoke groggily, slowly pushing myself into a sitting position. I moaned slightly, supporting my head with one paw. "Ember!" a familiar voice spoke suddenly and I jerked my head up in alarm, crying out as my neck cricked loudly. "Yay! Ember!" Spark said, seizing my waist in a vice grip. I grunted in pain, now feeling really disoriented. How did Spark get into this room?

"Charmander," an unfamiliar voice spoke and I flinched, looking towards the wall opposite my position, where a yellow rodent Pokémon stood, leaning against the wall. Its ears had black tips, similar to Spark's, and red cheeks, which sparked occasionally.

"Who are you?" I demanded to the Pikachu, which chuckled. I relaxed ever so slightly when I saw the Pikachu's eyes were the usual black and not yellow, but I still couldn't be sure whether it was trustworthy.

"Forgive me," the Pikachu said, bowing sarcastically. "You may call me Zappy for all I care. You will most likely not see me again. I'm here to return your pet Pichu...in exchange..."

"In exchange for what?" I demanded, narrowing my eyes.

"Just a little information. Where is Diablos?" 'Zappy' asked, smirking slightly. I blinked at him, unsure of why he wanted to know this information.

"I don't know," I said irritably. Zappy frowned slightly, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

"It is in your best interest to cooperate, Charmander. That is, unless you think you can escape the Cave Army by yourself."

"You're not in the Cave Army?" I asked, confused. The Pikachu smirked.

"No, I am. I have quite a bit of...influence, you can say. I can arrange for your release from our caverns, but only if you can provide me the information. If you can't...then I'm afraid I see no reason to assist your struggles," Zappy replied. I scowled, my tail flame flaring up angrily.

"Well I don't know where he is!" I snapped. Spark whimpered, backing away from my tail flame nervously, sparks flying from his pink tinged cheeks. The Pikachu nodded understandingly, which only furthered my confusion.

"No clues as to what he is up to? Any companions? Any clue?" he asked seriously. I sighed, thinking for a moment. My mind was a bit fuzzy, but I remembered what had happened with Blaze.

"Something with Blaze," I muttered, more to myself than the Pikachu. However, the yellow Pokémon asked me to repeat what I said, which I did reluctantly.

"The Flareon?" Zappy asked, scratching his chin, looking towards the ceiling of the cavern. I shot a glance up there, but didn't see much of interest. Spark followed my lead and stared at the ceiling, looking frantically for whatever may have attracted my attention.

"Me no see!" the Pichu whined, but I patted his head gently. I was just glad to know the kit was okay, but still felt that I should keep an eye on the Pikachu.

"Where is Dragonair?" the electric type asked me.

"Uh...Hoenn?" I replied with a shrug. The Pikachu smiled.

"Thank you, Charmander. I must be going now," he said, turning and hurrying out of the chamber. Spark seemed both relieved and disappointed at the Pikachu's exit.

"Are you all right, Spark?" I asked the Pichu, which nodded happily.

"Me okay!" he chirped brightly, looking around the chamber excitedly. "Where Dragon?"

"Somewhere far away from here," I muttered. Spark tilted his head at me blankly. "Come with me. Maybe we'll find him, or a way to find him. Or something," I said, beckoning with my paw. Spark climbed onto my tail, settling himself down by leaning against my back. I glanced over my shoulder at him, my face going red. I really didn't think it was a good idea for the kit to be on my tail. It might draw more attention to me than I really wanted to receive when I was already feeling particularly self conscious. Regardless, I didn't want to upset Spark, so I chose not to comment, instead choosing to exit the cavern, retracing my steps from earlier to the best of my memory. Spark was humming to himself happily, leading me to wonder whether he had been sleeping recently, since he seemed full of energy, but not quite hyperactive.

I was worried about the chances of reuniting with everyone. Dragonair, Sapphire, and that Seviper were still in cages, to the best of my knowledge. Blaze had gone through some sort of mental difficulty and was with Diablos now. At least I had found Spark, but I still needed to find a way to meet up with them and then get out of the caverns. I just had a feeling that this was going to be one hell of a struggle.

"Ember!" Crystal's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked up, startled. "There you are. What happened?" she demanded, looking annoyed and anxious at the same time. She was accompanied by Singe and Spore, both of which seemed primarily at ease. The Gloom was not with them, however, which wasn't really a concern to me.

"There's a problem, Crystal," I said, sighing heavily. The female Flareon looked at me suspiciously. "I lost him, but he's...I don't know, he's messed up again. Like he was last time, only worse."

"Ooh, really?" Crystal asked, her eyes lighting up. Right...that wasn't disturbing. Only she would find Blaze attractive when he's like that. At least she wasn't panting or drooling this time around.

"Come on, we need to find a way to get back to Sapphire and Dragonair," I said, gesturing to Spark. "We have Spark, and we can find Blaze afterwards. I just don't want to get separated worse than we already are."

"Duska's not available anymore," Spore commented. I frowned, thinking for a moment. "Maybe we can convince Sketch to help, but he's probably not going to be around this area for a while."

"I know what we can do," Singe said confidently, gesturing with a paw and leading the way down a passageway. Crystal tilted her head uncertainly, but followed the Charmander. Spore went next, with me taking the rear. Spark was still humming to himself, which was starting to annoy me, but I forced myself to remain patient. Self control was an essential virtue and I could accept the frustration. Besides, I'd been through worse without losing control of my emotions. Besides, Spark was still a kit and had no idea that I was frustrated or even why I was irritable. I had no intention of explaining it to him, either.

"Where are we going?" Crystal asked impatiently. The male Charmander glanced back at her briefly before facing forward again, leading us down a side corridor. Only after turning did he answer the female Flareon's question.

"I know where to go to contact someone who can transport us," he answered.

"Us? Who says you're coming?" Crystal growled. Singe gave Crystal an odd look.

"What are you talking about?" Spore demanded. "We're part of the Cave Army, so YOU don't get a say whether we come or not. We're doing you the favor, not the other way around."

"No fight!" Spark chimed in, causing me to jump slightly. Everyone stared at the Pichu in surprise, the attention making me feel self conscious again. "Me want nap," Spark explained brightly.

"Okay..." Singe said slowly. I couldn't help but notice that the male Charmander's gaze had lingered a second longer than may have been needed, which made the situation even more uncomfortable. "We're almost there, so just relax."

"Whatever," Crystal grumbled, her tail swishing impatiently. I'm not sure what she was so agitated about, considering we didn't know where Blaze was and we weren't even looking for the male Flareon at the moment. That's the only reason I can think of for her to be acting like that, but what did I know? Dragonair's better at predicting why people are upset. Oddly, he didn't realize how much he pissed me off on a regular basis until I snapped.

"Here we are...what the...?" Singe stopped short, blinking in alarm as he looked into a small chamber. Everyone craned their necks to see past the Charmander. With everyone's weight tilted partly to the side, I was able to walk past them, careful not to scrape my tail (and Spark) against the passage wall. I stopped in the entranceway, peering past Singe's shoulder, and lightly tapping his shoulder to get his attention. "Hm?" he inquired, glancing at me.

"You're blocking the way," I said, lightly tapping the side of his shoulder in a gesture of 'step to the side'. He blinked and walked the rest of the way into the chamber, enabling the rest of us to enter after him. In this chamber, I spotted the Electabuzz that had taken me from the cells to Sketch what felt like weeks ago but couldn't possibly have been that long. "What was so startling?" I asked, raising an eye scale at the male Charmander.

"Volt, where did Gem go?" Singe asked the electric Pokémon, which shrugged. "Sketch? Doppel? Duska? Any teleporter?"

"Only Gem has been around this area. Gem muttered something about being contacted and left. None of the other teleporters have been in since Mr. Mime took Gamble to the Kanto branch for poison treatment," the Electabuzz said.

"Poison treatment? How'd Gamble get poisoned?" Spore asked.

"Toxic," the electric type answered, looking around nervously. "Hey, why are they with you?" he demanded, pointing at me and Spark.

"Don't mind them, Volt," Singe said firmly. "They're being escorted by us."

"Sketch mentioned banning that privilege," the electric type argued.

"He hasn't officially done it yet," Spore said. "What about Doppel? Has he been around?"

"Not recently," the Electabuzz shrugged. "I haven't seen any of the Guardians since getting attacked by that Umbreon..."

"Umbreon?" Singe repeated.

"I wonder if that means me," a threatening voice spoke from behind us. The Electabuzz's eyes widened in horror and Spark wailed in terror. I whirled around, claws bared. I spun around so quickly that Spark lost his balance, sliding off my tail and hitting the ground. Thankfully, my tail was only a few inches above the ground, so the Pichu wasn't badly hurt, but he still started crying. I found myself staring into the red eyes of an Umbreon, whose mouth was curled into a grin. I backed up a pace hastily, preparing my claws to strike. "Lera, deal with it," the Umbreon commanded coldly, his gaze on the Electabuzz. I blinked a moment, just as a Haunter materialized in front of us. I channeled my energy into my claws, smirking briefly as they glowed purple. This would deal with the ghost type if it attacked me.

"Ember!" Spark whined anxiously, cowering behind me.

"Hey, who are you?" Singe demanded aggressively of the two Pokémon, spitting a stream of fire at the Haunter, but it faded out, reappearing on the other side of the entranceway.

"Stand aside, Charmander," the Umbreon ordered dismissively, exposing his large fangs. "Don't mess with me and I won't have to kill you."

"Who are you?" the Parasect challenged and Crystal's fur bristled as she prepared to attack. The Umbreon growled angrily.

"Move!" the dark Eon snarled, his eyes glowing. Both Crystal and Spore were engulfed in a blue glow and flew backwards, landing on their backs and skidding several feet across the ground. Singe sent a burst of fire at the Umbreon, but it leapt to the side, forming an orb of ghostly energy in his mouth and spitting it at Singe, narrowly missing the male Charmander. "Do you want to die, Charmander?" the Umbreon sneered. Singe looked alarmed by the ominous question and the dark type laughed psychotically. Everyone flinched at the sound, even the Haunter.

"What happened to you, Volt?" the ghost asked, the voice distinctly female. The Umbreon smirked chillingly, but didn't answer. The Electabuzz tensed, his fists charging with electricity.

"I have unfinished business with you, Electabuzz," the Umbreon whispered. "You won't escape me this time. Watch..." the Umbreon's eyes glowed brightly and the Electabuzz shivered, all trace of confidence vanishing. "Are you afraid, Electabuzz?" the Umbreon sneered. The room had gone silent as everyone seemed either confused or unsure of how to react.

"What are you doing?" Spore finally choked out, the Parasect taking on an aggressive stance as it got back up. The Umbreon shot the bug a glare, his eyes gleaming. Spore gasped as he was psychically lifted into the air and slammed against the wall forcefully. The sound of the impact prompted me to wince and I growled. This was definitely not something Spark should be witnessing. The tactic also enabled me to recognize the Umbreon as the one that had "saved" Blaze by brutally murdering the Ekans in Blackthorn.

"Are you done trying to be a hero?" the Umbreon sneered, his grin becoming more sadistic, his eyes flashing with amusement. Spore made a strange sound, which could have passed as a whimper, and Singe growled angrily. Spark whimpered quietly, earning a brief glance from the dark type. "Good choice, Parasect," the Umbreon sneered, turning towards the Electabuzz, which seemed nearly paralyzed with fear.

"Leave him alone!" Singe snapped. Volt (I think that's the name) laughed again.

"Stay out of this, Charmander, or I'll kill you, too."

"Get away from me!" the Electabuzz shouted, swinging a fist at the Umbreon as he approached, but the fist was stopped mid-swing as Volt's eyes glowed brightly, trapping the electric type in psychic energy, completely immobilizing him.

"Tell me Electabuzz..." Volt sneered, casually tracing a claw across the electric type's neck. His expression became much crueler as he dug the claw into the Electabuzz's shoulder until he drew blood, and then moving it diagonally across the electric Pokémon's chest, leaving a long bloody scratch. The entire time, the Umbreon kept eye contact with his victim, even as he raised the claw to his mouth and licked the blood from it. "Do you fear death?"

"I don't want to die," the electric Pokémon gasped, sounding much calmer than I'd be, considering the circumstance. Volt laughed again, and some of Crystal's fur stood up on end as she shivered. Singe spat a fireball towards the Umbreon, but the attack was intercepted by a Shadow Ball from the Haunter, although she seemed oddly reluctant, as if she wished she was anywhere else but here.

"I cannot allow interference," the Haunter said uncomfortably.

"Says who?" Singe demanded, sending a Flamethrower towards the ghost, but she avoided it by fading out, reappearing on the other side of the male Charmander.

"It is part of my orders," the ghost answered.

"Such a pity, Electabuzz..." the Umbreon breathed, creating another deep scratch across the Electabuzz's body, in the opposite direction, so that it formed a bloody, red 'X'.

"All because of my name?" the Electabuzz asked quietly. Volt smirked, licking the blood from his claw again, licking his lips.

"Your blood is delicious, if that's any consolation," Volt snickered.

"You're sick," the electric type spat. "You're a depraved monster. Rot in hell!"

"You first," Volt answered, slamming his full paw into the Electabuzz's throat. I looked away, covering Spark's eyes with my paw while blocking out the pained yell from that direction, which had evolved into a disgusting gurgling sound.

"Me no see Ember," Spark said cutely. He then lifted my paw to peer at me. "Peek-a-boo!" he chirped happily and re-covered his eyes. "Me no see Ember..."

"Ugh...I don't feel well," Singe muttered, stepping from the chamber hastily. I decided I was better off not listening to the retching sound that immediately followed his exit. The Haunter glanced after the male Charmander sympathetically.

"You can go, Lera, we're finished here," Volt said triumphantly, walking away from the Electabuzz's body while licking blood from his lips. I made sure not to look towards whatever remained of the dead Pokémon. The Haunter bobbed and faded out as the Umbreon exited the chamber. No one attempted to follow or stop him.

"Peek-a-boo!" Spark chirped again. I felt like wincing, simply because of Spark's cheerfulness at such an inappropriate time. Singe staggered back in, looking nauseous.

"Anyone have a mint?" he muttered.


	202. Announcements

**Leaf POV**

I awoke early in the morning, when sunlight streamed into the cave. I opened my eyes and stretched out, enjoying the gentle rays of the sun. I glanced around the cave, noting that none of the other Eons in the cave were awake yet. I was used to this, since I always woke up early, even back at the base we stayed in when I was still with the rest of the group. I liked the quiet of early morning before others were awake. Occasionally, Frost or Darkness was awake, since Darkness was nocturnal and Frost slept sparingly, but otherwise I had the base to myself in the morning. Jolt often slept in late and I rarely saw Shadow in the morning. Actually, I rarely ever saw Shadow some days.

I stepped outside of the cave and sat down, looking towards the rising sun while inhaling the crisp air. Sinnoh was colder than most other places I had been to, but I wasn't bothered by this. I had been born in Sinnoh and evolved in Sinnoh. I could easily adjust to the cooler temperature, anyway. I smiled faintly. It felt good to be able to relax, to not be in any immediate danger. Maybe I had been too hasty in leaving the training group; I enjoyed the training and I liked being around my brother and the other Eons, except when my brother was in one of his moods.

"Hello," a sweet voice said from behind me, startling me out of my thoughts. I turned around to see the Froslass that had shown up at our base during the battle, which also had shown up at our current location last night. "You're awake earlier than most," the Froslass said, smiling sweetly. I shrugged, not sure how best to respond to this. I didn't need sleep that much. It was a luxury, but I didn't see a need to sleep as long.

"What are you doing here?" I asked pleasantly, not displeased about having company, even if it was a ghost Pokémon. One of the few downsides of being up early is that it could feel lonely for a few hours.

"Remember that I went to get some research?" the Froslass asked. I nodded slightly, but I couldn't remember what the research had been about. I guess I hadn't really paid much attention. "Well, Chaos has just told me the results. I expected Bane, but apparently he's too busy and can't be spared to report, but oh well."

"Oh. What were you researching again?" I asked, tilting my head inquisitively.

"I was researching Rod, the other candidate for Glacia's father. Chaos told me some very interesting information, actually. I don't want to spoil anything, though, so let's wait until the rest wake up," she said, grinning as if she was denying me a Pecha berry with the promise of giving it to me later if I didn't eat it now. I shrugged, returning my gaze to the sunrise for several more minutes. Once contented, I re-entered the cave, just as the elder female Glaceon awoke. Her fur bristled briefly when she noticed me, but then relaxed.

"Good morning," she said to me, stretching. I smiled and wished her the same. "Hello, Gel," Blizzard added, nodding to the Froslass as she floated into the cave after me.

_"What's going on?"_ a timid telepathic voice inquired and the Espeon near Frost stirred, opening her eyes and looking around. The movement appeared to also have awakened Frost, who yawned slightly, his eyes scanning the cave.

"Why is everyone awake?" Glacia whined from her spot, rousing Vice in the process. "Morning, Vicey," she said cutely, cuddling with the Flareon, who blinked at her strangely.

"Uh...morning, Glacia," he said uncertainly as he uncoiled his tail from around her. She looked at him poutingly, but he didn't seem to notice this.

"Domino awakening," the Froslass said with a giggle. "Guess what? I got the information about Rod."

"Oh?" Blizzard answered, shifting her weight uncomfortably. Frost's expression was impassive and Glacia frowned briefly.

"Name: Rod. Specie: Male Eevee. Distinguishing marks: patch of silver fur on tail. Orientation: Bisexual. Now here's where Chaos' information deviates from Frost's. Frost, accurate as he usually is, failed to determine any family members of Rod. Chaos, on the other paw, knew that Rod has been confirmed to have a younger sister, among other living family members."

"Does he now?" Frost asked indifferently.

"Chaos also happens to know that Rod was killed about a year ago," Gelid continued. Her honeyed tone was starting to seem really inappropriate when she was talking about someone's death, but no one else seemed to notice this.

"Killed?" Blizzard repeated, looking confused. Gelid giggled.

"By an Umbreon that we all know and love."

"Figures," Vice muttered. Glacia blew a gentle Icy Wind onto the Flareon, distracting him from his slight moodiness. The young Glaceon giggled and cuddled against the fire Eon's fur, purring softly. Blizzard glanced at the two young Eons, smiling faintly.

"What else did you discover, Froslass?" Frost asked impatiently.

"Not too much else. None of the ghosts would tell me what Rod did," Gelid answered, unfazed by Frost's tone.

"So you still don't know who my father is?" Glacia asked, sounding disappointed. The Froslass giggled.

"How silly of me. I forgot to address that concern, didn't I?"

"This is the part where you answer it now," Glacia said, growling quietly.

"The information is third hand. Chaos got it from Tarot, a reliable enough source, since..."

"Who is it?" Glacia snapped.

"Forgive me," Gelid said sweetly. "I must have been getting sidetracked, so why don't I..."

"Just tell me!" the young Glaceon yelled. Vice blinked at her in alarm, and turned to the ice ghost.

"Don't rile her up. I have to put up with her!" he complained. Glacia whirled on him,

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Leaf, take notes. One of the most important rules: Do not ever say that it's a chore being around your mate," Frost told me, his tail flicking with amusement. I blinked, a little surprised Frost was talking to me.

"Uh...thanks, I'll keep that in mind," I said. Seemed like common sense to me. I figured out that 'rule' a long time ago when Jolt upset Kira by saying that she stayed near him too often. She spent ten minutes clinging to me (extremely awkward situation), asking me why Jolt didn't appreciate her. I managed to assure her that Jolt had worded his comment wrong and they made up five minutes later.

"Calm down, Glacia," Blizzard said soothingly. Glacia shook her head slightly, looking a bit awkward. Vice tilted his head at her and hugged her comfortingly. "Get to the point Gel. Tease Glacia some other time."

"Ooh, but this information isn't free," the Froslass said teasingly. Frost rolled his eyes and spat a Shadow Ball at the ice ghost. The projectile was fired so quickly that the Froslass only barely managed to dodge. She seemed taken aback by this attack and hastily added, "Okay, okay. Congratulations Frost, you're the father of a young Glaceon kit."

"Is she the kit in question?" Frost asked sarcastically, gesturing to Glacia.

"Yes..." Gelid responded slowly.

"Good. Unless you have something else to add, you can go away now," Frost answered with a slight sneer. Blizzard frowned.

"This is MY cave, Frost. Gel's MY friend. You're a guest who is..."

"Apparently the father of your kit. I love the two year gap before I learned this," Frost replied coolly.

"Does this mean you're part of Jolt's family?" I asked abruptly. Everyone stared at me blankly. "Well, if Vice if related to Jolt and you're related to Vice's mate, doesn't that mean you're in the same family?"

"How is the Flareon related to Jolt?" Frost demanded.

"I'm pretty sure we said it at least once already. Jolt's my uncle," Vice answered.

"Error: Failed to establish connection. Then again, I was concerned with another matter," Frost muttered to himself. "Speaking of Jolt, perhaps you'd be inclined to speak with him?" he asked me. I nodded, the male Glaceon turning to the Espeon at his side. "Do you mind?"

_"No. I offered to last night,"_ Mystic answered telepathically. Her forehead gem glowed and she vanished.

"I must get going now," the Froslass said apologetically. "Hope I satisfied your inquiry," she added to Glacia, who nodded. Frost also nodded, frowning thoughtfully. Gelid smirked and faded out. An awkward silence seemed to fall. Frost looked like he wanted to say something to Glacia, but she was giving him a look of distaste, which seemed to discourage him from speaking.

"So what are your plans, Leaf?" Frost asked.

"I don't know. I said I'd probably go with them," I answered with a shrug.

"Where are they planning on going?"

"It's none of your business," Glacia snapped. Frost raised an eyebrow. "We didn't tell Vice's dad, we're not telling mine," she said stubbornly.

"To be fair, we didn't tell Volt because we don't want him or his 'allies' coming anywhere near us," Vice pointed out.

"Well, I don't want Frost anywhere near us, either," Glacia said, pouting.

"Why do you both call your dads by their first name?" I asked, knowing full well that this was a conversation I probably didn't need to intrude into.

"Volt may be my father, but he's not my dad," Vice said, scowling. "He's some sadistic jerk who kills people for the sake of it."

"And I don't know Frost as my dad. To me, he's some arrogant jerk who broke up with my mom when she needed him," Glacia said.

"I didn't know!" Frost said irritably.

"You still weren't around. I don't see why I should even accept you in my life. You were a jerk to me when we met," Glacia snapped back. Vice gently placed his tail around the young Glaceon and began licking her fur, grooming her carefully. Glacia relaxed, cuddling closer to the Flareon. "Thank you, Vicey," she purred.

"No problem," he purred back. Blizzard smiled slightly.

_"I'm back,"_ Mystic said, appearing in the cave, Jolt in tow. The Jolteon gazed around instinctively, blinking when he noticed everyone that was present. Mystic promptly walked over to Frost and leaned against his side.

"Hey Jolt," I said, waving. "Uh...what's going on with everyone else?"

"Psycho's busy, Darkness is having mood swings or something, and Frost left to...come here, I guess," Jolt answered with a heavy sigh. He glanced at Blizzard curiously. "Who are you?"

"I'm Blizzard, Glacia's mom," the Glaceon answered, nodding at the Jolteon. "This is my cave, just so you're aware. We're in Sinnoh, in case you don't know."

"I know Sinnoh pretty well," Jolt said quietly. I remembered that Jolt had spent a lot of time doing some sort of work in Sinnoh and these days I had begun to wonder what he had been doing. He had told me a few things, but not much. Frost suddenly tensed and reached into the bag around his neck, withdrawing the small device he had used in Blackthorn. The cell phone or whatever Jolt had called it. He stared at it oddly, but flipped it open.

"Hm? Yeah, it's me. Really? Where? Interesting. No, I have transportation. Uh...no, I don't have any gemstones to spare. No, I don't have any. No, I'm not giving you an Espeon's gem. How did you know I had an Espeon near me? Gem, if you're here, why are you calling me on my phone? Right...bye," Frost closed the phone, rolling his eyes.

_"What was that about?"_ Mystic asked.

"Do you mind transporting me? I have something to attend to," Frost asked. The Espeon hesitated. "I'll make it worth your while," Frost said, licking Mystic's ear. She blushed, but nodded, and they disappeared in a brief flash of light. Jolt stared at the spot where they were.

"Right. I'm SO telling Darkness this."

"Frost said you wanted to talk to me?" I said uncertainly. Jolt winced.

"Yeah, I do. Um...no offense to anyone here, but I rather talk to you in private."

"No problem," Blizzard said with a smile. "There's a private area up the path," she said, pointing towards the cave wall. Jolt nodded, exiting the cave and walking in that direction with me a few paces behind him. When we reached the presumed destination, Jolt flopped down. I sat down, studying the Jolteon patiently.

"So what do you want to talk about?" I asked.


	203. The Darkness Within

**Sapphire POV**

Dragonair's body shivered suddenly, his eyes glazing over for a moment. I watched anxiously, unsure of what was happening. I spared a glance towards Aura, who had collapsed to the ground limply for no apparent reason. Blaze blinked, tilting his head towards the fallen Vaporeon, but then returned his cold gaze towards Dragonair. I wasn't sure what had happened to Blaze since we had last seen him, but I could try to figure that out later. "Dragonair? What's wrong?" I asked worriedly. He looked like he was ill, but he wasn't exhibiting symptoms that I recognized. The male Dragonair suddenly smirked and his gaze flicked around the room.

"Finally," Dragonair murmured, looking down at himself. I tensed, sensing an odd tone in his voice. His gaze finally met mine and I flinched, detecting the coldness behind the eyes, as well as sensing the presence of the same force that had possessed Spark's mother. I had also noticed the same presence earlier with Aura, but it was much easier to detect now. On another note, my aura orb, which tended to shimmer when Dragonair was near me, had stopped glowing as brightly. "I win. Dragonair is mine," the one possessing Dragonair sneered. I scowled in response, unsure of how to respond to this announcement.

"Let him go," I said, trying to remain calm, but fear was slowly creeping its way into me. I had never before felt as afraid as I did today, and the concerns weren't over yet. Why did it have to be like this? Why could we never seem to escape from the difficulties that seemed to plague us?

"And why would I do that, Sapphire?" Dragonair sneered. I felt a twinge of revulsion when my name was spoken in such a way from the body of my mate. It was Dragonair's voice, his body, but the words were spoken by someone else. I couldn't let the words get to me. "All the effort put into the acquisition, just to part with the power? I think not." At these words, Dragonair's eyes took on a yellow gleam, which disturbed me.

"What's going on?" Aura's voice spoke suddenly and I turned my gaze to the Vaporeon, which was pushing herself to her feet weakly, looking confused and disoriented. "Where am I?" she asked, her voice quavering slightly. "Sapphire? Dragonair?"

"Your memory isn't that foggy, Vaporeon," Dragonair sneered. "Look at me..." Aura shivered, but obeyed the command, flinching when she saw the yellow eyes. Blaze regarded the water Eon with faint curiosity, but his expression was otherwise as cold as before.

"It's you..." Aura breathed, horrified. Dragonair's mouth curled into a satisfied grin.

"So you do remember me. Your body served my purposes well, and for that you should be grateful. More grateful than Jolt is, anyway," Dragonair laughed maliciously, a sound that further disturbed me. I couldn't bear to see him acting like this, but I could only imagine how bad he'd feel when he was back to normal.

"Will we be going now?" the ghost with the zippered mouth asked. Dragonair smirked, the yellow eyes gleaming.

"You're going nowhere!" another voice snapped and a vaguely familiar Smeargle entered the cavern, his eyes narrowed in anger. Walking beside him was a Pikachu, but I noticed a strange sensation about this Pikachu. It walked with less grace than most Pikachu, but I had spent a portion of my childhood observing passing Pikachu, so I doubt anyone else noticed the oddity.

"Sketch, what can I do for you?" Dragonair asked coldly. The Smeargle flicked his long tail into his hand, scowling with rage.

"Explain what you're doing here, Diablos. I told you to stay out of our affairs after the last incident. You can't just waltz in here and do what you please!" Sketch snapped.

"Your 'affairs' conflict with mine and I'm taking charge of them on my own terms," Dragonair sneered.

"You can't do that," Sketch insisted.

"Can you stop me?" Diablos challenged. Sketch twirled his tail in his paw and pointed it at Dragonair threateningly.

"I will," Sketch answered confidently. There was a short pause as everyone stared at the two. I floated over to Aura, wanting to be sure that she was okay. Blaze glared at the Smeargle coldly as Dragonair laughed cruelly.

"Then you came at the best time, Sketch. I will relieve you of what belongs to me, and I'll demonstrate the true power of this host. Prepare yourself for death."

"I'll get backup," the Pikachu said. Sketch waved a paw dismissively.

"I can handle this on my own," he said. Diablos laughed again, the yellow eyes gleaming maliciously.

"You don't have a chance. But no matter, I'd have killed you eventually anyways."

"What?" the Smeargle blinked, staring at Dragonair in alarm. Diablos chuckled softly, his serpent tail twitching in a Dragonair-like sign of amusement. I winced, but once again tried not to show how upset the scenario had made me.

"I'll show you no mercy," Diablos sneered, immediately following his comment with a burst of fire. Sketch waved his tail and a powerful burst of water fired from the tip, extinguishing the flames, but the heat of the fire was so great that the water was evaporated, canceling both attacks out entirely. Sketch gasped at this detail, but no explanation was offered. I frowned to myself; even my Flamethrower wasn't that powerful. Not to say I'm boastful about the powerful of my techniques, but I was definitely confused as to why Dragonair's fire attack had gotten such a boost in strength so abruptly.

"You should be helping," Aura whispered to me. I shook my head firmly.

"I won't attack Dragonair unless I have to," I explained softly.

"But..." Aura protested, but trailed off with a weak sigh. Diablos' possession of her seemed to have greatly exhausted her. Did that mean Dragonair would be comatose if he was released? He was already exhausted, after all. "Blaze?" Aura suddenly called, as if noticing the Flareon's presence for the first time. She received no response from the fire Eon, not even a glance. "Blaze?" Aura called again, a little louder. Blaze's tail flicked, but otherwise he didn't react at all. The Vaporeon frowned and spat a small jet of water in his direction, knocking him a pace backwards and drenching part of his fur.

"Hey!" Blaze complained in a loud, kittish whine. He shook his head, the cold look returning to his eyes as he calmly dried himself with a small stream of fire. Aura looked towards me, confused. I shook my head uncertainly.

"Are you all right?" Aura asked the fire Eon, but was ignored. She looked a little hurt by the lack of response, but just shrugged, staring at the cavern floor uncomfortably. I was about to say something sharp to the Flareon, since I found this rudeness to be unnecessary, but I had to divert my attention as a crackle of electricity missed my tail by inches.

"Clever, using Mirror Coat," Dragonair mused. Sketch said nothing, just kept his focus on his opponent. "But you can't win by playing defense, can you?"

"I don't have to. Shadow Force!" the Smeargle called, disappearing from view. Dragonair's yellow eyes narrowed, gazing around the cavern silently, a slight frown forming. Several tense seconds passed before the Smeargle reappeared, its body engulfed in black flames as it slammed into Dragonair, passing the fire onto the possessed dragon's body, the impact sending Dragonair crashing into one of the cavern's pillars, demolishing a large chunk of the stone. I winced, knowing that the attack had to have really hurt. I hoped that the real Dragonair didn't feel the pain, but somehow I doubted it. There was a stunned silence as Sketch twirled his tail smugly, but the cocky expression faded as laughter rose from the ruins of the pillar and Dragonair returned to the air.

"Is that the best you can do?" Diablos sneered, forming an orb of energy from his horn, which became the base of an impressively powered Ice Beam, again exceeding the abilities of my own Ice Beam, except when I combine the technique with a snowstorm. Sketch flicked his tail, disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the room. Diablos smirked and nodded ever so slightly. "You're finished."

"How so?" Sketch challenged, pointing his tail at Dragonair and firing a vine towards the dragon type, wrapping it tightly around the serpentine dragon. Sketch tugged on his tail, the vine dragging Diablos forcefully to the ground with a dull thud. The Smeargle whipped his tail, the vine responding in an identical manner, slamming Dragonair upon the ground again. This time, an audible grunt escaped, the sound causing me to wince, my eyes blinking back tears. Dragonair wasn't in control of his body, but the body was still being punished. I just didn't know how to act. It was horrible feeling so helpless, so trapped.

"I dare you to do that again, Smeargle," Diablos sneered, his voice and tone so like Dragonair's that, for a moment, I thought Dragonair had broken free from the possession, but his eyes still gleamed yellow, confirming that my hope was incorrect. The dragon's body briefly flashed black as Sketch complied, slamming him upon the ground again. This time, the Smeargle grunted in pain, clutching his gut and losing his grip on his end of the vine. Diablos shook off the vine with a triumphant smirk, taking advantage of the Smeargle's loss of focus to form a large orange-white orb of energy from his horn. I was slightly taken aback; Dragonair had never known Dragon Rage...even as this thought crossed my mind, Diablos launched the attack towards the Smeargle, who waved his tail hastily.

"Teleport!" Sketch said quickly, but a golden ring appeared, contracting around the Smeargle. "What the hell's this?" he demanded, confused. The orb of energy struck the pillar directly beside Sketch, the stone shattering, sending dust and debris around the startled Pokémon, the shockwave throwing him to his knees. "Why didn't it work?" Sketch demanded.

"I used Imprison. You can't use any technique I know," the ghost with the zipper mouth answered smugly. The Smeargle frowned.

"You know Teleport?"

"I used Mimic when you last teleported," the Banette replied, grinning. Sketch grumbled to himself for a second, swiping his tail in Dragonair's direction. Several white orbs formed around the Smeargle, surrounding his body and then firing towards Dragonair, but a yellow film of light appeared, the orbs vanishing harmless as they hit the barrier. Sketch frowned and flicked his tail, another vine lashing out from the green tip, passing through the yellow light as if it didn't exist, but another film of light appeared, a blue color instead of the previous yellow, the vine bouncing off the light harmlessly.

"Disappointed?" Diablos mocked. Sketch scowled and flicked his tail.

"Shadow..."

"Disable!" the Banette shouted, glowing white.

"...Force! Damn you!" Sketch snapped. "Have you no honor, allowing your minions to interfere?"

"Honor? Next you'll ask me whether I'll show you mercy!" Diablos sneered. "It's time to lose the idealism, Sketchy. All that matters is to destroy the opponent. Honor and mercy have little use in a realistic world."

"You're wrong," Sketch replied quietly. "It's what makes one truly strong: to be able to feel compassion."

"That's nonsense. Love and compassion assist no one," Diablos retorted.

"Is that so?" Sketch whispered. "Is that why Dragonair escaped your clutches?" I didn't know what the Smeargle meant by this, but the serpent dragon stiffened, his yellow eyes narrowing to slits. "Oh, so it IS true," Sketch said, smirking. Aura and I exchanged puzzled glances while Blaze remained where he was, his eyes slightly unfocused.

"No matter, I have him now," Diablos said coldly. Sketch smiled weakly, swiping his tail at the dragon. A bolt of energy fired forward, only to be absorbed into a strange portal vortex. Diablos narrowed his eyes, but Sketch refused to make eye contact, instead flicking his tail and conjuring another vine from the end. Instead of firing it towards Diablos, he wrapped it around the nearest undamaged pillar several inches to the side of the dragon. "What are you up to?" Diablos murmured thoughtfully. Sketch watched Dragonair carefully, severing the vine from his tail and holding it in his free paw, his left paw clutching his tail and aiming it towards Dragonair.

"Hydro Pump!" he shouted, and the tail tip glowed blue, firing the jet of water. Diablos smirked and conjured the yellow film of light. At that moment, Sketch pulled on the vine, pulling himself forward as his tail tip took on a different color hue entirely. He flicked the tail forward and when it touched the film of light, the barrier shattered easily, fragmenting into tiny shards of energy. The jet of water continued, unhindered by the Light Screen and hitting Dragonair, shoving him backwards. The dragon bounced off one of the pillars, but managed to stay in the air. "Bet you didn't see that coming," Sketch said calmly, flicking his tail again. Diablos swung his tail, striking Sketch just below the neck, nearly decapitating the Smeargle with the force of the blow. Sketch slammed into one of the pillars, grunting in pain as he slid to the ground.

"Clever technique, but fruitless in the end," Diablos sneered, charging a Hyper Beam as he spoke. Sketch gazed up at the danger without much fear, just as the portal from earlier reappeared, the bolt flying from it and hitting Dragonair's aura orb (talk about luck. That's an incredibly small target). Upon impact, all the charged hyper energy discharged as a wave, cracking several of the pillars surrounding the two combatants, but Sketch was positioned too low to the ground to be affected by the wave. The collar around Dragonair's neck, the one that he claimed translated his words for humans to understand, also cracked, but didn't break entirely. Diablos cursed loudly, twitching in pain.

"Dragonair! Break free from his control! Fight him!" Sketch shouted, climbing to his feet as the possessed dragon swung his tail furiously, trying to hit the Smeargle. "Remember your friends. Remember your mate!"

"No matter what you say, Sketch, Dragonair is MINE!" Diablos snarled, charging another Hyper Beam and firing it at point blank range. The ground near the Smeargle's feet blew apart, flinging the beige furred Pokémon backwards, where he slid several feet across the rocky cavern, bleeding profusely from the scrapes formed by the slide. Dragonair's taunting laugh echoed in the silence following the Smeargle's injuries, but yet Sketch rose to his feet slowly. Aura was shaking worriedly and I noticed that the muscles in my tail had contracted. It would probably take about ten minutes to limber them up after this stress. "Look at you...you're beaten. Fight on to your last breath, Smeargle. It amounts to the same."

"Fight him, Dragonair! Remember who you care about!" Sketch urged. "I know you can hear me, even if Diablos controls you! Don't let him!"

"Enough, Smeargle. You're wasting your breath. Which you need in order to breathe!" Diablos sneered, in perfect imitation of Dragonair. "No one can break free from my control!" The possessed dragon released a powerful bolt of electricity, but Sketch waved his tail, his beige fur glowing briefly. The Thunderbolt hit the shimmering fur and rebounded. Dragonair moved, but the dodging was graceless, resulting in getting shocked despite the best efforts. "Giratina damn it!" Diablos snarled. I smiled slightly, despite there really wasn't anything remotely funny about my mate getting shocked. It seemed that the force possessing Dragonair wasn't as talented at using a serpentine body as Dragonair himself was. Then again, Dragonair had six years of experience while Diablos had what, twenty minutes?

"Keep fighting, no matter what!" Sketch yelled as he dodged a Flamethrower attack.

"That's enough out of you!" Diablos snapped, but suddenly he paused. "Something's not right..." he mused to himself. "I can feel more power, but I can't use it..." he muttered, looking distracted. Everyone shared nervous looks, except Blaze, who seemed entirely at ease. Sketch staggered forward a pace, waving his tail, his body glowing brightly for an instant and his injuries began to fade rapidly.

"Recover," he stammered, managing a brief smile, which rapidly faded as Diablos began to laugh. I shivered at the sound, staring worriedly at the dragon Pokémon.

"Now what is this?" Dragonair asked with a sneer, examining something on his tail. It was a small white stone, positioned near the two blue orbs near the end of the tail. "An Everstone? How amusing. Aw, and it was polished and kept in mint condition. How pathetic one would hinder his own power...I'll have to rectify that," Diablos chuckled, bringing his tail closer to his face for inspection, his horn crackling with electricity for several seconds until a Thunderbolt fired from the horn, striking the white stone. The stone remained strong for about two seconds before fragmenting into shards, which scattered the ground, quickly becoming lost among the other bits of stone littering the cavern floor. Sketch seemed puzzled.

"What good was...oh shit," he cursed as the serpentine dragon glowed white. Diablos' triumphant laugh filled the chamber as Dragonair's shape flashed, a bright light blinding us for a moment. Blaze and Aura both shielded their eyes with their paws while I turned away. When the light faded, I reluctantly turned back to where Dragonair had been. An orange scaled dragon, smaller in height than I was, but now much bulkier stood. It had wings on its back which had a teal underside. The most noticeable change was the addition of limbs. Unlike our previous snake-like forms, Dragonair now had a pair of arms and legs and a heavy tail. The Dragonite's eyes opened, revealing their yellow tinge which seemed so much brighter and fiercer than before the change.

"That's better," Diablos sneered, gazing at his new form. The Dragonite turned to Sketch, his maw opening and charging a massive orb of orange energy. Sketch's eyes widened in terror as Diablos fired the Hyper Beam towards the hapless Smeargle. "And your end is just the beginning..."


	204. Frosty Mission

**Frost POV**

The light faded and I blinked, frowning briefly as I gazed around the new location. Mystic looked at me anxiously, judging my reaction. _"Is this the place?"_ she asked telepathically. We were standing in front of a small building which appeared to be ancient, but I knew it was only about half the age it appeared to be and despite appearing simple, it was very modern. I responded with a curt nod and she gave me a hopeful glance, much like a kit wanting to be praised. I walked on without another word, although I brushed my tail against her side flirtatiously, just gentle enough to pass off as unintentional. She giggled and followed me. My eyes swept the surrounding area, even as a sudden fog closed in around us. _"What is this?"_

"It's a fog defense. Teleporting into the area allowed us to get closer before it kicked in," I answered calmly. "We're close enough where we can reach the shrine without much difficulty," I assured her.

_"I can't see you,"_ Mystic protested.

"You don't have to," I replied, walking forward, in the direction I knew the shrine was in. I chilled the air around me, knowing the Espeon would be able to feel the temperature change and hopefully would be intelligent enough to follow the telltale sign. If not...then that was pathetic.

_"Do I follow the cold?"_ Now if only she didn't have to ask. I answered with an affirmative and several moments later, I broke through the fog, emerging at the base of the stairs leading up to the entrance of the shrine. I didn't bother waiting for my companion and instead chose to ascend the stairs. She'd catch up soon. Sure enough, Mystic broke through the fog moments later, looking around for me as she did so. She looked relieved that I hadn't disappeared on her or something. I'd have to ask Blizzard what she had been telling people about me, considering that her kit...our kit...seemed to have a very negative opinion of me. I'm not a perfect mate, but I'm sure there's some exaggeration in what stories float around. Not every mate I've had has hated me. On the contrary, there were many who would probably be more than happy to see me again. Except Zapda, but she and I parted on poor terms and she was insane.

I brushed the thoughts aside for now. Reminiscing about past mates was a distraction, not to mention time consuming. Very few of them were generally worth the energy to remember their names and even fewer were generally worthy of me in the first place. Perhaps I deserved it for only seeking out potential mates during the season, but Jolt, a self proclaimed "expert" on romance, seemed to think my personality turned females away unless they were needy. I have yet to disprove this, but I'm not going to tell him that. I would gladly put in the effort required to maintain a relationship if I found it worthy of pursuit. So what if I'm aware of how my skill outstrips so many others? If a mate desires protection, I can offer it. But developing a reliance on me is what can sever the bond. I will not kit-sit a mate.

We stepped through the entrance of the shrine, my gaze flicking to the various nooks of the shrine interior, just in case the Rotom had installed some sort of threatening defense mechanism. At the moment, the shrine appeared to be empty, but the computer machinery in the back seemed recently used, but I couldn't be sure if Chaos was still present. I walked over to the computer, still alert for signs of a security device. I raised an eyebrow when I noticed that Chaos was already logged in, meaning I didn't need to try to figure out his password. From what I've been told, his password is impossible to decipher.

"Error: Leaving computer undefended and unencrypted," I murmured to myself, studying the screen quickly. I was the only computer-savvy Eon in our group, with Shadow close behind. Since the Rotom had left the system seemingly undefended, I easily managed to access the recent data the electric ghost had been using. "What the hell is this?" I demanded, staring at what appeared to be blueprints of some sort of device.

"Hiya!" Chaos' obnoxious voice called out cheerfully and the small orange ghost appeared. Mystic flinched, but I simply gazed at the Rotom dismissively, turning my attention back to the screen. "Whatcha doing?" Chaos asked, floating over to peer over my shoulder. "Ooh, whatcha think of that?" he asked.

"I haven't the foggiest idea what the hell it is," I answered indifferently. Chaos made a giggling sound.

"It's my newest device!" he answered enthusiastically. "Now if I had all the parts, I'd be able to finish it. I'm gonna ask the boss to get them for me, but that's what I have so far!" the Rotom gestured one of his bolt appendages towards a small device placed on a stand a few feet from me that I had overlooked previously. It shared a resemblance to the blueprints, but I couldn't think of what purpose it had, nor did the blueprints seem to explain.

"Fascinating," I said boredly. "I'm taking my profile data back now," I informed the Rotom.

"I copied them. You still have the originals," Chaos complained.

"My disks were destroyed when the base collapsed," I argued, taking a new flash drive from the pouch with my phone and putting it into the computer drive. Before Chaos could object further, I quickly saved the profile files onto the portable disk and replaced it in the pouch.

"I improved them," Chaos said brightly. "I'm gonna get back ta work now. Bye!"

_"Bye,"_ Mystic answered shyly. Chaos looked over at her and giggled.

"Hiya Mystic!"

_"Hi Chaos,"_ she answered, avoiding eye contact. I stared at her impatiently, wanting to get going and not spend any more time here. I was a little curious how she knew Chaos, but wasn't bothered enough to ask. If what Gem told me was true, I didn't have a lot of time to spare to deal with pointless conversations. I had only taken the detour here to recover what belonged to me. I had, unfortunately, neglected to remember that this shrine did not have an entrance to the Cave Army.

"Whatcha up ta?" Chaos asked brightly. The Espeon shrugged, her tail flicking awkwardly. A rather cute tail, a little longer than most Espeon tails, but the detail was not widely known among non-Espeon Pokémon, excluding me. I had devoted much study into the various details of the Eevee evolutionary line. Some Eons were obsessive in the pure lineage concept, especially in clans, and possessing inheritable techniques made one more desirable. I had the good fortune of fulfilling both requirements, as well as being a superbly skilled fighter and my physical attractiveness only added to this advantage. Certainly these qualities could grant me high social status among clans or other groups, which essentially could give me free access to any female I desired. Such an idiotic vision, that was. Females were not disposable pleasures, hypocritical as I may appear in my own pursuits. Lust played a part in every relationship, but it was an instinct that must be controlled. I limited myself to pursuing only during the season, or if the potential mate was particularly worthy of my interest.

"Are we done here now?" I asked impatiently, mentally reprimanding myself for revealing the emotion. I immediately reprimanded myself again for acting like Shadow. Emotions were meant to be shown. How that Espeon functioned at all was beyond me. To show only anger, or nothing at all? He didn't even feel affection or concern for his Umbreon mate. I had honestly suspected he was uninterested in females at all until Dark hinted at them having a relationship. I naturally decided to interrogate Shadow and his defensive reaction explained everything. Judging by everyone else's reactions, the existence of the relationship had been secretive, although everyone knew Dark was dangerously obsessed with him. I'm almost impressed he evaded her that long.

_"I guess so,"_ Mystic replied, walking towards me. I turned to exit the shrine when Chaos suddenly made a strange buzzing sound, which intrigued me enough to turn back towards him. I blinked when I saw that a strange creature had appeared. It was box-like in appearance with two arm-like limbs. Like Chaos, its body seemed to be made of a plasma substance, but it was decided red-orange in color. It bore a peculiar resemblance to a human's bread-toasting device.

"Hiya?" Chaos spoke, looking puzzled for a moment, but then brightened a little bit. "Whatcha doing here, Hacky?"

"Shut up, Chaos," the strange creature answered, hovering over to the device Chaos was working on. "I'm taking this."

"Hey! That's mine!" Chaos protested, blocking the strange creature's path. The odd creature's body became engulfed in flames and it rammed the smaller electrical ghost, hurling him backwards into the wall, which he passed through. Mystic gasped in shock, but I merely blinked in surprise. The victor gripped the prototype device in its arm-like appendages and faded out from sight, the device disappearing as well. Chaos shot back through the wall, looking around for the thief. "**BLEEP-**ing toaster!" Chaos cried, making an odd beeping sound.

_"What was that?"_ Mystic asked, confused.

"The **BLEEP**-er took my **BLEEP** device that I worked so **BLEEP** hard on!" Chaos cried. "You can't trust family anymore can ya?"

"Family?" I repeated skeptically.

"I dunno if that's literal, but we call each other cousins," Chaos explained, still looking agitated, but speaking in a happy tone. There was a strange sound from the computer and the Rotom moved over to it, making a giggling sound and muttering to himself. "Whatcha don't know, Hacky, is that I installed a tracking device on it. How do ya like them bananas?"

"Incoming message," an automated voice spoke from the computer, the Rotom floating over to the computer eagerly.

"Let's see you make a virus to get you out of this mess, Chaos. You'll have to get your interesting device back without using your boss' help. Signed: Your 'Friend', Cyber/Hacker/Anti-Virus." Chaos finished reading and there was a long silence. Chaos muttered to himself as he disappeared into the computer.

_"What was that about?"_ Mystic asked me, but I shook my head.

"Let's go," I said firmly and her forehead gem glowed before teleporting us both. We were standing in front of another one of the shrine buildings, but I knew this one was located in Johto, rather than the Kanto shrine we had just been at. We entered the building, my eyes keeping an eye out for any guards or security. It was never a good idea to assume that we were safe just because there was no danger immediately present. I wasn't as paranoid as Shadow, but I knew the importance of keeping alert.

_"There's nothing here. Why are we...?"_

"I know what I'm doing!" I interrupted sharply. Mystic flinched, her ears drooping sadly. I cursed under my breath and rubbed against the Espeon's side lightly. She suddenly glared at me.

_"Are you trying to toy with my moods?!"_

"No, I'm trying to apologize for losing my patience. If you rather I didn't apologize, then I won't," I replied simply. Of course, if she was going to let me walk all over her, then she was not worth my effort to pay attention to. Mystic's glare softened, which I took as a sign to continue what I was doing. I walked over to the center of the room and stomped on one of the tiles, loosening the tile that concealed the entrance to the underground cavern. It took about a minute to move the tile away and I carefully dropped down into the cavern. Mystic followed in silence, looking around curiously. "Now we need to teleport again," I informed her gently.

_"Uh...okay,"_ Mystic replied. She was confused why we didn't just teleport into the underground caverns in the first place, but I didn't have the time to explain the anti-teleportation barrier that was installed within the Cave Army. I told her the location we needed to go to and she teleported again. I gazed around carefully, spotting Gem reclining against the wall.

"Got here at last," the Sableye rasped, but chuckled. "Brought your girlfriend? You're so like Nightslash...rest his soul, eh?" I didn't answer and he sobered quickly. "Diablos has pulled out the stops here as well. There is an elaborate plan in place by multiple parties all culminating here. Diablos will kill Sketch, and the Cave Army will undergo a power struggle."

"Multiple parties?" I inquired.

"The Dark Organization is finished, but Lava will try to regain power. Inferna is still a Sketch loyalist while Doppel wants to separate everything. Gamble and Luthor want to take over for themselves and Ganger's motives don't make sense to me. He seems to be on the same path as Doppel, but he seems to think Diablos' plan will bring the apocalypse."

"Hmm..." I murmured thoughtfully. "Where is it?"

"I'll take you two there," Gem rasped and his eyes flashed, the surrounding area changing. "Down that way," the Sableye instructed, pointing down a passage. I nodded curtly and Mystic and I walked briskly down the passageway. I stopped just outside the chamber, peering inside. There was the accursed Flareon, the one who had beaten me by fluke, as well as the cute Vaporeon, Aura. A pity she wasn't interested, Vaporeon were one of my favorite mates. They have a nice tail and don't mind the cold that much. Moving along, the female Dragonair was watching as Sketch and Dragonair seemed to be engaged in an intense battle, but I immediately detected Diablos within the male dragon. This was not going to be good...especially since Dragonair was abruptly engulfed in white light, reappearing as a powerful Dragonite.

"Damn it..." I breathed, realizing the danger had just gone up tenfold. As a Dragonite, Diablos would be nearly unstoppable. Mystic shivered as the possessed Dragonite launched a powerful Hyper Beam towards the Smeargle, whose eyes widened in horror. I rushed forward, leaping in front of the attack, focusing as hard as I could, smirking triumphantly as my fur shimmered reflectively. I'm a sucker for dramatic entrances, but who isn't? The powerful beam struck my fur and rebounded, easily obliterating several pillars that existed in the middle of the room. Diablos laughed triumphantly, unaware of my save. It takes someone with a lot of skill to reflect an attack of that magnitude. The laugh was cut short as the smoke around Sketch and me cleared.

"What? So...you risk your life for his?" the Dragonite sneered. I glared back, panting slightly.

"I cannot allow you to claim Shadow Force, Diablos," I answered smugly. "Error: Assuming victory before the fight's over."

"Then you will die first," Diablos answered maliciously.


	205. Dragon Demon

**Frost POV**

"You were a fool to interfere, Glaceon," Diablos sneered, his yellow eyes gleaming with malice. Sketch stared at me in surprise, but I ignored him. I needed to remain focused on the threat, rather than allow a distraction to slip me up at a crucial time. Against the likes of Diablos, any error could and most likely would be the last.

"You talk a big game. Now back it up," I replied confidently, my tail flicking as I readied myself to battle. The tail thing was for the female Eons' benefit more than anything else. I suppose some males might appreciate it, but the Flareon was straight, so I sincerely doubted it. Although his gaze followed it for a moment, so maybe the profile on him was wrong...he might be bi, from what I've heard about him hitting on males. I confess I find the rumor of him hitting on Dragonair to be farfetched.

"As you wish," Diablos said, flapping the Dragonite wings rapidly, creating a powerful gust of wind, which formed into twin tornadoes and moved towards me. I smirked, effortlessly forming a large vortex of hail around my body, the wind swirling around me at high speeds. The Twister attack the Dragonite had launched hit my hail barrier, the strength of my cold wind redirecting the tornadoes to the side, missing my body. I kept the hail vortex around me, keeping my gaze on Diablos. I had practiced with my Hail shield for years following my evolution, and had trained my eyesight to be practically unobscured by the storm. "Interesting," the Dragonite mused, its maw opening and spitting a concentrated orb of flames. I focused more energy into chilling the air around me, more of the moisture in the air becoming absorbed into the hailstorm. The large flame struck the side of the hail, and my ear twitched, instantly aware of the change in air pressure within the foot or so of space within the barrier. I reacted quickly, forming a blue orb of energy in my mouth, the orb extending into a beam of water, which weakened the strength of the fire, enabling the hail to neutralize the rest.

"And now the hail reforms," I pointed out with a smirk, releasing several chunks of ice from my fur to rebuild the damaged vortex more quickly. A few ice shards broke free from the storm and hit the Dragonite, but it did very little visible damage to the powerful dragon. Diablos' eyes flashed in annoyance.

"So you evaded that one, Frost. But it won't be long before I wear you down."

"You're just talking again," I interrupted. "If you're so powerful, you'd have beaten me in one move. The Flareon did, but looks like you're not in his league, are you? How pathetic." Of course, the Flareon beat me by a fluke. My comment had definitely touched a nerve, but Diablos showed no visible sign of being upset. He did, however, lunge forward at a high speed, one paw becoming engulfed in flames as he swung at me. I leapt free from the hailstorm, evading the Fire Punch. The fist was hot enough to melt the ice before contact, neutralizing any backlash damage to the attacker for contacting the storm. Without me focusing on keeping the storm intact, the winds calmed and the vortex faded away, littering the area with ice fragments.

Diablos smirked, lunging forward again, the wings on his back creating a lot of backwind as he flew forward, his claws taking on a fiery blue aura. I rolled forward, ducking beneath his paw, but the wind from the wings tossed me backwards. I twisted my body in midair so that my feet impacted with one of the pillars and kicked off it to land back on the ground. From this position, I was able to fire a powerful Ice Beam at the back of the Dragonite, which was too bulky in the cramped chamber to turn effectively. However, a yellow film of light appeared, negating the attack with frustrating ease. I quickly repositioned myself so my aim would go past the barrier and fired a second Ice Beam, just as Diablos managed to turn around. The beam struck him in the chest and he winced as ice began to form over his chest, but he flexed his body, the ice shattering before it could do some real damage. I frowned slightly, but felt an inner surge of pleasure. Now this duel would satisfy my desire for a challenge. Dragonair himself had been a waste of time and effort, but now I had an opponent worthy of defeating.

"Give up," Diablos mocked. I smirked confidently in reply, wiping the smirk from his face. He charged forward, his time his fist crackling with electricity, but I stood my ground, focusing quickly. As his fist slammed down upon me, I focused quickly and three illusionary Glaceon surrounded me, one of them shoving me to the side and taking the blow instead, fading from view. The remaining two clones formed a triangle around the Dragonite, who seemed momentarily surprised, but its yellow eyes narrowed. "How cute."

"Thank you, it's natural," one of the clones said, responding to my mental command. Double Team clones were controlled by the conjurer's thoughts. With practice, I had perfected making each clone do a different action. Diablos' gaze flickered between the three of us, but I knew the technique had no errors and with my strong mental barrier firmly in place, he wouldn't be able to determine which of us were real. I mentally guided one of the clones to attack with Ice Beam. The other clone was guided to use Ice Shard, and I chose to use Icy Wind. The trio of ice attacks flew towards the dragon, but Diablos flapped his wings, creating a huge wall of wind around him, my own wind attack getting reflected back towards me, but I absorbed the brunt of the hit without consequence. All it did was give my fur a frostier look, no pun intended. It really amplified my appearance, but now was not the time to think about looking attractive. Diablos flew forward, the shards of ice scratching his scales, but doing far less damage than they would have in the event of a direct hit. The Ice Beam missed entirely, but that was irrelevant. Since Diablos had seen the effect of the reflected Icy Wind, he knew which one was the original me, which meant I could either dispel the clones to save me energy, or try to get mixed up with the other two. I chose the former option, seeing as I could reuse the technique later without having to maintain the energy to keep the useless ones.

"Your power is intriguing, Glaceon...but how much longer can you keep this up?" Diablos whispered. The Dragonite's mouth opened and a large blue-purple orb formed. When it was large enough, it was spat towards me at an intense speed. I focused hastily, just as the orb struck me. My fur shimmered just in time, but the Dragon Pulse didn't reflect nearly as well as I wanted it to. It rebounded off my fur, but just barely flew over Mystic's head, the rocks shattering apart and scattering debris over the Espeon. She cried out in fear, but I could tell she was unharmed. Just as well, since I couldn't take the chance of getting distracted by checking on her well-being. Such a mistake could be fatal against the Dragonite.

"This isn't good," Aura muttered, and I saw her glance at the female Dragonair uncertainly. "Shouldn't you...?"

"No. Not unless necessary," the Dragonair insisted gently, but her tone sounded frustrated. I doubt this was the first time Aura had suggested joining in the battle. Diablos flapped his wings, reforming the twin gales like he had at the start of the battle. Rather than both with my Hail defense, I darted forward, slipping between the two tornadoes and pouncing at the dragon Pokémon. Diablos looked amused by this tactic and formed an enormous Shadow Ball in his jaws. My fur released several shards of ice from my fur, one or more of them hitting the incomplete ghostly and causing the energy to discharge and detonate in his mouth.

"Error: vulnerable and volatile attack is easy to sabotage," I told the Dragonite, smirking as Diablos clutched his jaw, scowling angrily, but the anger rapidly disappeared.

"Why do you continue to fight me, Frost? You could have so much more power than you have...if you joined me. Instead, you throw away the potential," he said softly.

"Not interested. I'll get my power the old fashioned way, rather than take the easy way out," I answered with a sneer. "Not like you have much to offer. If you could beat me, then maybe I'd consider taking that offer seriously, but until then, you're just talk."

"You'll pay for that. And the best way to do that is right in front of me," the phantom hissed, its yellow eyes fixing on Mystic. I didn't flinch, but Mystic did.

_"Don't let him hurt me,"_ she pleaded desperately. I chuckled.

"I see how it is, Diablos. You're really just a coward," I said. This stopped the dragon in his tracks.

"Excuse me?" he challenged coldly.

"You know you can't beat me, so you'll just attack the nearest weakling that I might be emotionally invested in? You think that'll weaken me? It worked with Jolt, but don't expect the same results for me. I'm in a whole different league than that Jolteon," I said seriously.

_"I'm not a weakling,"_ Mystic said, sulking slightly. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. She had terrible timing when pointing out my poor word choice.

"Fine, you're not a weakling, but he still considers you an easy target. Proving he's a coward. He can't deal with anyone who can actually stand up to him. So come on, phantom. If you're really as tough as you think you are, you can beat me," I ordered. Everyone else in the cavern seemed to exchange surprised looks; even the Flareon seemed alarmed by my confidence. The Dragonite's eyes narrowed in barely concealed anger, but it quickly was replaced by cruel laughter.

"Then it ends here," he said triumphantly. The large dragon charged forward, one fist blazing with flame, the other engulfed in the dragon fire. Diablos swung the fire fist at me head, but I ducked, rolling to the left when he smashed the second paw down towards me, the dodged attack creating a crater in the ground where I had been. Quick as a flash, Diablos pivoted, slamming both fists upon me. I conjured up three clones, but Diablos spun, his large tail striking all the clones in one blow, the force of the impact sending me sprawling backwards. He was too fast, Articuno damn it, and it didn't end there. He closed the distance between us and slammed the flaming fist down upon my near-helpless form. I rolled backwards, wincing at the clumsy execution, but it saved my life so I couldn't really complain.

"Error: needs more practice," I chided myself nevertheless. Diablos spun around, his tail slamming into my side and I grunted in pain as I struck the cavern wall. I pushed myself up, but Diablos seized me by the ears and swung me behind him, hurling me towards the crowd of pillars in the room's center. I tried to pivot my body the best I could to minimize the impact's damage, but even though I hit the pillar feet first, there was a sharp crack as my ankle bone snapped. I hit the ground with a dull thud and quickly called upon the miracle of Wish. I couldn't lose. Not here and not now. I had come this far into the fight and I wasn't about to be taken down. The only flaw to the healing technique was the delay until it kicked in, and I couldn't last much longer without the ability to stand.

"You're finished, Glaceon," Diablos sneered. "This proves, once and for all, that no one is stronger than me. Not Fear, not you, no one. Anyone who goes against me will perish and you perish now." The Dragonite smiled and slammed the fiery fist at my head. I pulled my head as close to my body as possible, failing to repress a cry of pain as the fist hit my ear, pinning it to the ground. A burning pain shot through my body, growing in intensity with each passing second. It felt like hours before the fist was lifted from my ear and I could only gasp in relief. The golden orb of light descended from the sky, healing my injuries rapidly. I rolled to the side, just as Diablos' fist slammed down where my head had occupied, leaving another crater in the ground.

"This fight isn't over yet," I said seriously, rising to my feet. I was tiring, but I could hold on a while longer. Diablos showed no signs of weakening, but I was betting that he wasn't as refreshed as he appeared to be.

"You only delay the inevitable, Frost. You will not defeat me," Diablos said coldly.

"Try me," I retorted. The Dragonite smirked and prepared another attack, but his attention was understandably drawn to the appearance of an odd green Pokémon. Its very appearance perplexed me. It had large blue eyes with black rings surrounding them, small wings on its back and some bug-like antennae on its head. One by one, every one of the cavern's occupants turned to this new creature.

_"Who are you?"_ Mystic asked telepathically. The odd Pokémon smiled and winked at her.

"You may call me Ganger."

"What are you?" the Flareon growled. The odd Pokémon chuckled and the body shimmered, changing shape until a large ghostly Pokémon appeared, its mouth curled into a wide grin.

"Can't possess me now, Diablos. I know how much you'd love my transformation or legendary powers." Ganger replied with way too much smugness, the transformation ability notwithstanding. The shape shifting Pokémon glowed and in the place of the Gengar, another strange Pokémon appeared. It was about half the size as the green Pokémon had been but it was blue with small stubs of legs and longer arms. It had a red gem on its chest and a large, circular head with an antenna sticking from it. "Of course, I'll still screw up your little plan."

"You're bluffing," Diablos mocked.

"We'll see," Ganger answered mysteriously, waving his paws. The Dragonite's body glowed briefly, as did my own. I blinked in confusion as a heart-shaped glow left my body and contacted with the dragon Pokémon, and the same thing happened in reverse. Then everything changed.

* * *

I was in a strange, circular room, lacking both an entrance and an exit, but I was not alone. I could see a long snake-like shadow ensnaring me in its coils, but it seemed to be oblivious to me at the same time. The shadow possessed a pair of gleaming yellow eyes that seemed to peer deeper than just the outer area of one's body. The snares of the snake were absolute, but I nevertheless struggled to be free. I managed to loosen the snake's hold with next to no effort, but it came alive within seconds, trying to recoil itself around me.

"What is this?" the snake hissed in anger, but then smirked. "Look at me..."

"I don't want to," I answered, snapping my jaws around the snake's tail. The shadow made an angry hissing sound, the coils untying from around me, but it didn't leave me be, but remained nearby, forming a circle around me with its body.

"You can be so much stronger...you can..."

"Shut up," I ordered coldly, blowing a huge gust of snow-flecked wind into the shadow snake's face, causing it to recoil from me. "Your words mean nothing, snake. Get out of here."

"This isn't the end. You'll never truly be rid of me. I'll find the crack in your nut and then you will regret crossing me, Frost. Count on it," the shadow sneered and then faded from the circular room. I gazed around the area critically. How did I get here? How do I get out? Why were there two weird Dragonair staring at me?


	206. Mind Screw

**"Larry's" POV**

I opened my eyes and moaned softly. My head was throbbing in pain and I felt unbelievably disoriented. For a moment, I couldn't remember anything at all, but eventually memories and images began to trickle back, but only fragments. It was as if parts of my memory didn't exist anymore, a sensation I hadn't felt since I decided to see what the appeal of alcohol was to humans. I never did figure out why those idiot humans were so willing to consume large amounts of a beverage that gave them horrible headaches, made them act stupider than they already were, often caused nausea, and made them forget what they did. They must just have better experiences than I did, but I'm not laying my tail on that crap again.

I blinked, clearing my vision, and discovered that I was lying face down with my face pressed against the rocky earth. I raised my head, wincing when it throbbed painfully again. I tried to use my tail to support my head, but discovered that I couldn't move my tail as easily as I used to be able to. Hm, maybe I did get intoxicated again and just didn't remember. Loss of motor skills didn't make much sense within normal context. I twitched my tail experimentally and frowned. I had seemed to have lost all sensation in my tail over a foot or two, since I didn't feel anything past that length. Shaking my head to try to clear it only increased the pain I felt and when I tried to rise up into the air, I found myself incapable of doing it. What the hell had happened to me? I had never been unable to levitate, even when extremely tired.

As if to answer my question, my surroundings suddenly changed and I found myself in a large circular room, reminiscent of the weird room where that Poliwhirl had brought us to during Blaze's first weird mental problem. It also reminded me of the room where I had been pulled to a long time ago, in that shrine, where I had seen the doppelganger of myself. I gazed around, frowning slightly. In this room, I had no trouble whatsoever with moving my body and I could feel my tail beyond a foot or two. I looked myself over, noting that my serpentine body was unharmed, so this room probably wasn't affected by any pains or ailments from the real world. I sincerely hoped I was undergoing the same problem that plagued Blaze, because this was starting to look REALLY similar. Now if I started conversing with weird Pokémon representing my other consciousnesses, I'd be really...

"Hmph, a worthless entity is in here," a voice spoke snobbily and I looked around, noticing a short, blue-white furred fox creature. I stared at it for several seconds, trying to figure out where the Glaceon had come from. "Avert your gaze unless you want to get hurt, Dragonair," the newcomer ordered coldly, its fur bristling slightly. I blinked, wondering how the hell anyone could be that unpleasant, but obediently looked elsewhere.

"You're not very good at the whole greeting thing," a second voice said and I turned to see a second Glaceon, although it looked a little older than the first.

"Why would I greet an intruder?" the first Glaceon sneered back. The second Glaceon sighed and shook its head. Upon consideration, I determined the first one to be female, but the second Glaceon's gender seemed ambiguous. It was neither effeminate nor masculine and from my angle I was unable to note any physical clues to its gender.

"Where am I?" I asked, puzzled. The (definite) female Glaceon laughed scornfully.

"You're not very bright, are you?" she asked.

"I'm very intelligent," I argued, scowling. I had never before actually been accused of having low intelligence. "You're not very nice, are you?"

"Why would I have to be nice? You're a worthless creature, and I'm a skilled and intelligent Glaceon."

"You missed 'modest'," I pointed out sarcastically.

"Be silent, creature," the Glaceon retorted snobbishly. I actually took a tiny bit of offense from this comment. Even the most arrogant personalities from the Rocket base had nothing on this Glaceon. It could have something to do with me putting most of them in their place when their boasting got on my nerves, but still.

"I just asked where I am. You don't have to be that nasty," I said irritably. My attention was suddenly tugged back to the outside world by something colliding with my side. I looked around in alarm, readying a Thunderbolt to retaliate, but the electricity didn't seem to exist within me. What was wrong with me?! Why couldn't I seem to do anything? I was torn from this thought by a female Espeon licking my face, furthering my confusion. "What the...?"

_"That was hot,"_ a telepathic voice said and the Espeon giggled. Now I was REALLY confused. Who the hell was this Espeon and why was she flirting with me?

"Who are you?" I sputtered finally and the psychic Eon gave me a slightly puzzled look, but then coiled her tail around my leg. Wait, back up...I have legs? I looked down and received another shock. I did indeed have legs, but they had blue-white fur and ended in canine paws. I looked the rest of my body over and realization sunk in. I wasn't a Dragonair, but a Glaceon...how in Celebi's name did that happen? "I'm a Glaceon?" I blurted, receiving another puzzled look from the Espeon.

_"A very cute one at that,"_ the telepathic voice said as the Espeon stroked a paw down my side flirtatiously. I shivered involuntarily and heard a purr escape my throat. Okay, I definitely wasn't dreaming or hallucinating. Dragonair males don't typically make purring sounds. My focus shifted once again to the circular room and I stared at the two Glaceon for explanation.

"Mystic's so hot..." the less nasty Glaceon murmured, panting slightly. Okay, that one's weird. "It's been a while since the last Espeon mate, hasn't it? Their tails are nice..."

"Who cares?" the arrogant Glaceon sneered, rolling her eyes. I blinked at them uncertainly.

"Someone explain what the hell is going on!" I shouted impatiently. Unsurprisingly, neither of them seemed up to answering my demand.

"Vaporeon have tails to die for, but Jolteon are just...so bland. No tails at all, and most are a bit lightning happy," the other Glaceon murmured thoughtfully.

"Well you're the one who wanted that Eevee and made Zapda try to kill us," the arrogant Glaceon snapped.

"Zapda was insane! You hated her, anyway," the other protested.

"She wasn't good enough for us," sniffed the arrogant Glaceon.

"No one's good enough for you, Flake. Except that Rod guy, but maybe because he was as big a bastard as you are. But I like you, anyway," the other Glaceon said, stroking the arrogant Glaceon's tail. I'm officially scared.

"Don't touch my tail, Snow!" Flake snarled, her fur bristling.

"But it's so soft..." purred the offending Glaceon. The smug Glaceon growled, snapping her teeth at the offender, but missed. "Ooh, you're so feisty, Flake."

"I'm female, you lunatic!" Flake growled furiously.

"So am I, what's your point?" Snow replied, releasing the tail. Oh Celebi, this is disturbing. What sort of twisted existence am I in?

"Someone please, for the love of Celebi, tell me what the hell is going on," I said, massaging my head with my tail. My dream-slash-hallucination theory was the only comfort I had right now.

"Hm? Oh right. I'm Snow and this is Flake. We're Frost's over and sub consciousnesses, respectively," Snow replied, grinning.

"And you're both female?" I asked blandly.

"Can't you tell? I'll prove it..." Snow said, moving as if to roll onto her back.

"I'll take your word on it," I said hastily before she could do anything else. Frost officially has the most f-ed up mind ever; it beats Blaze's by a mile.

"I represent Frost's feelings of lust and, ironically, self control and kindness. Flake here... she represents his arrogance, ego...actually, that's pretty much it."

"His skill and attractiveness, too," Flake corrected snippily.

"Sure you do, Flake," Snow said flatly.

"Now explain the Espeon," I said quickly.

"It's Frost's 'female of the week'," Flake said dismissively. Snow bristled.

"So it's against the rules to have a mate?"

"It's a waste. Espeon get clingy. Not as bad as Darkness was but..."

"We're not supposed to bring that up!" Snow interrupted, looking horrified.

"Why? This snake won't tell anyone if he knows what's good for him. Besides, she came to us," Flake sneered, glancing at me threateningly. "It's not like Shadow actually knows or has any chance of finding out."

"Just don't bring it up again," Snow said irritably. "If that drop dead _gorgeous_ Espeon finds out, he'll..."

"What? We're stronger than him," Flake retorted.

"Why am I in Frost's mind?" I interrupted impatiently. It seemed like this argument could go on for an extremely long time and I didn't want to put up with it.

"Ganger used Heart Swap, switching your consciousness with Frost's. So your minds switched bodies. Duh," Flake said in a tone of great superiority. Her explanation made no sense. Who was Ganger and what was 'Heart Swap'? I decided it was better not to even ask, unless I wanted more ridicule. I sighed, returning half of my focus to the real world again, trying my best to ignore the enthusiastic Espeon rubbing against my foreleg. How is someone supposed to act in this situation? I glanced towards the two Glaceon uncertainly.

"What am I supposed to do with her?" I asked.

"Well, you could try rubbing behind her left ear," Snow suggested. I blinked at her uncertainly. "Trust me. I know a lot about Espeon."

"Uh...okay," I said slowly, awkwardly using my Glaceon paw to rub behind the affectionate Espeon's left ear. She grinned and nipped my neck, prompting another involuntary shudder and purr. I returned my focus back to the inner mind, glaring at Snow indignantly. "She didn't stop!"

"Why would you want her to stop?" Snow asked reasonably, purring slightly.

"Are you kidding?!" I yelled, rapidly getting frustrated. What kind of question was that?

"Well, you obviously enjoy it, so why would you want her to stop?"

"I do not enjoy it!" I protested. I had a mate already, so why would I want a random Espeon flirting with me? I didn't blame her for the mistake, since I was in another Pokémon's body (however the hell that had happened), but I didn't know the best way to respond to it. I never considered myself the type of dragon who would try to sabotage other relationships, so I didn't think it was the best idea to react harshly to the psychic type, but I couldn't really encourage her, either.

"Sure you don't," Flake sneered. "It's clear as night and day you enjoy her pampering you."

"Night and day?" I repeated, raising an eye scale. I had never heard anyone use that particular phrase before.

"Our vision is just as good in either," Flake explained smugly. I rolled my eyes.

"I don't enjoy the pampering," I insisted. "Now help me figure out what to do!"

"Well, you can pet her tail. That'll get things moving," Snow suggested slyly. I glared at her, but she was unfazed. "Lick her neck? Stroke her side? Roll her onto her back? Massage her thighs? Pick one, I've got more."

"Okay, just shut up. I'll figure this out by myself," I grumbled, returning my focus again to the outer world. The Espeon tilted her head at me.

_"Are you all right?"_ the telepathic voice inquired. I hesitated, unsure of whether to try to pass myself off as Frost or try to explain that I was somehow occupying Frost's body. I chose to simply nod, using the opportunity to look around the room and see what else was going on. I saw the Banette and Sableye watching from the side of the chamber, their expressions thoughtful. Tarot was studying a card in his paw. This was naturally not worth the effort to pay attention to, so I moved on. Blaze was sitting off to the side, watching the scene impassively. His tail flicked slightly, but other than that he seemed almost like a statue. Note to self: My next goal is to help Blaze.

Aura was sitting not far from Sapphire, looking tired, but otherwise all right. Sapphire herself was craning her neck, her face showing deep anxiety. I followed her gaze and my jaw almost dropped. A large Dragonite was leaning against the remains of one of the room's pillars, its eyes closed, but its breathing was audible. I felt a surge of panic flare up within me for a second. It couldn't mean...that I had evolved, could it? I hoped that this was just another part of the bad dream or hallucination. I was no longer going to be a Dragonair, but would be condemned into a Dragonite's body from then on? I had never wanted to evolve. Living life with limbs after years of none would be difficult and awkward, the extra firepower be damned. How had my body evolved? I carried a small Everstone on my tail, where it was least likely to be damaged. I only used it as a precaution, in case I was asleep and couldn't force the evolution to stop. I resisted the urge to flinch as the Espeon gave my neck another nip, forcing my attention back to her. She rested her head on my shoulder, causing me to silently note how soft and warm her body was, but I immediately pushed that thought away, trying to ignore how her tail casually brushed along my side.

"She really is a cutie, isn't she?" Snow asked me slyly. "Notice how she tickles you with her tail. She's really into you right now."

"That's because we impressed her with my skill," Flake said, smirking.

"And because we stood up to Diablos for her," Snow added. "Courage is balance. Without caution, one is reckless. Without bravery, one is a coward. You cannot have one without using the other."

"How poetic," Flake sneered. "You waste your time with such crap." I sighed and rolled my eyes. If this kept up, I'd be just like Blaze, unable to function in the social world without going insane. I focused again, returning my attention to the outer world.

"What did you just do?" Sapphire asked, sounding angry. I noticed a strange blue creature hovering before us, a gentle, albeit mischievous smile on its face. The creature was about to reply, but I noticed movement from the corner of my eye and tensed, my fur bristling. I took a step back and immediately lost my balance, not even slightly used to moving with legs. The Espeon nearly fell, but she righted herself, giggling slightly at the expression I undoubtedly wore. Oh well, Frost looks like a fool, not me.

"That same argument could be used for..." Snow began, but I blocked it out, not wanting to start another long conversation with the voices in Frost's head.

"Shut up!" I snapped and everyone's head turned to me. I winced, realizing I had spoken aloud. The Espeon blinked and licked my face. I jerked my head to the side to examine the movement, only to find the familiar Smeargle straightening from his previous hunched over position.

"Looks like I owe you a favor, Frost," Sketch grumbled to me, looking very reluctant to be saying this.

"Uh…" I said blankly, not sure what the Smeargle meant by that. Why did he owe Frost a favor?

"I don't know if Diablos is gone," said a Pikachu that I had overlooked before. Sketch nodded solemnly, flicking his tail suddenly and vanishing, along with the electric type. The Banette blinked, looking confused.

"How did he get past my Imprison?" he wondered aloud, but he and the other ghost faded out without another word. Blaze suddenly scowled, gazing around in irritation.

"He left me behind...the bastard," he growled, the yellow eye gleaming.

"Blaze?" Aura spoke quietly, her voice concerned and gentle. The Flareon briefly glanced at her, but then seemed to return to his brooding state. I scowled in annoyance. This idiot needed a reality check, and I decided now was the best time to give him one. I stepped forward aggressively (stumbling over my legs several times while doing so) and gave the Flareon as sharp prod to the side of his head. "What are you doing, Frost?" Aura asked, looking confused.

_"Can't we just go?"_ the Espeon asked, the telepathic tone sounding almost whiny.

"In a moment, Espeon whose name evades me," I answered sharply. I'm not even sure if her name was mentioned and I of course didn't know who she was.

_"It's Mystic,"_ the psychic type replied sullenly, her gaze focusing on the ground. And that's Frost's mate? What the hell does he do to her to make her so shy that she doesn't even make eye contact? And why does she only use telepathy?

"What do you want?" Blaze demanded harshly and I smirked in response.

"You're really pissing me off. Stop sulking and be a man. Cute tail, by the way," I replied, but mentally blinked. What the hell had possessed me to say that? Snow's giggle from inside my thoughts answered that question. Blaze looked understandably alarmed, but then his expression became cold.

"Mocking me? I'll kick your tail," he growled, but a smirk pulled at his mouth. "Just like last time."

"Error: ...you're stupid," I retorted. I always wanted to be able to say that.


	207. Fruitless Battle

**Apparently the narrator joke went over a lot of people's heads. Dragonair was the last narrator, but was dubbed "Larry" as a gentle poke at a review I received for chapter 203. The lesson learned is that inside jokes should be able to be overlooked without confusing the people who don't get the joke. That is all.**

**Dragonair POV**

Blaze's reaction was predictable and immediate. His fur bristled and his expression changed to anger, but the emotion faded, only to be replaced with his cold glare. "You'll pay for that," Blaze snapped in a harsh, forceful tone. The Flareon disappeared, slamming into my side as a blur of motion, throwing me to the side. I grunted as I skidded across the ground, but pushed myself back up, awkward as it was. I didn't understand how anything managed to exist with legs, but it was typically not learned from birth, and I didn't have the practice with legs that kits learned when they were growing up. This put me at a massive disadvantage, as the fire Eon was not only perfectly adjusted to having limbs, but he was so much stronger and faster, plus I didn't know how to even battle with this body. What techniques did Frost know? How do I use them? Of course, I also was concerned about how I'd get back into my body rather than the Glaceon's.

Speaking of my body, I was not looking forward to inhabiting a Dragonite's body for the rest of my life. It would make my relationship with Sapphire a little more awkward, unless she also evolved, but I liked her as a Dragonair. I liked my OLD body! What caused the evolution? What happened to the Everstone? How did I get into this body? More questions were flooding my mind, but no answers seemed available. Maybe there was a way to reverse whatever caused the body shift, and maybe the evolution could be reversed somehow. However, deep down I knew the odds were next to zero of being a Dragonair again. It was just wishful thinking. If the evolution happened because of the body swap, maybe reversing it would reverse the evolution?

I was torn from my thoughts by Blaze snapping his fangs at me, narrowly missing my ear. I focused on firing an Ice Beam, positive the Glaceon at least knew that technique. I felt the icy energy forming in my mouth and quickly spat it towards the Glaceon, briefly surprised by how much more powerful the attack was than my normal Ice Beams, but remembered that Frost probably had more experience and affinity with the technique than I did. However, Blaze dodged the beam in a blur of motion, slamming his head into my chest and bowling me over. Damn my inability to stand on legs! The Flareon smirked at me.

"Who's the idiot now, Glaceon?" he asked with a sneer. "Looks like I'm kicking your tail again."

"Don't talk down to me, vermin," I growled, as a strange sensation seemed to flood my body. I sensed anger, but yet the emotion didn't seem to be mine. It was so strange of a feeling, like I was aware of someone else's feelings, and my aggravated outburst had just escaped my mouth, as if said impulsively without ever being aware of the impulse. Blaze growled.

"What did you call me?" he snarled, spitting a Flamethrower towards me. I moved instinctively, rolling to the side to avoid the fire, climbing to my feet and punching the fire type in the face. I had acted entirely on the strange impulse; it felt almost like I was on autopilot. What was going on? I felt an odd tugging sensation in the back of my mind, a feeling similar to a Pokeball withdrawing me into its illusionary recesses and I found myself in the odd circular room where the two strange Glaceon were. Flake was positively livid, her fur bristling with fury. Snow, on the other paw, was looking irritable, but not angry.

"Now dare the likes of him talk down to us?" Flake snarled. "Teach him his place!"

"How?" I demanded, assuming she was talking to me. "I can't even fight in this body. I don't even know how I just did what I just did."

"Well, we're parts of Frost's mind, so we tend to have an effect on his body sometimes. The main consciousness, which you are...for your body anyway, is typically the result of the combined personalities of your other consciousnesses," Snow explained, "Sometimes, certain triggers can cause the other consciousnesses to have a stronger effect on a person's reaction, but it varies so there really isn't a set impact. Since you are a foreign consciousness, we have an easier time overriding our normal restraints, since Frost's main consciousness usually filters our impact, since his consciousness already has traits from each of us."

"So what just happened?" I demanded, a little perplexed. I understood what she had said, but it didn't seem to click entirely.

"Blaze hit a sensitive spot with Flake and she reacted by taking partial control over the body and exacting vengeance. It would have been more severe, but I balanced the aggressive urges and you managed to regain control," Snow explained. Flake glared at us, her tail flicking angrily.

"Okay," I said slowly, still feeling a little lost.

"Most people have 3 consciousnesses, plus their main one. The main one is the surface, and contains your own personality. The three consciousnesses tend to contain different aspects of that personality, in a more concentrated form. Frost is an odd case...he only has two. He has no underconscious. So the duties of the missing consciousness is divided among us, and have been mixed around a fair bit," Snow continued.

"Boring," Flake sneered, yawning widely. Snow rolled her eyes, but didn't comment. I nodded, starting to understand things a little more. I didn't know Frost that well, so I didn't know how to put the pieces together involving him. However, the brief peek into Blaze's mind during his last freak out, with the information Snow had just told me, was starting to make more sense.

"So what aspects or duties do you each have?" I asked, trying to make sense of it all.

"As I said, I represent Frost's sense of lust and romance, as well as his self control and logic, which are the most powerful aspects of the underconscious. I also tend to his kinder emotions," Snow told me.

"And I," Flake said, puffing her chest out almost pompously, "am in charge of Frost's other emotions, such as anger. I do many other things, but those don't need to be told to the likes of you, now do they?"

"Right," I said dismissively, unsurprised by the arrogant Glaceon's attitude.

"Flake's the subconscious, which is usually the least mature portion of the mind. Her childish attitude is pretty noticeable when she acts cocky," Snow whispered, but then grinned. "But she's so cute," the Glaceon said, stroking Flake's side with a paw, earning an aggravated look from the arrogant Glaceon. My focus was abruptly forced back to the outside world (giving me the feeling of teleportation whiplash) by Blaze slamming into my chest, knocking me off my feet again. I managed to climb back to my feet faster than earlier, but my balance was still unstable.

"You're going to pay," Blaze snarled.

"Blaze, stop this," Aura pleaded from where she stood. Blaze ignored her and spat a small fire ball towards me, which expanded into the devastating Fire Blast technique. My eyes widened, noting that the attack was too large for me to dodge without moving far quicker and gracefully than I was capable of in this body.

"Ha, same way I won last time!" Blaze sneered. I found myself acting without thought, this time noticing the presence within my mind taking control. My fur shimmered brightly and I closed my eyes as the bright fire struck me, but rather than the expected pain and heat, I felt nothing. I opened my eyes and saw that the flames had reflected off of my Glaceon body right back at Blaze, but the flames were absorbed harmlessly into the Flareon's fur, although he winced slightly.

"You are a cocky idiot, aren't you?" I said irritably, glaring at Blaze. I didn't see a need to point out that if it weren't for the 'voice in my head', I'd have been cooked alive.

"He can't compete with my skill," Flake's voice boasted in my head, but I blocked it out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Dragonite stir. I paused, glancing towards it with more focus. If I was in Frost's body, did that mean Frost was in mine? I hoped that he also met some weird consciousnesses that creeped him out, but somehow I doubted it. The large dragon's eyes opened and flicked around the room, pausing on me curiously for several moments.

"Dragonair? Are you all right?" Sapphire asked anxiously. The Dragonite (I shall think of him as Frost based on assumption that he's the one controlling my body) shifted his gaze to the female Dragonair.

"I'm fine," Frost answered, looking down at his body, a slight frown masking his face. "I think I am, anyway..." Sapphire looked relieved and floated over to him, giving the Dragonite a small kiss on the cheek. Apparently the evolution had not affected her attraction to me, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if I was trapped as a Dragonite. I just really, really didn't want to be one. My attention was diverted to the Flareon again as he lunged at me, teeth engulfed in flames. I countered with another Ice Beam (the only of Frost's techniques I knew how to use. I personally think Hail would have worked the best, but that's just me). Blaze's Fire Fang subsided and a massive wave of fire erupted from his mouth, easily cutting through my Ice Beam and continuing towards me.

I cursed angrily, recognizing it as the same technique he had pulled on me when I was a Dragonair; the one that put me in agony and devastated my scales. Overheat; I think Diablos had called it. Once again, I felt the presence in my mind take over and my fur shimmered again. The wave of fire struck my body and redirected around me, rather than rebound like the Fire Blast had done. It reminded me a little of a jet of water hitting a spoon (one Rocket grunt had WAY too much time on his hands while eating). When the wave of fire subsided, Blaze growled in frustration.

"Stop it, Blaze," Aura tried again, but was still ignored. Irritated, she fired a jet of water at him, but he dodged with ease, giving her a disgruntled look. His moment of distraction enabled me to fire another Ice Beam at him. "You're not helping, Frost," Aura scowled, even as Blaze dodged in a blur of motion. The Flareon made no further attempts to attack, but watched each of us warily.

"Yeah, stop fighting, Frost," the Dragonite said snidely. I blinked at him strangely, unsure of whether or not Frost was the one controlling my former body. Wait, but it wasn't me so...I'm getting confused now. Either Frost is acting like me (and doing a really good job) or someone else is controlling that body and doing a really good job of impersonating me. Sapphire lightly nuzzled the Dragonite, which lightly stroked her body with a paw. I bristled indignantly. Frost was flirting with Sapphire! She was my mate, not his! The orange dragon's gaze flicked over to me and he smirked at my expression. "Something wrong with me being affectionate with my mate, Frost?" he asked with a small sneer. This not only confirmed to me that Frost was controlling my body, but it also told me that he was fully aware that I was in his.

"She's not your mate!" I growled, mentally cursing myself for making such a stupid comment. Not only was Sapphire technically his mate (my body), but I was saying this in Frost's body, so that just added a whole new level of stupidity to the comment. Everyone stared at me for a moment. "Stop staring!" I snapped.

_"Relax, Frost,"_ the Espeon said, closing the gap between us and licking my ear. I shivered involuntarily, watching the Dragonite's reaction. He seemed completely unbothered, merely smirked at me. That Glaceon makes no sense. Why was he flirting with Sapphire while his mate flirted with me? Didn't that bother him at all that his mate was flirting with someone that wasn't technically him? It sure bothered me. I'd feel guilty if I reciprocated the attention from the Espeon (who I didn't really find attractive. As an Espeon, she was fine, but she wasn't the type that I'd find appealing) because it'd feel like I was cheating on Sapphire. It was Frost's body, but my mind. The situation was absolutely absurd, and I couldn't think of a way to bring up the body swap without sounding crazy.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Sapphire asked Frost, who nodded.

"I hate this body, though," he muttered, gesturing to his Dragonite form.

"I'm not fond of it, either," I grumbled. Everyone stared at me oddly again.

"Right. Thanks for the support," Frost said sarcastically, in perfect imitation of me. How does he do that? A chuckle sounded from the side of the room and I glanced over, spotting the strange blue creature that had evaded my interest.

"This is more fun than I imagined it would be," it said, in response to my questioning look.

"That's Ganger," Snow told me internally. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place what significance it had.

"He's the one who Heart Swapped you," Flake sneered. I still wasn't very well informed of this creature's importance.

"What's Heart Swap?" I voiced aloud. Everyone in the room exchanged glances, but no one seemed able to answer the question. The blue creature, Ganger, smirked.

"I think you know, Frost...oh damn it..." the creature grumbled, its focus turning to the entrance of the chamber, where the Alakazam that had been seen earlier stood. "Hello, Boris," Ganger said casually.

"Ganger," the Alakazam nodded somberly, his gaze pausing on everyone in the room. "Good to see you all are still well," he added to each of us. Sapphire nodded politely, while Blaze growled.

"Well, I have somewhere else to be, so bye," Ganger said quickly and disappeared. I blinked, unsure of why the odd creature had fled so quickly after Boris' appearance. The Alakazam didn't seem irked by the disappearing act, but he frowned slightly at Blaze, who glared at him.

"Stop looking at me!" the Flareon snarled.

"Are you the brother of the Eevee that I had given shelter to, a few weeks ago?" Boris inquired in a calm wheeze. Blaze's fur bristled.

"Shut up," he growled, the yellow eye glinting a moment. I had begun to notice the eye had been glinting a lot, ever since we had met up with him again. Had something happened to worsen his condition? What had Diablos done to mess Blaze up so completely? The Alakazam looked confused for a moment, the spoons in his hands glowing faintly as he looked into Blaze's eyes.

"Perhaps I can help you," the Alakazam offered gently, assuming a meditative position, but without waiting for a response, the spoons and his eyes alike glowed with blue light. Blaze growled as the light intensified, blinding me. When the light faded, I found myself in a very large, open area that looked like a meadow. I was still in Frost's body and I noticed the Dragonite a few feet away, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the light.

"What the hell just happened?" I demanded. Frost turned to me and smirked, his Dragonite wings stretching.

"Where am I?" Aura's voice called tentatively and both of us turned to see the Vaporeon get to her feet shakily, looking around blankly.

_"Did we teleport?"_ the Espeon's telepathic voice asked, walking over. I looked around the area, checking to see if there was anyone else in the area, but the four of us were alone.

"Impossible, the Cave Army HQ is protected with an anti-teleportation barrier that prevents anyone from entering or leaving via teleportation," Frost said smugly. "You can teleport around inside, but you can't leave or enter."

"Then where are we?" Aura asked. "And where is everyone else?"

"The Alakazam must have done something...but why were we taken here? And where is here?" I said, puzzling over this odd scenario. The Espeon frowned and her forehead gem glowed, but nothing happened.

_"I can't teleport,"_ she complained.

"Don't get your tail in a knot," Frost said dismissively. The psychic Eon recoiled and looked at the ground. I stared at her.

"Not very confident, are you?" I muttered.

"Aren't you supposed to cheer her up? You're her mate," Frost pointed out to me and I glared at him. "Just trying to help," Frost said casually.

"You're not helping," I said dryly as the Espeon rubbed against my fur.

"Don't argue, you two," Aura said calmly. "We need to figure out where we are. Come on," she said, but paused. "Can someone else lead?"

"Not a leader, Aura?" Frost asked, smirking. "Let's let the Glaceon go first because he's the skilled one. Unlike me, the stupid Dragonite."

"Watch it," I growled.


	208. Mind Liberation part 1

**Frost POV**

Just as I thought, Dragonair was definitely the one controlling my body while I controlled his. He reacted quite poorly to the innocent flirting with his mate and now the seemingly self-depreciating comment got a rise out of him. It was painfully obvious to me that the Glaceon was my body, but not my mind. I was somewhat amused by the knowledge that no one else had caught on to the body swap, but it also seemed that none of the other Pokémon had known the effect of Heart Swap. It was sort of funny to watch Dragonair squirm when I acted even the slightest bit affectionate towards the female Dragonair. What was he afraid of? That I'd mate with his mate? Ha, like I'd do that. As attractive as she was as far as Dragonair go, she was not very appealing to me. If anything, I was doing Dragonair a favor by not shoving her away, which was more than could be said for how he was acting towards Mystic. I am the reason he's not possessed anymore, so I'd have expected him to be a little more grateful. The only thing I was concerned about was Dragonair making me look like a fool, so I'd have to keep my eye on him to ensure my reputation didn't suffer because of the unskilled user of my body.

As far as the current scenario, I was uncertain where we were and how we had gotten here. There was no location in the Cave Army HQ that looked like a meadow, so that ruled out teleportation. I frowned to myself, allowing my focus to return to the strange room where I had been transported to when Heart Swap was used. It hadn't taken me long to learn how to shift my focus between this location and the outside realm. "Any ideas?" I asked to the Dragonair that lay in the room. Two of them were alert while a third was curled up nearby, napping. The elder Dragonair was an almost exact image of Dragonair's form before he evolved into a Dragonite, while the other alert dragon was noticeably female and about a foot shorter.

"Not yet," the female, who had identified herself previously as Sky, admitted. The male, who had called himself as Drago, merely smirked.

"You mean a 'brilliant' Glaceon such as you haven't figured it out yet?" he asked me. I ignored this comment, glancing towards the napping Dragonair. It hadn't awakened since my arrival and Sky had warned me repeatedly that waking it was not a good idea. I had gathered that this room was the inside of Dragonair's mind and that they were his other consciousnesses. Sky was the subconscious, but seemed to control Dragonair's logic and self control. Needless to say, she lost almost all arguments. The subconscious, according to my research, was usually the weakest portion of the mind and was easily swayed. The underconscious, which Drago referenced himself as, was usually the logical portion of the mind, but Drago admitted to being impulsive, a trait typical of the subconscious or overconscious. On a hunch, that made the sleeping Dragonair the overconscious, the emotional portion of the mind. With that in mind, it was definitely not a good idea to wake it (I didn't know the gender and wasn't troubled enough to ask).

"Where are we going, Frost?" Aura's voice called and I refocused on the main world, if that's what this strange place could be called, but then remembered that everyone thought Dragonair was me. I was stuck in the Dragonite body. Flying would probably be easier traveling, but then I'd out speed everyone and I didn't want to lose track of my real body. I didn't know whether Ganger intended to reverse the Heart Swap or whether it wore off after a certain amount of time.

"Do you think I know?" Dragonair grumbled, but then shook his head. "Never mind. Where the hell are we?"

_"I sense someone nearby. We could ask,"_ Mystic suggested tentatively. Due to the situation, I decided to overlook her seeming lack of confidence.

"Where?" Dragonair asked, turning to face the Espeon. He moved so quickly that he lost his balance and fell over. I winced briefly. How could anyone be that useless at standing? At least I was competent enough at imitating him that no one was the wiser, but the same couldn't be said for that overrated dragon. Someone of his ability controlling the body of someone of my caliber could only lead to a damaged reputation.

_"To the right...about fifty feet,"_ the psychic type replied, her forehead gem glowing faintly. It was an alluringly attractive stone, but I didn't allow myself to focus on it too much. In this strange location, staying alert seemed important. Our small group changed direction according to Mystic's instructions and we came across an Eevee and...the Flareon? The Eevee whimpered and cowered behind the fire Eon, which blinked and glanced towards us strangely.

"Blaze? Are you all right?" Aura asked, sounding anxious.

"Ignore them, Solar," a harsh tone commanded, a second Flareon stepping forward. Unlike the Flareon known as Blaze, this one was distinctly female, had yellow eyes, and was definitely a candidate for most attractive Flareon. Her fur was impressively fluffy and looked a bit silky, and her tail was flicking calmly.

"O-okay, S-solace," the Eevee stammered, nudging Blaze's paw with her head. The Flareon paid us no further attention, focusing on petting the Eevee.

"Blaze, look at us," Aura said pleadingly.

"Ignore them, Blaze. They're just distractions. Don't let it disrupt your peace," the female Flareon said gently, her tail brushing against the male Flareon's side.

"I won't," Blaze agreed, dipping his head down and drinking from a stream which had gone unnoticed before.

"Blaze, what is wrong with you?" Dragonair demanded. Obviously his memory was pathetic, since he didn't seem to remember that he was in my body and unlikely to draw the fire type's attention. A pity, since such a blatant show of disrespect to me was ordinarily not to be tolerated and I doubted that Dragonair would put the Flareon in his place if he continued to disrespect me.

"Who are you?" Aura asked the strange female Flareon, who glared at the Vaporeon coldly. It was the same look the Flareon had worn in the Cave Army, so there had to be some connection between the two.

"That's logical," Sky commented thoughtfully. I glanced at the smaller Dragonair indifferently. I'd prefer to have forgotten they existed for a while longer.

"More like stating the obvious. 'Huh, they have the same facial expression. I wonder whether they're connected'," Drago said with a snicker. Both of the consciousnesses fell silent as the napping Dragonair stirred.

"I am Solace," the Flareon answered coolly. "Get out of my mind."

"Your mind?" I repeated, a little puzzled. Solace turned to glare at me.

"That's right, MY mind. This is my body now. I don't know how you got here, but you will leave NOW," she snarled, the yellow eyes flashing angrily.

"How is it your body?" Aura asked, alarmed.

"Blaze has been usurped. He's not the main consciousness anymore and she is. This technically makes the body hers," a second male Flareon said calmly. This fire Eon had two brown eyes, compared to Solace's two yellow and Blaze's bi-chromatic ones.

"So Solace has crazed yellow eyes, Blaze is semi-crazed, and this new one is normal?" Drago muttered. Sky rolled her eyes.

"Are you ever going to grow up?" she asked wearily.

"Nope," Drago answered with a grin.

"So I always have to work harder so Sapphire doesn't get fed up with you?"

"Pretty much," Drago agreed. "You're just jealous because I'm the dominating consciousness."

"Trust me, I'm not jealous."

"You are so jealous," Drago pressed, his grin widening.

"No, I'm not!" Sky insisted.

"Both of you shut the hell up!" the previously napping Dragonair snapped, raising its head and glaring angrily at them. Sky flinched and Drago quickly fell silent. "Damn you idiots. I can't even take a freaking nap!" the Dragonair continued.

"Who are you?" I asked, not the least bit intimidated by the Dragonair's anger.

"Why is Frost in our mind?"

"Heart Swap," Sky answered quickly.

"Hmph, I'm Tempera. Pronounce it wrong at your own risk. Tem-pair-a. GOT IT?!"

"Yes, Master," Drago said sarcastically.

"MISTRESS!" Tempera shrieked. "I'm female!"

"Oh. In that case, you're cute."

"Don't try to flatter me. I control Dragonair's emotions, so genuine attraction is not something you control much of," Tempera growled.

"In that case, you're a temperamental..." Drago began, but Sky slapped him with her tail.

"Don't make things worse," she urged quietly. Tempera glared at me, apparently expecting a response to the demand about name pronunciation. I groomed my fur casually.

"Yeah, I get it. I've heard that before," I answered calmly.

"Heard what before?" Sky inquired. "Tempera's name?"

"No, the threat about pronouncing the name right," I replied indifferently.

"Whose name? Tempera's?"

"No, a Flareon's. It's spelled H-E-A-T-I-A."

"Heat-ia?" Drago guessed.

"No. It's pronounced Heesh-ee-a," I answered. All three Dragonair stared at me blankly for several seconds.

"So...who was this Flareon?" Drago asked teasingly.

"My fourth mate, if you really need to know."

"...fourth?" Sky repeated, alarmed.

"Yes, Sky. His fourth. As in the one after the third," Drago snickered.

"What happened to the other three?" Sky asked. I rolled my eyes.

"That's not important is it?" I challenged.

"Just tell us, damn it!" Tempera snapped, the orb on her neck glowing for a moment.

"I rather not. I don't talk about my past mates," I said calmly.

"Aw, wittle Frosty doesn't want to talk about his wuv wife," Drago mocked.

"Mock me all you want. My mind is made up. I'm not discussing it."

"At least tell us who the mates were," Drago pressed. I sighed.

"Fine. First was Blizzard, a Glaceon. Second was Zapda, a lightning happy Jolteon who was completely insane. Third was an Eevee whose name evades me. Heatia was fourth. I went back to Blizzard then and had a more official relationship. When we broke up, I met a Leafeon named Leafia. I really liked her. Then there was a male Eevee..."

"Ack! Too much info!" Drago shrieked.

"Serves you right," Sky said, chuckling slightly, but then scowled at me. "How many mates have you HAD?"

"You think I kept track?"

"You are a piece of crap," Sky said, looking offended. I rolled my eyes. I don't care if my track record with the number of mates made me look bad. The relationships were meant to be short term and typically every mate was fine with that. Only a few mates lasted longer than a few days, notably Blizzard, who lasted several months and was my best chance for a long term relationship until our falling out. If I wanted a long term relationship, I'm confident I'd be able to pull it off, no matter what Jolt said. The fact is that I don't want one; not yet anyway. Settling down was not in my best interests and most that wanted long term relationships wanted to settle down and have a kit. At this point in time, neither seemed overly appealing. The situation with Glacia was probably going to score points against me. Of course, better to have had a kit with Blizzard than one of the other mates I've had. She at least seemed to be a good parent, which is more than could be said for most.

"Moving on," I murmured, focusing back on the situation on hand. From the looks of it, nothing had happened since my distraction, except that Solace was glaring at the older male Flareon.

"Butt out, Lunar!" the female growled.

"Solace, you shouldn't be controlling Blaze's body. His personality has taken a turn for the worst ever since he allowed you some control after his sister died. Be reasonable," the Flareon, Lunar, told the yellow eyed Flareon.

"It's for his own good. I deal with his problems now," Solace growled.

"The main consciousness should deal with the problems, not pass them on to us so completely."

"Shut up, you know nothing!" Solace snarled, her tone harsh and forceful. "This is what Blaze wants. He doesn't want to be pushed around; he doesn't want to suffer anymore. I'm helping him in this way, even if I have to take over his body to do it. He is at peace with himself now."

"I thought so. Diablos has corrupted you more completely than we thought," Lunar murmured. "You're different, Solace. I knew you couldn't be trusted anymore."

"And yet you failed to intervene. It's too late...Blaze's body is mine," Solace sneered.

"Unless we get control back from you," Lunar argued.

"That's nonsense. You'll never succeed alone," Solace said, waving a paw dismissively.

"He's not alone. We're here too," Dragonair pointed out. Mystic and Aura both nodded in agreement, while I smirked confidently.

"Not for long," the female Flareon answered ominously, waving a paw. "You'll have to get through my mental defenses." At these words, the meadow darkened and stone walls rose from the ground, crisscrossing and turning in place until the entire area was replaced by an enormous maze of stone walls, each one towering well over fifty feet, blocking out the sky. The trio of Flareon and the Eevee were nowhere in sight.

_"What just happened?"_ Mystic asked uncertainly.


	209. Mind Liberation part 2

**Dragonair POV**

The four of us gazed at the massive walls, which were so high that they blocked out the skyline. From what I could tell, they formed a large labyrinth, but I couldn't tell whether there was a certain spot we were trying to reach or just trying to get through it. The passageway leading into the maze was large enough for the four of us to travel through without being cramped, even though one of us was a Dragonite. The Espeon seemed to actually be expecting an answer to her question, but I had nothing to supply. However, I had been given a few hints that explained what was going on with Blaze. He hadn't just flipped out, as I had thought originally. He was losing all control of his mind and body. The Flareon female, Solace, was the one taking control. It seemed as if she wasn't as kind and affectionate as she appeared to be when Poli had used Mind Reader on Blaze last time. Now she seemed controlling and nastier, a symptom I associated with those controlled by Diablos. The yellow eyes were giving me more to work with, but at the same time, I could tell it wasn't Diablos himself.

"Are we supposed to go in?" Aura asked, tilting her head at the Dragonite.

_"Does anyone understand what just happened? I'm confused,"_ the Espeon repeated.

"I don't think they know much more than we do...um...what's your name?" Aura answered, tilting her head at the psychic type.

_"Mystic,"_ the Espeon answered, still using telepathy. I was starting to wonder whether she was mute or something, because she never used spoken language. _"And your name is Aura?"_

"Yes," the Vaporeon said, nodding her head, but looked a little surprised. The Espeon giggled, her gemstone glowing faintly. Aura suddenly went very red. "Don't tell anyone that!" she blurted. What a way to attract my interest. Mystic giggled again, but didn't say anything. Frost and I exchanged looks.

"Come on, let's go," I said, leading the way into the labyrinth. The female Eons followed.

"Why don't I just fly up to see over the wall so we know where to go?" Frost asked abruptly.

"That's a good idea, Dragonair," Aura commented. Frost nodded and flapped the Dragonite wings, shooting upwards like a rocket, going at a much faster speed than I ever could as a Dragonair. However, near the top of the wall, the Dragonite suddenly slammed into some sort of invisible barrier with an enormous thudding sound.

_"Ouch,"_ Mystic commented, clearly fighting back a giggle. Aura winced and I smirked, despite the disappointment that we'd be unable to use the ability to fly to give us an advantage in the maze. The large orange dragon flew back to the ground, looking dazed.

"Enjoy your trip?" I asked casually. "Looks like we're going on foot then."

_"Where are we trying to go, Frost?"_ Mystic asked, wrapping her tail around one of my legs. Frost seemed to be enjoying my reaction for whatever reason. Who the hell is amused by watching his mate flirting with someone else in his body? Well...it's an odd scenario, but even then I couldn't understand why Frost was so untroubled. I'd need to have a word with him without the two females overhearing. Although I wanted the Espeon to stop, I didn't see a need to confuse or embarrass the hell out of her by telling her that I wasn't Frost and that I was just in his body. I'm not even convinced that I'm not crazy.

"I'm not sure," I admitted. She smiled and licked my face once, then stepped back and uncoiled her tail, which flicked cheerfully. Now I get the impression she's not nearly as shy as she seems to be. Did her confidence shift every few seconds or something?

"Mhm...she's so cute," Snow purred from within my head. Flake scoffed indifferently. "You're cute too, Flake. No need to be jealous," the Glaceon grinned, stroking the arrogant Glaceon's ear. Flake growled irritably, pushing Snow away from her.

"No offense, but why do you keep pointing out female attractiveness?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"I'm the portion of the mind that affects Frost's interests in mates. Therefore I notice attractive females. I think most males have female overconsciousnesses, don't they?" Snow answered, tilting her head at Flake, who shook her head.

"Females tend to have female ones, but males seem to be split in that regard," she answered smugly. "According to some research, a female overconscious in a male usually suggests a higher likelihood of more romantic interest in a mate and less purely lustful tendencies. Females are typically associated with a preference for romance. That is not to say that a male overconscious is unable to produce the same result."

"And what went wrong?" I asked dryly, looking at Snow, who smirked in a distinctly creepy fashion.

"I'm bi, so females are personally attractive to me, not just for Frost's benefit."

"Too much info, and yet I deserved it," I muttered. "Hm...if a male has a female overconscious, does that mean the overconscious is attracted to males? If so, how does that work?"

"We're not experts. Frost only has a basic understanding of the subject," Snow admitted.

"A male with a female overconscious? The overconscious is more of an embodiment of a faction of the main consciousness' personality and does not necessarily feel the emotions the same way as the main consciousness does," Flake explained in a know-it-all tone. I overlooked this simply because she was answering the question. "Some of the emotions are filtered or neutralized by the other consciousnesses so that the main consciousness remains emotionally balanced. While a female overconscious may develop an interest in a male, the underconscious or subconscious will most likely prevent that feeling from reaching the conscious mind and no desire will develop."

"So...the overconscious may be personally attracted to a male, but still notice a female's attractiveness, but the other consciousnesses will neutralize the thoughts and feelings about the inappropriately gendered person while leaving the thoughts about the proper gender alone?" I asked.

"That is the current theory," Flake said, sounding pleased that I had grasped the explanation. "Snow is the weird one. She serves the purposes of both the Over and most of the Under. She has to filter her own thoughts. I have to make sure she does it."

"That's rather...interesting," I said, nodding thoughtfully. I had never really taken time to study the inner workings of the mind, although I did study some psychology at the Rocket base.

"It partly explains why Frost is bi. The thoughts about males aren't filtered perfectly. However, they are filtered to an extent, so that's maybe why he prefers females over males," Flake added, shooting the older Glaceon an accusing look, but there wasn't that much venom behind the look. Snow blushed slightly.

"I did my best," she insisted.

"Say what?" I gasped.

"I did my best?" Snow asked blankly. I shook my head.

"Never mind," I said. I knew I had heard correctly, but it was still a moderately surprising revelation. I focused my attention back on the outside world and stepped forward, into the maze. Aura and Mystic followed, with Frost taking the rear of the group. "Be careful. We don't know what problems we'll encounter," I warned.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Frost," the Dragonite said, perfectly mimicking my sarcastic tone. One thing I had noticed was that the dragon was using a similar voice to my own, although a bit deeper, which led me to assume that the things I said were in Frost's voice. This made sense, since it was his body, but my mind, so the swap hadn't switched our vocal cords. I made no comment in response, but continued down the passage, keeping my eyes alert for any possible danger. I wasn't sure if there was danger in here, but I preferred not to be caught off guard. We paused at a fork, one which veered left, the other which continued straight. I took the straight path, deciding that it'd be easier not to get lost if we followed the simplest path.

_"The maze sealed behind us,"_ Mystic said. I glanced over my shoulder to where the entrance had been and noted that the Espeon was correct. A wall had risen to block the open area where we had entered. While I was looking back, I bumped into a wall, prompting a snicker from the Dragonite.

"You're supposed to turn," Frost said snidely. Damn, he's good. I glared at the orange dragon, using a paw to rub my head. Mystic pounced on this opportunity and began licking the side of my head gently. I lightly pushed her away and turned down the passage. The next fork had three possible branches: one left, one straight, and one to the right. I glanced at the other three inquiringly.

"Which one?"

_"Left,"_ Mystic said promptly. Aura shrugged and chose straight, and Frost (I swear he did this to be a jerk) chose the right. They all watched me, waiting for my decision. I cursed under my breath and chose straight for simplicity's sake. Mystic looked offended. _"Why is her decision better than mine?"_ she demanded to me. No one else reacted to this outburst, so I assume it was only delivered to me.

"What?"

_"Why'd you pick HER choice instead of mine?"_

"Because I felt like it," I replied. Aura and Frost both stared at me blankly, although Frost's gaze flicked between Mystic and me, so he apparently had a clue what was going on, even if he didn't know the details. I had to admit it probably seemed very strange for a Glaceon to be talking to himself.

_"Let me guess: you think she's better than me, don't you?"_ There was no mistaking the hurt tone in her telepathic speech.

"I didn't say that," I replied calmly.

"Lovers' quarrel?" Frost asked, but I noticed his smirk seemed forced. I blinked at him. Either he was better at studying me than I thought, or it was a coincidence. The term "Lovers' quarrel" was the phrase I used to describe mates having an argument. It was a bit of an outdated phrase to most, so it was rare to come across someone else who used it.

_"Then why'd you pick her choice instead of mine? Does my opinion just not matter to you?"_ Mystic continued, her tail flicking sadly.

"Damn you, Dragonair. Let me deal with this," Snow grumbled. I felt a second presence in my mind for a moment and my body moved of its own accord, lightly nuzzling the Espeon's neck. Mystic blinked, looking a little surprised. My mouth opened and words left to whisper in her ear, again without any control on my part. "You do matter, Mystic. I'm just picking the options I think are easier. It had nothing to do with who suggested the path."

"Oh. Sorry," Mystic mumbled awkwardly. There goes my theory about her being mute. She actually used her voice. A rather cute sounding voice...

"Snow, stop messing with my thoughts," I said irritably to the inner Glaceon, which giggled and the tingling sensation disappeared, allowing my full focus to return to the situation. Mystic smiled and licked my face. I was so looking forward to getting out of this Glaceon body. Even the Dragonite body was better than having the semi-clingy Espeon flirt with me. I stopped short, frowning as I realized that the chosen path ended in a blank wall, with no further branches. Frost seemed to have realized this and had already turned around, returning to the previous fork and taking the right hand branch. Aura and Mystic followed the Dragonite, while I trailed behind, slowly adjusting to walking with legs. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice the others had stopped until I bumped into Mystic, tripping and knocking us both to the ground. The Espeon hissed in annoyance as she got back to her feet, but offered a paw to pull me back up. "Why'd you stop?" I demanded to the Dragonite.

"It might have something to do with the fact that there's a door in the wall. Why is there a door in a maze wall?" Frost answered seriously. I peered past Mystic's shoulder and saw that Frost was telling the truth. There was a mahogany wood door placed in the wall directly in front of us. The maze passage still continued to the left, but I understood the fixation on the door.

"It's Blaze's mind. I doubt it makes sense," I pointed out. "What's it say?" I pointed to the lettering that was located near the doorknob. I was too far from the door to read it clearly.

"'Memories', but spelled wrong," Frost answered. I lightly pushed past the psychic type and approached the door, noticing the faded lettering that spelled out 'Memorys'. "How should be proceed, wise Glaceon?" Frost asked, with a definite sneer, which went unnoticed by the female Eons.

"Have you looked inside?" I asked. Frost shook his head, extending an orange scaled paw and turning the knob and pulling, the door swinging open, revealing a strange chamber with several doors and, for some reason, bookshelves littered with books. "So from a maze into a library," I muttered, cautiously entering the room. The others followed, but the time passing between my entrance and theirs implied to me that they had expected something to happen to warn them not to enter. "Good choice. My life is best utilized by testing for traps," I commented. The Dragonite scowled slightly, while Aura and Mystic looked confused by the unusual statement.

"What is this place?" Aura asked aloud.

"Judging by the door's label, my dear Aura, I'd think this is part of the Flareon's mind which contains his memories," Frost said, using an unusually polite tone. Aura raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't comment. Oh good, someone might be starting to catch on to the body swap or at least noticing something strange.

"I don't think we should poke around his memories. Those are personal," Aura said. Mystic suddenly giggled and Aura went red, glaring at the Espeon silently. Frost and I exchanged looks and I could tell he had no larger of an idea of what the two females were talking about.

"If we want to help the Flareon, the memories might help. At the very least, we might be able to see what triggered the behavior change," I pointed out, imitating Frost's smug tone.

_"Ooh, what's this one?"_ Mystic asked, opening a random door. A brilliant flash lit the room for a moment and when it faded, we were no longer in that library-esque room. We were instead located in a meadow-like area.

"Not this again," I grumbled, but then I blinked. Unlike the last meadow area, there actually seemed to be other creatures around. A tired looking Flareon was walking past us without taking any notice of our existence. I blinked, realizing that I was looking at a younger Blaze. The eyes were both their original brown, and his fur was untidy and dirty, as if the owner was wandering for a long time without taking the time to groom. Even though this seemed to be Blaze from the past, I had always known him as being obsessed with his fur, so the disregard for the condition of his fur was quite surprising.

"Interesting," the Dragonite murmured, watching the Flareon carefully.

_"Mhm...he's really handsome. Could use some grooming, though. I bet that tail is really soft..."_ Mystic murmured, seemingly oblivious to the fact that we could hear her. _"I bet Heatia would have loved to meet him. I think this is Kanto, though..."_

"Are you telling us this for a reason?" I asked blandly. Mystic's face went red and she looked incredibly uncomfortable.

_"How much did you hear?"_ she demanded. I exchanged looks with the others, silently warning them not to answer the question.

"Something about Kanto and someone named Heatia," I said.

_"Uh...anything before that?"_

"Not really," I lied.

"Who's Heatia?" Frost asked, with false curiosity. Inside my head, Snow was giggling hysterically.

_"My older sister. She's a Flareon,"_ Mystic answered with a shrug. The Dragonite cursed under his breath. _"Something wrong?"_

"No," Frost replied quickly, regarding the Espeon thoughtfully for a few seconds, and then turning towards the Flareon. "So this is a memory?"

"Yes it is, genius," I answered. "You're smarter than I am."

"I know," Frost answered smugly.

"I think I know what memory this is," Aura said quietly. "This is probably where he first gets captured by the Rockets."

"What makes you think that?" I asked, tilting my head at the Vaporeon.

"Because there are about five Rockets sneaking towards him," she replied.


	210. Memory Intermission

**Dragonair POV**

I looked over to where Aura was pointing and saw that four humans, clad in the typical black uniform of Team Rocket, were slowly approaching the young version of Blaze, who had his back to them. Frost's expression was one of interest, Mystic's expression was puzzled, and Aura seemed genuinely unnerved. The memories were probably an improvement to the enormous maze, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was going to be interesting. How does one go about seeing someone else's memories anyway? The Flareon suddenly tensed, turning in time to be hit by a Pokeball thrown by one of the Rockets, and disappearing into the ball. The red and white orb shook violently and the fire Eon burst from the ball, growling angrily.

"Looks like we have to do this the hard way," one of the Rockets sneered and three of them took out Pokeballs from their belts.

"Do any of you three even HAVE decent Pokémon?" the fourth asked. He took out a Pokeball from inside his shirt and smiled chillingly. "I do. Specifically, Moonlight!"

"$20 says it's an Umbreon," I said promptly.

"No bet," Frost answered, just as quickly. The Pokeball burst open and a dainty female Umbreon appeared. "Did I call that or what?" Frost gloated. I rolled my eyes, briefly returning my focus to the inner room. Damn, I need to stop getting distracted. Anytime I did, I seemed to show up here and had to put up with the two Glaceon.

"Moonlight?" Snow repeated, a blush and grin forming on her face.

"I don't want to know," I muttered, immediately refocusing on the scene before me. Blaze was openly staring at the Umbreon, blushing slightly. The other three Rockets reluctantly replaced their Pokeballs and moved, forming a large circle around the two Eons. Assuming the Rockets possessed intelligence (unlikely), I'm guessing that they were trying to prevent the younger Flareon from escaping. Blaze seemed oblivious to this danger, but that's hardly surprising.

"Moonlight, you know what to do," the Rocket said. The Umbreon's red eyes focused on the Flareon, who looked confused. He took a nervous step backwards, but the dark type smirked.

"What'cha looking at?" she asked him casually. Blaze flinched.

"N-nothing," he managed to stammer.

"What do you want?" the Umbreon asked next, looking amused.

"N-nothing," Blaze insisted. The Umbreon made a show of following the Flareon's gaze.

"So I'm N-nothing? Interesting pet name," the Umbreon said with a chuckle. Blaze flushed.

"I-I..." he began, but she cut him off.

"The name's Moonlight, but you haven't a shot in hell," she said, closing the distance between them in a flash and head butting him in the chest, bowling him over. The younger Blaze whined and rolled to his feet slowly. The dark type repeated her previous strike, this time hitting him from behind. Blaze whined loudly, but the Umbreon ignored him, glancing towards her Rocket, who smirked and threw a Pokeball towards the Flareon, sucking Blaze into the ball, locking with a click.

"Well that was worthwhile," Frost said dismissively. "Now how do we..." the entire area was suddenly blanketed in fog, which lifted almost as soon as it had come, but the entire area had changed. The four Rockets were walking down a building corridor and the lead Rocket, a scrawny blond youth, maybe in his early twenties, pushed open a door and went inside. Mystic tilted her head, looking around in bewilderment. Aura shivered slightly, but I wasn't sure what was troubling her. The Dragonite was gazing around in confusion as a human walked right through him as if he wasn't there. I stepped forward, entering the room the humans had gone through, noticing vaguely that I was slowly adjusting to the Glaceon body, which was both good and disturbing at the same time.

The new surroundings were an office of some sort, where an executive sat at a desk, flipping through a mess of papers covering the desk. He looked up irritably as the Rockets entered. "You better have good news," he warned.

"We do. I caught this Flareon," the Rocket said, opening the Pokeball and releasing the disgruntled Flareon, who looked around the room, undoubtedly confused. One of the flanking Rockets loaded a tranquilizer gun, watching the fire type warily.

"And?" the executive demanded, twirling a hand in a 'keep talking' gesture. "What about it?"

"I'll send it to the lab to determine more about it," the Rocket said, looking a bit sheepish.

"Maybe you should have done that before disturbing me. Have those quacks run a fertility test as well."

"Yes sir. I will, sir," the grunt replied. I snickered to myself and my three companions, for lack of a better term, stared at me. I coughed innocently, hiding my grin. I found it absolutely hilarious that the executive actually ordered that Blaze be given a fertility test.

"And after that, I want him...examined," the executive said coolly. Aura flinched, but no one other than me seemed to notice this reaction. "And then put him in cell F-034."

"Isn't that one of the...?" one of the other grunts began, but the executive shot him a glare, silencing him immediately.

"It's the only option. We don't have the funding for a breeding center, plus we're very limited in possible matches. We only have that Vaporeon and his Umbreon, who I think would be the better..."

"Sorry, sir. Moonlight is...fickle. Remember what happened to the last male we tried to breed her with?"

"Was that the Absol, the Mightyena, or the..."

"Doesn't matter. She rejected them all and seriously injured two of them."

"Just deal with the Flareon," the superior ordered impatiently and the armed grunt fired, hitting the fire type with a dart. Blaze twitched and collapsed. The room filled with fog, just as it had last time. When the fog faded, I twitched involuntarily. The four of us were now in a room I knew too well. It was the room where I had been at the mercy of the trainer with the whip. Only the daydreams of avenging the whiplashes had kept me from breaking down. There were a few small cages lining the walls, something that hadn't been here when I had been imprisoned. They were all unoccupied, but two humans entered the room, dressed in lab coats. One of them gestured to someone outside the room and a grunt entered, carrying a semi-conscious Flareon, which was whimpering quietly, perhaps not even aware of what was going on.

"In here," one of the lab coated Rockets said, opening the door of one of the cages. The Rocket shoved the Flareon into the cage, threw a small bowl of brown pellets after him, and slammed the door shut, locking it. With that, the three left the room, leaving the fire type alone as he slowly awakened into full consciousness. He whimpered, trying to get out of the cage, gnawing on the bars until his gums bled, his whining becoming more agitated. Aura and Mystic both winced, but Frost seemed untroubled. Next, the Flareon attempted to use a stream of fire against the bars, but they were clearly fireproof, since the flames had no effect. After what had to have been hours, Blaze gave up and nibbled on the pellets, his face becoming one of disgust and anger as he ate. He was obviously too hungry to refuse what was passed off as food, but he loathed eating it.

Time seemed to speed up rapidly and when it slowed again, Blaze had been dragged from the cage and there were no less than seven Rockets, all wearing special, most likely fireproof, suits. Three of them stood facing across the room from Blaze, each holding Pokeballs. Blaze looked around, his fur bristling. As if by an invisible signal, the Rockets flung their Pokeballs, releasing a blue reptile Pokémon, which I knew was a Croconaw. The second orb released a twin headed purple-gray Pokémon with a depressive expression, the marks on each head forming a skull icon. The third Pokémon was a Marowak, which tossed its bone into the air and catching it. Blaze looked at the three, his face showing worry.

"Attack the Flareon!" the Rockets commanded. The Croconaw fired a powerful stream of water towards Blaze, but he ducked, avoiding the stream. However, ducking put him into a perfect position for the Weezing to pummel him with its body. The Flareon cried out, lashing out with a paw, knocking it for a loop. Blaze then spat a small burst of fire, but the Marowak twirled its bone, deflecting the fireball to the side, and then flung its bone. Blaze's eyes widened in horror as the bone impacted with his face, knocking him to the ground. He groaned, his legs shaking weakly as he tried to get up, but the bone Pokémon caught its bone as it twirled around back to its paw, and then swung the weapon, hitting Blaze's side. As if following the example, the Croconaw slammed a paw into Blaze's neck and the Weezing body-slammed the Flareon.

Fog filled the area once again, giving me enough time to see shock on the Espeon's face, a pained look on Aura's face, and even a slight wince from the Dragonite. When the fog lifted, we were once again in a familiar location: a cell where several Pokémon (this time I immediately noticed that they were all female. The familiar Vaporeon in the cell kind of gave it away) were lying, many of their expressions bored or listless. Others were looking around curiously, which led me to believe that they were recent captives. Two grunts entered the area, one dragging a resisting Flareon on a thick chain which was tied to a restraining collar around the fire type's neck. Blaze was noticeably injured and his fur was dirtier than it had been earlier. With a lot of effort, the humans managed to shove the Flareon into the cell, somehow removing the collar in the process, and locked the door behind him. "Have fun," one of them said and the two grunts left, laughing at this comment.

"Wait a second...are you male?" one of the cell's inhabitants, a Sandshrew, demanded. Blaze looked puzzled, but nodded. "This is an all-female cell," the Sandshrew explained. Blaze's look of puzzlement didn't disappear completely, but a tiny grin appeared as he gazed around. He took a step forward, but grunted in pain and fell forward weakly. The Vaporeon blinked, raising her head.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Not...really," Blaze said through gritted teeth, glancing up at her as he got back to his feet.

"Maybe you should lie down. You don't look too good," a Poochyena suggested. Blaze looked around and sighed, stumbling forward a little and collapsing a little further from the door, curling his tail around himself. He whimpered softly. The Vaporeon approached him tentatively.

"What? Are you hurt?" she asked gently. I shot a glance at the present day Aura, whose face had gone very red.

"I hate this place," the Flareon growled. Several of the cell inhabitants snickered, but the Vaporeon didn't laugh. She instead fired a small stream of water onto the fire type's fur. The instant the water hit, he yelped. "I hate wet fur!" he yelled, shivering. The Vaporeon frowned.

"I'm sorry. I just thought you'd like some of the dirt washed out," she said soothingly. Blaze didn't answer and she gently ran a paw through his wet fur, but doing so quickly. It was clear to me that she was concerned about how her behavior was going to be interpreted, but Blaze yawned and curled up. The Vaporeon relaxed a little bit and continued working on his fur. At one point, she stopped using her paw and licked his fur directly. Blaze's tail flicked while she did this, but he didn't say anything, except to yawn again. "That's better," the Vaporeon said, backing away from him. The Flareon opened one eye.

"You missed my tail and my stomach," he pointed out. Her face went red.

"I don't think so."

"Aww," Blaze muttered, licking his paw and grooming his tail. He looked around the cell, his gaze pausing on a few of the other females, but he casually curled up as if to sleep. A Rocket entered the cell what was possibly hours later, flanked by two other Rockets that carried tranquilizer guns. The unarmed Rocket placed a large bowl of the food pellets in the center of the room.

"There ya go girls," the human said in a bored tone. One of the grunts with him blinked and pointed to the resting Blaze, whispering something to his partner. The partner shrugged and gestured to the leader of the three. The three whispered to each other in voices too soft for me to catch, despite the decent hearing my Glaceon body had. The only Pokémon that seemed able to hear was the Vaporeon, who frowned thoughtfully, especially when one of the Rockets pointed at her. Shortly thereafter, the three humans left the cell, relocking the door behind them.

The room fogged up again, but when it cleared, the room was the same, but the Pokémon present had changed. There were more Pokémon now, and a few of the previous ones were absent. Blaze was conversing with a Growlithe, his tail lightly brushing her leg. She seemed a little annoyed at the moment, but was not discouraging him. However, he abruptly stopped when a Rocket entered the cell. I smirked slightly, remembering what the Flareon had said about not wanting the Rockets to learn his true gender. The Rocket walked over and fixed a leash on the Flareon, pulling him from the room, which fogged up for only a moment, reforming as the "training" room that I remembered so well. The Rocket that had captured Blaze was waiting in this room. Blaze growled (in a strangely effeminate manner), which prompted the Rocket to raise his eyebrow. Without a word, the Rocket withdrew a Pokeball and tapped the button, releasing the Umbreon from earlier. Blaze blushed slightly, openly staring at her again. She hissed at him threateningly.

"What are you staring at?" she demanded.

"You're pretty," he said dreamily. She gave him a slightly annoyed look, glancing at her trainer for a moment.

"Are they trying this AGAIN?" she growled, turning back to Blaze. "I'm not going to take on some rubbish Pokémon as a mate, just because they want me to."

"Okay, Angel," Blaze murmured. Now the Umbreon looked pissed.

"Are you hitting on me?" she growled.

"No. They think I'm female," Blaze said distractedly. The Umbreon stared at him incredulously.

"Who's stupider? You or them? One of you is an idiot, that's all I know."

"Okay, Angel," Blaze said again.

"It's definitely you," the Umbreon said, shaking her head. "Fine. You want me, you have to play by Umbreon rules."

"Okay, Angel," Blaze said. There was a long silence.

"Call me that once more and I'll kill you when I win."

"What are we doing?" Blaze asked.

"Apparently you've never played by Umbreon rules," Moonlight hissed, lunging forward and pouncing on Blaze, biting into his shoulder when they hit the ground. Blaze cried out in pain and the female Umbreon leapt off him, smirking. "You have to fight me."

"Aww...I don't want to hurt someone as cute as you," Blaze complained.

"Flattery doesn't work," Moonlight said with a sneer, lunging forward again and slamming her head into his gut, throwing him to the ground. "None of the other idiots they tried to set me up with could handle me. What makes them think you can?" she murmured thoughtfully. Blaze scrambled backwards, away from her, but the Umbreon's red eyes glowed, practically locking him in place. She shook her head dismissively and bit his ear. Blaze whimpered in terror as she struck him in the stomach with her paw.

"St-stop," he gasped. She promptly backed off, watching him with satisfaction as he curled up in the fetal position.

"HEY!" Blaze's voice suddenly yelled and the four of us jumped while no one else reacted. I turned and saw the present day Blaze. His face showed blank shock for several seconds while the four of us stared at him, confused. The Flareon's yellow eye flashed in anger. "Get out. This is private...stay out..." he said, his voice cracking slightly. No one moved and Blaze sniffed, wiping a tear from his brown eye. "GET OUT! DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME? GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" he screamed. I felt a powerful tugging sensation and the area dissolved. When it reformed, we were back in the meadow. The maze was gone entirely and the female Eevee we had seen with Blaze was looking at us curiously. She was the only one in sight.

"Wh-what are y-you d-doing h-here?" the Eevee whimpered, looking down shyly.

"We're trying to help Hothead," Frost said dryly. "Who the hell are you?"

"I'm S-solar," the Eevee answered shyly, her tail curling around herself protectively. Mystic giggled quietly.

"Where's Blaze?" Aura asked gently. The Eevee shook her head.

"I-I d-don't know. L-lunar d-does," she stammered.

_"Where's Lunar?"_ Mystic asked.

"I c-can sh-show you," Solar answered nervously, but then whimpered as I walked a little closer. "O-only Aura come by!" she whined. The Vaporeon blinked and walked over to the young Eevee, who happily hugged the Vaporeon's leg, relaxing as she did so.

"Why Aura?" I asked, puzzled.

"I kn-know Aura. I l-like Aura. I kn-know Fr-frost, but I d-don't l-like him," Solar explained, stammering heavily as she watched me, as if expecting me to attack her. Frost smirked at me, but didn't comment.

"Okay," the Vaporeon said slowly, gently petting the young Eevee awkwardly with her free paw. "Lead on, then."


	211. Counseling

**Leaf POV**

I waited patiently for Jolt to speak. I knew that whatever he wanted to talk to me about, and I had a good idea of what that might be, was difficult for him to bring up and he was preparing himself to talk. He sighed heavily and sat up, looking at the ground between us. "I don't know where to start," he admitted.

"Okay. Well, how are you feeling?" I asked, smiling, even though he wasn't looking at me. Jolt frowned to himself for a few seconds before answering.

"Not well. I feel sad, miserable...guilty."

"Why guilty?" I prompted. Jolt hesitated, shifting his weight from paw to paw. "Just relax a little, Jolt. Take your time," I told him. He nodded, taking a deep breath and exhaling.

"Leaf...I think it's my fault Kira died. I'm the one who did it. I was supposed to protect her; she was my mate and I should have kept her safe, but I'm the reason she died. If I hadn't joined this group, I wouldn't have been targeted and she wouldn't have taken the fall," Jolt spoke rapidly, his track of thought bouncing in alarming directions.

"Whoa, calm down," I said soothingly. Jolt stopped, looking towards me, his face desperate. "It wasn't your fault, Jolt. You were possessed, so it wasn't you. Got that? It wasn't you that did it. It was the phantom. It was Diablos."

"But..."

"Wait. You didn't even know Kira when you first joined, right? So if you hadn't joined, you never would have met her. You tell me to look at the positive, now it's your turn. If you hadn't met her, maybe she wouldn't have died, but maybe she would have. You don't know, so leave that thought alone. She liked you, Jolt, and you liked her. You two were happier knowing each other," I said seriously. The Jolteon nodded.

"I should have protected her better, Leaf. You don't understand what it's like, failing to defend your mate. It's the worst feeling in the world..."

"I might not know exactly what it's like, but I feel guilty too. I couldn't stop her from getting killed and I wasn't the one possessed. You have nothing to feel guilty about," I assured him.

"Your brother's right. It was my fault. If I wouldn't have gone to try to talk to Volt, I wouldn't have gotten possessed and this whole thing wouldn't have happened," Jolt grumbled. I sighed in annoyance, startling the electric Eon.

"Shadow was being a jerk, Jolt. You went to try to make amends with your brother and something bad happened. You were trying to do something good and it backfired. That does not make it your fault at all! How many of us can keep from getting possessed?"

"Psycho and Frost, I think," Jolt said, answering my rhetorical question.

"Uh...right, I guess. The point is, you can't blame talking to your brother as being the reason you got possessed. Ugh, this is what annoys me about Shadow sometimes. You know he's been on your case about Kira for the longest time."

"It's because I'm the weakest member. I don't even know why I'm in the group," Jolt said. I blinked at him.

"Who said you're the weakest?" I demanded, my tan fur bristling indignantly.

"I say it. It's true, Leaf. I'm worthless compared to the rest of you."

"What makes you think a stupid thing like that?" I growled, starting to get annoyed. What was Jolt moping about this time? Admittedly, I thought things like that about myself all the time, but I usually realize how stupid I'm being before I get too depressed about it. I've worked hard to get as strong as I am, and even Frost accepts that I have potential.

"Compared to the rest of you, I'm the weakest. Diablos attacked Kira twice and I couldn't do anything about it. You may be called the fifth, but it's really me. It's only a matter of time before Frost or Psycho kicks me out for being too weak."

"Oh, get a grip!" I shouted. Jolt blinked, staring at me in shock. He had probably never seen me get angry before. I calmed down before I continued speaking. "Jolt...you said yourself that you worked harder in order to be able to try to help your brother. How does giving up help?"

"Leaf...no matter how hard I work, Volt always wins. I've trained for almost two years, Leaf, but I'm not getting any better. I've never been able to beat him."

"Who has?" I interrupted. Jolt blinked.

"Frost and Darkness have both beaten him before," he said slowly.

"Shadow?" I asked. Jolt shook his head.

"He never won, but never lost."

"Why is this so upsetting to you?" I asked, completely calm again. Jolt's ears drooped.

"I want to be able to beat him. To try to show him that he doesn't need to work with Diablos. It's no use. I can't even hold him off. If it weren't for you and the others, I'd have been killed more than once. I...I can't beat him. I'm pathetic. Even you managed to hold your own for a while."

"Is this what is really bugging you, Jolt? That Volt is that much stronger than you are?" I asked gently. The Jolteon nodded unhappily. "Jolt...it's not that you're weak or worthless. Stop thinking that about yourself. The Jolt I know would take this sort of thing in stride and work harder. Stop blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault. I miss Kira, too. We all do."

"But...I don't know if I can ever be as happy as I was with Kira," Jolt protested.

"Not acting this way you won't," I pointed out. Jolt chuckled, which was definitely a good sign. "Take the time to mourn Kira...but then move on."

"What if I never find another mate?" Jolt persisted. "Should I even try?"

"When you're ready to, I think. Do you think you'll be happier if you find another mate?" I asked.

"It's lonely without Kira," Jolt mumbled. "I can't imagine someone else that can make me as happy as Kira did." He smiled to himself. "Even when she was mad at me, I knew it'd all turn out well."

"Remember the good times, Jolt," I said gently. "Don't dwell on the bad things. Look to the future."

"Thanks, Leaf," the Jolteon said, smiling a bit more.

"It's not your fault," I reminded him. He nodded, perking up a little bit. "You're not alone. You have me, at least. You're like a second brother to me, okay?"

"Thanks," Jolt said again, shaking his head in slight amusement. "How are you so good at talking?"

"I don't know. People just are willing to talk to me, I guess," I answered with a shrug. "I can't help with a lot of things, but I'm a good listener."

"Sometimes that's all someone needs. Are you doing all right, man? I've been worried about you since you resigned."

"I'm fine. How's it going with the rest of you? Frost didn't explain."

"We're...not that well. Psycho let us have a break and left to go wherever. Darkness has been cranky, and Frost left to come here for some reason," Jolt replied.

"He wanted to know if Glacia was his kit," I informed him. Jolt blinked, looking at me expectantly. "She is."

"Oh wow, really? How did that happen?" Jolt said. "That throws off our betting pool by a bit. I bet that you or Darkness would have a kit first."

"Why me? I d-don't even have a mate."

"Ah, but you're so likeable. Hell, talk to a depressed or angry female and you're set," Jolt said, grinning. It was so good to see him cheerful again that I didn't bother telling him that such a scenario was not only unlikely, but also a bit unfair to assume that being nice to someone guaranteed a mate. Even worse was that this topic was brought up by talking about having a kit. I hadn't even given much thought to that sort of thing.

"Anything else you want to talk about?" I asked, grinning slightly.

"So if that Glaceon is Frost's kit and the Flareon is Volt's kit…if they have a kit, that kit will be blood related to both me and Frost. That's interesting, don't you think?"

"I noticed that," I said, getting back up and stretching out lazily. "Well, let's go back," I suggested. Jolt nodded and followed me back down the path to Blizzard's cave. "We're back," I announced pointlessly, since the three Eons had already noticed our return.

"Hey Jolt, can we talk to you?" Vice asked hopefully. The Jolteon blinked in surprise, but walked over to the young Eons, sitting down near them. Blizzard smiled and looked towards me.

"You plan to travel with them for a while?" she asked me. I nodded, accepting a small bunch of berries she offered to me, nibbling on them. They were a bit dry, but very delicious all the same. "We have to wait for Mystic or Gelid to come back before they can go wherever it is they're going," she told me.

"How long do you think they'll be gone?" I asked casually.

"Gelid will probably be busy for a while and Mystic...well, I don't know what she and Frost are doing that was urgent, so they probably won't be back for a while, depends on how difficult it is."

"Oh, I see," I said, unbothered by this. I continued nibbling on the berries, focusing some attention to the three conversing Eons. Vice was talking animatedly about something, his Glaceon mate lying snuggled up to his side. Jolt was nodding every now and then, seeming genuinely interested in what the fire Eon was saying.

"...and then I got a Fire Stone and evolved into a Flareon."

"Where'd you get the Fire Stone?" Jolt asked curiously. Vice hesitated and frowned thoughtfully.

"I don't remember. Then again, I don't remember a lot of things from that time. Like I don't even remember why I was living here when Glacia was just a week old. My mom and Volt never told me. It had something to do with Gelid needing a babysitter, but I don't remember why I was with Gelid."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, wondering what I had missed.

"Vice was telling me about when he ran away from home," Jolt explained. "So then what happened?"

"Well, around that time, Glacia's mom gave us the "Talk" or whatever and we decided to be mates..."

"How old were you?" Jolt interrupted.

"Half a year old," Vice, Glacia and I said simultaneously. Jolt stared in shock.

"Rushing into things, weren't you?"

"It was worth having to live with people saying that, just to see Volt flip out when we told him," Vice argued.

"You agreed to be mates at half a year old, just so Volt would freak out?" Jolt demanded incredulously. The younger Eons exchanged glances.

"No...Volt flipping out was just a bonus," Vice admitted.

"Hiya!" Chaos' semi-cheerful voice broke through the cave and everyone turned to where the Rotom was hovering. Despite the tone he was using, he looked agitated. "Leaf! I need help!"

"For what?" Jolt asked, alarmed. "How did you know he was here?"

"Bane told me that Gelid knew where ya were," Chaos responded cheerfully. "And Gel told me ya were with Blizzard, so I hurried here."

"What's wrong?" I asked, my heart pounding a little harder. The Rotom's happy expression faded.

"My newest incomplete device prototype was stolen! I can't get it back alone! I'd ask Volt, but he's gonna be on vacation!" Chaos complained.

"What kind of device are we talking about?" Vice asked.

"It's not another shock collar is it?" Jolt snarled. The Rotom flinched, looking uncomfortable.

"No, it's something much different. Besides, the collar was used differently from its original purpose."

"What is it?" Jolt persisted.

"Originally it was an ace in the hole, where we'd put the collar on the foe and wear the gauntlet part. Then the opponent would have to take the shock in order to attack his opponent. But the boss said it was impractical, so its use was changed to what it is now," Chaos explained regretfully.

"I mean the stolen device!" Jolt said impatiently.

"I'll explain that in a bit. So will ya help?"

"I guess so," I answered. "Fill me in."


	212. Device Explanation

**Leaf POV**

"Whatcha want ta know?" Chaos asked, seeming happier now that I had agreed to help him out. Jolt was watching the Rotom suspiciously, which was justified since Chaos did work with Diablos, even if he was one of the nicer ones of the group.

"Um...start from the beginning, I guess," I shrugged. Blizzard, Vice, and Glacia turned their attention to the electric ghost, although the younger Glaceon seemed the least interested.

"Okay!" Chaos answered, changing his tone to a bright, but narrative tone, as if he was reciting, "In the beginning, there was chaos, which then formed Arceus. And she..."

"Oh Palkia, no," Jolt groaned, placing his forepaws over his head.

"Just kiddin'!" Chaos said, grinning. "Well, I was makin' a special device, as well as a buncha other stuff! I was almost done, but then my cousin stole it!"

"Er...your cousin?" Jolt asked, raising an eyebrow. Chaos bobbed.

"Another Rotom, my cousin Hacker. He's a **BLEEP**-ing toaster," the Rotom made a strange beeping sound, briefly confusing me. Why did he do that? And what did he mean by his cousin being a toaster? Wasn't a toaster one of those devices that was used to cook bread? I used to eat toast with peanut butter. Now that was a good food.

"You just lost me," Jolt said, shaking his head.

"Go on," I prompted, not understanding the scenario any more than Jolt did, but I wanted to know what was going on.

"What Hacky doesn't know is all my devices have tracking devices built in, so I know where ta find it. I'm not a good fighter, so I need ya to help, if Hacky gives me trouble," Chaos continued.

"What kind of device is it?" Jolt asked impatiently. I remembered that Chaos had still avoided answering this question, so I nodded in agreement. The Rotom hesitated. "I don't know if you should do this, Leaf. It could be a device that Diablos can use to hurt us again."

"No, really it's not!" Chaos complained. "The boss doesn't even like the device. He says it's not gonna work for anything, but I wanna try!"

"What is it?" Jolt prompted again.

"It's a prototype of the world's first de-evolution technology," Chaos said proudly. There was a shocked silence as everyone's attention focused on the electric ghost.

"Wh-what?" Jolt stammered. "That's impossible."

"I can do it," Chaos insisted.

"It's impossible. Reversing evolution is not possible," Jolt insisted stubbornly.

"I know how ta do it," Chaos insisted, just as stubbornly.

"Explain. This I have to hear," Jolt challenged. The Rotom's cheerful mood seemed to have disappeared, but he didn't seem angry.

"Fine. It sends a specialized signal that activates evolution hormones," Chaos began. "In order for a Pokémon ta evolve, it needs ta have a certain amount of a special type of energy, which I call 'Evo Energy'. This energy is used ta trigger the hormones, and the body then utilizes the energy to change form."

"How would that cause de-evolution?" Jolt challenged skeptically.

"It doesn't. I'm not done," Chaos said, brightening a little. "The reason an Everstone stops evolution is cuz it absorbs the Evo Energy when it reaches a level where it would trigger the hormones, thus canceling the effect. Also, most Pokémon can stop their evolutions if they resist the changes, since the resistance purges just enough of the Evo Energy for the body to fail to reach the next level. Everstones also negate the energy provided by regular evolution stones, but only the original release of the energy. If I touched a Water Stone to an Eevee, he or she can't pick up an Everstone in the middle of the evolution to cancel it. It's too late."

"But how does that relate to your DE-evolution?" Blizzard asked.

"I was just explaining evolution in general. My device wasn't finished, but I managed to perfect the signal to trigger the hormones. The only problem is that since the body doesn't have enough energy ta evolve to the next stage, it stops almost immediately."

"Can you get to the point a bit clearer?" Glacia growled impatiently. Vice blinked and stroked her fur gently, the young ice Eon relaxing a little bit. Chaos smiled cheerfully.

"My research shows that the body's form is chosen based on the energy present. A predetermined amount of energy is needed to safely maintain a stronger form. If it is above a certain level when the hormones activate, the change takes place unless cancelled. If it below the necessary level, evolution is cancelled automatically. When a Pokémon is in its final evolved form, additional Evo Energy is immediately purged from the body or utilized in a different way cuz the hormones are meant to remain inactive from then on and having extra energy activates them. Evo Energy is usually acquired by battling and training, so a fully evolved Pokémon sometimes uses the excess Evo Energy to burn calories or other things, which gives them their natural body energy," Chaos explained.

"You still haven't reached the part about reversing an evolution. Isn't that dangerous if a certain amount of energy is needed to maintain an evolutionary form?" Jolt asked seriously.

"I haven't completed the testing," Chaos admitted. "The device alone can't cause a de-evolution. The second part wasn't completed, and that's an Evo Energy vacuum. If the hormones are triggered, and the Evo Energy is lowered or removed, the attempted evolution will cancel. The body then shifts its shape to match the shape of the form it would assume at that energy level. The instincts are tricked into thinking it successfully evolved and the energy levels will shift to accommodate the needs of that body."

"But...that could kill someone," Jolt protested, sounding horrified.

"There is a risk factor," Chaos agreed. "If too much energy is taken away, it might cripple the body or cause death, especially if the body lacks the energy to sustain the basic form. Another thing is that it only works on natural evolutions."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"A natural evolution is when a Pokémon evolves using natural means. If I used the device on a Flareon, sorry Vice, and absorbed the Fire Evo Energy, which is the energy the Fire Stone provided, he would not de-evolve. His evolution was not natural, but the cause of a special radiation, causing a mutation of his genetics. He would die almost instantly. No one would like them bananas and Volt would kill me," Chaos said, the last line said with inappropriate cheeriness.

"Would the same thing happen with a Leafeon?" I asked, half curious, half just trying to understand the concept.

"Leafeon evolve cuz of the special radiation emitted from the Moss Rock. Removing the energy would kill ya, too."

"What about Espeon and Umbreon? They evolve naturally, don't they?" Glacia asked. Chaos twitched, the lightning appendages shaking in an unmistakable 'no'.

"Their evolution hormones are triggered by the sense of a close bond, plus the energy from the sun or moon respectively. Eevee cannot be safely de-evolved, in theory, because their genetics are mutated when they evolve," Chaos said brightly. "There may be exceptions, but I'm only confident that I can de-evolve purely natural evolutions. The opposite is true with baby Pokémon, like Pichu. In theory, most of them can be de-evolved, because there wasn't a special radiation required to evolve, but this time their energy levels would be too HIGH and it would kill them. Their bodies require a very precise amount of energy to maintain, so it's possible to de-evolve a Pikachu into a Pichu, but the risk factor is doubled."

"Enlighten me...why the hell do you want this device? It's risky and unbelievably conditional. Doesn't seem the least bit convenient," Jolt pointed out seriously.

"That's what people thought 'bout the computer," Chaos answered. "The de-evolution device is just the first version. If it works, I can work on improving it. Hacky isn't nearly as good as I am with electronics, but he might do something to mess it up!"

"I don't even see it being practical," Vice agreed. "Branch evolutions are the only ones I'd think someone would want to reverse, but those usually need special radiations and can't be reversed, according to you. I guess maybe a male Kirlia might not want to be a Gardevoir and would want it reversed so he can get a Dawn Stone but..."

"The boss doesn't think it's useful, either. I think it can be and I'll prove it someday," Chaos said, sounding almost sulky. "Are you gonna help me or not?"

"I'm in," I said, smiling. Jolt hesitated, but also stepped forward to stand next to me.

"No, I'm staying here with Glacia," Vice said, cuddling with his mate, who purred softly at this. Blizzard politely declined, but Chaos didn't seem to have expected more assistance than Jolt and me.

"How do we get...wherever we're going?" I asked. I knew a Rotom's ghostly teleportation wasn't strong enough to transport something as large as Jolt or me.

"The tracking device signal is coming from an area not that far from Blackthorn City, in Johto," Chaos told me. "How do we get there, ya ask?"

"That would be almost his exact words," Vice said helpfully. Glacia giggled.

"I convinced Lera to take us. She can only take us one at a time, though," Chaos answered cheerily. Jolt looked towards me uncertainly.

"Is it safe for so many of Diablos' group to know where we are?" he asked worriedly. "Or that we're associating with them?" he asked, gesturing to Blizzard and the two young Eons. "Or what if he finds out that she's related to Frost?" the Jolteon continued, pointing at Glacia.

"I can answer that," a gentle voice answered as the Haunter I had seen at the base appeared. "First, allow me to introduce myself. I am Lera, one of Haou's first associates, along with Ninje and Tarot."

"Wonderful," Jolt muttered. The Haunter turned towards him thoughtfully.

"You are Jolt, correct? The brother of Volt?"

"Yeah," the Jolteon said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Why do you ask?"

"You may not know me, but I was a friend of Ice before she met Volt. She brought him to me, hoping I'd be able to help him shortly after the incident involving him. I recommended him to Haou."

"You did WHAT?!" Jolt shouted, more from shock than anger. Lera frowned slightly.

"I was later punished for informing your brother," she gestured a disembodied hand to me, "about many of Haou's abilities. I suppose I am to blame for his change in personality as well. The knowledge I provided gave him a thirst for vengeance. In addition, Haou locked me in the Void as punishment for my foolishness. My penalty has been served, and I have gathered a lot of information of what has transpired during my absence," the Haunter's tone was wistful and she closed her eyes briefly.

"Why are you telling us this?" Jolt asked, his tone softening.

"I feel that it must be said. I can only hope my actions can be forgiven...so much has changed in two years. So many innocents have lost their lives for what I started," Lera said quietly. She looked towards Blizzard, Vice and Glacia. "You three are all protected by Volt and Ice. You will be left alone, but remain neutral if you can." The Haunter smiled briefly and placed a hand on Jolt, the two of them disappearing, returning alone about a minute later and placing her hand on me. The touch sent a cold chill through my body and I felt a strange sensation, as if I was being stretched, but the feeling soon faded. When I opened my eyes, I discovered Jolt and I were located in a heavy forest.

"Where are we?" I asked blankly.

"Not that far from Blackthorn, remember?" Chaos asked cheerfully as he appeared in front of us, his lightning appendages glowing rhythmically. "The device is...this way," he said, leading us through the trees. Jolt and I followed, casting our gaze around the forest. As we walked, I kept my ears alert. I wasn't worried or paranoid, but I just thought it would be best to be careful anyway.

"You hear water?" I muttered to Jolt, who paused, his ear twitching. He nodded. "Where is there water running around here?"

"There's a small waterfall a few yards in that direction," Chaos informed us brightly, gesturing one of his bolt appendages to our left. There was a sudden flash of light and Chaos was knocked backwards through a tree, which he faded through, unharmed, but whatever had struck him had caught him by surprise.

"Can you hear Frost calling an error on Chaos?" Jolt muttered. I grinned at this remark.

"What hit me?" Chaos cried, floating forward again, looking around. A voice broke the brief silence, but there was no one in sight.

"Opponent analysis complete. Leafeon: Ability confirmed- Leaf Guard. Prevents ailments during sunlight. Hidden Power Element confirmed: Dragon."

"What?" I gasped. I didn't even know my Hidden Power Element. How did this unknown speaker know? If it was true, however, it was kind of cool.

"Second opponent analyzed. Jolteon: Ability confirmed- Volt Absorb. Heals damage when hit by electricity. Hidden Power Element confirmed: Ice."

"Who's there?" Chaos demanded.

"Target detected. Battle Plan A initiated," the voice continued. Jolt and I tensed. What on earth was going on?

**Happy Thanksgiving.**


	213. Icy Solace part 1

**Frost POV**

Despite the young Eevee's offer to lead us to 'Lunar', she was so enraptured by the petting Aura was giving her that she didn't want to leave yet. Mystic had gotten bored of waiting and was resuming her attempts to flirt with Dragonair, still oblivious to the body swap that had occurred. I observed this behavior silently, noticing that while Mystic appeared to be acting forward, her shyness was still very noticeable. I wondered whether she was just desperate for companionship or whether she was afraid that I, being the owner of the body and her desired mate, would be uninterested unless she was affectionate. That was not untrue. Why waste my time with someone unaffectionate? The entire concept of relationships is based on affection.

I was getting impatient as well, so I chose to sit down and recline against a tree. The tree first selected wasn't thick enough to support my Dragonite weight without bending, so I moved to a more appropriately sized one. Getting impatient was useless, so I'd just use the time to relax. I was rapidly getting the impression that this realm, for lack of a better term, was more dangerous than it looked. I was smart enough to know to keep alert at all times, but I also assumed my companions were not as cautious. It would be their loss if something happened, but I didn't want anything to happen to my body, which was still being controlled by someone who had no idea how to battle using it, even if he was improving with basics, like walking.

"Could we get going?" Dragonair asked hopefully, undoubtedly looking for an excuse to have Mystic leave him alone. The young Eevee opened her eyes to look towards the Glaceon.

"Wh-what?" she stammered.

"I'd like to get going," Dragonair said, gently pushing Mystic away from him. The Espeon frowned and backed off. I scowled internally. If he kept pushing her from him, he'd drive her away.

"S-so?" the Eevee stammered, looking terrified of him. Dragonair scowled.

"So let's get going!" he retorted. Aura frowned at him, still petting the Eevee gently, but the Eevee whimpered anxiously, cuddling with the Vaporeon's stomach. Aura blinked in surprise, but didn't move away from her.

"F-fine, l-let's go," the Eevee stammered finally, looking up at Aura pleadingly for a second before walking in one direction. I got back to my feet and followed after the Vaporeon, who was following the Eevee by about a pace. Mystic and Dragonair followed after me, with the Espeon pointedly keeping at a further distance from the Glaceon. The entire area around us seemed wide open and perpetually flat and uninteresting. However, the scenery shifted randomly to a different environment. The sunlight faded away, leaving a dark, dreary field, which slowly shifted from grass to rock, the previously flat world sloping into small hills and rocks scattered around us. It looked very uninviting, but the nervous Eevee seemed strangely unafraid.

"Where are we?" Aura asked, gazing around uncertainly.

_"I was wondering the same thing,"_ Mystic commented with a giggle.

"Not that important. Where we're going is more important," Dragonair said. I smirked to myself privately. He seemed to be getting irritated very easily as of the last few minutes. I found this bizarre situation to be annoying as well, but my mental training provided me with a calm demeanor a majority of the time.

"Th-this way," the Eevee squeaked anxiously, stopping at the entrance to a cave in a rock wall, which had subtly risen in front of us. There is no logic to this world at all. We passed through the cave and the entire area changed again.

_"I'm confused," _Mystic whined. I couldn't blame her for this. We had entered a dark cave and somehow emerged in a desert. There wasn't even a trace of the wall anymore.

"This is very illuminating about Blaze's thought process," Dragonair commented dryly. Aura giggled quietly. I winced, a strange sensation entering my body. It was vaguely familiar, but I couldn't identify when I had experienced it previously. My vision abruptly went black.

I awoke an unknown amount of time later and blinked. There was a sense of familiarity about my body and I glanced down, smirking as I saw my blue-white paws. I looked myself over, satisfied that I was in my normal body. Then I gazed around, looking for an indication of how much time had passed. The Dragonite was looking disoriented and Mystic was watching me, a look of puzzlement crossing her face. I shook myself quickly, gathering my bearings. The Espeon continued to watch me uncertainly, so I distracted her by brushing my tail lightly across her forked tail. Her face flushed, but she was certainly not displeased.

_"Are you all right?" _she asked me telepathically.

"Of course," I replied, licking her ear. Most Eons are sensitive behind the ears, so that area is frequently utilized to demonstrate casual affection. The tail serves the same purpose in my eyes. Except Umbreon tend to get really pissy if I focus on their tail too much. Then again, most Umbreon are pissy naturally. Jolteon don't really even have tails, plus Zapda killed almost all the appeal that specie had, but the other six members of the Eon line were less argumentative about tail affection. Mystic made a slight purring sound and softly nipped my neck, but I held up a paw. "Uh-uh. Not yet, not here. Don't bite."

_"Aww, you're not being fun."_

"Haven't heard that one for a while," I smirked.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm glad I can't hear what she's saying?" Dragonair asked, looking down at his evolved body with noticeable distaste.

"Shut up, Dragonite," I jeered. The dragon should butt out of matters that don't concern him.

"Oh come on, don't start up again," Aura grumbled, her tail flicking slightly. I watched the movement for a second, but returned my gaze to the Espeon at my side. Not only was the Vaporeon uninterested, but I was already 'taken' at the time being, so my interest in Aura was a waste of time.

"Solar? What are you doing?" a voice demanded suddenly. The anxious Eevee flinched, her gaze flicking across the sand of the desert, looking for the speaker. Seconds later, the yellow eyed Flareon emerged from the cloak of sand, her fur spectacularly well groomed, despite the small storm that had formed around her.

"H-hi S-solace," the Eevee chirped nervously. "Uh...h-how are y-you?"

"Don't change the subject!" the Flareon's eyes flashed in anger. "What are you doing, Solar?"

"S-saying h-hi to you?" Solar asked hopefully.

"Why are THEY here?" the yellow eyed Flareon growled, pointing a paw towards us.

"B-because?" Solar guessed.

"That's not a reason," Dragonair said helpfully.

"Shut up or I'll kick your tail!" Solace threatened, her fur bristling. Her tone was cold and harsh and immediately the connection was made between this attitude and the Flareon that I had been defeated by. That loss had been a fluke, an event that would never again be repeated. "Did you bring them here, Solar?"

"I-I'm s-sorry," the Eevee whimpered. "I..."

"Stop your cringing!" Solace snarled, baring her teeth threateningly. Unsurprisingly, this only made the Eevee more terrified. "Why did you bring them here?"

"Th-they w-were looking f-for Blaze," Solar mumbled, her tail swishing unenthusiastically. She was far too young to take notice of this, not to mention it was incredibly unlikely that a relationship is even possible with the consciousnesses of other people. Besides, Eevee are near the bottom of the list. They seem so much younger than an Eon at times. More appealing than Jolteon, but still not very high.

"You turn on me, Solar?" the Flareon female hissed coldly. "You're just like Lunar aren't you? A meddling little wuss that needs to be squashed, huh?"

"Leave her alone," Aura said seriously, but was ignored.

"S-solace..." the nervous Eevee pleaded, but the female Flareon growled threateningly, the sound ending the plea prematurely. The Eevee whimpered and covered her head with her paws.

"Shut up, Solar. I have no tolerance for you or Lunar resisting me. The body is mine and if you're going to turn against me, I'll have to deal with you...severely," the Flareon said coolly. The Eevee choked back a frightened sob. Aura made a quiet growling sound, but was ignored again. Dragonair scowled briefly; I assume he also noticed that the Vaporeon's presence had been entirely ignored by the Flareon, although she had shown signs of noticing everyone else.

"I-I...S-solace..." the Eevee whined, shaking like a leaf.

"I told you to shut up!" the Flareon snarled, spitting a jet of flame towards the Eevee. Aura hastily countered with a burst of water, dousing the fire before it could hit the Eevee, but the close call had reduced the nervous Eevee to a quivering ball of fluff. It was really quite pitiful. Despite Aura's intervention, Solace took no notice of her existence. Why only Aura?

"Where's Blaze?" Aura demanded, but the Flareon took no notice of her. Dragonair frowned briefly and repeated the question. The Vaporeon looked puzzled as Solace turned towards the Dragonite.

"Like I'd tell you," she jeered, her tail flicking with a hint of arrogance. This casual, mocking gesture awoke a surge of anger within me and I stepped forward, my tail mimicking her arrogant flick. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mystic tilt her head at me inquisitively, but I showed no sign of noticing this.

"So you're the one controlling his body?" I clarified, approaching slowly. Solace's lower lip curled, and she nodded contemptuously. "And you were in control when I fought Dragonair?" She nodded again. "Then you'll do."

"Do?" Solace repeated, raising an eyebrow coldly.

"If you were the one who controlled the Flareon, then you're the one I need to crush. You beat me by a fluke," I continued coolly.

"Aw, the Glaceon wants revenge," Solace sneered, her tail swishing stiffly. "You're in my world, Frost. If you underestimate me, you'll pay," she continued, her tone becoming more forceful and harsh with each word.

"Your tail is mine, Flareon."

"Do you talk to all females like that?" Dragonair asked.

_"He doesn't talk to me like that,"_ Mystic said.

"Don't sound so disappointed," Dragonair said promptly.

"Silence!" Solace snarled, her fur bristling angrily, but her eyes gleamed hungrily as she watched me. "I accept your challenge, Frost. When I defeat you again, you all will be thrown from my mind. You can't beat the darkness."

"What's that mean?" Aura asked blankly, but she was ignored. The Vaporeon frowned, looking at the ground unhappily.

"And what if Frost wins?" Dragonair demanded.

"There's no if. I will win," I said. The Dragonite rolled his eyes.

"You won't win," Solace countered simply.

"Humor us," Dragonair insisted.

"We'll duel with some privacy," Solace said, waving a paw dismissively. Sand swirled around us, forming a large circle, which expanded. The sand passed through when it contacted me but the ring of sand pushed Aura, Mystic, and the Dragonite backwards, as if to them it was a solid wall. A strange black aura surrounded the yellow eyed Flareon and she chuckled, even as the aura faded. I picked up a strange vibe from the fire Eon female, similar to the chill I received whenever Volt was present. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the whimpering Eevee had been unaffected by the sand ring, but she wasn't in the way of the battle at the moment, so I wasn't bothered.

"Frost, if you lose, we'll lose our best chance of helping Blaze. You know that, right?" Dragonair called.

"Do you think he'll win?" Aura asked quietly.

"Yes, but adding pressure works well for diamonds, so it might work with Frost."

_"You are very strange."_

"Says the excessively shy Espeon with a crush on Frost," Dragonair said snidely. I rolled my eyes indifferently, keeping my focus on the opponent. Solace's expression was cold and almost emotionless, reminding me of Shadow. The idiot Espeon's greatest strength was his greatest weakness. The lack of emotion made him more predictable than someone with emotion, because motives and plans were more likely to change based on fear, confidence, and other feelings. The black furred Espeon's style was effective, but almost mechanical. I kept track of my emotions, which enabled me to analyze the most efficient strategies, plus read my opponent's moves.

Solace abruptly struck, spitting a massive wave of flames towards me. I leapt to the side, my fur shimmering as an extra precaution from a surprise shot. My decision paid off as the Flareon had spat a Flamethrower while I was mid-leap. It was a clever plan, but I had seen through the bluff of using Overheat as a starting attack, so my Mirror Coat reflected the Flamethrower towards the ground harmlessly. "It's not that easy, Flareon," I smirked.

"This is just the beginning," Solace sneered. "The real battle begins and before it's over, you'll see why I deserve to control this body for good! Prepare to go down in flames!"

**To be continued...**


	214. Icy Solace part 2

**Dragonair POV**

"There's never popcorn when we want some, is there?" I complained. Aura and the weird Espeon stared at me.

"What's your fixation on eating popcorn when watching a fight?" the Vaporeon asked me seriously.

"It's just so nice not to be involved in the battle that I want something to eat while I savor the experience," I replied with a grin. The water Eon shook her head slightly and we all returned our focus to the battle. I honestly believed that Frost, arrogant and annoying as he was, had the best chance of defeating the crazed Flareon. After all, I had held my own against Blaze earlier and the Glaceon had annihilated me in battle when we had fought. The interesting twist was that Blaze had beaten Frost, so a rematch could go either way. The yellow eyed Flareon was acting similarly to how Blaze had been acting recently, so it was probably a fair guess to assume that if Frost could beat her, he could also beat Blaze in the real world. I was hoping that if Solace lost, Blaze might revert to normal. Although if Ember was any indication, it wasn't that simple. Solace seemed to be a large portion of the situation, but we'd still need to snap Blaze out of whatever was plaguing him.

The ring of sand surrounding the combatants was like a force field screen. We could see through it, but contacting it was like hitting a wall. This made very little logical sense, but we were in Blaze's mind, so that was almost expected. Solace spat a stream of fire towards Frost, but the Glaceon countered by clamping his mouth over a small blue orb that he had conjured in his mouth, forming a ring of water around him, which splashed towards the crazed Flareon as a tidal wave, neutralizing the Flamethrower. Solace hastily spat a large, constant stream of flames, which spiraled through the air, turning the waves of water into steam as the two forces collided. Frost abruptly disappeared from sight, reappearing behind the female Flareon and slamming a paw down upon her back, sending her sprawling forward. I blinked in surprise; during the battles I had seen Frost partake in, I had never seen him move that quickly. Leaf's battle strategy seemed to revolve around such impressive speed, but Frost had never demonstrated a need or desire to move that fast. Then again, I had always only seen him use a defensive offense, so he probably still had lots of surprises.

"Clever, now let me show you mine," Solace sneered, getting to her feet. In the time it took me to blink, the Flareon struck with Quick Attack, but I was shocked to see Frost holding her by the throat. The look on the Flareon's face was priceless: a mixture of shock and confusion.

"Error: telling me what you're going to do makes countering that much easier," Frost smirked, flipping the fire Eon over his back, spinning his body around, his tail glowing a faint blue color as it impacted with Solace. Solace was hurled to the side, her body impacting with the sand barrier and she slumped to the ground. "It was a fluke I lost the first time. You're no match for my skill," Frost commented smugly.

"I'm not finished," Solace snarled, pushing herself back to her feet. Her yellow eyes flashed with anger and she lunged forward, but Frost sidestepped, lashing a fist forward and catching Solace in the jaw. She recoiled, one paw clutching her chin. "Bastard," she growled.

"Looks like you're nothing more than a weakling," Frost mused, disappointed. Solace's eyes flashed angrily once more.

"SHUT UP!" she raged, spitting a large fireball, which expanded into the familiar Fire Blast shape, but Frost's fur shimmered, a portion of the projectile rebounding. Solace darted forward, the reflected fire becoming absorbed into her fur, and punched the Glaceon in the face, sending the ice type backwards. "Like that? Mirror Coat is useless against a physical strike. And your little trick seals your doom, since the Fire Blast reflected onto me, my fire attacks gain power!"

"So you did one decent move this fight," Frost replied indifferently.

"STOP DISRESPECTING ME!" Solace shrieked. Frost chuckled.

"And why should I? You think you've earned my respect?"

"I DESERVE RESPECT!" Solace raged.

"Respect is earned, not given, Flareon. Earn it," Frost retorted calmly. For the briefest of moments, the female Flareon's body gave off a black aura which floated around her like wisps of smoke. In the next instant it was gone and her eyes had a further crazed look to them. Frost narrowed his eyes for a moment, his fur bristling, several shards of ice flying from his fur. Solace ducked, the shards shattering against the barrier of sand that surrounded the two combatants. Frost smirked, his tail flicking enthusiastically. Mystic was watching the battle calmly, but her forked tail flicked, possibly mimicking Frost's tail without her consciously realizing it.

"What's funny?" Solace seethed.

"You are. I expected to face an opponent who could rival my skills, but instead I end up with a Flareon who can't even score a hit of consequence," Frost replied arrogantly. Solace darted forward as a blur, but a vortex of hail swirled around the Glaceon. Solace shrieked in anger and pain as she recoiled, blood trickling from the various scratches on her face and chest from where she had collided with the ice storm. "Error...actually, everything you just did was an error," Frost snickered.

"SHUT UP! This is my world! My body! You can't defeat the darkness!" Solace roared and her body was again engulfed in the black aura, but this time it didn't fade away. In the time it took for me to blink, she closed the gap between the two Eons, but Frost ducked the attempt to bite his neck and countered with a swipe of his glowing tail. Solace leapt over the attack and pounced on the Glaceon, digging her claws into his back and biting the back of his neck aggressively. To everyone's surprise, Frost was unbothered by this assault. He hastily formed another hail storm around them both, and leapt gracefully from the storm. There was a roar of pain as the Flareon passed through the swirling ice and she dropped from the Glaceon's back, blood trickling from fresh cuts along her body.

"Pathetic," Frost murmured, looking down at the Flareon coolly. Solace snarled and got to her feet slowly, taking a few paces backwards from the Glaceon. I blinked, unsure what she was up to. In a head-to-head fight, Frost was far stronger. Maybe the Glaceon wasn't exaggerating when he said that his loss was a fluke. Making excuses about a loss was usually considered bad sportsmanship, but the Glaceon never denied losing (sort of hard to, since I saw it happen). "Now to finish the fight," Frost mused. The hailstorm reformed around him and the area chilled dramatically.

"A Blizzard technique? I dare you to try," Solace hissed, lifting up the whimpering Eevee in her mouth and holding her up. Solar let out a wail of terror as snow and ice gathered in the vortex of hail, all moisture in the air slowly changing to more snow and becoming absorbed into the swirling vortex. This was all happening rapidly, but almost everyone stopped and stared at the battle in shock.

"That's low," I scowled. Aura and Mystic both gaped at the Flareon, who was grinning smugly, still holding the terrified young Eevee.

_"He wouldn't go through with it...would he?"_ Mystic asked telepathically. Aura was silent for several seconds. Using a kit as a shield was one of the lowest tricks anyone could do. The thing that worried me was whether Frost would attack anyway. He had arranged Spark's kidnapping once, so I doubted he was hindered by morality much. In fact, I got the impression the only person Frost cared about was himself. Anger rose up in me, like a fire burning inside my stomach.

"I don't know if he would. I know Psycho would attack anyway," Aura said finally. As if on cue, the vortex subsided; the Glaceon watched Solace coldly, his fur possessing a fresh coat of frost upon it. Solace laughed, somehow managing to keep a grip on Solar.

"Surrender or else," Solace ordered. Frost's fur bristled.

"You know you can't win, so you're cheating?" Frost sneered. "Using a helpless bystander as a shield?"

"It worked. You backed down," Solace retorted. Solar whimpered anxiously. Frost scowled briefly, spitting a single Ice Shard towards the Flareon's muzzle. Solace yelped as the shard hit her nose and relinquished her grip on Solar's neck, dropping the Eevee at her feet. Before the Eevee could move, Solace wrapped her tail around Solar, trapping her against the Flareon's stomach. "Not that easy, Frost," Solace mocked.

"H-help," Solar begged, her body quivering.

"Take a step and I'll hurt her," Solace warned, holding a paw to Solar's neck. Frost's eyes narrowed at the crazed Flareon, but he didn't move. None of the rest of us could get past the sand barrier.

"Let her go," another voice commanded suddenly. Solace whirled her head around, the motion mimicked by Aura, Mystic and me.

"Make me, Lunar," Solace sneered to the older male Flareon that had walked over. "Stand down. This is my body and I'll control it without you two meddling. You can't stop me, Lunar."

"I can't. He can," Lunar replied calmly. Solace blinked, just as a familiar male Flareon stepped into view. His left eye had a demonic yellow tinge while the other was a natural brown.

"Stop this," Blaze said quietly. "Let her go, Solace."

"This is for your own good, Blaze. They don't want you to be happy, so they're trying to interfere with me!" Solace said seriously, her tone a bit gentler.

"Do I look happy?" Blaze asked, growling.

"No..." Solace said slowly.

"And why do you think that is, Solace?" Blaze asked dully.

"Because..."

"That wasn't meant to be answered!" Blaze interrupted with a growl. Solace growled in reply.

"There's no reason you shouldn't be happy, Blaze! You have everything you want! You're strong enough to get the respect you deserve, you're at peace, your problems are being dealt with and you don't have to worry anymore...what more can you want?" Solace demanded.

"Let Solar go. And give me my body back," Blaze answered firmly. The female Flareon flinched, staring at Blaze in alarm.

"But why?"

"Because you're making things worse. I'm lonely and you three don't cut it. One of you has no sense of humor, you're a total bitch, and Solar...she's too like Sis and I don't want to dwell in the past anymore. I...you said I should talk to someone about this, but you three can't help. I just don't see why attacking everyone is helping me," Blaze said quietly. Solace's eyes narrowed.

"They can respect you now," she answered coolly.

"It makes me feel empty," Blaze whined. "NOW GIVE IT BACK!" he shouted, lunging at Solace, passing through the sand barrier unharmed and tackling the female Flareon. She was so shocked by the sudden assault that she didn't even fight back, enabling him to pin her to the ground easily.

"Wow," I commented, shocked by the sudden twist in Blaze's behavior. At that moment I felt a powerful tugging sensation and everything went black. When I opened my eyes, I found myself back in the pillar chamber where I had woken up in Frost's body, before the Alakazam had appeared. Sapphire was looking at me, perplexed, and the Alakazam smiled in triumph. I gazed around, disoriented, and spotted the others looking similarly disoriented. Frost was looking down at his body thoughtfully and then he cursed furiously.

"I didn't officially win!" he grumbled. "The Flareon beat her! I still have to beat him!"

"Sucks for you," I said. Blaze opened his eyes and I blinked, noticing that his left eye was back to the original brown. "Blaze? You okay?"


	215. Battle for the Device

**Leaf POV**

"Who's there?" Jolt challenged. The area around us was silent for several moments, but then a large...machine thing appeared from the cover of the trees around us. It was oval shaped, with magnets where arms might be placed, but it hovered in midair without legs. The majority of it was gray and a small yellow pole jutted from the top of its head. Placed above each magnet was an eye that looked similar to a Magnemite, and the main body had a large red eye. It had another magnet on its back, placed similarly like a tail would. Jolt and I stared at it blankly; I had never seen any Pokémon like this before. "What the...?" Jolt muttered, confused.

"Battle Strategy A initialized," a mechanical tone announced, but the sound was not coming from the hovering...thing. What was that Pokémon anyway? It looked sort of like a Magnemite, but it was definitely not a Magneton.

"Cyber, a Magnezone, which is the evolved form of Magneton," Chaos told us, his tone less cheerful than normal. In fact, it seemed to have a bit of a grim note to it. My tail flicked worriedly. From what I knew of Magneton, they were resistant to almost everything. Now that I knew my Hidden Power element, I don't think I have anything in my entire arsenal that could deal with the hovering Pokémon. That didn't mean I wasn't going to try, though. Jolt and I could find a way, couldn't we? The Magnezone watched us with an air of pure indifference, but this didn't bother me.

"We can do this," I whispered to Jolt and he smiled weakly, clearly unconvinced.

"Where's Volt when ya need him?" Chaos muttered out loud. The Jolteon gave the Rotom an odd look, but didn't say anything. I acted first by launching a flurry of Razor Leaves towards the Magnezone, but the bladed leaves bounced off without a scratch. I frowned slightly and Jolt's fur bristled, sparks of electricity flying from his fur, but he didn't send any electricity to attack, causing me to wonder what he was doing. This unasked question was answered by the electric Eon darting forward as a blur and leaping at the metallic Pokémon, spinning around in midair and delivering a powerful kick with his hind legs. This seemed much more effective than my Razor Leaf, but ultimately it did no good, other than unbalance the hovering Pokémon. Jolt grunted in pain as he landed, losing his balance and falling.

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"That hurt like hell," Jolt grunted, pushing himself up with noticeable determination. This display raised my spirits; we weren't done yet. The battle had just begun. The Magnezone abruptly fired a large orb of electricity towards me, but Jolt leapt up, intercepting the Zap Cannon, the electricity becoming absorbed by his fur. The Magnezone glowed for a moment and shockwaves fired from its magnets, hitting the still-airborne Jolteon and hurling him to the ground. Jolt grunted, but didn't seem too injured by the attack. I lengthened one of my vines and wrapped it tightly around the Magnezone, tugging with all my might, but the vine wasn't strong enough to drag the massive Pokémon to the ground and it snapped, the sudden release causing me to tumble backwards. Jolt growled and released a Thunderbolt from his fur, but the bolt was directed above the metallic Pokémon, striking a large tree branch, sending it down upon the Magnezone, but the hard defense of the foe was too great to be damaged by the log.

"This is not good," I admitted, watching the Magnezone warily. Just like with the Gyarados, Venom, my attacks were all but useless against the formidable defenses of my opponent, except this time almost nothing could damage it and anything that could was absent from our arsenal. Despite this, I wasn't giving up. Everyone in our group had trained to face impossible odds and even a tricky opponent like this Magnezone could be beaten with the proper effort. I just needed to figure out the trick to get through its guard and strike at it. I darted forward quickly, my tail glowing a vibrant green before I flicked it aggressively across the metallic Pokémon's face. To my brief surprise, it left a long gash across the eye of the Magnezone, which recoiled, but it didn't seem too damaged. Jolt blinked in surprise at the amount of damage I had accomplished with just one Leaf Blade technique. The Magnezone's magnets suddenly activated and a steel orb launched towards me. I tried to dodge, but the projectile followed me, striking me in the back and knocking me down.

"Leaf!" Jolt yelled, horrified. I glanced at the orb in confusion before I realized that not only had it latched onto me, but it was ticking and flashing brightly. Then the orb detonated, sending a wave a pain through my body. I focused quickly, sighing in relief as my leaves absorbed sunlight, filling my body with gentle warmth as the injuries faded, my body glowing a faint green. I climbed to my feet, panting hard. Despite recovering from the damage quickly, the explosion had hurt a great deal and I was not looking forward to experiencing it again.

"What can we do against this thing?" I asked, using Quick Attack to close the gap between me and the Magnezone, this time jumping onto its mostly flat top. Surprisingly, it didn't seem to notice my presence, in part because Jolt had followed my lead and had closed the distance between him and the metallic Pokémon, drawing its attention to him. Cyber's magnets powered up and the entire Pokémon began to spin rapidly. I cried out, hastily tying a vine around the yellow pole of its head in order to keep on top of it. The edges of the magnets glowed white as the ovular Pokémon's speed increased dramatically. I shut my eyes and wrapped the vine even tighter around the antenna, praying to Dialga that I wouldn't be hurled off. I could feel the wind rushing over my fur, heard the howling in my ears. There was a jolt as the spinning stopped abruptly, giving me the feeling that I was going to be torn in two.

There was a sudden snapping sound and I flew through the air, impacting painfully with a tree and slowly sliding to the ground. My entire body was aching now and my head throbbed with the most agonizing headache I had ever had in my life; far worse than the one I experienced when I took the brunt of a Psybeam attack to the cranium. "Wow," Jolt commented, sounding awed. I rolled to my feet slowly, one paw clutching my pounding head. From the haze clouding my vision, I could just make out the Magnezone lying on the ground, the antenna on the top broken into two pieces. It seemed completely non-responsive, but I couldn't be completely sure, since I could barely even see.

"Anti-Virus, attend to Cyber. Initiate Battle Plan B," the mechanical voice commanded.

"Hacky!" Chaos tittered as a strange blob appeared in front of us. I squinted, trying to get a better view of it. It was orange in color with a red glowing outline. It had several resemblances to Chaos, but it couldn't be the same specie...could it? The eyes and the composition of the creature were similar to Chaos' Rotom body, but it was square in shape with two arm-like appendages, compared to Chaos' lightning bolts. It strongly resembled a toasting oven, finally clarifying what Chaos had meant by calling it a 'toaster'. "Give me back my device, Hacky!" Chaos demanded, for the first time sounding angry.

"No," the strange creature replied jerkily.

"Yes!" Chaos argued.

"So good to see you again, Chaos," the toneless voice said and the Rotom flinched.

"Who's there?" he demanded.

"Worry about me, first," the plasma creature sneered. Chaos uttered a series of bleeping sounds that I'm probably glad that I couldn't hear the original versions. Jolt launched a bolt of electricity towards this creature, but it faded from view, reappearing next to the Jolteon, its body becoming engulfed in fire as it charged into Jolt. The electric Eon cried out in agony as the flames scorched his fur. Terror rapidly flowed through me as the dread of fire once again invaded my mind, but I shoved it aside angrily as I lashed out a vine towards the offending plasma creature, but the body of flames blazed through my vine effortlessly, making it useless. The same fate befell my flurry of Razor Leaves and I fought the urge to panic. The fight wasn't over and I could fight this being. Unlike Cyber, it wasn't immune to all my attacks. It was just able to burn through my grass attacks, since it seemed to be a fire type. At the same time, I questioned this assessment, since it possessed qualities of a ghost type, but also that of an electric type. This was worsened by the fact that it truly looked like a bread-toasting device.

My vision had cleared up by this point, although my head still throbbed painfully every few seconds, giving me very little opportunity to focus. "What the heck is this thing?" I wondered aloud, leaping to the side as the toaster creature lunged at me, flames licking at my fur as it missed by millimeters; I even felt the heat as it passed.

"It's a **BLEEP**-ing toaster! Weren't ya paying attention?" Chaos asked, sounding uncharacteristically cranky. I chose not to comment and instead let energy flow through my body before running forward, my body shining with a white light. I rammed the now flame-less plasma creature and was rewarded with an electrical shock, a sudden chill, and intense pain. On the plus side, my Aerial Ace hit with enough force to hurl the ghostly creature into, and through, a tree, but it recovered quickly, darting towards me, its body once again encompassed by fire. Jolt intercepted this attack by kicking it firmly in the face, but he yelped in pain as he touched the fiery Pokémon. He hit the ground, his fur singed.

"Are you okay, Jolt?" I asked him anxiously and he nodded, climbing back to his feet, his breathing coming out as shallow gasps, although he still seemed capable of continuing the battle.

"You have to do better than that if you want Chaos' device back," the plasma creature said.

"Where is it, Hacker?" Chaos demanded. The plasma creature didn't answer and the Rotom sparked angrily, but didn't press the issue. "Why did ya take it, anyway?"

"You'll find out if your friends ever manage to defeat me," the plasma creature replied.

"Compared ta Cyber, a **BLEEP**-ing toaster is nuthin'!" Chaos insisted.

"We shall see," Hacker replied, fading out. I felt a presence behind me and quickly spun around, my tail glowing green as the leaf of my tail sharpened, cutting through the plasma of the creature immediately behind me, but other than a few sparks of electricity, it didn't react to the attack very much. The distraction was all I needed to backpedal a few paces and bombard it with Razor Leaves before it could counterattack, but the leaves soon burst into flame as fire engulfed the plasma creature's body.

"Cancel Battle Plan B. Initiate Battle Plan C," the toneless voice commanded. The ghostly toaster seemed taken aback by this.

"But..."

"Do not argue, Hacker. Analysis puts your chance at victory at only ten percent. My victory percentage is ninety-eight percent."

"Who said that?" Chaos demanded, but a look of panic had come over him and I felt a thrill of foreboding as a vaguely familiar creature seemed to phase into the area. Its body was pink and blue, with rounded edges, including a nose that seemed more like a beak. The Rotom recoiled in horror upon seeing this being and I understood why. "That's...that's not possible!" Chaos protested desperately.

"Reports of my demise have been exaggerated, Chaos," the Porygon2 answered, in a light, almost conversational tone. Jolt gaped at the Pokémon in disbelief. The only sign of damage upon the Porygon2's body was a long, deep scratch across what seemed to count as its chest, but it seemed scar-like, as if it were dead tissue or something similar. Fear laughed, a sound that could have passed for the laughter of a living creature, only more ominous and not nearly as humor-filled as most conversations might cause some to feel. "I have improved in several areas, making me stronger than ever."

"Oh Palkia," Jolt breathed. I knew what had triggered this reaction. The last encounter we had with the cyberspace Pokémon had nearly resulted in Shadow's death, not to mention he had taken down all of Diablos' ghost underlings, forced Volt to back off, held his own against my entire training group, plus Blaze and Aura, and managed to hold off Diablos himself before being defeated. We had assumed he had been destroyed, but evidence to the contrary floated before us, its mechanical gaze stopping on each of us.

"Battle data loaded. Analysis complete. Targets selected. Probability of success, ninety-eight percent. Preparing to eliminate targets..."


	216. Leaving the Caves

**Dragonair POV**

The Flareon was silent for a long time, a strange expression masking his face as his gaze flicked to each of us in turn. The Glaceon was eyeing Blaze with noticeable animosity, completely disregarding the Espeon at his side, who seemed intent on getting his attention again. Aura seemed to be regaining her focus, but she seemed tired to the point of distant, in sharp contrast to her mood while we were inside Blaze's mind or whatever. Finally, the Flareon spoke. "No."

"No?" Sapphire repeated, giving Blaze a startled look.

"No, I'm not okay," Blaze repeated, his tail flicking as he avoided eye contact with everyone else. He shivered and I saw a tear run down his face.

"Blaze?" Aura called tentatively. He flinched, but didn't answer her. Instead, he seemed to cringe away from the Vaporeon, as if she embodied every single fear he had. Aura hesitated and pushed herself slowly to her feet and approached him slowly. "What's wrong?"

"What does it matter?" Blaze sniffed, wrapping his tail around himself as his entire body began to quiver. Aura stared at him in alarm, while I was fighting the urge to hit him. "No one really cares," Blaze whined, sniffing loudly. I rolled my eyes at this remark.

"I care," Aura mumbled. "Come on, give me a chance."

"Why?" Blaze demanded, suddenly angry. "No one here cares. They all want me to get out of their life and..."

"Oh for the love of Celebi," I snarled. "Shut the hell up!"

"See?" Blaze growled bitterly.

"You idiot. You're right. Not a single Pokémon in this chamber likes you, despite all our efforts to help you. None of us care whether you live or die, or if you even exist anymore," I said coldly.

"Thought so," Blaze said, staring at the ground. Aura glared at me briefly.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me. Looks like we discovered a new Pokémon. Emo-eon, as in, any Eon that becomes idiotically emo," I said dryly.

"Dragonair," Sapphire began to protest, but I stopped her with a wave of one of my orange scaled paws. Damn I hate this body.

"No, he needs to hear this," I said firmly, focusing on Blaze. "You know what's really pathetic? You know what you've been doing is wrong and know your mentality's screwed to hell and back. But when the chance comes, you don't try to rectify anything. You're just trying to push us away with the claim 'oh no one cares anyway'. Open your fucking eyes! We're still here talking with you, dumbass!" A shocked silence followed my words, but it seemed to have the desired effect on Blaze.

"You...you do care?" Blaze asked hopefully. I was so tempted to mock him for that ludicrous question, but chose to nod instead. Sapphire and Aura also nodded seriously, but Frost scoffed.

"Why are you even here?" Aura asked the Glaceon irritably. Frost's tail flicked arrogantly.

"I don't think my business is much of a concern to you is it?" he asked, but then paused and added, in a more polite tone, "Aura." She gave him a surprisingly hostile glare which he observed with an air of indifference. The tension was interrupted by the sound of a throat being cleared, and I glanced over at the Alakazam, whose expression had turned into a thoughtful frown before he teleported from the chamber.

"Nice ice breaker," I commented sarcastically. I broke off as Aura's legs suddenly gave out from under her, the Vaporeon falling over, her body shaking. "What the...?"

"What's wrong?" Sapphire asked, floating over to the Eons. Blaze grunted, one paw holding his stomach and his shaking intensified.

"I'm so hungry," Aura whimpered. "I haven't eaten for a long time and I'm exhausted." Blaze nodded in agreement.

"Diablos rarely indulges in eating," Frost pointed out. "Possession takes its toll on the body's energy, leaving the host drained. Combined with low nutrition puts the host in a very dangerous situation that can easily turn fatal."

"What about me?" Blaze asked, his voice whiny and anxious.

"Using all those powerful fire techniques and all the fighting you've been doing is probably what causes yours hunger aches and weakness," I said logically. "I doubt you've eaten much since we got separated. What happened to you, anyway?"

"Not the time for questions, Dragonair," Sapphire says seriously.

"Well, it's a good time to be a dragon since...wait...what?" I muttered, glancing at my stomach, which had just grumbled noisily. "Why am I suddenly so hungry?"

"You evolved, didn't you?" Frost sneered. "Your body is different and needs more nutrition and energy than you used to. Dragonite require a massive amount of energy to maintain their power levels; energy I doubt you have."

"No need to be so smug," I pointed out irritably, but Frost ignored me. My sudden hunger was putting me in an irritable mood, especially since I was completely exhausted both from my battling and, apparently, my possession. Sapphire even seemed tired. From what I could tell, we all needed some serious downtime after all this. We still didn't know where Ember was and if Blaze was here, I wasn't even sure where Crystal was, either. The area wasn't even safe to be in, what with all the threats and mazes the Cave Army was composed of.

"Can you teleport?" Sapphire asked the silent Espeon, who nodded shyly. "Could you please help us?"

_"What do you want me to do?"_ Mystic asked, using telepathy to speak.

"We need to get food, and I wonder whether it would be too much trouble for you to get us all out of these caves? I do not feel very well in here," Sapphire explained, glancing around the chamber uncomfortably. I strongly suspected the dragoness was horribly claustrophobic, but had hid this detail for a long time.

_"I don't know how to get out,"_ Mystic admitted, her tail flicking. Frost rolled his eyes and muttered something in her ear. She blushed and the gemstone on her forehead glowed brightly. When the light subsided, we were still in the caverns, but not in the ruins of the pillar chamber.

"Where are we?" I demanded.

"Go down that corridor for an exit," Frost said dryly, pointing a paw down a branching passage. Sapphire smiled slightly and floated down the indicated passage with Aura and Blaze weakly following, supported partially by Frost and Mystic, the former leading Blaze with noticeable indifference to the Flareon's wellbeing, whereas the Espeon was supporting Aura with a mixture of telekinesis and her actual body. After what felt like hours, we emerged in bright sunlight, which caused me to cover my eyes in agony (perhaps the one use for paws I've had so far). My eyes adjusted faster than I expected, but it still was unpleasant to be bombarded with light in that fashion.

_"Now what?"_ Mystic asked uncertainly.

"Where are we?" Sapphire inquired gently. The Espeon shrugged.

"You're a wonderful help," I told her dryly and she hung her head sadly. I blinked, a bit surprised by how easily she was offended by my comments, but didn't say anything.

"Er...could you take us to...there's a clearing near a forest around...south of Mauville, I think it is," Sapphire asked hopefully. The Espeon shifted.

_"I don't know Hoenn very well,"_ she admitted finally. _"It's harder to teleport somewhere if I don't know where it is."_

"Give it your best shot," Sapphire urged.

"Or don't bother at all," Frost added, the condescending tone standing out very vividly. Mystic glared at him and the Glaceon was abruptly shoved backwards by an invisible psychic energy. He stumbled slightly and his eyes narrowed. Blaze snickered, despite his near-inability to move. Frost ignored the Flareon. Mystic averted her gaze and teleported in a brief flash of light.

"Huh...and I thought I'd be the one to drive her away," I said dryly. The Glaceon rolled his eyes and walked off. "Hey, where are you going, ice boy?"

"Seeing as I'm the only one with enough energy and skill to fight off attackers, I generously was going to collect some food for you. If you rather do it yourself, then I'll be on my way," Frost answered calmly.

"Thank you," Sapphire said politely, to my annoyance. The Glaceon was not really trustworthy in my eyes and thanking him seemed so...wrong. It was like thanking an enemy for not killing you. Well, that may not be the best example, but my point remains. After Frost had disappeared from sight, I mentioned this to the dragoness, who frowned at me. "He's doing us a favor, we can at least be grateful for it. We're all tired and hungry, Dragonair."

"I don't like him," Blaze grumbled.

"He's not fond of you, either. You beat him in that fight. Apparently that loss was his first ever," I reminded him. Blaze grinned, but didn't say anything. Despite his silence, there was the familiar, obnoxiously confident gleam in his eye that I recognized from when I had first met him. It did help that the demonic yellow eye was missing altogether, vastly improving his appearance. No one else spoke until the Glaceon returned, carrying a bundle of fish tied around his back with some sort of ivy. He wordlessly severed the vine with a moment's hailstorm and tossed a fish to each of us. Blaze practically inhaled his and spat out the bones, while Aura bit into hers enthusiastically, but slower than the Flareon had.

"Thank you," Sapphire said again, using a brief stream of fire to cook her fish and began eating almost daintily, while I tore into mine, using my paws to hold it clumsily. Frost passed more fish to Blaze and Aura and another to me when I finished mine. I was admittedly impressed that he had caught so many in such a short time.

"How'd you get so many?" Aura asked, after finishing her seventh fish. Frost smirked.

"I fired my Ice Shards into the lake. Perfect accuracy, I might add."

"Uh...water refracts light, Frost," I pointed out, but Frost cut in sharply.

"I know that, ignorant Dragonite. Therefore I adjusted my aim to account for the distorted vision."

"Now how are we getting to where we want to go?" I challenged. "You chased off our transportation."

"I've already taken care of that. Rest while you can," the Glaceon answered dismissively and stretched out under the nearest tree, his gaze shifting cautiously, but the look of confidence and arrogance never left his expression. Everyone seemed to be in mutual agreement, but I hesitated.

"And who keeps guard? You?" I challenged. Frost smirked.

"Who better?"

"Someone trustworthy," I said bluntly. Frost chuckled, unbothered by my veiled accusation.

"Then by all means, stay awake to keep an eye on me. It is you who loses the rest," he said calmly. I glared at him and leaned my back against another thick tree. Sapphire curled up beside me, but I shook my head to indicate an unwillingness to be affectionate.

"I don't like being a Dragonite," I said seriously. She frowned briefly.

"So...because you evolved, you don't want to interact with me in any romantic sense? Your evolution doesn't matter to me," she said, touching my side with her tail.

"It has nothing to do with that, Sapphire," I assured her. "I'm just not happy with the evolution. It has little to no effect on our relationship. I guess I have to get used to it, because I'm going to be stuck with it for the rest of my life. Celebi damn it!" I snapped angrily, the full stress of the situation breaking through. "This is why I carried a damn Everstone!"

"Dragonair, calm down," Sapphire said soothingly. "It'll be okay."

"How will it be okay? I didn't ever want to be a Dragonite and I took precautions against it! This is the same thing Ember is terrified of. If she evolves, she'd be filled with unbelievable self-loathing for some unknown reason. SHE at least would have a way out, by becoming a Charizard, but I'm stuck like this FOREVER!"

"Dragonair, relax...get some rest. Maybe there's a way to undo it?" Sapphire suggested.

"Evolution can't be reversed, Sapphire. It's impossible. It can be prevented or cancelled, but not reversed," I insisted bitterly. The dragoness sighed.

"I understand your frustration, but try to relax for now. You're tired and stressed. This isn't the end of the world, Dragonair. Maybe there is a way to undo it, since it was forced upon you," she said, her silver aura orb glowing gently, passing her calming aura onto me. I picked up the soothing feelings less easily than I would have as a Dragonair, but it worked in the end, enabling me to relax and fall asleep. Before losing consciousness, I felt the female Dragonair drape her tail over me lovingly.


	217. Dinner in the Caverns

**Happy Holidays! As my gift to you, I've updated all 4 of my active fics. Maybe the Christmas spirit will move some of you to return the favor with a useful review.**

**Ember POV (finally)**

"When we find Dragon?" Spark whined. I sighed, but didn't answer. The Pichu had been asking that every few minutes since we left the chamber where the Electabuzz had been killed. Spore and Singe were both very quiet and Crystal was aggravated about something.

"Hungry anyone?" the Parasect asked suddenly.

"Me want food!" Spark answered excitedly. It was an improvement over how he would originally express hunger, but it still carried the twinge of annoyance, but I was cranky anyway, so I couldn't really be sure whether the Pichu was the cause or not.

"Okay, just calm down," Singe told the kit seriously. The male Charmander seemed to have recovered from his bout of nausea and had taken to nibbling on some weird plant Spore had found. It supposedly was to help his breath, but Singe had been keeping his distance since, so I couldn't tell if this was true. "Yeah, I think we should eat, Spore."

"This way," the Parasect hissed, turning down a side corridor which led straight to a chamber with a large...buffet table was perhaps the best way to describe it. It was a large table literally covered with plates and dishes filled with food. My mouth began watering from the smells alone. There were many other Pokémon present, most of them eating or talking amongst themselves. For that short time, I completely forgot the scenario that we were in. What did it matter if we were technically prisoners to this group? There was plenty of great food available.

"Take your pick. I recommend this dish, personally," Singe told me, gently steering me over to an area in the middle of the table and pointing to a blue dish with some sort of casserole. His touch on my shoulder was gentle and friendly, and I felt my face grow warm; thankfully this detail was harder to see from his angle. A few of the other Pokémon studied our group curiously, but none of them seemed too suspicious. With so many members, it was hard to believe that everyone knew everyone and were capable of keeping track of them all.

"Okay, I'll try it," I said, but looked around blankly. How was I supposed to eat the food? I was more used to eating 'paw food', like fruits. Even when I was with the Rockets, my diet was composed mostly of food that could be eaten without the aid of utensils. This was not the case with this and there weren't any utensils around. The male Charmander raised an eye scale at me. My face grew hot again, but I stammered my reason for confusion. Singe chuckled.

"Claws," he answered, showing his own (honestly, not very impressive) claws and demonstrated how to skewer a morsel and eat it. "Just be careful not to bite yourself."

"What's this?" Crystal growled, pointing to one of the dishes. An odd purple monkey Pokémon with a tail with a hand at the end turned to the female Flareon, but I didn't catch what it said. Crystal nodded and the strange Pokémon arched its tail in front of itself, the palm facing upwards.

"Five?"

"Huh?" Crystal blinked.

"Give me five," the monkey repeated. Crystal still looked blank and the purple Pokémon sighed. "Slap your paw on the palm."

"It's also your tail," Crystal argued with a growl.

"So?"

"Todd, you idiot. You don't ask a female to slap your tail, even if your Aipom 'fives' aren't intended to be suggestive!" a female Quagsire said, rolling her eyes. Crystal growled and walked over to my location.

"Why are you so angry lately?" I asked the female Flareon curiously. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Spark talking rapidly to the monkey Pokémon, who was listening with rapt attention.

"Nothing," Crystal muttered. Singe and I exchanged brief glances, and Spore turned his white eyes towards the fire Eon, but she ignored him.

"Come on, tell me," I said.

"Blaze, okay?!" Crystal snapped. I blinked at her uncertainly.

"Why? What happened? What happened when we got separated, anyway?" I pressed, using my claws to skewer some of the casserole Singe had recommended and trying it. True to the male Charmander's word, it was delicious, the flavor more interesting than the berries and fruits I had been eating primarily. I also was abruptly aware of how hungry I was, so I continued eating at a slightly faster pace.

"We've just...not been getting along lately," Crystal answered bitterly.

"You two looked like you were getting along when we last saw you," I pointed out, remembering how affectionate they had been acting.

"Hmph," Crystal grunted. "Blaze changed his mind. He doesn't want a kit."

"So?" I asked seriously.

"Well I do!" Crystal snarled angrily, her fur bristling indignantly. "And then he's all selfish about the money that I used to get free. Does he even like me anymore? Ugh, I thought he'd be happy that I'm okay, but..." she let out an angry snarl and spat a spiral of flames towards the corner of the room.

"What's the big deal about a kit?" one of the other Pokémon asked curiously. I was more interested in eating than paying attention, but it was a bird Pokémon of some sort. Crystal sighed.

"I was raised by a breeder," she answered miserably, her tail swishing. "Kits are an essential part of a relationship."

"So Blaze isn't ready for a kit. Better than having a kit and finding that out later," I pointed out logically. "But anyway, what happened to you two? How'd you end up here?"

"Ooh, you're not members?" the Aipom asked, his tail palm fiddling with something around his neck.

"They're with us," Spore hissed, fixing his milky eyes on the monkey Pokémon. Spark had moved and was eating random foods from the table, happily declaring whether he liked it or not before moving on to the next dish. The Aipom dropped the subject and continued eating whatever it was that he was eating.

"Well," Crystal began, nibbling on some meat, "I went looking for you because Blaze wanted to be alone. I didn't find you, so I came back and Blaze was fighting a Leafeon who had that Pichu. I joined the fight and a female Leafeon joined. They beat us and we got separated again." The female Flareon growled and went silent.

"A pair of Leafeon?" Singe asked, sounding surprised. "You fought against the Kanto leaders?"

"And lost," Spore pointed out.

"Still, the sheer type of advantage should have helped," Singe countered.

"Well it didn't," Crystal muttered. The male Charmander grinned.

"That's why they're the Kanto leaders. Even facing two Pokémon with a blatant type advantage, they won."

"Kind of like Frost, if the stories are true," the Quagsire mused.

"Didn't Blaze beat Frost?" Crystal asked casually. There was a stunned silence as every Pokémon's gaze turned towards the female Flareon. Since I was right next to her, this made me feel particularly self-conscious and it was clear Crystal was no more comfortable by this. Singe seemed to notice my tension because he gently rubbed my neck with a paw. I had no objections to this, although I kept a part of my mind attentive on both my mood (Mew damned month) and to make sure his touch didn't go out of line, although I wasn't too worried about that right now. He didn't seem the type, but my mom's warning (which I had all but ignored) floated to the front of my mind.

"You're kidding, right?" a Sandslash choked out. Several other Pokémon made similar statements of disbelief and shock.

"I think that's what happened," Crystal said with a shrug, looking confused as to why her simple comment had earned such a reaction.

"Anyone here know where Sketch is?" Spore hissed. "Or any of the teleporters?" This question briefly distracted several of the chamber's occupants, many of which answered with negatives, but the Quagsire nodded. "You do?"

"Elma does."

"And where is she?" Singe asked, still rubbing my neck gently. I enjoyed the light way his paw massaged my neck. The Quagsire blinked at him (and by proximity, me).

"Elma? Her room, I'm sure. She seemed pretty pissed off last I saw her, though. Must be because of the thing with her mate," the water type shook her head with a frown. Whatever incident was being referenced must have been pretty well known throughout the Cave Army, since it seemed to get mentioned a lot.

"Thanks," Spore said and turned his white eyes to the rest of us. "We have to visit Elma."

"I don't think that's wise," the Sandslash from earlier said somberly. Several of the other Pokémon nodded in agreement, but just as many shook their heads.

"Come on," Singe said, no longer rubbing my neck and walking towards the chamber entrance. Crystal finished the food she was eating before following after me. Spark had reached the end of the table and had seemingly finished sampling the last of the various foods.

"Me come!" Spark cried and ran towards us as a small yellow blur. Once he had caught up, he started bouncing on his feet happily, barely avoiding Singe's tail flame. The male Charmander smiled faintly, moving his tail so it was more in front of him and thereby less in danger of burning the Pichu kit.

"Do you even know where Elma's room IS?" Singe asked the Parasect, but didn't receive a reply. Rolling his eyes, the Charmander turned to me. "Did you like the casserole?"

"Yeah, it was good," I answered dully. I was starting to worry about Dragonair. We had gotten separated what felt like so long ago, thanks to my mom. I had completely lost track of time, but I knew it had been a long time since then. Were they still locked in those cells? Were they even alive? I didn't know and I couldn't hope to answer those questions now. I could only try to stay positive, even though my current mood was anything but optimistic. What with Blaze going nuts and Aura possessed, plus the already intense stress of re-locating the group...ugh, it was just so hard to stay positive.

"Thought you might like it," the Charmander said, smiling at me. I was about to respond when Spark distracted me by whimpering loudly.

"Me scared!" he wailed for no apparent reason.

"What?" Crystal asked, puzzled. The Pichu's cheeks sparked nervously as his black edged ears twitched. Singe and Spore both stopped and gazed at the kit uncertainly.

"Me no like dark," Spark explained, pointing a paw towards the passage ahead. Unlike almost every other in the entire cave, it was lacking the strange lights lining the walls, which cast the corridor into shadows.

"You're with three fire types," Spore said impatiently. Spark shook his head frantically and the Parasect sighed in annoyance. "Just fall asleep or something!" As if on cue, Spark's eyelids drooped and he curled up on the ground. "I didn't do it," Spore said quickly as everyone glared at him.

"Then who did?" Singe asked sarcastically. I frowned to myself. Spark never went to sleep on command and he was behaving too hyperactively to assume he had gotten tired out. So then what caused him to fall asleep? My eyes widened as an unnatural veil of darkness appeared, extinguishing all the lights in the corridor, so that the only light was the flames of Singe and my tail flames. The male fire type's flame flickered, as if blown by a gentle wind, but there was no wind to be felt. It was almost hypnotic the way the flame danced before my eyes. I shook myself quickly, glad that the darkness concealed my telltale blush.

_"Your doom has arrived. Prepare to face your worst nightmare,"_ a soft, echoing voice spoke out from the darkness. I shivered as a chill ran down my spine; my insides felt like ice. There was an irritated sound, although I could not see the source.

"Must you keep doing that?" a second voice demanded.

_"Yeeeeeesss..." _the echoing voice said and two ghosts appeared. One of them was the now familiar Gastly and the other was a mummy-like Pokémon with a single eye. I remembered seeing this ghost in Blackthorn when the crazy Porygon attacked. Whatever happened to that thing anyway? I had blacked out and ended up in Hoenn, so I don't remember.

"Who are you?" Spore asked. The Gastly chuckled.

_"We are the embodiment of your Nightmares and the bringers of your Doom,"_ the Gastly answered with complete seriousness.

"What do you want?" Crystal growled, her fur bristling as she assumed an offensive position.

_"Since Volt gets such special treatment, the lucky bastard, we have to do this task,"_ the gaseous Pokémon answered.

"And that task is...?" Singe inquired.

"The Charmander must be captured or killed," the other ghost answered solemnly, looking directly at me. Its fist clenched. "I owe you for the Shadow Claw you pulled on me."

"Great," I muttered, readying my claws, which glowed with the purple aura of the ghostly claw technique. My fear of the technique had long ago faded, especially when dealing with these pesky ghosts.

_"Your doom draws near as Doom draws near!"_

"That was lame, even for you," the Dusclops grumbled.


	218. Ghost Assault

**Ember POV**

"Hey, wait a minute!" Singe growled and the two ghost Pokémon turned towards the male Charmander. "Who do you think you are?"

"Shut up, Nightmare," the Dusclops snapped before the Gastly could say anything. Without a further warning, it disappeared and I felt something cold and hard collide with my spine, throwing me forward. I gasped in pain, turning my head to find myself inches away from the cold glare of the mummy-like Pokémon, whose fist glowed with a purple energy, much like my Shadow Claw. The ghost punched at me again, but I raised my arm to block the blow, crying out as the ghostly fist burned my scales, sending a wave of agony through my arm. The muscles shut down and my arm fell limply to my side. I swung my right claw at the ghost, but it disappeared and I felt the cold fist strike me from behind again.

"Hey!" Spore hissed. "She is under Cave Army jurisdiction and you have no right to attack her!"

_"Our orders are from our master,"_ Nightmare argued, fading out and reappearing as Singe spat a large fireball. _"Missed me."_

"This won't!" Crystal growled and from her mouth, a stream of fire erupted, twisting into a spiral as it flew through the air. The Dusclops vanished, reappeared behind the Flareon and slammed his fist into her gut. Crystal grunted, clutching her injured stomach. The Gastly's eyes glowed hypnotically and Crystal swayed, her eyelids struggling fruitlessly against the Hypnosis and she collapsed, curling her tail around herself as she fell asleep.

_"Annoying Flareon, enjoy this!" _Nightmare grumbled, his eyes glowing again. Crystal whimpered, but remained asleep.

"Remember not to eat those dreams this time," Doom reminded the Gastly, which scowled.

_"Shut up."_

"Let's stay focused. The master will not appreciate failure," Doom answered, disappearing as I spat a half-hearted fireball towards him. Singe lunged at me, prompting a flinch, but he went past me. I turned my head to see the male Charmander spit a strange blue fire from his mouth directly into the face of the materializing Dusclops. Doom's body glowed and a wave of energy pulsed outwards from the center of his body, flinging the male Charmander aside almost effortlessly. Singe hit the ground, but quickly climbed back to his feet, his tail flame's size intensifying dramatically. He growled fiercely and sent another burst of the draconic flames towards the Dusclops, but this time Doom faded out and punched Singe's face upon reappearing. The male grunted, but got up again, determined to keep fighting despite a bleeding muzzle. His determination was a bit...interesting.

_"He doesn't know when to quit, does he?"_ Nightmare mused with a chuckle. Crystal twitched in her sleep and I received a sudden feeling of clamminess. I remembered, only too well, my first encounter with the Gastly. I remembered...the horrible, clawing dreams that plagued me after becoming entranced by the ghost's hypnosis. So I knew what Crystal was most likely experiencing...and I also knew I was helpless to do anything about it. From the corner of my eye, I see Spore's mushroom release a black goop towards the ghost Pokémon, but Nightmare fades out, reappearing just in front of Spore. _"Boo!"_ he mocks and waves of energy are released from his gaseous form, striking the Parasect, which grunts in pain.

"Swap?" Doom asks, and both ghosts disappear. Singe looks over at me, concerned. I tense, expecting one of the ghosts to attack me again. Doom reappears first and punches, its fist engulfed in flames. Spore tries to backpedal, but the fist collides with the mushroom, setting Spore ablaze. Nightmare reappears beside Singe and a black wave of light strikes the male Charmander, hitting with enough force to drop him to his knees, his breathing becoming desperate gasps. My claws glow with the shadow aura and I swipe at the Gastly, but Doom's fist glows black and catches me mid-swipe, hurling me into the cavern wall. I gasp in pain, my back aching from the impact with the wall. Singe growls, his tail flame flaring up to an even higher level and he sends a stream of flames towards the offensive Dusclops, but it's rendered useless by the ghost disappearing again.

"That's getting real annoying," I mutter, glancing behind me worriedly, expecting the mummy Pokémon to attack me from that vantage point. Singe spits a jet of blue fire towards that area, only to be surprised by a wave of energy from the Gastly. Doom reappears next to the Parasect and seizes him in his hands before the Parasect can react and hurls the bug Pokémon into the wall. There is a dull thud as the mushroom Pokémon collapses limply.

"Spore!" Singe cries out in anger, but neither ghost seems troubled.

_"We do not want to kill you or the female. Stand aside and you will be spared,"_ Nightmare urges. I growl in frustration, flexing my claws aggressively. Singe also growls and lunges at the mummified ghost, only to earn a punch to the stomach as a reward. Nightmare makes a small sigh and another wave of energy fires towards the male Charmander, but this time Singe dodges, the Night Shade hitting the ground harmlessly. I seize the opportunity to jab my ghost-infused claws towards Doom. A sense of glee flares up as my claws hit, the Dusclops making a grunt of pain as the claws tear through the ectoplasm.

"You'll pay!" Doom snaps, his eye flashing with anger. One of his fists closes around my wrist, trapping me in place. The other fist pulls back, electricity crackling through the fist. I wince; this is going to hurt. "Argh!" the ghost yelled suddenly, releasing my arm and whirling to pound the fist into the male Charmander, who had attacked the ghost from behind. Singe cried out in pain and this time he didn't get up as fast. He now carried several noticeable injuries and I had no doubt that he was also worn out, but his eyes showed firm determination which I found rather...appealing. Maybe I'm just a sucker for people who are willing to put themselves at risk for me. Not like anyone normally does that.

_"How do you like getting stuck with the stubborn, loyal one?"_ Nightmare asked with a slight sneer. Doom didn't comment, but silently faded from view. I tensed, not sure who the ghost was going to attack or where he would reappear. I was far too unlucky to assume he was giving up. Sure enough, the mummified Pokémon reappeared to Singe's left and seized his arm, throwing him into the cavern wall, dispelling the darkness veil at the same time. Nightmare frowned. _"I can never hold that long."_

"What does that even do?" I demanded, but was ignored. Singe groaned and pushed himself up, clinging to the wall to prop himself up.

_"Give up. Ghosts are to be respected. Make it easier on yourself and surrender,"_ Nightmare hissed.

"I'm not going to let you hurt her," Singe panted. I felt heat rise to my cheeks, but no one seemed to notice.

"You can barely stand," Doom pointed out. His tone became almost hungry. "I need to succeed. I won't let anything stop me this time..." His shadow expanded until it reached beneath Singe's feet and the male Charmander gasped, his legs giving out and he fell to his knees again. "And now for you," Doom said, turning his single eye to stare at me.

_"Take a nap, go to sleeeeep..."_ Nightmare suggested, his eyes glowing, but I shut my eyes quickly to block out the hypnotic energy. No thanks, once was bad enough. Crystal whimpered again in her sleep, her paws clawing at the ground in agitation. I opened my eyes to slits in order to see what was going on. The Gastly seemed slightly amused by the Flareon's distress. I lunged at the Gastly and stabbed my claws towards its face, but I was intercepted by the sudden movement of the Dusclops, which had moved much quicker than such a large and bulky creature seemed capable of. I grunted as the ghost hit me in the stomach with a fist, knocking the wind out of me.

"Leave her alone!" Singe snarled; his tail flame was now practically double its original size. The Charmander was abruptly engulfed in a bright white light...a light I dreaded with all my heart. The silhouette of the fire lizard became larger and bulkier and when the light faded, the Charmander was gone, replaced with a larger lizard with dark red scales and a horn on the back of its head. The Charmeleon's tail flame was larger than it had been, even at the maximum size. Singe looked down at himself and grinned slightly. Doom and Nightmare stared in surprise.

_"This could be a little more challenging,"_ the Gastly said slowly. Doom's expression darkened.

"I can't fail! Trick Room!" he snapped. Time itself seemed to slow as all my limbs felt sluggish. Doom moved as a blur and slammed a fist into Singe, sending the Charmeleon sprawling back into me, knocking me over. I growled and shoved the larger fire lizard away, ignoring Singe's awkward apology. Singe pushed himself up, grunting as he fought against the sluggish effects of the Dusclop's Trick Room. "Stay down!" Doom snapped, punching the Charmeleon again, the fist glowing with a fiery purple aura. Singe grunted, but managed to stay standing.

_"Doom, calm down!"_ Nightmare warned. _"The master wants..."_

"He only cares about the female! This one is expendable!" Doom seethed, punching the Charmeleon in the gut once more, but didn't attack again.

_"Go to sleep!"_ Nightmare ordered, his eyes glowing hypnotically, but the Charmeleon shut his eyes and spat an impressive plume of fire towards the Gastly, but the ghost avoided it with a frustrated groan. _"Should we?"_

"I can't fail...I can't!" Doom insisted dully. The gaseous ghost looked at his partner warily. Singe took this time to come over to me, but I averted my gaze immediately. Singe looked confused and a little hurt.

"Are you okay?" he asked, keeping an eye on the two ghost Pokémon.

"I'm fine," I replied, not making eye contact.

"What's...?" Singe began, placing a soft paw on my shoulder, but I growled, filled with sudden anger.

"Leave me alone!" I shouted. The Charmeleon recoiled, and his face showed confused sadness, the expression making my insides squirm with guilt, but I pushed the feeling aside.

"But...Ember, I..." he sputtered, but I looked away. Why was he making this harder than it needed to be?

"I'm not interested in you," I said quietly. The Charmeleon gaped at me.

"B-but why? We were getting along great until..." a sudden flash of realization dawned on the red scaled fire lizard's face and anger began to surface instead. "Because I evolved?" I didn't answer; I didn't want to try to explain anything. "I don't believe this...how shallow are you?"

"I don't like Charmeleon," I mumbled.

"This is...what the...how could...?" Singe sputtered, but then took a deep breath, his eyes narrowed in anger, but his voice was calm, although forced. "Fine. I wouldn't want someone as shallow as you as a mate anyway."

"You only cared because of the heat anyway," I muttered bitterly. The Charmeleon scowled.

"Nice attitude," Singe growled. Nightmare chuckled softly, re-attracting our attention to him.

_"Now here's a real force to be reckoned with!"_ he hissed. A footstep behind me prompted me to whirl around. A human sized Pokémon was heading towards us. It was canine in appearance, but bipedal and covered in blue fur, but the chest and stomach was yellow. Its eyes were dull yellow with a blood-red tinge to them. I shivered as I stared into the eyes. There was an air of violence about this Pokémon, but minus the cold chill that usually accompanied Diablos. No, this was something very different, but I had never seen a Pokémon like this before. Singe gave me a scathing glare when he noticed my shiver. Clearly he wasn't going to bother trying to relax me this time.

"It ends here," the strange Pokémon rasped, forming a large orb of energy in its paws and hurling it at Singe. The Charmeleon leapt to the side, but the projectile changed paths and hit him, the force of the impact throwing him against the wall.

_"You're coming with us...or you'll die,"_ Nightmare warned solemnly. I stared at the three opponents in fear. I couldn't fight them all...and I was all alone. Crystal and Spark were asleep and Singe and Spore were down...there was no other option. I lowered my head.

"Fine. I give up."

"Wise choice, Charmander," the bipedal Pokémon rasped, its yellow eyes crazed and insane-looking. The Dusclops chuckled and gripped my arm with one cold fist and I felt a strange sensation before our location shifted entirely. I didn't know where we were, but it wasn't in the caverns anymore. It was...familiar looking, however. It looked like one of the buildings that I had gone to so long ago...wait, it WAS the same one. I recognized the device that had been used to apply the TMs I had received. The only noticeable change was the absence of the Porygon.

"Hi!" a voice said cheerfully and I looked over to the back of the room where a female Eevee was sitting, but I blinked. Unlike most Eevee I had seen, this one had white fur, rather than the usual brown. So this was a 'shiny' Eevee? I seem to remember that being the term and alternate coloration.

"What's going on?" I demanded. The Eevee seemed to think I was talking to her, because she shrugged.

"I don't know."

"I wasn't talking to you!" I snapped and glared at the Dusclops. The female Eevee's ears drooped sadly and I winced.

_"It would not be in your best interest to be mean to her,"_ Nightmare warned as he and the bipedal Pokémon joined us, accompanied by the familiar Sableye.

"What is in my best interests?" I snarled.

"For now? To relax," Tarot told me calmly. I scowled, but the Sableye nodded seriously. Nightmare floated over to me and his eyes glowed. I react too slowly and drowsiness hits me almost immediately; darkness closes in and I'm asleep before I even hit the floor.


	219. Conquest of Fear

**Leaf POV**

"Don't worry yet," I told Jolt quietly. "He doesn't have the same advantages he did last time."

"What do you mean?" Jolt whispered back.

"Last time, he could use Trace to copy almost any of our abilities since there were so many Pokémon to choose from. This time, he only has us," I explained. Jolt nodded thoughtfully and I turned back to the Porygon2. I knew that the battle would still be far from easy. If Fear used the same strategy he did last time, most of our attacks would still be useless. Even my idea of using all our Hidden Powers at the same time had been less than effective. Being a grass type sometimes had some glaring disadvantages, but I had trained to be able to hold my own against any type combination. This would be a good time to prove my training hadn't been wasted. Despite the minor injuries from battling the Magnezone and weird toaster thing, I was still more or less at full strength.

"Activate Conversion: Steel," Fear announced monotonously. I winced, but I was not surprised. The Steel type could resist almost elemental attack, making it an ideal type to negate most damage. Jolt growled, his needle fur launching an electrical shock towards the cyberspace Pokémon. "Activate Trace: Volt Absorb," Fear added and the electricity became absorbed into his body harmlessly. Jolt scowled irritably.

"Not good," Chaos muttered. As we watch, Fear's body becomes outlined with a strange yellow light; Jolt's fur suddenly started sparking from some sort of magnetic field currently surrounding the Porygon2. Jolt ran forward and Fear fired a pale white beam from the tip of its beak, but Jolt leapt over the Ice Beam, spinning in midair and slamming his hind legs into the Porygon's face. Chaos let out an excited sound, but then we realized that the Double Kick had barely done a thing.

"Conversion2: Fighting," Fear explained smugly; Jolt landed, wincing a little from the impact. I knew he hasn't practiced that move enough, since he seemed to get injured every time he uses it. The Porygon's beak glowed a faint white color and when the light faded, the beak was more blade-like, just like it was when we fought him in Blackthorn City...when he nearly killed Shadow.

"Careful, Jolt!" I yelled as Fear floated towards him. Jolt looked up and quickly rolled to the side as Fear jabbed his beak forward with the intent of skewering the Jolteon. Fear made a mechanical grunt as his sharpened beak got stuck in the ground.

"Thanks, Leaf," the Jolteon said gratefully. I nodded, another idea coming to mind. I wrapped one of my vines around the Porygon2's body as it tried to pull its trapped beak from the earth, but Jolt slammed his legs down on the cyber Pokémon's back. Despite being trapped in the ground, the Porygon2 was still hovering above the ground and Jolt's attempt to push him down had no real effect. Maybe it had something to do with the magnetic field around him, but I don't know if there's anything we can do about that. I refocused on my task by tying the vine around a thick tree, and then twined a few smaller vines around the first in order to keep it too strong to break off with ease. Next I looped another vine around Fear and tied that vine to a different tree. I stood back to admire my handiwork and Jolt smirked.

"Ooh, nice one!" Chaos cheered, but the celebration was ended when a miniature explosion occured, originating from underground; fragments of the earth flew from where Fear's beak is planted. The Porygon2 withdrew the bladed beak from the ground and fired a tri-colored burst. The yellow segment of the burst split off from the blue and red segment, both of which also broke apart from one another. The surprising part is that the three bursts circled around and each burst struck one part of the vines trapping the Porygon2. The yellow burst did minimal damage, but the red one easily obliterated the vine it hit, freeing one half of Fear's bindings. I hastily twined another vine around him, tugging him downwards as the blue burst encased the other vine in ice. My tug caught Fear by surprise because the Porygon2 had moved backwards to snap the frozen vine in two, but he managed to avoid being dragged to the ground by my Grass Knot lasso.

"I so hoped that would have worked," I muttered, rethinking my strategy. Very few of my other techniques were likely to be any good against the Steel-converted Porygon, and Jolt's attacks were also not doing much good, since Volt Absorb would heal Fear if he tried to use any electrical attacks. My thoughts were redirected as Fear launched a different beam of light towards me. Unlike the previous Tri-Attack, this technique's colors are more faded and appear to be pink, light blue, and pale yellow and also lacked the elemental power the Tri-Attack possessed. The colors spiral together as the beam approaches, but I rolled to the side, forming leaves from my body and firing them towards the Porygon2. The leaves hit with minimal damage, leaving only small scratches where they collided against the cyber Pokémon's body.

"Leaf, look out!" Jolt cried and I dove low to the ground instinctively, blinking when the tri-colored spiral beam flew inches over my head. Fear was still in front of me, so how did he send another attack at me?

"Lock-On. Attacks are directed at the foe," Fear explained mechanically, almost as if he knew what I was thinking. True to his word, the beam changed paths again and moved back towards me. I rolled to my other side and looked around quickly for a chance to get rid of the stalker beam. The next time it came around, I dove to the other side and fired off some Razor Leaves into its path, but the beam incinerated them easily and was mostly unaffected by the obstacle. It was almost as if the beam was especially destructive to grass techniques, but I don't know any attacks like that, or at least none that look like this one. From the corner of my eye, I saw the Porygon2 split into seven, to Jolt and Chaos' alarm. So while I'm stuck dealing with the rogue attack, they have to deal with weeding out six clones before they can even try to fight back against an opponent that is nearly impossible to damage anyway. The beam twisted around to seek me again and another idea comes to mind. I sidestepped the attack and ran towards the nearest Porygon2, jumping onto its head as the stalker beam came back around again. As intended, the beam hit the cyberspace Pokémon and, to my surprise, the other six copies disappeared. Unfortunately, Fear shook off the damage.

"Wow, that was lucky," Jolt gasped. Fear made a mechanical chuckle and darted forward, stabbing his sharpened nose towards the Jolteon, but Jolt backpedaled quickly, the blade only grazing his ear. Jolt cried out in pain, raising one paw and pressing it against the bleeding gash. Fear chuckled again and repeated the jab. Jolt ducked the best he could, and the blade stabbed his other ear and tore into it. Jolt cried out again and fell to the ground when his other paw reached up instinctively. Being a quadruped, his balance was completely thrown off.

"Jolt, are you okay?" I gasped, closing the distance between me and the injured Jolteon. I couldn't let him get hurt anymore. I couldn't lose another friend. I couldn't just stand by and let bad things happen to those I care about. Jolt's body glowed brightly, so I knew he was using Wish, but I have to make sure he doesn't get another stab from the Porygon2 while he waited for it to activate.

"I hope so," Jolt grunted, trying to stay calm. Fear stabbed at him again, but I slammed my weight into the Porygon, knocking it off target. However, its nose still sliced a gash along Jolt's cheek. Jolt winced in pain and tried to move away from Fear, but the cyber Pokémon was relentless and jabbed at him once again. Jolt jerked his neck to the side with a painful cracking sound. I almost panicked at that sound, afraid that Jolt had snapped his neck and died or something just as terrible. But no, the electric Eon was still alive and conscious, although he looked like he was in a lot of pain, but the pain may be worth being alive. Fear once again had gotten his nose impaled in the ground, but he withdrew it before I could even try to bind him again. I wouldn't have bothered anyway, considering how easily he had broken out of it last time. I spun around quickly, slashing my leaf tail across the cyber Pokémon's body. It left a scratch, but Fear made another chuckling sound.

"All in vain. Recover," he said monotonously, the scratches fading as his body glowed; all except for the scar-like one across his chest. The golden orb of light descended upon Jolt, and Fear attempted to impale him before it reaches him, but I again slammed my weight into Fear. The Porygon2 seemed to have anticipated this, since he pivoted as I lunged, so that his bladed beak was directly in my path. I twisted to the side just in time to avoid impaling myself on his beak, but the point still stabbed into my side, sending an enormous flare of pain through me. My vision blurred and my eyes fill with tears from the pain. Jolt shouts in horror; I slumped to the ground weakly. I felt the bladed edge leave my side, but I could feel the blood seeping from the wound and no doubt staining my tan fur. Before I can conjure up the energy to use Synthesis, I'm hit from behind by some sort of energy; the mere contact with the energy sent agony through every inch of my body. I writhed against the hard ground, my vision blurred worse than ever so that all I could see was a haze of color. My heart pounded harder than ever in my chest. Agony wracked my nerves, which felt like knives tearing at my insides, ripping me apart.

"Oh Mew, LEAF!" Jolt screamed, but he sounded so distant...as if he was miles away and I could only hear an echo of him. "Leaf, listen, stay strong!" the voice begged me desperately, but my focus is disappearing. Even the pain was fading; my body felt numb and darkness seemed to be closing in. "Leaf! Stay focused!" Jolt's voice begged me. My vision was fading faster now, and the more I struggled to remain alert, the easier it became to just close my eyes. "Mew damn it, focus!" Something hard impacted with my face, but I don't even cry out. It hurt, but at the same time it felt like the pain was far away, like I'm not the one experiencing it.

The voice was becoming fainter and I could barely hear anything anymore. Not the wind rustling the leaves in the trees, not the voices or sounds of battle, not the waterfall in the background. My body felt numb and...cold. So cold...why must I feel cold? I hated cold. Hate it. Even my mind was getting numb...it too was afflicted by the cold sensation that spread through me. I could just barely hear my name, but even that was drifting away from me when at last everything goes dark.


	220. Stress of Darkness

**Darkness POV (Wow, I just hand the narrator position out these days, don't I?)**

"This building will do for now," Shadow told me, his voice devoid of all emotion. Shadow is extremely attractive, but his refusal to acknowledge most of his possible emotions is extremely frustrating. He rarely even acknowledges me sometimes. I sighed to myself as I followed the Espeon into what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. Unlike our previous base, this building had no computers, which is fine since Frost was really the only one who understood anything about them anyway, and only two 'rooms'. There was plenty of space, but a lot of it was taken up by old boxes and crates. Shadow noticed my sigh and turned his silver eyes towards me. His expression never changed, and his eyes gave nothing away. He held the gaze for only a moment before turning back to inspect the immediate area. Without looking at me, he said, "Sulking about Kira does no good, Dark."

"I wasn't sulking!" I snapped. My anger, always so close to the surface, flared up. This tendency was worse around the full moon. I think I have a unique condition among Umbreon that, instead of having a few weeks of a heat season around May, I experienced the same effects for roughly a week, every month during the full moon. Actually, that's not entirely accurate. The needs and desires I experienced during that week can be soothed with simple affection, although not repressed completely. This was probably the only reason I could survive with a mate as unaffectionate as Shadow. Kira had always wondered why I didn't try anything with Jolt, who is easily an improvement over Shadow. She even had offered to 'lend' him to me during my moody weeks, but I refused. Kira was a childhood friend; I wouldn't have felt right doing anything remotely affectionate with her mate. She loved him and he cared for her equally. If only Shadow was willing to feel the same towards me...

"Then why did you sigh?" he asked; the sleek tail of the black Espeon flicked with indifference. He was still refusing to look at me and instead was walking along the perimeter of the warehouse. I didn't answer, but I followed after him, the midnight blue bands on my legs glowed brightly despite the lack of moonlight shining on me. I didn't feel like telling him that I wished he'd be more affectionate because he won't care. He's said many times before that he'd be fine if I left him alone. I can't understand why he thinks he'd be better off alone. I've tried being alone before and it never worked. Now I'm even more alone than before: with Kira gone, I've lost my best friend. As much as I hated Diablos for what he's done to us, I knew I can't do anything about it. I'm just not strong enough.

For over a year, I've had a rivalry with the phantom's pet Umbreon. Almost all our battles end in his favor, but he never really tried to kill me, nor did he seem to want me as a mate. I could sometimes see the lust in the male Umbreon's eyes, but he never acted on it. It is partly in the nature of most dark types to find stronger Pokémon attractive. Some also have the nature of taking a defeated opponent of the opposite gender as a mate, a quality that is made easier with Umbreon, most of which will inexplicably act submissive upon defeat. Some Pokémon, mostly Eons, have coined the term 'Umbreon rules' to describe this instinct. The instinct wasn't limited to mating, but the supposed privilege to do almost anything to the loser. Most dark types, from what I've heard, enjoy scratching and biting the loser, either as torture or for sensual thrills.

"Shadow?"

"What?" the Espeon replied tonelessly.

"Do you want to spar?" I asked hopefully. Shadow responded with a humorless laugh. "What?"

"No."

"Why not?" I complained.

"You know why not," Shadow answered coldly. I smiled and took a step closer to the male Espeon. His expression didn't change, but I didn't expect it to. I leaned in closer and rubbed my face against his chest fur, savoring his scent as I breathed in. I try to pretend that he's playing hard-to-get when he ignores me, but that only works for so long. It stopped working entirely when I once got fed up with 'playing' with him and just pounced, but even then he ignored me. How he accomplished that is anyone's guess. There are times where he's more cooperative or even a few cases where he's lustful, but those instances are too rare to be much consolation. I just wish Shadow would understand that I'm not asking much from him; I just want some affection and I get needier when I'm denied the simpler attention. Why does he insist on having me struggle to get his attention?

"I'll go easy on you," I whispered in his ear. This lie didn't fool him one bit and he didn't bother to reply. I circled around him so that I was standing behind him, but still close. Close enough to lean over and lick him lightly behind his left ear. His only reaction was the flick of his tail, subtle enough for most to overlook, but I knew better. He didn't move away from me, but he didn't acknowledge me, either. It's so damn frustrating! Was it really too much to ask that he at least pay a little attention to me? I just wanted to bite him for how stony he was, but I settled for licking his other ear, quietly purring in his ear. Shadow didn't react at all; his expression remained calm and impassive and he stayed silent. It was like flirting with a furry statue.

"Are you done, Dark?" Shadow asked finally. I stared at him incredulously, trying to keep my temper under control before I explode. At the same time, I was rather hurt. I knew when I first wanted to be his mate that he wasn't perfect. I knew he wasn't the most emotionally available male, but I didn't expect him to be so closed and cold all the time. I have urged him to use emotion around me, because maybe then he could be warmer around me, or at least make me feel less shut off from him. Perhaps one of the only signs of empathy I have received from him was that he doesn't want me near him for my own protection, to ensure I wouldn't become a target because of him, but that's no excuse for the degree of apathy he expresses on a regular basis. Until the raid on our base, we had all been safe, save for the instances where the male Umbreon would somehow invade, despite Frost's security improvements. I personally thought Leaf was in more danger of being targeted than I am. Our romantic relationship had remained secret for a few months, until I had let slip to Frost, who proceeded to mock Shadow for it.

"Where are the others?" I asked, trying to get control of my emotions. I doubted even having a tantrum would faze the ebony furred Espeon and all it would do is put me in a foul mood and give Shadow an excuse to disappear like he always does. His tendency to disappear on a supposed 'mission' every full moon was particularly blatant, since I knew that he knew that the full moon is my version of the heat season. What kind of jerk avoids his mate during the time she needs him most? I'm not even that aggressive, unlike some species, and I need companionship more than a specific form of intimacy. Kira took it upon herself at the beginning to groom me whenever I got into one of those moods, which thankfully satisfied the worst of the desires. She and I agreed that it was probably better to get the group's trust and respect before bringing up that unfortunate detail about my hormones.

"Leaf resigned, Dark," Shadow answered, his tone devoid of all emotion. I admit that I expected some sort of emotion when he mentioned Leaf, but he probably put more effort into hiding the feelings. "I took Frost to speak with a past flame of his, quoting him."

"Why?" I interrupted before he could tell me where Jolt was. The black furred Espeon rolled his eyes indifferently.

"He didn't say, nor can I read his mind," Shadow answered. I stayed silent, unwilling to divulge that I knew what was on Frost's mind. The Glaceon was the only member of the group that had managed to stay on friendly terms with me. Leaf was scared of me; Shadow was my mate, but not very friendly, and Jolt was more attentive to Kira or Leaf. Frost, on the other paw, was despised by the majority of the Eons in our group and even got on my nerves often, but he did have a certain respect for me. So I was a friend to him the same way he was a friend to me. We were not really into each other romantically, although that was more because I was interested in Shadow.

"Oh. What old flame?" I asked. Shadow rolled his eyes again.

"Some Glaceon in Sinnoh. I've been there before, so I knew where it was," he answered tonelessly.

"Would it kill you to show some emotion?" I snapped, my temper resurfacing. Shadow's expression didn't change, only increasing my annoyance.

"What possible emotion is required for that last statement?" he asked, his voice flat.

"Anything!" I practically yelled, my rings pulsing in response to my agitation.

"I see. So you insist I show an emotion that is neither specified, nor required?" he asked. I was so tempted to bite him. He's so handsome, even though his stance was so rigid and uptight at times. The way his tail flicks is like tempting me to pounce on it and the silver eyes are so hypnotic and alluring. A pity his personality is so frustrating and flat. Does he feel anything at all? Is his heart truly as hard as his will? I've asked myself these questions often, but I can never be sure of the answer.

"Ugh, where's Jolt?" I grumbled. It'll be less infuriating to drop the subject now.

"I'm not sure," Shadow admitted. I stared at him. How could he not know where Jolt was? The electric Eon had been sulking ever since Kira...not that I've been much better. In combination of the severe depression of losing my best friend, putting up with Jolt's sulking, the unhappiness of Leaf resigning, the frustration of Shadow leaving for long stretches of time, AND the full moon...I suddenly felt bad for Frost, since I took everything out on him.

"And why don't you know?"

"I was not present when he left," the male Espeon replied. I growled and he rolled his eyes before repeating his sentence with exaggerated emphasis on emotion. Maybe I should bite him anyway.

"And where were you? Too busy avoiding me?" I demanded, hissing my second inquiry.

"Yes, because there is nothing in my life more important than avoiding you, not even avenging the murder of my parents, despite how many years I have invested in the latter goal," Shadow answered monotonously. The sarcasm would have been much more effective if there was actually a sarcastic tone associated with his words. In response, I walked around to his right side and rubbed my head against his neck, breathing deeply to enjoy his scent. My rings lit up as I nuzzled the Espeon, whose only reaction was a trace of a frown. "What are you doing, Dark?"

"Flirting with you. If we're alone..." I trailed off, but licked his neck suggestively.

"I believe this was the reason I didn't want to spar," Shadow said irritably. I smirked.

"That was one time."

"You try this sort of thing every time we battle," he argued.

"And Frost says you need to learn to beat Dark types," I retorted, knowing that bringing up Frost would incense him and maybe force him to show an emotion. "His profile on you even said you're useless against Darks."

"I'm not useless," Shadow replied arrogantly. I shivered in delight. Arrogance was not exactly an attractive emotion, but anything was better than nothing with Shadow. Mhm, he's so handsome when he's indignant.

"Liar," I teased, licking his chin. Shadow's expression darkened, but the rest of his demeanor remained calm and unfazed. If I could just rile him up a little; it would be so attractive to see him angry at me. Then all it would take is a simple push to get him to engage me in a scratching battle and then afterwards he'd be mine to play with. I could probably get the same outcome if I used Attract, but Attract rarely works for me. The male Umbreon always managed to shake it off and Shadow isn't very receptive to it. Frost actually laughed when I tried it on him during a battle and he then proceeded to crush me with a storm of ice techniques while reciting about a half dozen 'errors' that attempting Attract during a battle causes. He later chided me in private for even trying to seduce an opponent in such a reckless manner. Since then, I've rarely use Attract for anything.

"That's enough, Dark," my mate told me coolly and tried to walk away, but I blocked his path and licked his cheek. "I said that's enough." His harsh tone was like a Scyther's blade into my side and I took a step back. In a fight, I'd win, but I don't want to always have to fight him in order to get attention.

"What, you have something better to do than care for your mate?" I grumbled. "You left me again during the full moon. It...it upsets me that you don't care when I need you."

"Everything upsets you," Shadow answered indifferently. I flinched and took another step back, shifting my gaze to the ground. Was that his defense for neglecting me? Because I'm moody a lot? Does he really not care that I'm upset by his indifference?

"Shadow, I just-"

"I don't care. Deal with the situation, Dark. In the past week or so, I have had all hell break loose. Jolt's mate was murdered, our base was destroyed, the Vaporeon was possessed, my brother is on his own, and the only consolation we have is that the Lucario is dead. So excuse me for thinking I have greater matters than your damn hormones, your constant mood swings, and your perpetual neediness," Shadow snapped, but the anger faded just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Well excuse me for thinking that my mate should at least pay attention to me!" I shouted, tears forming in my eyes. "You're never around! You never want to do anything with me..."

"And that is your problem. Don't make it mine."

"How is it not your problem? Huh?!" I snarled, baring my teeth threateningly. Shadow's eyes flashed angrily, but I'm too upset to care.

"I never wanted you as a mate, Umbreon. You forced it upon me and I was kind enough to accept the term. I don't know how the damned Glaceon found out about it, but I don't really care. First reason I find to dump you, I swear to Arceus that I will. I don't need a mate. I don't want one. Either deal with it or break it off," Shadow hissed. I stared at him in shock, lost for words. The Espeon turned away from me and resumed his walk around the warehouse perimeter. I stayed where I was, sniffling quietly. Maybe I would be better off breaking off the relationship before I get even more hurt. I'm the only one who puts any effort into the relationship and I get nothing out of it. I want to believe that Shadow is capable of loving me, of caring about my wellbeing, but too often he walks all over me or ignores me.

Would I be better off with someone else? Who? Leaf was far too young and new to the idea of romance for me to even consider. Jolt was too crushed about Kira's death and with me as Kira's best friend, that could just be awkward for a while. Frost? I don't know. Maybe I could hope for someone outside of the immediate group. Were there more benefits to staying with Shadow, even after his open desire to break up with me, or would it be better to end it immediately and look for someone else, someone better?

"Shadow," my voice echoed in the silent warehouse, but the male Espeon didn't reply. I wanted to try to talk to him and maybe try to work things out before doing anything rash or impulsive. No, I knew what I should do. I needed a second opinion, someone that can help me work things out. "Can you take me to where Frost is?" I called out. I knew my mate's still in the building, even if I couldn't see him from my position. I wiped a tear from my face, determined not to break down. I was hoping this was just a mood swing.

"Fine," Shadow answered dully, teleporting from his location and appearing next to me. He made contact with me disdainfully and his silver forehead gem glowed. A bright flash lit up the warehouse and when I re-opened my eyes, I found that we were standing outside of a cave. The air around us was much cooler than I was used to, but Shadow seemed unbothered by the cold. Without a word, he walked into the cave with me following uncertainly. Shouldn't he knock or something? I wouldn't like it if someone walked into my home without invitation. I blinked a few times once inside the cave and gazed around. It was a little warmer inside the cave, which seemed to be both lit and heated with a fire lamp near the roof.

"Yes?" a female voice called and I turned my head towards the side of the cave where a female Glaceon was sitting, studying us warily. A short distance away from her, the young Flareon and Glaceon couple that had shown up at our base during the raid were also watching us. How did they get from Johto to, I assume, Sinnoh? Was Leaf with them?

"Is Frost still here?" Shadow asked monotonously.

"Well, we'd tell you, but you're too much of a prick," the Flareon growled. The young Glaceon giggled and cuddled closer to the Flareon's fur. He smiled faintly and wrapped his tail around her. She is so damn lucky.

"Be silent, Flareon. I was addressing her," Shadow retorted coolly, gesturing dismissively toward the adult Glaceon.

"Don't talk to my mate like that!" the young Glaceon growled defensively. Shadow shot her an annoyed glare.

"I advise you stay out of this conversation, Glaceon."

"Watch how you speak to my kit," the adult Glaceon warned, her fur bristling. Shadow met her gaze with indifference.

"Is Frost still here?" he asked lazily.

"Do you see him here?" the Flareon retorted, gesturing a paw around the cave.

"I recall telling you to be silent, Flareon."

"I recall you being a prick. Get out of our home," the Flareon snapped.

"Let me handle this, Vice," the older Glaceon said gently. The Flareon frowned, but nodded in agreement. "Frost is not here."

"Where'd he go?" I asked, feeling a sense of desperation. "What about Leaf? Was he here?"

"Frost didn't say. Yes, Leaf was here. He arrived with Vice and Glacia," the older Glaceon said, gesturing to the young Eons.

"And where is he now?" I asked, looking around the cave, but I didn't see the Leafeon.

"He and Jolt left to help that Rotom, Chaos," the Flareon answered. Shadow raised an eyebrow, but the fire Eon didn't elaborate.

"Why?" Shadow asked once he realizes the Flareon was done speaking.

"Sorry, I'm supposed to be silent," the fire type said, covering his mouth with one paw. Shadow's tail flicked in irritation, and the gem on his forehead glowed for several seconds. "Hey!" Vice complained angrily, shaking his head.

"Your mind hides nothing," Shadow smugly reminded the Flareon. Despite the fire Eon's attempts to repel the mental probing, Shadow smirked in triumph and announced, "Frost went to the Cave Army and Jolt and Leaf are near Blackthorn."

"I knew where Frost went?" Vice asked skeptically, holding his head with one paw.

"No. Frost received a phone call from Gem. While the Sableye has been known to be affiliated with three enemy organizations, previous memories of yours imply it is the Cave Army this time, since the Umbreon is unlikely to be associated with the Dark Organization so soon after the assassination attempt on Lava," Shadow responded tonelessly. The urge to bite him intensified with every word he spoke.

"So where are we going?" I asked, resisting the urge the best I could.

"We're going to pick up Jolt," the male Espeon answered simply. I stared at him uncertainly.

"I'm looking for Frost, remember?"

"I know that, Dark," Shadow replied impatiently. "But the Rotom had something stolen from him, which makes it likely that it's the bait for a trap."

"For who?" I asked skeptically, but Shadow didn't answer. "Fine. Let's just go. THEN can we find Frost?"

"By that time, it is possible he will have returned here. Come." Shadow's gem glowed as he touched me with his paw. When I re-opened my eyes, we were located near the entrance to the damaged city of Blackthorn. His gaze flicked around us casually and his gem glowed brightly.

"We don't know where they'd be," I pointed out.

"Shut up, Umbreon. That's why I'm doing a psychic scan," Shadow snapped. I flinched and blinked back tears. I couldn't let his words hurt me, no matter how cold and condescending they were. It's just me being overemotional, right? Without even a word of apology, the Espeon started walking in one direction and I followed, not sure where we're heading.


	221. Malicious Gathering

**Back to writing past tense. Last two chapters have been fixed as well.**

**Ember POV**

I slowly awoke, but I struggled against the return to consciousness, wishing to be able to remain in the peace of my slumber for even a few minutes more. I cuddled closer to the soft pillow placed underneath my body. One part of my mind nagged about how I hadn't gone to sleep with a pillow, but I don't really care. Despite my best efforts I found that I couldn't fall asleep again and gave up trying. I slowly opened my eyes and looked around, trying to get a grasp on my surroundings. I recognized the device used to teach me the claw techniques, which brought back the most recent memories of being captured by the ghosts. The room seemed to be empty, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, and ghosts had the tendency to stay invisible until they wanted to be seen.

I stifled a yawn and rubbed my eyes with my paws, trying to wipe any remaining sleepiness from them. In this sort of situation, it would be more beneficial to be alert. I flexed my claws and stretched; the exertion cleared my mind a little more. I got to my feet and walked towards the entrance to the building, looking outside. There didn't seem to be anyone or anything guarding the area, which only heightened my unease. I was told before the fight that I was wanted either captured or killed, but there didn't seem to be any security keeping me here. I stepped out of the building and descended the stairs. As soon as I was a few steps away from the bottom of the stairs, a dense fog surrounded the entire area, obscuring everything so that all I could see was fog. "Mew damn it," I growled, remembering a similar incident when Tarot had brought me to this place. Now it seemed like the fog served two purposes: preventing people from finding it and preventing people from leaving.

Seeing as I had no real option, I walked backwards until I bumped into the stairs leading back towards the building. The fog didn't extend around the building itself, so I was able to safely climb the stairs and re-enter the shrine. I spat a small fireball at the ground in anger, clenching my fists angrily. Why was I being put through this crap? Was I doomed to have no luck whatsoever? Even when I thought I had a chance to get a mate, it backfired and I ended up alone again. Dragonair would probably never let me live it down if he found out I dumped a potential mate because of his specie. But that idiot didn't know why Charmeleon hit such a sore spot with me, and I preferred that he never know. It was my business, not his. Mate selection was not something I wanted to rush into. I didn't have any experience with courting or dating and of the two that SEEMED interested, one was borderline stalker and the other was...not forward enough? I don't know what about Singe I didn't really care for, but his evolution doomed the relationship before it could really even start.

In retrospect, that was probably a good thing. I didn't get emotionally bonded with either, so their losses were not as intense. My primary concern wasn't about a mate, though. In order to get my paws on the best mate for me, I'd need to be careful and take my time. I wanted someone who'd respect me and not constantly be trying to be dominant. Enough thinking about this; I'll only get depressed and my mood was bad enough as it was.

"Oh good, you're awake," a vaguely familiar voice sneered and I turned back towards the entrance of the building, frowning slightly. A bulky and muscular Pokémon entered, two of its four arms were clasped together, while the upper pair of arms was poised to attack. I gave the Machamp a disgruntled glare, but didn't say anything. I tried to remember when I met this Pokémon before, but I was drawing a blank at the moment. "Come with me," the fighting type ordered, pointing with one hand.

"What do you want?" I growled, sitting down on the pillow stubbornly. I wanted to know what was going on, not to mindlessly follow commands. The Machamp stepped towards me aggressively and I readied my claws to strike.

"Let me handle this," Tarot interrupted, solidifying into the room. He wasn't carrying his deck, but I could tell it was still him. "Ember, is it? We're staying in the area, but not in the building. Please come without argument."

"I'm not going anywhere," I answered coolly. The Sableye nodded calmly.

"We can just drag you out by your tail," the Machamp pointed out, taking another step towards me, but I jab my claws into his leg. The muscular Pokémon winced, but then laughed and raised a fist to slam into my head. A strange portal of some sort appeared out of nowhere and a bolt of energy fired from it, hitting Machamp in the chest and throwing it backwards into one of the shrine's walls, scattering a small amount of debris onto the floor.

"My apologies," Tarot said serenely to the fallen fighting type. "I mean you no harm, Ember."

"Then why don't you just let me go?" I snarled, flexing my claws. The Sableye's gemstone eyes glittered eerily.

"It is not my call. Your cooperation will help make things go much more smoothly. To my knowledge, you are in no immediate danger. Trust me," Tarot told me, gently placing a paw on my shoulder. I shivered a little from his icy touch and flared my tail flame up a little to counter the chill. With a sigh, I nodded and allowed the Sableye to lead the way out of the shrine. To my confusion, the fog had completely disappeared, but then I remembered that one of the ghosts had been able to remove the defense, although I couldn't remember which one. Machamp followed after me, but he kept a little bit of distance between us, which made the travel a little less uncomfortable.

"Where are we going?" I growled impatiently after about five minutes of silence.

"We're almost there," the Sableye told me in a soothing tone. I scowled, but didn't add anything. Tarot eventually led me to what may have been a lake, but I never knew there was a lake in this area. I've never really traveled around Kanto until about two months ago.

"What in Mew's name are we doing here?" I demanded, gesturing to the water.

"It could be a while and the indoor area is too cramped to be comfortable. I doubt you like the idea of a cage-like area," the ghost answered, leaning against a tree. The Machamp walked past me and stood by the water's edge, almost as if it's waiting for something. Exactly what is made clear when the water ripples and the head of a large serpent creature with blue scales and a mouth filled with teeth broke the surface of the water. It is both bulkier and longer than Dragonair, but the familiarity is recognized faster: Venom, the Gyarados owned by the Rocket that Dragonair hated the most, and also one of Dragonair's least favorite Pokémon. From this, I realized the Machamp was also one of said Rocket's team.

"Hello, Charmander," Venom hissed. I try my best not to appear intimidated, but it's nearly impossible. The Gyarados has teeth that could easily tear me apart if it attacked and was strong enough to rival Dragonair. Come to think of it, Venom was the only Gyarados I knew that could move and battle efficiently outside of water, although with a little difficulty maneuvering.

"Is Nightmare here?" the Haunter that I had encountered back in the Cave Army caverns asked as she materialized. Tarot shook his head and the Haunter's mouth frowned briefly. "Oh. Well, Ninje and Soul are coming in a few moments."

"Hi Lera!" the female Eevee chirped, her white furred tail swishing happily. I jumped slightly; I had overlooked the Eevee's presence, but now I could see her sitting near the tree where Tarot was leaning. The Haunter's frown reversed and she floated over to the Eevee to engage her in conversation. Tarot had somehow acquired his tarot deck from thin air and was casually studying various cards as he flipped them. Venom and Machamp were talking to each other, but I wasn't paying them much attention.

"Are we doing a full gathering?" Doom asked, the Dusclops materializing, along with the crazed bipedal canine Pokémon that had attacked me in the caverns. The strange Pokémon paid little attention to the Pokémon present and sat in a strange, meditative position, blue energy surrounding its body. It looked mildly less insane with its eyes closed, but only mildly.

"Almost," Tarot answered, adding, "Helium isn't coming."

"No surprise with her," Doom rolled his eye. I walked closer to the water and scooped a little water in my paws to drink. Venom smirked and splashed his tail forcefully on the surface of the water, spraying water on me and extinguishing my tail flame. I cursed loudly and flashed my middle claw at the large water serpent. Venom stared at me in disbelief and Machamp chuckled at the Gyarados' expression. I relit my tail flame with a quick stream of fire, fixing the Gyarados with a hateful glare. Did he think he was funny to splash me with water or something? Mew damned snake.

"Now here's a question...why do we all have to be here?" another voice asks grumpily as a winged insect and a brown insect-like Pokémon with some sort of halo over its head appeared. I know the species as Ninjask and Shedinja respectively, having seen them both during the fight in Blackthorn City. The living creature is the one speaking, and the only one of the two actually moving. The Shedinja is hovering without the use of wings, but I think it's part ghost, so this isn't too odd.

"Oh look, they actually showed up," Doom said with mock amazement. Neither bug Pokémon responded to this comment.

"I told you I didn't know," the Haunter said patiently and the Ninjask clicked its claws. "How have you been, Ninje?"

"Less than well," the Ninjask buzzed. The Haunter blinked inquisitively. "I have been seeking a mate for quite some time. No luck." I blinked in surprise, but didn't say anything. The female ghost bobbed in a manner that seemed sympathetic. "What's your secret, Lera?" the bug buzzed.

"I don't know," the ghost said, lifting her disembodied hands in a gesture similar to a shrug. The Dusclops shifted its weight a little to the side. "You haven't seen Nightmare, have you?"

"Not since the mission," the Ninjask answered, clicking its claws again.

"How's Fiend?" Venom hissed suddenly. Machamp slammed its fists together, narrowing his eyes at the ghosts present. The meditating Pokémon opened one bloodshot eye to glare at the four armed Pokémon.

"It would not be wise to threaten us," the Pokémon rasped.

"And why not?" Machamp growled, pounding his four fists together with a loud slamming sound.

"Don't start fighting," the Eevee complained. The meditating Pokémon sneered, but closed its eye and resumed the meditation. The Eevee bounded over to me. "Hi! We never really got introduced. I'm Icicle," she said cheerfully.

"I'm Ember," I grunted, not sure why the white furred Eevee was talking to me at all. She seemed less threatening than the ghosts or ex-Rocket Pokémon, so I briefly wondered what Nightmare had meant when he told me it would not be smart to upset her.

"Nice to meet you," Icicle said, suddenly looking a little shy.

"Your moods seem to be getting better, Ice," the Haunter commented kindly. Icicle blushed and looked at the ground.

"Maybe a little. Thanks, Lera."

_"Your worst nightmare has surfaced. Your dreams are consumed by the sense of doom and the-"_

"Say another pun and I'll hurt you!" Doom snarled to the gaseous Pokémon. Nightmare chuckled, but stopped speaking. Lera faded out and reappeared behind the Gastly, using her two hands to pull him close to her. I felt a little uncomfortable watching them, so I looked back at the Eevee.

"Nice fur," I said, for lack of something better to say. Icicle giggled and looked down at herself fondly.

"Thanks," she said shyly, her tail swished cheerfully as she looked around the surrounding area. "It's getting crowded," she commented. That much was true. Already there were most of the ghosts that I had seen, plus Venom and Machamp.

"That's partly why we moved out here," Tarot reminded her.

"You work with these ghosts?" I asked Icicle, trying to sound casual, rather than angry or threatening. She blinked and shook her head.

"Not really."

"Then why are you with them?" I asked, an annoyed growl escaping. I was angry at the situation more than anything, but the Eevee still flinched.

_"Watch it, Charmander. If you upset her, you're going to trigger the wrath of...we need someone named Wrath working with us."_

"No we don't," Doom said dully.

_"Oh come on, Doom. Face the wrath of Wrath?"_

"You are shockingly uncreative," a new voice said and all heads turned towards the speaker, which was another winged insect Pokémon, identical to the other Ninjask, the only difference being that the voice sounded feminine. Tarot's eyes glittered oddly and he flipped the top card of his deck, almost inquisitively.

"Empress, good to see you," he said after examining the card.

"Tarot? It has been too long," the female Ninjask replied, her attention on the Sableye. The male Ninjask was staring at the female in awe, an emotion I wasn't aware bug Pokémon could even express. Nightmare and Doom exchanged a glance, both of them suddenly looking amused by something.

"You have no mate," Tarot said bluntly, flipping the second card from his deck. The new arrival made an angry buzzing sound.

"He died."

"My sympathies," Tarot answered. The way they spoke to each other was oddly...dance-like. Their comments and replies were done in quick succession, flowing easily. The Sableye flipped the top card. "You remain optimistic."

"I do," the Ninjask said, studying the Shedinja thoughtfully. In the blink of an eye, she had closed the distance between her and the ghostly bug, circling the Shedinja rapidly. The male Ninjask buzzed in exasperation and Nightmare snickered.

_"And that makes the score Ninje zero and Soul one hundred and seventeen."_

"One twenty-six," the Ninjask grumbled.

"Ouch," Icicle giggled.

"There had better be a damn good reason why you're all here," a voice snarled. Icicle jumped slightly and turned around. I followed her gaze and saw the Umbreon...the one who had murdered the Electabuzz back in the caverns.

_"We're having a meeting,"_ Nightmare said helpfully. The dark Eon scowled.

"I said not to disturb my time off until-"

"When is your birthday, Volt?" the Haunter interrupted. The Umbreon glared at her, but the female Eevee made a quiet growl, distracting the Umbreon for a few seconds.

"April fifth," the Umbreon said in a tone of forced calm. How long that would last was anyone's guess. I also noticed that almost all the ghosts were watching him carefully, almost as if a little...afraid. Sure enough, the calm demeanor faded and was replaced with iciness. "And that's not for a while yet, is it?" He paused and gave me a strange look. "What is the mate-less Charmander-?"

"SHUT UP!" I snapped. There seemed to be almost a collective intake of breath following my outburst (even from the ghosts, who shouldn't even need to breathe). The Umbreon seemed a little startled, but regarded me with cruel amusement. I bared my claws, allowing them to assume the fiery blue dragon aura. "Don't call me mate-less," I snarled.

"Oh? And why not?" the dark type sneered. I could tell from his tone that he was challenging me, as if daring me to stand up to him. I was so sick of being mocked that I didn't care that there was an obvious threat. "Go ahead...attack me, see what happens," the Umbreon breathed, grinning sadistically and stepping within range of my claws. I resisted the impulse to shiver and stepped away from him, wary of him attacking me instead.

"Knock it off, Volt," Icicle growled. The Umbreon smirked in my direction, but turned to the white furred Eevee and lightly licked her cheek. She giggled and rubbed against him affectionately. I stared at them for a few seconds. What on earth could attract her to such a violent and sadistic male?

"He is so whipped by that bitch," Machamp whispered loudly to Venom. Too loudly. Volt bristled and whirled around, his eyes burning with rage.

"What did you say?!" he snarled at the fighting type, who stared at the dark type. "I asked you a question, filth!" Volt snarled, his eyes glowing brightly, his yellow rings doing similar. The Machamp struggled to speak, but seemed unable to create a lie fast enough. The four armed fighting type was suddenly hurled into the nearest tree by an invisible force. The dull cracking sound was very loud; everyone else was dead silent.

"HEY!" Venom snarled angrily.

"Answer me, Machamp!" Volt hissed, psychically forcing the injured fighting type to its feet. One of the four arms suddenly twisted back with a cracking sound. "Answer me and I may spare you," the Umbreon whispered, approaching the fighting type, which was practically gasping for air, its face showing agony.

"LET HIM GO!" Venom raged.

"As you wish," Volt mocked, releasing the psychic hold on the fighting type. Machamp jerked away from the psychotic Umbreon, stumbling backwards. Volt continued to approach and the Machamp hurried stepped back, losing its balance and falling into the lake. The Umbreon eyes glowed subtly and he turned away from the lake, walking back towards the female Eevee. She was giving him the equivalent of a death glare and he adopted a slightly apologetic look.

"I don't think he can swim," Doom commented to Venom, who was staring at the water in concern. The water seemed pretty deep and the fighting type hadn't surfaced yet.

"Muscles are pretty heavy," Ninje agreed. Venom growled and moved to dive under the water, but suddenly gasped and jerked back above the water, shivering with what seemed to be terror.

"I can't get...under far," Venom said, looking a bit confused and panicked. "Someone help, he'll drown!" None of the ghosts moved. "What the hell! Why won't you help?"

"He insulted Ice," the Haunter said coolly.

"I don't like him," Doom said seriously.

"I can't swim, and Soul's busy," Ninje said. The Shedinja was unresponsive as the female Ninjask brushed against it in an oddly flirtatious manner. Aren't Shedinja just empty shells, anyway?

_"Ha, and get blasted apart by a vengeful Umbreon? And same thing Lera said,"_ Nightmare answered.

"He threatened us," the meditating Pokémon rasped. Tarot said nothing at all and Venom's eyes twitched with fury. The Pokémon leapt to its feet and laughed. "He's already dead, anyway."

"No...Machamp!" Venom growled, but his eyes showed pain and even a hint of sorrow.

"A pity," a soft voice spoke and I shivered anxiously, recognizing the malicious tone. "His life force will not be wasted, Gyarados. I see most of you are here, so soon we shall begin."


	222. Malicious Gathering part 2

**Ember POV**

"Who's still coming, Master?" Doom asked. Venom scowled with rage and looked around the area, no doubt looking for Diablos. I assumed it was Diablos, anyway, and Doom's comment confirmed that. I tensed, but Tarot gave me a reassuring glance, which actually worked to some degree. Icicle made a nervous whimpering sound and the Umbreon nudged her with his head, murmuring reassurances in her ear until she relaxed. I'm not sure whether I envy her or pity her now.

"Bane declined and Chaos did not reply," Diablos' malicious tone whispered and a strange Pokémon dropped from one of the trees nearby. I stared at it in disbelief. I had expected Diablos to still be possessing Aura, but instead their stood a blue creature, about my size, with three large balls of fluff sticking from its body. It had small stubs as limbs. It really didn't seem that dangerous, but its eyes had the frightening familiar yellow gleam to them, symbolizing the demon controlling the creature.

_"ACK! JUMPLUFF!"_ Nightmare shrieked, earning a stare from all the other Pokémon present. Tarot chuckled, shuffling his deck. The Gastly's gaseous body began to quiver and it was clear he was resisting the urge to fade out entirely. Diablos rolled his eyes and his gaze fell on me, prompting a shudder as his yellow eyes seemed to stare into me. I averted my gaze and sat down, wrapping my tail around myself uncomfortably, staring determinedly at my tail flame.

"We meet again, Charmander. I presume further introduction is unnecessary," the phantom said softly. "Good to know my associates are not as incapable of a simple assignment as I thought."

"We don't fail that often," Doom complained and Diablos chuckled.

"You don't? Must I give the examples? On the other hand, you're a magnificent observer, and your success shall be rewarded," Diablos said softly. I looked up as the odd fluffed Pokémon produced a shimmering piece of material. It wasn't any material I was familiar with, but I noticed a strange aura from the cloth, similar to how I felt in the presence of a ghost that was invisible. Doom's eye widened and he stared at the cloth hungrily.

"What is that?" Venom demanded as Doom hesitantly took the material from the Jumpluff. The Gyarados blinked as the Dusclops was covered in a white light, his bulky body expanding. When the light faded, the mummy Pokémon had been replaced with a black Pokémon. It still had only one eye, and its arms were longer with yellow bands. It had yellow markings on its torso that looked like a face and instead of legs, it had something somewhat like a tail.

"A Reaper Cloth evolves a Dusclops into a Dusknoir," Tarot explained to the Gyarados as Doom looked his new body over. I remembered the female Dusknoir I had the battle with back in the caverns, but I didn't really make the connection between the two species.

"Maybe now she'll notice me," Doom murmured to himself. I have no idea what he's talking about, but that isn't a priority right now. I had noticed that Diablos was no longer possessing Aura, but then what had happened to her? And what about Blaze? Were they okay?

"Enjoying your vacation, Volt?" Diablos asked, his tone much less condescending than when he was talking to the former Dusclops. The Umbreon scowled.

"I was until you all decided to drop by, despite my insistence that you don't," he added, his words laced with menace. The fluffed Pokémon said nothing, but the yellow eyes flashed in the direction of the anxious Eevee. "Speak to Ice at your own risk, Haou," the Umbreon warned, running his tongue over his teeth in an unmistakably threatening manner.

"How fortunate. I have nothing to say to her," Diablos said, waving a tiny paw dismissively. "Now then, before we get down to the business at hand," the phantom's eyes flashed in my direction before continuing, the glance sending a shiver down my back. What did he want from me this time? "First we should consider how to rectify our most recent mistakes. Everything was working according to plan, but it slipped from our clutches at the last moment."

"You are referring to the-" Tarot began, but the phantom cut him off.

"I know how Ganger screwed things up. Heart Swap is only effective if the proper mind can be swapped in. How convenient that one of the very limited supply of minds happened to be present. That's not all. Frost prevented Sketch's demise and this is not a task I can assign to another. I must do it personally, or at least be present. The Smeargle will go into hiding and command the Cave Army from a safe location," Diablos said calmly.

_"Isn't there another way to accomplish the task?"_ Nightmare asked.

"Yes, but frankly it is nearly impossible, even for me," the phantom answered coldly. The Gastly flinched as the Jumpluff fixed him with a cruel smirk. "Any other clever questions, Gastly?"

_"N-no M-master J-jumpluff."_

"And Nightmare crosses from terrified to petrified," Doom snickered.

_"Shut up or it'll spell your doom,"_ Nightmare grumbled.

"What did I tell you about the puns?" Doom snapped.

_"What'd I say about the Jumpluff comments?"_

"This is why I like the quiet types," the female Ninjask commented, hovering next to the still-motionless Shedinja. Ninje grumbled something too quietly for me to hear.

"Empress, you are a female of unusual tastes," Tarot said.

"The same is true for you, sans the gender," she replied. He flipped the next card in his deck and nodded calmly, reshuffling the card into the deck.

"You have many talents at your disposal."

"Your tarot reading is still top notch," she answered swiftly. I stand by my thought of their conversation being dance-like. A little weird with the random compliments, but not that important.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!" Volt raged, silencing the arguing ghosts. The Haunter floated over to Nightmare and lightly stroked his gaseous form with one paw.

"It's okay, Volt," the white furred Eevee whispered, rubbing against his leg. The corners of the Umbreon's mouth twitched, but he still sent a glare at the Dusknoir and Gastly before licking a paw and running it over a bristled patch of fur on her back. She giggled, a small blush appearing on her face.

"I'm so glad Chaos isn't here," Diablos muttered, rolling his eyes. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Around Blackthorn, last I checked," the Haunter said quietly.

"Why?" Diablos asked blankly. The Haunter made a shrug-like gesture with her paws and continued stroking Nightmare. "Enough of that, Lera," the phantom ordered.

"My apologies, Haou," Lera said respectfully, backing away from the smaller ghost Pokémon.

"Why isn't Bane coming?" Doom asked grumpily. To everyone's surprise, Tarot was the one who answered.

"Gossip. Something involving the Mauville power generator. Don't tell Chaos, though. You know how he gets when anything involving electricity is screwed with." The Sableye paused and cracked the tiniest of smiles. "Or completely destroyed."

_"It involves a comical amount of bleeping."_

"Wouldn't that be a reason to bring it up?" Doom asked with a chuckle.

"It's immaterial. Hoenn is...immaterial," Diablos growled. Several of the ghosts exchanged uncomfortable glances, but no one spoke again for a few moments.

"What's the next step?" the crazed canine Pokémon rasped.

"Simple. Eliminate Frost for good. Then he won't get in our way again," Diablos said softly. "We will focus on this objective before returning to our original goal. Actually, it'd be more productive to do both. A powerful Lucario like you should be able to handle the Glaceon, Force. But rather than take chances, Tarot will go with you, just to ensure success. We don't want a close call like we did at the base, now do we?"

"I look forward to it," the Lucario rasped, one paw glowing with a dark aura. "But I want the Espeon..."

"Denied. He killed you once. No...I'll handle him myself. That's what he wants, anyway. Volt is still on vacation, so I won't send him. Either way, we can't afford him lusting after the female Umbreon, who is probably with Psycho..."

"What?" Icicle blinked. Volt bristled.

"I don't like her, damn it!"

"You refuse to kill her," Diablos noted calmly. Volt's eye twitched, but he didn't say anything. The white furred Eevee was giving the Umbreon a strange look.

_"What about the other Eons? Jolt and Leaf?"_ Nightmare asked.

"They're with Chaos," Lera said, but then flinched when the Jumpluff turned towards her with a surprised look.

"Looks like Nightmare's girlfriend also has a fear of Jumpluff," Doom snickered, the Dusknoir getting a glare from the Gastly, Haunter, and Jumpluff.

"What is Chaos doing? You seem to know more than you're telling, Lera," Diablos said coldly. The Haunter sighed quietly.

"Chaos' de-evolution device was stolen. He asked Jolt and Leaf for help. That's all I know," the ghost said seriously. I stared at her in alarm. There was a way to reverse evolution? Maybe it could help me with...no, I didn't want Singe as a mate. I'm denying Charmander line mates from this point on. A Charmander might evolve, I hate Charmeleon, and Charizard...are too big. Besides, Singe would probably never take me back, even if I wanted him to, now that he knew I was that biased against Charmeleon.

"Who would steal that worthless thing?" Diablos sneered. "Of course, Dragonair might be interested in it...yes. Such a fool for limiting his own power, but no matter...back to the task at hand. With Psycho and Frost out of the equation, the Eons will no longer have any ability to resist us. With the greatest threat eliminated, our mission will finally reach fruition."

"Good," Volt growled.

"And what's in this for me?" Venom demanded, growling furiously. "Don't you care that Umbreon bastard killed Machamp?"

"Watch it, Gyarados," Volt snarled, his red eyes gleaming.

"Volt..." Icicle growled, the Umbreon shooting Venom another hateful look before backing down.

"Do I care about the idiocy of your little friend? No. Such a reckless fighting type and a poor fighter. Incapable of doing more than the bare minimum required. No, his use is better fulfilled with his death," Diablos replied coldly.

Venom protested, "But you promised-"

"I offered the chance to become stronger, independent of the vermin that commanded you. You have done that. But the Machamp did not improve at all, and instead became a hindrance, and thus was struck from the equation. Weakness is not tolerated, Venom," the fluffed Pokémon said softly.

"Damn you," Venom spat. Diablos seemed to find this comment amusing.

"You lost the bond with the fool human, but kept the one with the fool Machamp. How woefully pathetic."

"You'll pay," the Gyarados snarled. The Jumpluff laughed coldly and Venom's eye twitched. "What's funny?"

"Threaten me, will you? You fool. You can't do a thing against me, and working against us will result in your demise. I suggest you think about that before you start spouting threats. Next time, I won't forgive as easily."

"Was there a reason Soul and I showed up?" Ninje asked irritably and Diablos turned his yellow eyes towards the male Ninjask.

"Of course. It was a matter of convenience to call you to this gathering, but before I go into the specifics for you, the matter of the Charmander will be dealt with," Diablos answered, a malicious smirk appearing. I shivered as he spoke, fear gripping my heart, leaving me with a clammy feeling in my chest.

"What do you want?" I growled, flexing my claws.

"Do we have to sit through this?" Ninje asked wearily. The Jumpluff chuckled.

"No, you're all dismissed for now. Inform me if Chaos returns," the phantom said. Venom growled and sank beneath the water. Nightmare and the Haunter faded out, as did the Dusknoir. The Umbreon and white furred Eevee turned and walked back in the direction of the building that I had been taken to, and the male Ninjask prodded the Shedinja, the two of them disappearing, leaving the female Ninjask behind. She made a disappointed buzzing sound.

"Some reason you came, Empress?" Tarot inquired calmly, flipping the top card of the deck and studying it curiously. The female Ninjask muttered something that I didn't catch; my attention was more on the possessed Jumpluff.

"Be gone, Ninjask. The Tyranitar is not situated here," Diablos said sharply. The female Ninjask glared at the fluffed Pokémon, but didn't argue. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Lucario rise and stalk off without a word. Only Tarot and Diablos remained now, and I watched them both warily. "Now it's time for OUR business, Charmander," Diablos whispered.

**It has been one year since TDW was published. I hate begging for reviews, but I'd really appreciate some SOLID feedback from readers. Negative feedback is okay, but I want to know what people like/dislike and why. Even if you don't usually review, please do anyway. Information about characters you like or dislike, pairings you like/dislike/hope to see, chapters you like/dislike and so on would also be nice. Just something constructive or useful that I can keep in mind. Questions are fine, provided I can, you know, actually reply to them, preferably without tracking down people with the search function, because that's just awkward.**

**It might be a little bit until my next TDW update, since I want to re-read the entire fic and now I actually have an excuse to. Not sure how many people have been around since the fic's beginning, aside from Blaze (author, not Flareon).**


	223. Separation

**Darkness POV**

Shadow and I walked for what felt like hours, but due to my poor mood, everything feels like it lasts an eternity. Neither of us had spoken since our arrival and the black furred Espeon all but refused to even acknowledge my continued existence. On one paw, this gave me time to think, but my attempts to calm down were entirely in vain. My thoughts kept drifting to how disappointed I was in my relationship with Shadow, and the more I tried to convince myself it would be better to just ditch him before he found a reason to ditch me, the harder it became to focus. Why didn't I want to end the relationship? What was I even getting out of this?

I sighed quietly, my midnight blue rings glowing to match my unhappy mood. In some occasions, I could control when the bands would glow or pulse; other times they would react to the moon or to whatever mood I was experiencing, especially anger, sadness, and excitement. Unlike the scenario back at the warehouse, Shadow ignored my sigh and continued walking. I hadn't expected him to take notice, but I still felt a twinge of hurt at the indifference he showed. It was just like back at the Cave Army caves a week or so ago, when I fought Sketch after he got hurt, but he showed no gratitude or anything. He didn't even care that I had gotten hurt for him.

Maybe I was just too sensitive. Maybe I just expected an unrealistic approach to having a mate...but Jolt and Kira got along with the sort of devotion and care that I wanted to experience from Shadow, neither of which he seemed capable or willing to provide. I did everything I could to get him to pay some fraction of attention to me, but he ignored me all the time. He avoided me and would leave me to deal with the consequences of the full moon, a factor I could not even control. Was it my fault that I was an Umbreon and thus susceptible to the effects of the moon? Was it my fault which effect I experienced? No, both were factors I had no control of. I don't really even remember who I had bonded with in order to evolve.

And yet...there was still the nagging feeling telling me that I deserved to be treated better than the way Shadow treated me. I knew he was under a lot of stress lately, so the occasional outburst was forgivable, and I'd be more than happy to forget about it, if he was apologetic or caring, but the truth was that he didn't treat me with the love and respect that Jolt had showered upon Kira. It wasn't just stress that led him to be nasty towards me; it was that he truly didn't care for me. Was it better to be single again, and free to seek out a new mate? Would it better to have the possibility of affection from the cute Espeon, at the cost of putting up with hurtful outbursts, or would it be preferable to ditch him before he hurt me, at the cost of having nothing?

With Kira dead, having nothing would be even worse than it had been before I met Shadow. I wouldn't have the companion to help me get over the stress. And if Shadow took the break-up hard, unlikely since he announced his intention to dump me first chance he got, he might use the opportunity to evict me from his company. And if he found out about...no, he wouldn't find out. The benefit of being a dark type was that the Espeon was unable to probe my thoughts. Ugh, why did my life have to be so complicated?

"Where are we going?" I asked, breaking the silence at last. Shadow didn't reply, prompting me to growl aggressively. Damn Espeon wasn't going to get away with ignoring me. "I asked you a question, Shadow!"

"So you did," the black furred Espeon said, with his usual air of superior indifference. Amazing how he could be more obnoxious and nasty than Frost at times. Sometimes I wondered which of the two was more annoying to be around. Logically, my mate should annoy me less often, but lately this wasn't the case. I wish I could turn back time to when Shadow first started warming up to me...I liked him better than. It was amazing how compassionate he could be, however short lived such instances were.

"Could you answer it? Please?" I pleaded, purposefully allowing my hurt emotions to be bared. I wanted him to lower his guard a little; maybe he'd take the moment to give me a comforting lick on the cheek or ear, or any other small gesture would be acceptable. Jolt would, even if Kira was watching. Leaf would, even though I scared him. Frost definitely would...sometimes I think the Glaceon would do anything for me. He once claimed he ditched a potential mate because she resented him comforting me during the full moon. I've never seen him with any females, aside from an incident involving a Rocket Umbreon, and he admitted that he doesn't like to discuss his mate experience, so I can't be sure if he was serious or not.

"Stop your whimpering." Or not. Normally, I would have just sighed and backed down, but I was sick of being pushed away like this.

"SHUT UP!" I shouted, shoving the Espeon as hard as I could with one paw, catching him by surprise. The force of my shove sent him sprawling, but he teleported before I could attempt to hit him again. He reappeared to my left, fixing me with a cold glare, but I ignored it. Who gave a shit if he was pissed off? What was he going to do about it? In a straight battle, I outmatched him due to the type immunity, and his reliance on psychic techniques made him all but useless against me.

"It is not advisable that you attempt that again, _Dark_," Shadow snapped, putting a sarcastic emphasis on the affectionate nickname. I noticed that Shadow had picked up Frost's habit of using a larger or more formal vocabulary, especially when he was annoyed. With his monotonous voice added to the mix, this was even more obnoxious than when Frost did it. At least the Glaceon used such vocabulary consistently. I know it seems like I'm fixated on Frost, but compared to the rest of the group, I felt closer to him than anyone else, even Shadow. Frost would sometimes tease me a little about how I was constantly pining after the handsome Espeon, who clearly didn't want my company. This teasing continued even after Shadow and I became a couple, albeit a secret one, and the taunts may have contributed to my letting slip that I was seeing him.

"Stop being such a jerk!" I shouted, but my voice quavered a little, again exposing my vulnerability. Shadow's tail flicked arrogantly as he turned his focus back towards his destination, giving me no further attention. I scowled, taking a deep breath to try to control my anger. If I pushed him too far, he might choose to teleport off without me...just like he did to Leaf. My eyes watered at the thought of being abandoned in the wild, with no direction and no companions. I shook myself, blinking the tears away before they could fall.

I'd get nothing for falling apart, and no matter how much I craved for him to comfort me, or even for the emotionless veil to slip for even a few moments, I knew it was a lost cause. The flicker of emotion would leave me wanting more and it would be forever and a day before I'd see beyond that brief flicker.

"Shadow..." I pleaded again, even more desperately; my voice came out as an agitated whine, but the psychic Eon said nothing in reply, probably pretending not to hear. I focused my emotions and released a ring of energy from my body, which struck the Espeon in the back and flung him forward. He grunted and teleported and I felt something collide with my back, knocking me off balance. I whirled around to face the aggravated Espeon, anger rapidly bubbling to the surface. "YOU JERK!" I shouted, biting at him aggressively, my blue rings glowing intensely. He leapt back, out of range from my teeth.

"You attacked me," he reminded me bluntly. The monotony of the remark served to piss me off even more, and I lunged at him again, only to meet empty air as he teleported out of the way. I was too agitated to bother with Mean Look and my anger was quickly giving way to frustration. It felt almost like I was going to explode if my emotions intensified any further.

"Hold still!" I snarled, biting at him when he reappeared, but he teleported out of the way again and I let out a roar of rage, turning to see where he would reappear. The smug psychic type was sitting calmly in the shade of a tree, incredibly difficult to see even with my nocturnal vision. This was probably how Leaf chose his name.

"Calm yourself, Dark. If you fail to regain control of your emotions, then I will declare you violently temperamental and our relationship will be promptly ended," Shadow said coolly. I responded to this announcement with a string of enraged curses. How dare he threaten to ditch me when he's the one who was responsible for my anger?! He was just looking for a stupid reason to make good on his vow to leave me at his first opportunity.

The psychic Eon's words cut into me, and I just couldn't take it anymore. It was so unfair that I could never seem to catch a break, between unsympathetic Espeon and my own horrible moods. This time, I couldn't repress the tears from falling from my eyes and down my cheeks and I slammed my paws bitterly against the ground. "Fine!" I managed to spit out, and the black furred Espeon raised an eyebrow. "I'll find someone who won't be a total bastard to me, you...you...you jerk!"

"You do that. I wish you luck," Shadow answered indifferently.

"I'm staying with the group, though," I snarled, just in case he was getting ideas about abandoning me here. He showed no surprise to this announcement, and his tail flicked disdainfully.

"As you wish."

"That's all you can say?"

"I have nothing more to say. Much like our unhappy coupling, your mind is made up and I can either resist it eternally with no gain, or just accept your decision. I don't really care," the Espeon replied.

My retort was cut off by a voice calling out, "Hello?" I turned towards the voice in surprise and saw a pink feline Pokémon, roughly the size of an Eevee, with a thin tail that ended in a puff, with three strange needle-like points sticking into the puffed end of the tail. Its eyes were little more than slits and its head was quite large, its paws very small. Behind the Skitty was a trio of Stantler, all three of which were regarding us cautiously, unlike the less shy kitten Pokémon.

"What do you want?" I snapped, not in the mood to deal with nosy Pokémon. Two of the deer Pokémon flinched, but the third and the Skitty were untroubled.

"You're too loud, and our children are trying to sleep," the third Stantler said seriously. I felt a twinge of guilt, but shook it off quickly. The tiny cat Pokémon bounded over to Shadow and looked him over curiously.

"Be gone, Skitty," Shadow said, in his usual cold tone. The kitten giggled.

"How'd you know my name?"

"If I utilized your name, I'd have acquired it using my mind reading. However, I was using your specie," the black furred Espeon said, walking past the Skitty and I followed him, but kept a lot of distance between us. The jerk was completely ignoring me now, but this really wasn't a surprise. I already doubted my decision to break off our romance, but there really wasn't much there in the first place, other than my cuddling with him. I still wanted to talk to Frost, though. The Glaceon might have a suggestion for what to do next and I didn't trust my impulsive behavior or my moodiness in order to deal with the concerns without help. Not yet, anyway.

"Where you going?" the Skitty asked hyperactively, following Shadow like a second tail.

"Here's a better question: Why are you following me?" Shadow demanded.

"You're really, really, really, really-"

"Cute." Shadow finished, "Now go away."

"Can I come with you?"

"No."

"Why not?" the kitten complained loudly. I sighed, losing interest in following their conversation. It was not unusual for random females to chase after Shadow. He was so handsome and his attempted methods of driving them off only made him more appealing, as if he was playing hard to get. I just managed to linger longer than most, and even managed to become his mate for a period of time. Now all I wanted was to forget ever thinking he could be a good mate. I didn't want anything to do with him, yet I longed to cuddle with him, especially now that a Skitty was showing interest. For a moment, I could almost see Shadow thinking the same thing. I had that effect sometimes: an interested female would back off upon discovering the Espeon was associated with an aggressive female Umbreon. Well, too bad for him. He wanted me gone so now he could deal with the stalkers by himself again.

I had to hand it to that Skitty, though. She either didn't get the hint that he was uninterested or she was just very persistent, because she followed us, indifferent to the black furred Espeon's irritation. She asked him random questions the entire time, including about his fur color and his age, and whether he had a mate. He ignored her, but this didn't seem to quell her interest even a little. His silver eyes flashed in annoyance several minutes later, when the smaller feline finished some sort of explanation about why she was free to help him out with whatever he was doing. From the parts I overheard, she was interested in joining the group, while promising to work hard, but Shadow rejected this suggestion.

"Why?"

"Our group is limited to Eons, a category you do not belong in," Shadow responded dully.

"I could be part Eon," the Skitty complained. I sincerely doubted that, but I'm not an expert on things like that.

"You have to be a pure Eon," Shadow said promptly. I knew he was just making an excuse to try to get her to go away, since no such restriction actually existed. Frost did a background check on everyone and determined we were all 'pure' Eons, with the possible exception of me. His parents were both Eevee, Jolt's parents were a Leafeon and Jolteon, and Shadow's were a Vaporeon and Jolteon. All three sets of parents had also killed in some sort of violent incident. Frost's died in an avalanche, according to his computer profile. Jolt's profile said that his parents were killed in captivity, and Shadow...everyone in our group knew that Diablos had murdered the two Eons. The way the Espeon would react in the phantom's presence only made this more obvious. What's more, Frost told me that Force, the Lucario that Shadow had killed the same day Kira died, was the host Diablos had used to do the deed, which explained why Shadow was so insistent on finishing it off himself. I was broken from my thoughts by the sound of a mechanical voice.

"Opponent analysis complete. Espeon: Ability confirmed- Synchronize. Opponent is inflicted with same status effect as user, freeze and sleep excluded. Hidden Power Element confirmed: Steel."

"What?" Shadow's gaze flicked around in alarm. Apparently he hadn't detected another presence, although the Skitty distracting him may have had something to do with it.

"Second opponent analyzed. Umbreon: Ability confirmed- Synchronize. Data already recorded. Hidden Power Element confirmed: Ground."

"Who's there?" I snapped, my gaze flicking around the forest area.

"Third opponent determined. Skitty: Ability unconfirmed. Hidden Power Element unconfirmed," the mechanical voice added, attracting the small kitten's attention.

"Hi!" she chirped to the air, only to earn a burst of energy to the face, sending her tumbling backwards with a cry.

"Show yourself," Shadow ordered, and his eyes widened as a mechanical Pokémon with rounded edges floated forward. "Impossible," he said, his voice filled with disbelief. "Diablos destroyed you...I saw it..."

"Stories of my demise are exaggerated, Psycho," the Porygon2 announced mechanically. Great, another monotonous speaker. I remembered him nearly impaling Shadow...and my desperate haste to save his life. I had never received gratitude for coaxing Frost to back off the fight and heal Shadow. I wiped a lone tear from my face at the reminder of how unappreciated I was.

"Psycho? Is that you?!" Jolt's voice called, a note of both relief and panic in his tone, although I didn't see the Jolteon from my vantage point.

"Yes," Shadow replied. "Darkness is here as well." I silently took notice of the removal of the affectionate nickname. Well good, I didn't want him to use it anymore, anyway.

"Psycho...I need to tell you...about Leaf," Jolt panted, sounding completely exhausted. I felt a tingle of dread at these words.

"What?" Shadow demanded. His silver eyes flashed dangerously and the Skitty inched back, aware of the dangerous tone. "What happened to Leaf?!"


	224. Midnight Discussion

**Dragonair POV**

I was awakened by the sound of movement in the immediate area. I lift my head, seething when I remembered that I was in a Celebi-damned Dragonite body. Sapphire awoke and looked around sleepily when I moved, the female Dragonair reluctantly removing her tail from around me. I blinked several times and focused my attention in the general direction of the sound I had heard.

"What the hell, Blaze?" I grumbled, narrowing my eyes at the Flareon. Blaze glanced at me, but without a word returned his gaze upwards. I follow his gaze and noticed that he was looking at the starlit sky. Sapphire relaxed, apparently satisfied that there was no danger, and she coiled up again to sleep. Intrigued by the fire Eon's behavior, I trudge over to where he's sitting, cursing my limbs the entire time. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Nothing." The Flareon spoke in little more than a soft whisper, and I only barely caught what he said. I looked around the dark surroundings, lit only by a small fire that had dwindled down to embers, and the waning moon. Frost was alert and apparently the weird, arrogant part of his personality had not been exaggerating when she said that Frost was able to see clearly in both light and dark scenarios. Aura was asleep by the dying fire, which added another puzzling layer to Blaze's choice in activity. Night had fallen and everyone else except Frost had been asleep.

"Something on your mind?" I pressed, my curiosity getting the better of me. Blaze wasn't the type to take midnight walks and stare at the sky. Or, at least not to the best of my knowledge. Maybe Crystal knew otherwise. Come to think of it, what happened to the female Flareon? I had last seen her with Blaze and now that I knew where Blaze was, it occurred to me that his female counterpart was not accounted for.

"No," Blaze answered, his tail swishing in a melancholy manner. I raised an eye scale skeptically. Obviously the fire Eon was lying his tail off, but I wasn't sure whether I wanted to press the issue further than that. On a hunch, he was thinking about everything that had happened to him recently, an activity that I myself have engaged in multiple times, especially during the cage time at the Cave Army. I still couldn't believe the hell I had gone through in less than two months. It felt like over a year had passed, but yet the reality was that everything had occurred over such a short time. With all that stress piled onto me, how was I still sane?

"So why are you staring at the sky?" I asked, against my better judgment. The Flareon was silent for about a minute and when he spoke, it was in a wistful tone.

"I like the stars."

"Huh?" I stared at the fire type, wondering briefly what was going on in his head. I probably don't want too many details, especially after the first-paw experience. Damn me having paws...but I digress.

"I like looking at the stars," Blaze repeated softly. The way he spoke wasn't whiny or obnoxious, nor was it harsh or irritated. It was filled with hidden sadness, but also had a glimmer of hope and excitement. My curiosity intensified as I analyzed this tone, but had no clue what he was thinking about.

"Why is that?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. The Flareon didn't take his brown eyes from the glimmers shining in the blanket of darkness overhead. I stretched my Dragonite wings while I waited for him to respond. Strange how the idle habits of the new body had already started to appear. I hate this body so Celebi-damned much. It was just too different from the body I was used to. Griping about it wasn't making it better, but I couldn't just calm down about it.

"My sister and I used to talk under the stars," Blaze said, his tail curling around himself.

"About what?"

"Anything. Our dreams...what we wanted from the future," Blaze said, his eyes blinking back small tears. I raised an eye scale at him, but he didn't notice, his attention still on the stars overhead.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked, a new curiosity creeping up on me. The Flareon glanced towards me suspiciously. "What happened to your parents? The only family I know about is your sister."

"I don't know," Blaze whispered, "I never knew them."

"Same here," I admitted thoughtfully. I don't remember most of my early life. I think I've always lived alone, as long as I can remember. Maybe I knew my parents when I was a very young kit, and I got captured when I was about a year old, so most of my memories had to do with the Rockets. I had ultimately just assumed my parents were Dragonite. Adult dragons weren't known for being the best parents. But if they were, it was likely I had siblings, since Dragonite and other fully evolved dragons usually lay more than one egg at a time. I probably will never find out any of these details and I don't really care that much. Those are just details, details that had almost no impact on my life in the present.

Blaze fell silent, returning his gaze to the dark sky. His expression still held traces of sorrow and I studied him subtly, wondering what he was thinking about. Was he thinking about his sister? Maybe he was worrying about Crystal or Spark, or thinking about his little breakdown he had before we managed to somewhat snap him out of it. Maybe he was just caught up in the memories of what had happened to him early on in his life.

"So Blaze," I began, and the Flareon's ear twitched to signify he heard me; otherwise he showed no sign of listening. "I know I was sort of a jerk when we met, but..." I trailed off when the fire Eon looked towards me.

"Sort of?" he repeated, growling quietly.

"Remember that you started it," I said. He scowled.

"I did not!"

"You started flirting with me, you idiot!" I hissed. Blaze blinked and grinned sheepishly. Oh, now he remembers. Like I'd ever have the good fortune of forgetting the damn incident.

"I didn't want to lose my female company," he explained, still grinning.

"Were you making any progress at all?" I retorted. He opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it without a word. "Yeah, didn't think so. If that Umbreon was any indication, you..." I stopped at the sight of his expression, which was simultaneously angry and sad. "What?"

"I don't know why no one liked me. No one ever liked me. None of the females in the cage...and she didn't like me, either." His tail flicked unhappily as he spoke, and I assumed the 'she' was the Umbreon, the reminder of which had triggered his depressive moodiness.

"Face it, Flareon, you aren't worth much," Frost commented casually. Blaze bristled angrily. "Don't make an error, Flareon. Seeing how easily you got thrashed in that memory-"

"Like you could do better!" Blaze snapped. Frost grinned smugly.

"Error: Comment reveals ignorance."

"What the hell does that mean?" Blaze demanded.

Frost chuckled and walked nearer, his tone becoming more arrogant, "Not only COULD I do better, but I did. She was fortunately not as disappointing as I would have expected from a Rocket Pokémon. Like you, Dragonair. She was a far more satisfying opponent."

"Interesting choice of adjective: Satisfying," I noted casually. Frost ignored the bait, which was a bit disappointing. He was just so smug and arrogant that I wanted to see him get frustrated or angry. I suppose I'll have to upgrade my material to get under this jerk's skin. If the time spent in his mind taught me anything, it was that he has a really messed up mind, yet I am at a loss at how to irritate him. Experience had taught me that there's usually at least one topic or comment that will really piss someone off. Venom's was to refer to him as a Magikarp in any context. Ember had multiple triggers, but she was really sensitive and self-conscious.

"Yeah, well good for you," Blaze grumbled, walking a short distance away and looking skywards again. Frost smirked and walked back to his original station. I followed Blaze, intent on continuing our conversation.

"Whatever happened to Crystal?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. "Wasn't she with you before we got separated?" The Flareon flinched, his expression darkening. "Whoa, what?" I asked, startled by his reaction.

"Nothing," he growled, his defensiveness enticing my curiosity. I chuckled.

"I insist."

"Shut up."

"Is she okay?" I asked, unsure whether he was defensive for similar reasons to the situation involving his sister

"Just drop it," Blaze said, but his tone lacked authority; it sounded whiny, which tipped me off that it wasn't anything as bad as the situation with his sister. The mystery surrounding the scenario intrigued me and the more he tried to evade the question, the more I wanted to know.

I smirked and added a mocking edge to my words, "So...you're going to leave me with making assumptions. I mean, just judging by how defensive you are and the fact she was all over you when we left..."

"THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!" Blaze shouted.

"Can I be the uncle?"

"NO!"

"I thought you said it didn't happen."

"It didn't!" Blaze's look of agitation was highly amusing, which only served to egg me on. The only way to make this situation more amusing would be to wrap him and taunt him further, but Dragonite tails aren't made for wrapping, aside from maybe to crush bones, like Nidoking do. It's not much fun to shatter people's bones just to be able to taunt them, so that option was ruled out. Damn Dragonite body. Yeah, I know griping isn't helping much, but the constant reminder of the things I couldn't do anymore was really getting on my nerves.

I brushed these thoughts away and grinned at the frustrated fire Eon. "Okay, so what did happen? And make the lie realistic."

"I'm not lying!"

"Good start."

"I hate you."

"Can I still be the uncle?"

"NO!"

"You're an abysmal liar if you can't even deny something long enough to tell the lie," I snorted.

"Stop it!" Blaze whined childishly.

"Good point; this has such good story telling potential. Go on, you were lying?" I prompted. Blaze muttered several curses under his breath. "Tsk, better not say those words in the presence of my nephew..."

"It's not your nephew!"

"Wow, you suck at this denying thing."

"I'm not denying anything! I mean, I don't..." Blaze looked confused for a minute, then growled, "I hate you."

"Glad to hear it," I chuckled. The Flareon scowled.

"We got attacked after you left, okay?!"

"That must have been awkward," I replied with a smirk. Blaze glared at me, which only added to my amusement. I was starting to run out of comments, but I'm sure there'd be more opportunities to mock Blaze later.

"Attacked by who?" Frost inquired.

"Luthor," Blaze spat contemptuously. I've never heard of him, but Frost seemed to accept the answer.

"So what happened?" I pressed.

"He and Lexa beat me and Crystal," Blaze snarled. An odd gleam appeared in the Glaceon's eyes.

"Really? Aren't they Leafeon?" Frost asked, sneering. Blaze nodded and I chuckled.

"Two grass types beat two fire types? Ouch."

"We got separated...and she gave them my money!" the Flareon continued, slamming a paw angrily into the ground. Ooh...so Blaze's winnings from Celadon had been compromised.

"Why are you all talking so loud?" Aura suddenly growled, startling both Blaze and me. Frost managed to keep his composure. The Vaporeon glared at us from where she lay. "It's late at night!"

"Our error," Frost said, waving a paw dismissively, a gesture the Vaporeon narrowed her eyes at.

"Sorry, Aura," Blaze mumbled.

"GO TO SLEEP!" Aura shouted, the volume of the shout rousing Sapphire, who blinked around. I winced and trudged over to the dragoness before she lost her temper. I doubted anyone wanted to have a sudden weather change right now. Blaze lay down on his back, watching the sky and Frost went to try to soothe the agitated Vaporeon. I doubt he'd have much luck, but I was proven wrong when he managed to get her to relax almost immediately. He walked towards me and Sapphire, smirking smugly.

"How the...how'd you do that?" I demanded, gesturing towards Aura.

"Oh please, after dealing with Dark, a moody female Vaporeon is nothing," Frost sneered. "Our transportation will arrive in the morning. You'll need the sleep after the strain your body has experienced. Pleasant dreams, Dragonite."

My reply was cut off by Sapphire's coils constricting around me slightly, a clear warning to just shut up and go to sleep, which I reluctantly obeyed.


	225. Nothing to Fear

**Darkness POV**

An uncomfortable silence stretched between the Jolteon and Espeon as Jolt hesitated, clearly unsure what to say. Shadow's silver eyes narrowed and his forehead gem glowed silver. A dark expression appeared on the Espeon's face, and Jolt winced, clutching a paw to his head as he stumbled into view. I assumed that Shadow had read the electric Eon's mind to get the information and whatever had happened to Leaf was not good news to the black furred Espeon. The Skitty looked between the two male Eons blankly, but my attention had flicked to the hovering Porygon2. It hadn't attacked us after making its presence known and I was concerned about what it was waiting for.

"Where is he?" Shadow growled. Jolt didn't answer and I saw a silver glow from the corner of my eye. "HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW?!" Shadow shouted, anger surfacing rapidly. I glanced at the Espeon, alarmed at how quickly he could get enraged. Reminded me of...well, me.

"I was fighting him!" Jolt protested, pointing a paw at the Porygon2. "Leaf's body just disappeared!" My insides felt like they had turned to ice. Leaf's 'body'? The young Leafeon had died? Or was he just seriously injured? Shadow's question of where 'he' was implied that he hadn't died yet. The midnight blue bands on my body glowed as a surge of anxiety bubbled in the pit of my stomach. Leaf was always nice to me, aside from the prank he pulled using my soap. I should at least have bitten him for that. What appropriate timing for violent thoughts directed towards someone who might be dead or dying.

"You're dead, Porygon," Shadow spat, his eyes glowing as he glared hatefully towards the mechanical Pokémon. A beam of energy fired from the silver gem, the projectile shimmering with energy. Shadow always did overuse his Psybeam or Psychic. It was irritatingly predictable, especially since Frost would often go into 'error rant' and always made me want to bite him.

"Conversion: Dark," Fear replied monotonously, his body taking on a darker tinge. The psychic energy the Espeon was conjuring hit the cyber Pokémon and was promptly neutralized. I was used to seeing this effect anytime I fought a psychic type or a Pokémon with psychic abilities. Dark types were completely immune to psychic energy, but too many psychics either forgot this detail or decided to try psychic attacks anyway.

"What happened?" I asked Jolt, ignoring the battle in favor for walking over to the electric Eon and figuring out what the rest of the group had been up to. I didn't care much if Shadow got hurt this time. I didn't want him to die, even if he was a jerk to me. He wasn't always that nasty to me, and I'd feel guilty if he died because I didn't help him. I was just tired of wasting my time and feelings on someone who wouldn't act the least bit grateful for my efforts.

"Leaf got hurt badly," Jolt mumbled. The feeling of anxiety bubbled again and my rings pulsed. I noticed the Jolteon seemed a little worse for wear and he was noticeably agitated. As concerned as I was about the young Leafeon's safety, another question came to mind.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" I knew that Shadow said that Chaos had something stolen from him, but that didn't fully explain what was going on to me. The Espeon refused to elaborate and I didn't understand why Leaf and Jolt would risk their lives for something that didn't matter to them.

"We were getting some sort of de-evolution device that Chaos had stolen from him and Fear showed up and attacked us," Jolt answered dully. Maybe I did know almost everything about the situation. I looked around, my eyes narrowing as the object of my search evaded me.

"Where is the Rotom?" I asked, growling angrily. If Leaf had gotten hurt for the ghost, the least he could have done was stick around, rather than hide like a coward. Jolt flinched, the movement returning my focus to him. I could see some of the qualities that Kira found attractive in him. He was a decent mixture of cute and handsome, and the messiness of his fur quills gave him a slightly untamed image, but his eyes were soft. I blinked, breaking my line of thought. There were moderately more important things to think about first, and I still wanted to talk to Frost about the situation, even though I had gone ahead with breaking up with the uncaring psychic Eon.

Shadow grunted as a beam of energy sent him sprawling on the grass. He teleported as Fear aimed a second attack at him. The Skitty was trying to stay out of the battlefield, the same as Jolt and I were. A sizzling sound caught my ear and I turned in the direction of the sound, walking towards the source uncertainly. After a short walking distance, I located the Rotom I was looking for. He seemed to be arguing with a larger, box-shaped creature bearing several similarities to him. The sizzling sound was originating from this creature, whose plasma body had fire coming off of it.

"Give me back my device, Hacky!" Chaos complained, sparks flying from his body. The other creature ignored the comment entirely. I noticed that there was some sort of device not far from them, but the type or purpose of it was lost on me. Aside from basic computer equipment, technology was not one of my strong points. Shadow's knowledge was all second-hand, either from the minds of scientists or other humans he encountered on missions, or from someone showing him. Frost's skill origins weren't well known. He was the best of the five of us, but where he got the knowledge was unknown.

Jolt suddenly stepped beside me, startling me. I growled at him and he recoiled, watching me warily. The group was only too aware of how temperamental I could act. Jolt had been the unfortunate victim of my rage with Leaf's soap prank, since Jolt was the one more well known for joking around. Especially if he's eaten a Sitrus berry, but that's an entirely different matter. He didn't do anything wrong this time; I just hadn't noticed he had followed me. Frost would probably chide my attentiveness, or more specifically, the lack of. I took a deep breath to calm down before I did something stupid like bite him. What is it with my thoughts about biting people?

"That's the device?" he asked, pointing at the machine. From where I was standing, there was only the box-Rotom or whatever guarding the object. Jolt or I could probably get it if we moved fast and there weren't other enemies to prevent us from getting it. Chaos made an annoyed beeping sound and a small charge of electricity fired from his body towards his opponent, but the plasma creature dodged easily.

"You're too slow, Chaos. I am a Heat Rotom and you're just a regular one," the plasma Pokémon snickered. Chaos made another bleeping sound.

"Why are ya doing this to your own cousin?!" the Rotom demanded. "Fear wants ta kill me!"

The conversation was interrupted by Shadow teleporting into the area, but a huge blast of electricity shot through the foliage surrounding us. Shadow teleported again to dodge, reappearing in front of Jolt. The cannon blast of energy changed direction to follow, but Shadow teleported again, the Zap Cannon hitting Jolt and becoming absorbed into his fur, some of the various scratches and wounds fading.

"Target reacquired. Preparing to eliminate Chaos," Fear's mechanical voice announced as it phased into the center of the group. Chaos was about to protest, but suddenly cried out, looking around in confusion. "Trace activated. Shadow Tag selected."

"WHAT?!" Chaos shrieked.

"Shadow Tag?" Jolt repeated uncertainly. I shook my head. I had never heard of that ability before, either. In fact, the only ones that seemed to have any idea what was going on was Fear and the two Rotom. And the smaller Rotom was looking terrified, so it was probably not good news. The Porygon shimmered briefly and the perimeter of the area abruptly shimmered with a purple aura. A strange purple icon formed on each Pokémon present, the cyber Pokémon excluded.

"What's going on?" Shadow demanded. Fear made a mechanical chuckling sound.

"Allow me to explain. Shadow Tag creates a shadow barrier in our battle zone. Any Pokémon tagged with be unable to penetrate the field unless the tag is neutralized. A tag is neutralized only when the caster of the effect is outside the barrier."

"You Traced this ability...who has it?" Shadow insisted coldly. As if to answer the question, a Pokémon stepped out from the bushes nearby. It was a light blue Pokémon with some sort of appendage sticking down from its head, briefly reminding me of a Glaceon's head flaps. It had a small tail with an eye spot on it and its eyes were slits. Its mouth was large with jagged lips.

"It pays to have connections," Fear said with a hint of smugness in his tone. "Looks like I win, Chaos." The Porygon2's break glowed and a powerful Psybeam erupted, but Chaos created a yellow film of light, which shattered apart as the beam hit, but managed to protect him from that beam. The side effect was that the Rotom seemed tired out by the use of the shield, whereas the Porygon2 was unfazed.

"**BLEEP** you, Fear," Chaos snapped. The Porygon made another mechanical chuckling sound and fired a second Psybeam. I impulsively intercepted the attack, the beam neutralizing on impact. "Thanks!" Chaos chirped to me. I growled at Fear, my rings pulsing dangerously. I was just getting pissed off now. The cyberspace Pokémon had nearly killed Shadow, maybe killed Leaf, and had trapped us in this barrier while trying to kill a Rotom that worked for our enemy. I had nothing to do with this damn situation and I wasn't going to just sit by and wait to die, assuming that's what he intended to do to us all.

"Backup strategy utilized," Fear muttered. His beak glowed yellow and electricity crackled around the rounded point moments before an enormous bolt fired towards me. I rolled to the side, but slipped and sprawled on the ground as the Zap Cannon changed direction to chase after me, moving too fast for me to get out of the way again. To my relief, Jolt intercepted the hit, grinning as the electricity was absorbed into his fur. I noticed from the corner of my eye that Shadow had made no move to defend me. What a jerk. Just because we broke up didn't mean that he shouldn't still protect me for the sake of the group. Ah, who cared? I didn't need his help anyway.

"Can I do it?" the Heat Rotom asked hopefully.

"No. This should do it," Fear responded. His tone was mechanical, but yet there was a noticeable gleam of triumph in it. "Conversion: Grass. Conversion 2: Psychic. Utilize Sunny Day." The Porygon2's body took on a green tinge and glowed, an orb of sunlight appearing overhead, lighting up the small area in a light so bright it made my eyes hurt to look at it. The cyberspace Pokémon's beak glowed and its body seemed to be absorbing the light from the shining orb. That could only mean one thing: Solarbeam. With the concentrated sunlight, the beam was ready to fire in half the time, the white light of the attack extending rapidly towards the startled Rotom.

"Where did ya get these techniques?" Chaos demanded, using another Light Screen, which shattered just like the last one, and the remnant of the beam hurled the Rotom backwards, where it slammed into an invisible barrier upon reaching the purple aura perimeter. Fear chuckled, floating towards the weakened electric ghost. I released a Dark Pulse from my body, but the Porygon2 phased out like a ghost, my attack not even touching it.

"I've learned quite a few new tricks," it said, solidifying again. Another large orb of amassed energy formed in front of its beak and its body subtly shifted from a light purple to green again. I lunged at the artificial Pokémon, but it dodged nimbly, releasing the Solarbeam in the wrong direction of Chaos, but the beam changed direction, arching around back towards the fallen ghost.

"Pr-Protect!" a sudden voice stammered and a green barrier appeared in the path of the Solarbeam, absorbing the attack and then dissolving. I turned around to see the source of the voice, expecting the Skitty, but instead seeing a small purple Pokémon whose body seemed somewhat balloon-like. Some white fluff sat on top of its head and two yellow lines were crossed where a nose would be on most Pokémon, forming an 'X'. It had two long, skinny arms, each ending in a small heart shape. A red ball of string was tied to one of the arms, with a needle inserted to prevent unraveling.

"Drify!" Chaos chirped cheerfully. The balloon Pokémon gave him a confused look for a moment.

"N-no, Helium," it corrected, its voice sounding feminine.

"Don't come closer," Chaos said quickly when it floated towards the edge of the barrier. "You'll get trapped!" The odd Pokémon immediately recoiled, looking puzzled. Fear glared at the new arrival.

"Stay out of this, Drifloon."

"I-I..." the balloon stammered, deflating under the machine's glare.

"Good. Process resuming. Estimated time to Chaos' destruction: seven seconds," Fear said, pointing its beak at Chaos. The Rotom didn't move, aside from a brief twitch of one of its lightning bolt appendages. Jolt charged a bolt of electricity and fired it towards Fear, but the machine dodged easily.

"Why can't you get out?" the Skitty asked randomly from just outside the barrier.

"Shadow Tag. Fear Traced it from that Wynaut," Jolt answered, growling. The Skitty tilted her head at the cyan colored Pokémon, which hadn't moved since appeared. In fact, it looked almost like it was sleeping.

"If we could knock Fear out of the barrier, the effect would wear off," Shadow noted coldly. That was good in theory, but since the damn machine was so hard to damage, forcing it out of the Shadow Tag barrier was next to impossible.

"Protect!" the Drifloon whined as Fear's Solarbeam erupted from his beak, but the barrier that appeared shattered without any effect and Chaos let out a shout as the beam sent him into the Shadow Tag barrier again, his plasma body smoking slightly as he hit the ground.

"Use...the move I gave ya, Helium" Chaos grunted weakly. The Drifloon looked startled and closed its eyes, focusing. Fear chuckled.

"No move can help you now. You'll never escape. This time, I'll win!"

"Get ready to teleport...Psycho," Chaos panted, ignoring the Porygon's comments. Shadow blinked, but nodded as if he understood. Jolt and I exchanged confused looks. What was going on? And why was I being left out of the understanding? I know Jolt didn't understand either, but it still bothered me when I wasn't well informed.

"Sk-skill Swap!" the Drifloon cried. She and Fear glowed briefly. The purple perimeter didn't disappear, but the tags on us fizzled out like embers from a dying fire. Shadow's gemstone glowed and I felt his tail contact me before a flash of light blinded my vision.


	226. Venomous Conversation

**Ember POV**

"How did I get myself into this?" I wondered aloud for about the ninth time in the past hour. I was sitting by the lake where the meeting had been held and was staring at my reflection. I was doing my best not to mope, but the relative silence of the surrounding area made me feel alone.

"By repeating the same phrase over and over because that solves all your problems," Venom answered in a deadpan tone. The Gyarados had been the only one around since Diablos left, except for Tarot. The phantom had been quick to dismiss me as unimportant and noted that at least now I was unable to interfere with whatever it was he was planning. Apparently the entire reason I was of any interest to him at all was because of my tendency to make timely appearances and screw with his schemes. He did have a point. If memory served, I made no less than three timely saves and briefly snapped Blaze out of his first breakdown.

Tarot had left with the crazed bipedal canine to take on the objective assigned to them, but he assured me that I was not in any immediate danger. I was not entirely convinced by this assurance. Diablos had lost patience with dealing with me in a 'civil' manner and seemed willing to kill me, but abruptly reconsidered after exchanging glares with Tarot for three minutes. I'm assuming that their exchange was telepathic and done specifically so that whatever information they were exchanging couldn't be used by me later.

"This sucks," I sighed to myself.

"You're telling me, Charmander," Venom growled. I gave him a bemused glance. What was he talking about? I was about to voice the question out loud, but Venom continued, as if he had read my mind. "I had it all, Charmander, and suddenly it was all swiped out from under me."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, feeling even more confused than before. According to Dragonair, Venom never had much of anything. The Gyarados was one of the only Pokémon that I knew that was almost never present at any of the Rocket parties, and despite the rivalry between him and Dragonair, he was always invited. Granted, this meant I knew next to nothing about him, except through the references Dragonair made.

"I spent years serving the Rockets, Charmander. Perfect loyalty. Unlike your Dragonair friend, I did everything I was told to do, did it without question. I was Master Ed's favorite, my usefulness not limited to water like most Gyarados," Venom snarled. I said nothing and the water snake continued, "Then my time came. You and Dragonair abandoned the Rockets and Master Ed was promoted. My talents and power were finally recognized. Before that all the focus was on that other snake, even before he evolved!"

"Forgive me for not being sympathetic," I replied with pointed indifference. Venom glared at me.

"You were a pesky little rebel. You think popularity among the Rocket Pokémon mattered? Going to mope all day and never show your face? If males don't see your cute face, you think someone's going to ask you out?" he sneered. I flinched and fixed him with a glare of my own, but he chuckled, unintimidated. It took me a moment, but then I realized what he said.

"What about my face?"

"Yet my triumph was short-lived, Charmander. You weren't around...for some reason, but Dragonair liberated our Raichu captives. Master Ed was disgraced for the failure. The research required those Raichu and yet they were stolen out from under us!" Venom snarled.

"That's not my problem," I said coldly. The Raichu had been Spark's parents. The Rockets stole them in the first place. I didn't care if Venom's trainer had been disgraced by their loss.

"Even with the disgrace over our heads, Master Ed was going to keep working hard and make things work for us. Then HE showed up!" Venom spat furiously. I raised an eye scale, unsure who he was talking about now. "That bastard had a very tempting offer, but he wanted Master Ed to die...and I refused. Master Ed died anyway...I don't know how. Suddenly I had NOTHING! I was disgraced, Dragonair had escaped, and Master Ed was dead...Machamp and Fiend, they signed up immediately. I had nowhere else to go, nothing else to do. I joined too."

"Okay," I said slowly, interested in spite of myself. This was around the time where Blaze had disappeared for a few days and Dragonair, Crystal, and I had gone to find him. So Diablos had managed to recruit the three Rocket Pokémon after their trainer died, no doubt with the phantom directly responsible for the death.

"We were left out at first, but then given the task of attacking a base with some Eons as targets. That was good, I liked that mission. Well...not quite," Venom murmured, wincing.

"What happened?" I asked, now definitely interested.

"I was fighting a Vaporeon, Glaceon, and Leafeon," Venom began. That sounded like it was Aura, Leaf, and probably Frost, I think his name was. This gave me a hint of how Diablos had managed to possess Aura in the first place. "I was winning...their attacks were unable to hurt me. I was about to beat the Leafeon...but then it hit me..."

"What did?" I asked, expecting the answer to be a revelation of some sort.

"Some sort of attack...I don't know which one. It caught me by surprise. It was some Flareon, younger than the one with Dragonair. I later tried to attack them again, but then that damned Umbreon tried to kill me and Machamp. Those ghosts didn't even try to help me; it was the Jolteon that saved my life. The one who wasn't on my side saved me when my allies tried to kill me."

I stared at him for several seconds before blurting, "Really?" Venom nodded his neck, growling angrily. That would have to really suck. It was a strange day when your enemies helped you while your teammates fought against you.

"And now this. The Umbreon sent Machamp into the lake and no one tried to help him. The bastard didn't care that Machamp died. I could be next. I've gone from top of the world to fearing for my life, like a common Magikarp. Don't you dare say it," he snapped suddenly. I blinked.

"I wasn't going to say anything," I insisted. I never saw much amusement in the Magikarp comments Dragonair was so fond of.

"Good," Venom said coldly, but sighed. "How the mighty have fallen, as Dragonair would say. I have nothing. Master Ed is dead, the other Rockets can't handle me. This group may as well be trying to kill me when I help them. You can't even begin to imagine how much my life sucks, Charmander."

"Is it worse than spending years getting teased, tormented, and neglected by everyone including your friend, then find out that your life is ruined because your lifestyle is morally wrong, then nearly get killed several times while still getting teased and all steps to fix the problem end up making things worse?"

"Were you listening to my story at all?" Venom asked with a chuckle. "Maybe not the moral problem."

"Why do you do what you do? Why do you try to hurt other Pokémon?" I asked seriously. Part of me truly wanted to know, even though it wasn't very significant. Venom rolled his eyes.

"That's how I was trained, Charmander. I was trained to battle without guilt. Probably how that bastard ghost or whatever got that Umbreon to be so merciless," the Gyarados growled. It was clear to me that Venom was really peeved about the Machamp's death and Diablos' indifference to it.

"Why did Diablos try to get you to join his side?" I asked, wondering whether the Gyarados had a theory. From what I gathered, there was no real reason for it. Diablos had randomly showed up and tried to get the three Rocket Pokémon to turn against their trainer and join him instead. However, he then allowed one of them to be picked off for some ridiculous reason.

Venom considered my question seriously and then chuckled, "Simple. He wanted powerful allies. Machamp, Fiend, and I are some of the most brutal and strong of the Rocket Pokémon. Machamp is strong enough to beat Dragonair to a pulp. My diverse move pool lets me hold my own against him, and Fiend is so hard to damage that Dragonair has never managed to beat him."

"You judge strength by how it compares to Dragonair?" I asked incredulously. If I did that, I'd have next to no self-esteem because the dragon was much stronger than I was, at least until I got my paws on the Dragon Claw technique. My claw combat skill was one of the few things I really did have confidence in, as I should after spending so much time training in it.

Venom laughed before answering, "Of course. Dragonair was one of the most important Rockets. Compared to at least ninety percent of the other Rocket Pokémon, he was stronger. He trained in evasion by pissing Pokémon off and then dodging the retaliation. He was very clear about who he hated and did everything in his power to make that person miserable. I always wondered what Flare did to piss him off, though," the Gyarados said, looking towards me expectantly.

"Um...I don't know," I said, going red. Venom smirked, revealing his crushing fangs.

"Liar," he mocked. I glared at him, but he didn't back down. "I know you know, Charmander."

"Flare didn't invite me to any of the parties he hosted," I said.

"And Dragonair took offense to that?" Venom scoffed. "What did the Slugma have against you?"

"Um...I don't know," I said, a little too quickly. Venom slapped his tail on the water, splashing water towards me, knocking me off my feet and dousing my tail flame. I cursed loudly, to the draconic creature's amusement, and relit my tail flame, shivering against the intense feeling of cold that had suddenly flowed through my body when the flame had gone out.

"You're a bad liar, Charmander," Venom sneered. I spat a fireball towards him, but it dissipated as it hit his wet scales. Venom snickered at the feebleness of my fire. In my defense, my tail flame had been extinguished moments ago, but my fire was already pathetic so the defense wasn't really that good. I could only barely keep a strong stream of fire for a few seconds, and my fireballs left much to be desired, which is why I switched to claw techniques.

"I don't want to talk about it," I muttered, curling my tail around myself as I sat up. Venom chuckled.

"Maybe I heard a rumor about that," he mused, watching me carefully. I didn't answer, so he continued, "Wasn't it that you were attracted to that puddle of magma slime?" I flinched, but still didn't say anything, which confirmed the Gyarados' suspicions. I don't know why I had found the Slugma attractive. It didn't last long because not only was I rejected, but the fire slug held a severe grudge and became responsible for at least half of the loneliness I had felt during my time as a Rocket. Dragonair figured out that Flare had refused to invite me to any party that he hosted, even after Dragonair had lectured the Slugma about excluding me. Just the knowledge I was unwanted was enough to disincline me from attending. I only went to Dragonair's parties because he forced me to, but it wasn't nearly enough to relieve the perpetual ache of loneliness that the constant rejection had created within me.

I was a loner. The Rocket humans didn't like dealing with me because I was rebellious, bordering on temperamental, and refused to use fire in favor of my claws. I was often shunted from Rocket to Rocket, only to be returned within a week or so. Most Rocket Pokémon were indifferent to me, but many a male would treat me with contempt if they caught wind of any form of attraction to them. A few of the females would criticize that it was really sad that even the, quote, 'no-good cheating bastards' of the males would neglect me. I guess I grew up believing myself to be too beneath the standards of most males to attract notice. It was something I had to accept, and only recently have I begun to feel that this wasn't true.

"Curious...what happened with you and Dragonair?" I asked, surprising the larger water snake with the question. At first, his eyes narrowed suspiciously, but then I clarified that they used to get along better, but this had suddenly changed and they began to hate each other. Venom considered it seriously for several moments of tense silence. He didn't seem like he was going to dodge the question, but at the same time he didn't seem to know how to respond.

"I think it was around the time he evolved. You know, around the time you stopped being attracted to him," Venom answered casually, but he was unmistakably smirking at me. I stared at him, my mouth moving inaudibly, completely lost for words. At the same time, I was aware that my face was burning with embarrassment.

"Wh-where did you hear that? How did you know?" I stammered. Venom burst out laughing, to my confusion. When he calmed down, his eyes shone with malicious delight.

"I didn't," he said, and began chuckling at my look of embarrassed indignation. "Did Dragonair know?"

"I...no, I d-don't think he did," I sputtered, trying desperately to regain my composure. My paws were clenched into fists and I was shaking with anger and embarrassment. Venom snickered.

"Dragonair wouldn't know flirting if it bit him on the tail," Venom sneered, but then his amusement faded for a moment, replaced by a dark look. "Unless he was doing it."

"What?" I asked, confused. Dragonair wasn't a flirt. He was constantly telling other Rockets off for their excessive flirting with the female Pokémon. What was causing the Gyarados' aggravation? Was it something I didn't know anything about?

"Nothing, Charmander," Venom replied sharply, making it very clear I should drop the discussion. "I must admit, he did rather well for himself in picking up that dragoness. Damn him."

"Uh huh," I answered, aware he was more talking to himself than to me now.

"Interesting conversation," an unfamiliar voice said quietly from behind me. I jumped and turned, spotting the large green lizard-like Pokémon, which I knew as a Tyranitar.

"There you are, Fiend," Venom growled. "You actually talked in front of someone other than me."

"Machamp is dead," Fiend said quietly, stepping forward. Venom nodded. "I came to say good-bye, Venom."

"Good-bye?" Venom repeated, confused.

"I have been offered a new position," the Tyranitar said quietly. "I am resigning from this group."

"What? What position?" the Gyarados demanded. I blinked, but said nothing. It was a private conversation that had nothing to do with me.

"Good luck, Venom," Fiend murmured. For a Tyranitar, he's a very soft speaker. Venom sighed.

"Bye, then," he grumbled. Without another word, the lizard-like Pokémon turned and walked away. Venom looked thoughtful for a moment. "Damn this. I still have no new options and now Fiend's out." Our conversation was again interrupted, this time by the appearance of a familiar Rotom and a small purple balloon creature, the former which was levitating a small machine of some sort; the latter had a strange red ball of yarn tied to a string-like arm.

"Hiya!" Chaos chirped happily. "Where's the boss?"

"Not here," Venom spat.

"Okay! Where's Tarot?"

"Not here," I said dully. Chaos blinked at me.

"Hiya Ember! I got my device back!" he told me happily, gesturing to the weird machine. My attention lingered on the balloon creature, which deflated partially when it noticed me watching it. "I'm gonna try ta finish it now!" he added, and floated away towards direction of the building where I had come from. Venom looked confused and I noticed the other creature had disappeared entirely.

"That was strange," I muttered. I remembered that the Haunter had mentioned some device had been stolen, but I didn't know its significance.

Venom sighed in annoyance and grumbled, "This sucks."

My thoughts exactly.


	227. Frosted Darkness

**Darkness POV**

The light faded and I blinked several times, trying to adjust my vision to the sudden change in lighting. A quick look around confirmed that we were back in that cave where we had come from before going to Blackthorn. In addition to the two Glaceon females and the Flareon, an unfamiliar Espeon was present. It was distinctly female, with the usual lavender colored fur that most Espeon had, other than Shadow. I shot a quick glance at the other Pokémon that had arrived with me, a little surprised to see the Skitty had been brought along. Said kitten Pokémon was cuddling with Shadow enthusiastically, something Jolt was watching with an anxious look in my direction, his eyes showing confusion at my indifference. He didn't know that we had broken up, and I didn't feel like talking about it.

"Oh, you're back?" the elder female asked kindly. The young Flareon scowled at Shadow, but then smiled at Jolt, who nodded towards him.

"Any luck?" the Flareon asked. Chaos floated back into the air, his voice coming out a bit breathlessly, even though ghosts don't breathe.

"Yup! I got my device back!" the Rotom chirped happily, using a charge of electricity from his plasma body to lift the strange machine into the air. The balloon Pokémon giggled quietly, attracting the electric ghost's attention to it. "Thanks Helium!"

"You're w-welcome," the balloon ghost answered shyly.

"Is Frost back yet?" I asked hopefully. The female Glaceon shook her head and the female Espeon made a small sobbing sound, attracting everyone's attention to her. She cringed when she was aware of our stares, averting her gaze.

"What were you saying, Mystic?" the elder Glaceon asked quietly.

_"He was so mean!"_ a telepathic voice cried and the Espeon sobbed, tears forming in her eyes.

"Who?" Jolt asked wearily. Now that the immediate danger was over, I could see that he was worn out, his eyes struggling to stay open and his breathing was much quicker than normal, even after intense training sessions.

_"Frost!"_ the reply whined. My stomach churned excitedly. Did she know where Frost was?

"Yes, he's not known for his kindness," Shadow remarked. I repressed a scowl. I disagreed; Frost could be very nice sometimes, much nicer than Shadow, anyway.

"Where is he?" I demanded, growling to get my urgency across. The female Espeon's tail flicked.

_"Somewhere in Hoenn."_

"Specifically?" I snapped, losing what little patience I had. She glared at me, eyes still filled with tears.

_"Leave me alone! I don't know! That's why Frost was mean!"_ she snapped, still using telepathy to communicate. I growled in reply, my rings pulsing angrily. If she wants to snap at me, I'll bite her. I had actually taken a step towards her before Jolt quickly blocked my path with a paw.

"Whoa, calm down, Darkness," he urged quietly. Shadow's silver gemstone glowed and he frowned briefly to himself, but nodded. The Espeon twitched, but didn't protest the mental scan. Her attention, like most females that met him, had flicked towards several of his finer physical features. The Skitty made a quiet growl when she noticed the Espeon's lingering gaze on Shadow's tail.

"I know where that is," he said monotonously. My mood lifted slightly and I turned towards the ebony furred Espeon hopefully. "I'll drop you off with him. I have to find Leaf." Without waiting for a reply, he placed a paw on my shoulder and I shut my eyes as his forehead gem flashed. I opened my eyes when Shadow released the contact with my shoulder, and I looked around quickly. It was dark, the sun was not even peeking out from the horizon yet. I could still see perfectly well, one of the perks of being an Umbreon. I often suspected Shadow had superb nocturnal vision, although I could never get this confirmed.

At times, the black furred psychic Eon possessed qualities of both an Espeon and an Umbreon, as well as access to some techniques that Espeon normally could not use. He had never gotten the hang of Dark Pulse, confirming that his affinity with the dark type energy was lower than his affinity with psychic energy. I don't know what other techniques he has at his disposal because he doesn't usually train publicly. Despite this, Frost still manages to read his strategies with near-ease.

"Where are we?" I asked Shadow, but he didn't reply, prompting an aggravated growl from me. Why doesn't he answer me when I ask him a question? It would only take five seconds and wouldn't cause me to feel so mistreated. Even if Shadow's not being mean on purpose, it's still hurtful that he does this to my emotions. I'd bite him to try and get the message across, but I know he wouldn't get it. I sighed unhappily, something Shadow seemed to notice, but didn't comment on. Jerk.

"He should be in the area. I must go to find Leaf now," Shadow said, and he disappeared in a flash of light, leaving me alone. I understood the urgency in finding the injured Leafeon, so I didn't mind him leaving as much as his attitude towards me in general. Finding Frost could prove to be difficult if the only lead was where he was at one point. Any amount of time could have passed since he was here and knowing him, he could have easily gotten one of his various contacts to teleport him. I sniffed the air, closing my eyes to focus on the familiar scent. He was definitely in the area recently; I just hoped he was still around.

After several minutes of searching, I was abruptly greeted with a sharp object whizzing past my ear. I jumped and my blue rings lit up as I turned angrily towards the source of the object, my gaze landing on the familiar Glaceon. "Wait...Dark?" Frost asked, most likely recognizing my ring color.

"What the hell?!" I snapped, but the ice Eon hushed me. I growled. Why was he telling me to be quiet? I thought...ugh, here I was, thinking Frost would be able to soothe my frustration and he only adds to it. Damn it.

"Are you all right, Dark?" Frost asked, studying me with a slightly confused expression. I was about to retort angrily, but my mood abruptly changed from anger to sadness. "Dark?" Frost repeated, stepping closer as I wiped a tear from my eye.

"Are...are you still mad at me?" I asked quietly, fighting back the tears that struggled to escape my eyes. The Glaceon glanced briefly to the side, where I noticed through blurry eyes that a few other Pokémon were sleeping, which suddenly explained why he had hushed me, but this wasn't any comfort to me. I closed the gap between us and rubbed against the ice Eon's chest, enjoying the tickle of the frozen needles against my face and neck. What I wanted right now was comfort, to feel like someone cared about my feelings. My throat felt constricted and difficult to swallow as I continued to fight the overwhelming sadness that threatened to cause my eyes to flood with sorrow and unhappiness.

"I've long since stopped being mad at you, Dark," Frost said softly. I stopped nuzzling him and simply rested my head against him, a quiet whimper escaping my throat. "Something on your mind?"

"I...I feel so alone," I whimpered, my body shaking. I stared at the ground; the tears I had been battling were on the verge of claiming victory. Frost placed a paw under my chin and gently lifted my head so that I was looking at him. It was so hard to look him in the eyes. "Frost...Shadow and I broke up. I just couldn't take it anymore," I whimpered. "But now I'm alone and I just need some company."

"Calm down, Dark," Frost whispered in my ear, releasing my chin and stroking his paw down my side. I shivered slightly. To most, this would appear to be a flirtatious gesture, but unless it continued, I knew it wasn't. I knew I was vulnerable. This was why I needed Frost and no one else, not even Leaf if he was available and healthy. This is not a point against Leaf, but against me. I could only barely control my impulses and Leaf was not mentally or physically advanced enough to resist my Attract or my straightforward approach if I acted on any of them.

"I'm trying," I whimpered, not even concerned with how pathetic I probably sounded to him. Frost was maybe not the best person to act pathetic around, but I couldn't help it. Shadow had upset me and now that I was near Frost, I wanted him to understand how upset I was. I longed for him to comfort me, to make me feel better. He was good at that, and I could trust him not to take advantage of my emotional vulnerability for his own pleasure.

"I assume you need to talk?" Frost asked softly, watching me carefully. Even though the ice Eon could annoy me to death at times, he was much more sensitive to my emotions than anyone I'd ever known. That was not to say he was perfect, because he had his moments, just like Shadow did, where he'd be cold or condescending towards me, but he'd usually apologize later, which made the rare occasion easier to overlook in the long run.

"I miss Shadow already," I admitted, sniffling. "I don't know why. He's such a jerk and he hates me, but I miss him."

Frost seemed to consider the wording to his question carefully before asking, "Is it moon-related, do you think?" The observation about his consideration helped me to keep my temper. It seemed to me at first to be an insulting question, implying that I only was interested in Shadow because of my unstable hormones, but I realized that this wasn't an insult or implication, but a serious question.

"I...I don't know."

Frost smirked, but didn't comment on my uncertainty or unwillingness to explore the possibility. "What else is on your mind?"

"I wanted to ask your opinion about maybe br-breaking up with Shadow," I told him. Frost raised an eyebrow and I continued quickly, "but then I broke up him anyway. I feel so...lonely. I miss Kira and now Shadow and I broke up. I'm losing everything and I don't want to lose anything else!" My voice cracked and I pressed against the Glaceon desperately. I needed the comfort of closeness, needed to be reassured, but I didn't want to beg. I was so tired of begging for attention and receiving none.

"What about Shadow pushed you to make the decision?" Frost asked, standing firm against my weight, which was comforting to know he wasn't moving away. He wasn't abandoning me, but staying to comfort me.

"He...he was so hurtful. He doesn't care about my feelings. He leaves when I need him," I sniffled, tears flowing freely from my eyes at the memories of the black furred Espeon's treatment of me. "Almost every full moon he leaves and he knows I need company, but he goes anyway!" I broke down and sobbed into the Glaceon's chest.

"Dark..." Frost murmured, but that seemed to be all he intended to say. His paw patted my back comfortingly and after several minutes, I calmed down enough to stop crying, but I hadn't broken completely free from the despair I had been feeling. The Glaceon smiled, his paw gently touching my face and caressing my cheek. I blinked back tears and a small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth.

"I need a new mate, Frost," I reminded him, rubbing against him. A trace of a frown appeared on his face.

"I'm not going to be your fallback, Dark," he told me coolly. I winced.

"Frost..." I began, but he cut me off with a wave of a paw. Tears formed in my eyes again and the Glaceon raised an eyebrow at my reaction. I know I looked over-emotional, but it hurt how dismissive everyone acted towards me. Frost sighed quietly and before I could say anything else, he leaned over and kissed me on the forehead.

"We can resume this conversation tomorrow. You need to sleep. You're tired and upset, and sleep remedies both," he murmured in my ear. "Just relax and sleep."

"I can't," I protested, looking up at him pleadingly. My moods were shifting too often and I couldn't relax. I was just too agitated and upset to set the feelings aside. My rings glowed in the light of the moon and Frost frowned slightly, his gaze flicking skyward towards the luminous orb.

"Can I trust you to control yourself?" Again, this immediately struck me as insulting, but this time I knew he had a point. Without waiting for an answer, Frost touched his mouth to mine tenderly, a gesture which was not unusual, yet it still was unexpected and sweet. His question, I realized, was to emphasize that the kiss was platonic. The method must have been effective, for I felt a sense of relief, however short lived, and did not feel the expected surge of desire. Frost withdrew from me a pace, studying my reaction critically.

I took a deep breath to soothe my anxiety, which had bubbled to the surface again. I was stressed by everything that had happened recently, and there just didn't appear to be any end in sight. Why was it that Frost, widely considered by the group to be a selfish and arrogant jerk, was kinder to me than the rest of the group combined? Not that Leaf or Jolt were really mean to me, but they rarely went out of their way to be nice to me specifically. I didn't even want to think about Shadow right now. It would only make me upset and then I'd probably get clingy again, something Frost seemed intent on avoiding. I can't blame him for that. He had been less than thrilled to have me vent all my emotions on him after Kira's death, including the effects of the full moon. I'm impressed that he didn't argue, but that probably was a mark of his intelligence not to argue with a stressed, moody, lustful, clingy, and aggressive female Umbreon in her equivalent of the heat season.

Frost licked his paw and rubbed it over the fur on my shoulder, surprising me. He circled around and did the same to my other shoulder. I glanced towards him inquisitively, but didn't object. It felt nice, so why would I? The ice Eon used his paw to groom down my back, much like he would after I had bathed. Frost's room back at the base was the only bedroom that had a personal bath and shower area and he didn't mind me using it for extended periods of time.

Due to the use of my personal type of soap and near-obsessive grooming concerns, my baths and showers took much longer than anyone else's and Leaf would throw a fit whenever I "Spoinked" the shower. There was enough space for two or three of us to shower simultaneously, but I adamantly refused to shower in the presence of the others. Kira, being female and a close friend, would probably have been permitted, but she liked to shower with Jolt so she never tried. I wouldn't have minded showering with Shadow, and we have done once or twice, but our relationship was secretive at the time and while it was unlikely anyone would go near the shower area after I announced my bathing intention, we decided not to risk it. After the soap prank, I only used Frost's shower, but to save the trouble of the somewhat annoying routine of me stopping by his room every morning, we started sharing a room consistently. Either no one else noticed or no one else cared enough to ever bring it up.

I stretched out, the grooming having an almost hypnotic effect on me. The stress that had been binding me to my alert moodiness was dissipating and my eyelids were beginning to droop. I noticed that Frost was doing a cross between kneading and grooming my body, so perhaps the effect was less the result of grooming and more from a massage, but I couldn't really muster up the energy to care. I trusted the ice Eon enough so that even a sudden massage was not considered invasive. If Shadow would have ever done that, I wouldn't have minded, but if anyone else would have, they'd have gotten very, very hurt. Well, unless it was that attractive Umbreon, but that's beside the point.

I purred happily, repressing a whine of disappointment when the Glaceon stopped. He lay down a short distance away, and this time a whine did escape my throat. I didn't want to be alone. I conjured up the energy to move over to him and I nudged his side sleepily. He chuckled softly, but altered his position so that I was curled up against him. His body was comfortably warm with a gentle chill from the frost glazed on his fur, and it didn't take long for sleep to finally come over me.


	228. Confusing Plot

**Leaf POV**

Pain seared through my head, bringing me forcefully to consciousness. I clutched my head with my paws instinctively, the movement sending another wave of pain through my body, this time originating from my side. I writhed momentarily, but went still as something touched me. The contact was cold, but gentle and with my eyes closed I couldn't tell what was touching me, but it was uncomfortable. "Shh...are you all right?" The voice was that of a male and didn't sound threatening, but it was completely unfamiliar. This wasn't that amazing, since I didn't really know that many people or Pokémon in the first place.

"Where am I?" I asked pleadingly. I felt so helpless, like a kit that doesn't know how to walk. Flares of pain continued to wrack my nerves and I felt so confused. It still hurt too much to open my eyes. "Who are you?"

"Relax for now. We'll explain in a moment," a female voice said. Cold water abruptly splashed over me and I gasped in shock. "Oops, should have warned you about doing that. Sorry."

"What are you doing?" I demanded, trying not to sound as anxious as I felt.

"Cleaning your fur. You were bleeding really badly," the male voice told me. "The wound had been healed, but we were afraid the blood loss was going to kill you."

"What?" I wailed, opening my eyes a crack. My vision was too blurry to see details, but I was aware of a nearby source of water and two shapes in front of me.

"The Honchkrow that lives in the area saw the fight and brought you here," the female voice explained. There was a cawing sound a further distance from me than the two talking to me, but either I didn't recognize the words or it hadn't said any words.

"What about everyone else?" I asked, opening my eyes further, but my vision was still too blurry to make out details. I remembered the fight, I remembered getting hurt, but was Jolt okay? What happened? How long was I unconscious? So many questions shifted through my mind but I wasn't getting answers.

"The Jolteon was rescued by an Espeon. Odd Espeon at that...it had black fur..." a third voice said, but the cawing note in its tone hinted that this was the Honchkrow. I also felt an enormous sense of sadness. My brother had been in the area and had gotten Jolt out. But I had not been there. I didn't know if my brother even knew I was okay, or where I was. I didn't even know where I was. I missed Shadow so much. I hadn't seen him since I had left the group and I had missed the chance to see him because I had gotten hurt.

"The Pokémon they were fighting?" the male voice prompted.

"Gone. Left the area. No idea where they went," the cawing voice replied. I breathed a small sigh of relief. If Fear was gone, maybe I could work my way to Blackthorn City, assuming I was still in the area of Blackthorn, and try to make a phone call. Oh, but who would I call? Oh right, Frost's cell phone. Then he could contact someone to pick me up. Did I know Frost's phone number?

My vision had begun to clear and I could determine that the two shapes before me were small draconic serpents. I say small in comparison to the two Dragonair I had met; these Pokémon were only about five feet long, but that still made them long compared to me. I recognized them as Dratini, but I was still surprised to see two of them. Dragon Pokémon were rare to see under any circumstances. They were both watching me with gentle concern. I winced as another stab of pain hit me. I looked myself over briefly, noting that a portion of my normally tan fur was stained with what undoubtedly was blood, although the color was faded as if it had been washed partially. There was no sign of a wound, which confused me. Dratini didn't have any healing techniques that I knew of, so what had healed my injury?

"How are you feeling?" the male Dratini asked. I only judged the gender by the voice, because I couldn't tell otherwise. I grunted and pushed myself up into a sitting position, my body swaying a little as I did so. "Careful. You might be a little unsteady from the blood loss."

"Ow," I groaned. The other Dratini used her tail to place a strange green plant next to me, which I gazed at blankly. "What's this?"

"Something to eat if you're hungry," she answered. I tentatively took a small piece of it with my paw, nearly losing my balance in the process, and managed to eat it. The plant had a surprisingly sweet taste to it, but I didn't take another bite. I got most nutrients from sunlight and the sun was shining down on me. I still ate food, especially for the energy, but at the moment my stomach wasn't feeling up to trying it.

"Thanks," I told the Dratini couple.

"You should try to take it easy for a while, yet," the female warned me, but I shook my head.

"I need to get back," I said, looking around frantically.

"Really, you need to rest," the male insisted.

"I'll walk it off," I replied firmly. The two Dratini sighed and exchanged looks.

"We really don't think that's a good idea. You nearly died and you're still weak from the-"

"I know. But I can't just stay here..." I began, but my voice was losing the authoritative edge to it. They were right. I couldn't just leave in my condition, but I felt that I needed to get back. I was alone in the wild with almost no idea where I was. This was the same situation Shadow had left me in, but last time I had been with Vice and Glacia and they had somewhere to go. I sighed and lay down, my tail flicking restlessly. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I just wanted to be back with people I knew.

"No need to pout," the Honchkrow cawed. I looked towards the direction the voice had come from, but didn't see the speaker. With another sigh, I placed my head on my paws and studied my reflection in the water. The Dratini couple worked silently on washing the remaining blood from my fur, which was nice of them but a little uncomfortable, especially since brief flares of pain would shoot through me every now and then. Why wouldn't the pain go away?

"There you go," the female announced, swimming away from where I lay, but still within reasonable conversation distance. I smiled to show my thanks, but didn't say anything. I attempted to use Synthesis, but nothing happened. The pain didn't fade and there were no visible wounds to heal. I sighed and resigned myself to going back to sleep, but a familiar voice caught my attention. My ear twitched and I looked up. The two Dratini seemed to have heard it as well, but they didn't comment. I heard the flapping of wings and a large black crow landed nearby.

"It's the Jolteon from before," it announced and I leapt to my feet, grimacing when my side burned with pain. Jolt came back? I listened carefully and sure enough, I could hear Jolt's voice calling my name. Without another word, the crow let out a loud cawing sound, which prompted a whine of agony from me when the sound hit my ears.

"Hello?" Jolt's voice called and the Jolteon broke out of the forest of trees, spotting me almost immediately. "Leaf, there you are. Thank Palkia you're all right!"

"What happened?" I asked him, but the electric type shook his head.

"We'll explain later."

"We?"

"Yeah, we," Jolt said, giving me a look of concern. "You know...the group?" I felt my face grow hot and I nodded. "Thanks for taking care of him," he told the Dratini, both of which nodded. I followed the Jolteon back through the trees, my side aching with every few steps I took.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked, but before he responded, I felt something cold touch me and the world suddenly changed. I yelped in alarm and shut my eyes to fight the feeling of disorientation the sudden teleport had created. When I reopened my eyes, the woods around me had changed to a dense forest with trees so clustered together that sunlight no longer shown through the branches. In front of me was a large boulder with green moss growing thick upon it. It was somehow familiar...and I could detect a gentle pulse of energy from this boulder.

"Well well, look who's here," a soft voice whispered, the tone thick with malice. A shiver ran down my back and I slowly turned to face a round, blue creature with three cotton puffs protruding from its body. I recoiled a pace and instinctively looked at the Jumpluff's eyes, altogether unsurprised to find them burning an ominous yellow color. "Hello, Leafeon."

"Diablos," I growled. The Jumpluff smirked coldly.

"We meet again," he answered softly. I whirled to face Jolt, wanting to know what had happened, but as soon as I looked upon the Jolteon, I knew something was wrong. The way he held himself was not like Jolt. The way he was smiling was not like Jolt. As I watched, the quills on his body receded and his body shone white for a moment, the shape of the electric Eon changed and when the light faded, it had been replaced with an exact replica of me, with the only difference being that it was female. My mind blanked, unable to comprehend what was going on.

"What?" I managed to gasp and the female Leafeon chuckled, but didn't answer. I shot a look towards Diablos, fear already coursing through me. "Where are we? What's going on?" I demanded.

"This," Diablos said, gesturing a cotton puff to designate the forest, "is Ilex Forest, Leafeon. The rock behind you is Johto's Moss Rock. As you know, the energy emanated from this rock enables an Eevee's evolution into a Leafeon and, as you also know, there's one of these in Eterna Forest, of Sinnoh and Kanto's Viridian Forest."

"Yeah," I said slowly. I had evolved in Eterna Forest when I was still a young Eevee, and our group knew that the Cave Army Kanto leaders were Leafeon that had evolved in Viridian Forest.

"I assume there's one in Hoenn," the Jumpluff mused. I nodded uncertainly. Petalburg Woods, if what I heard was true. I didn't know myself, having never been to the Petalburg Woods. "Of course, that suggests an Ice Rock exists in each region, but I digress."

"I think there's one on the Ice Path," the female twin of me said, looking herself over. I swear she looked EXACTLY like me, only female. It was really unnerving, since she sounded like an effeminate version of me. "By the way..."

"Yes, your debt is settled," Diablos whispered, his yellow eyes studying me with a trace of amusement. The twin of me nodded and its shape glowed white. The light faded to reveal a tan squirrel Pokémon with brown rings lining the lower half of its soft fur body.

"Debt?" I blurted blankly. What was he talking about? I know it didn't really concern me, but that didn't stop me from wondering.

"I presented him with a rare TM in exchange for repayment," Diablos replied, turning his gaze to the Furret and continuing, "I see that you put Mimic to good use, didn't you, Morph?"

"Of course, Master," the ferret Pokémon said with a grin. He paused and darted forward with a burst of speed, pouncing on a female Jolteon that I had overlooked before. "Hello beautiful," he murmured. She giggled and released a bolt of electricity from her fur, the shock flowing through the Furret, but he seemed unsurprised by this. On the contrary, he purred and kissed the Jolteon's neck, curling his tail around her. Diablos gave them a look of disgust.

I was still in no condition to try to make a run for it, and this realization fueled my anxiety. What did the phantom want with me? I looked around the forest area, wondering who else was around, aside from the Furret and Jolteon, but I saw no one. Who was that Furret anyway? A Ditto? Nothing else I knew was able to shape shift as effectively as it had.

"You two disgust me," Diablos sneered. From my angle, I saw the Furret roll his eyes before kissing the Jolteon's forehead and uncoiling from around her. She smirked and shocked him again, prompting him to purr again. I was a bit weirded out by this. I could tell that both shocks had been deliberate and not accidental discharges of electricity. Even weirder was that the Furret clearly enjoyed getting shocked.

"Rain check, Zap?" he asked her. She nodded and rubbed against him. He kissed her cheek and Diablos made an irritated sound.

"You two make Lera and Nightmare look like nothing," he snapped. "Contain your lust in my presence. Such a worthless emotion and how detestable that even those with strong wills are weak to it. A pity I can't destroy Frost with it." This last comment triggered an angry reaction in the Jolteon, but Diablos overlooked it.

"Funny, isn't it?" Bane chuckled as he materialized, his zipper mouth forming a grin. "How many couples you indirectly formed."

"Explain," the possessed Jumpluff ordered coldly.

"Nightmare and Lera, for one. Then there's Volt and Icicle. Didn't they get together after you recruited them? You've given Doom what he needs to try to woo his little crush. If it works out, it'll be added to the list. And them, apparently. I'm sure there's more," Bane explained maliciously, gesturing the Furret and Jolteon.

Diablos scoffed, "I disagree."

"Of course you do," the Furret snickered, his body glowing white and he appeared as a Ledyba of an unknown gender. He shifted his shape again into a female Houndour, and then shifted into an exact replica of the female Jolteon. She growled.

"Don't copy my form, Silver."

"What? Oh, sorry," the doppelganger quickly transformed again, this time into a female Machoke. It looked itself over thoughtfully and muttered, "This form is wrong on so many levels."

"What the hell are you?" I blurted out and the Machoke grinned, its body shifting into an exact replica of me.

"You may call me Morph. Zapda calls me Silver, but she's my mate so...she can call me whatever the hell she wants," the Leafeon twin said, grinning. The explanation was cut short by the appearance of a Dusknoir, which deposited a vaguely familiar female Flareon and a familiar Pichu onto the ground near the Moss Rock. Weren't they part of Dragonair's group?

"Hi Leafy!" the Pichu squealed, latching onto my doppelganger. The twin glowed white and reappeared as a Geodude, confusing the kit. "Where Leafy go?" it wailed, but then noticed me and latched onto my leg. "There you be Leafy. You no mean ghost!" I shifted my weight awkwardly as the Pichu's cheeks sparked.

"Where are we?" the female Flareon demanded angrily. Diablos chuckled softly.

"Well done, Doom. I need you on duty solely to keep the Flareon from messing up my battle," Diablos told the Dusknoir.

"What battle?" the Flareon demanded, but was ignored. I looked uncertainly at the Jumpluff, and suddenly noticed it was engulfed in blue energy and flung backwards, the grass type colliding with a tree forcefully.

"I see you've arrived, Psycho," Diablos hissed with glee, leaping back into an upright position. I looked around in alarm. My brother was here?! Where?

"Shadow?" I called tentatively. The Jumpluff was psychically slammed into the Moss Rock, the phantom's cold laugh the only sound. Everyone else had seemed to freeze in place, at least half of them confused about the sudden attack.

"Just as I told you, Psycho," Bane chuckled.

"Indeed. I did not doubt your word, Bane," Shadow's voice answered, the tone shaking with rage. "Your end, Diablos."

"Is that so, Psycho?" Diablos sneered, a black orb of energy firing from one of the cotton puffs sticking from his body and firing towards an area of shade. The orb detonated and Shadow appeared behind the Jumpluff, his silver eyes glowing. Instantaneously, the Jumpluff's eyes widened and it staggered.

"I think so, Diablos," Shadow answered, his silver gemstone glowing brightly.

"You know what would suck, Psycho?" Diablos hissed softly, his eyes cold, but the rest of the Jumpluff's expression was filled with agony. "If I killed your brother in front of you. Just like I did to your pitiful excuse for parents." I felt my blood grow cold at these words and Shadow's eyes flashed, the Jumpluff body growing limp and collapsing.

"Show yourself, coward!" Shadow snarled. Diablos' laugh filled the clearing.

"Haven't you learned by now, Psycho? You cannot defeat me. Kill all the hosts you want...use your anger to unleash your wrath upon your next victim. Can you kill the host before I slay your last family member? Or will I succeed in exterminating your entire family?" As this sentence was spoken, a Pidgey burst from the trees, its eyes gleaming yellow. Shadow didn't hesitate and caught the bird psychically, snapping its neck with only a flick of his tail.

"You will die, phantom," Shadow whispered coldly.

"Does it feel good to kill? Do you savor the host's pain before you end its life? Its life force then becomes mine. Does it give you pleasure? Do you long to inflict the pain again, to watch me writhe?"

"No. I want you dead!" Shadow spat.

"Bane, cast Imprison. Let's give him what he wants," Diablos' voice ordered. The Banette blinked, but a golden circle appeared, surrounding our group of Pokémon. "Bane's Imprison is the equivalent of a ghost barrier if cast correctly. And now kill my host and I too shall perish."

"I won't hesitate. Show yourself!" Shadow said, his silver eyes narrowed suspiciously. I felt a cold presence and Spark suddenly whimpered, but went silent. I looked down at the young kit as it turned and stepped forward with unusual calmness.

"Here me am, Psycho," Spark's kittish voice said, the tone laced with malice. "Now kill me...if you dare."


	229. Morning Ambush

**Dragonair POV**

I slowly opened my eyes and blinked to adjust to the morning light. Sapphire had already awakened and was coiled off to the side, talking quietly with Aura. Blaze was sleeping where I had seen him last, although he was lying on his side rather than his back. I looked around carefully and raised an eye scale at Frost, who was the only one paying me any attention. The blue ringed female Umbreon, Darkness, was sleeping against the Glaceon's body.

"What's she doing?" I asked sleepily. Frost glanced down at the sleeping Umbreon.

"Looks like she's sleeping, Dragonite. I believe that was an activity you were recently engaged in as well," he replied condescendingly. I resisted the urge to Hyper Beam him for the remark, but decided that the Umbreon was too close to him to risk it. And she was a surprisingly strong fighter, so I didn't relish the thought of what she'd do if I woke her up by blasting too close to her with such a devastating technique.

"Why is she there?" I clarified. When had she shown up? Wasn't she the mate of the nigh-emotionless Espeon? Furthermore, I was reminded of my venture into Frost's mind, which had created the implication that the two had had a fling, which made the present scenario rather awkward.

"That's none of your concern, Dragonite. That would be a matter strictly between myself and Dark. I advise you keep it that way," Frost replied coolly. As if on cue, Darkness opened her eyes and yawned, attracting Frost's attention again. He murmured something in her ear that I couldn't catch and she nodded. Without a word, she got up and walked over to where Sapphire and Aura were talking, stopping their conversation. Judging by their puzzled stares, neither of them had realized she had been there. Frost licked a paw and began grooming his chest fur idly.

"What about our transportation? You said 'morning' and it seems to be morning," I pointed out. Frost scoffed and ignored me. I frowned and swiped my large tail at him, but he rolled under it with ease. The momentum of my swing nearly sent me to the ground, but a flap of my wings corrected this imbalance. Damn, I'm getting used to the body. I don't want to...ah, whatever. I was doomed to be like this forever. I could either whine like Blaze or get over it. Annoying whiny Flareon.

"Aww! The sun's bright!" And there's another brilliant whiny comment from our resident fire Eon.

"Why yes it is, Blaze. That's why that ball of gases and so on is the planet's light source," I remarked with a smirk. Blaze scowled at me as he climbed to his feet, but he didn't comment. He turned towards the three females and gave Darkness a puzzled look, which she noticed.

"Don't stare!" she snapped, her blue rings glowing briefly. Blaze flinched, but didn't back away, although he did avert his gaze from her onto Aura. Good, he better keep those eyes off of Sapphire. Frost frowned and walked over to the irritated Umbreon, whispering something in her ear. She hissed something in reply and he shrugged, but she relaxed nevertheless.

"What's been going on with you, Blaze?" Aura asked tentatively. He grunted and she winced before abandoning the subject.

"How have you been, Aura? Forgive me for neglecting to ask you," Sapphire said politely. The Vaporeon smiled faintly.

"I've been okay, I guess. Well...no, not really. Haven't seen you since Blackthorn, right? Well, we went back to their base, and Jolt and Leaf had gone to...what was it, talk to Jolt's brother?" the Vaporeon answered, shooting Frost an inquisitive look. He nodded silently.

"The psychotic Umbreon? We saw him in the caves," I blurted. I think that insane dark type was Jolt's brother. The similar naming scheme brought back the memories. "Sapphire kicked his tail."

"Well done," Frost sneered, waving a paw with noticeable indifference. I again resisted the urge to attack him for treating her with such disdain. "Now if she can beat me, there's actually an accomplishment."

"Want to teach this arrogant pest a lesson?" I asked the dragoness hopefully. I was confident that she'd beat him to a pulp.

"Er...no thank you," Sapphire said quickly, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. She turned back to the water type and prompted, "Go on, Aura."

"Well, they came back later and, within a short time, we were attacked by a bunch of ghosts."

"Almost Diablos' entire group," Darkness agreed bitterly. "I lost to Volt."

"And the Gyarados that was at the Rocket base when we tried to save Spark's parents was there," Aura added. I gasped and stared at her. Venom was working with Diablos? I knew the phantom had tried to recruit them, but I didn't remember if he actually succeeded. "Er...where is Spark?" the Vaporeon asked.

"He's dead," I scowled furiously. The poor Pichu kit. So much time had been spent trying to rescue his parents and raise him after they were killed.

"Oh," the water Eon mumbled awkwardly. I took a deep breath to soothe the anger welling up inside me. Gamble was going to pay for that. He would regret killing Spark. "Well um...we managed to repel most of them, with help from a young Flareon and Glaceon."

I noticed that Frost twitched slightly, but it was small movement that I doubt anyone else noticed. I looked towards him curiously, but he didn't acknowledge me. "Sort of sad that a fully grown Glaceon needed help from a young one," I commented.

"She didn't do much. And she certainly wasn't helping me," Frost answered coolly.

"What about the Flareon?" Blaze asked curiously. He would be concerned about a Flareon. "Was he cuter than me?" And he would be worried about that. Was this a good sign or a bad sign?

"He was about half your age," Aura said blankly.

"So he was cuter?" Blaze whined.

"A Slugma is cuter than you. Ask Ember. She never hit on you, but she hit on...oww..." I complained, giving Sapphire an irritated look. Did she just hit me?

"Well, then we got attacked by a...Lucario?" Aura continued, again looking at Frost for confirmation. The Glaceon nodded.

"Force."

I raised an eyebrow at this name. Force? I had heard only a few details about Lucario back when I was still a Rocket. They were said to be powerful Pokémon that could detect aura, but I wasn't really paying much attention to the reports, particularly because of the horrible grammar and spelling. I guess computers don't come equipped with spell checkers these days.

"Did everyone's parents whip out a book of clichés prior to naming their kits?" I asked with a snort. "I mean really, almost every single person we've met has a clichéd or uninventive name."

"Yeah, whatever happened to normal names, like Butter Blossom?" Blaze asked, his tone completely serious.

"Who...who would do that?" Aura asked, covering her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Blaze...under no circumstances should you ever be allowed to name a kit," I said dryly. Seriously...where the hell did he come up with that?

"Continue, please," Sapphire said, ending our side-discussion.

"I don't remember what happened after that," Aura admitted sheepishly. "Other than he was beating like...all of us." I wondered if that included the arrogant ice type.

"You got knocked down. Shadow killed Force by snapping his neck and Diablos possessed you, but fled immediately," Darkness finished, stretching lazily.

"But not before tempting Shadow to try to kill you to kill him," Frost pointed out. Aura paled and her body shook slightly. "It's likely he would have gone through with it if Leaf hadn't stopped him."

"You're not helping her feel better," Blaze growled. For maybe the first time EVER, the Flareon had a clue what he was talking about. Funny how this only happens when he's pissed off. While those last two thoughts contradict themselves, they're still funny to me. Sapphire either can read minds or she randomly sends me warning glares every fifteen seconds; the timing interestingly coincides with my next anti-Blaze thought.

"Why don't you make her feel better then, Flareon?" Frost jeered.

"I kicked this jerk's tail in a fight," Blaze told the Vaporeon happily. Frost's ear twitched and Aura was clearly fighting the urge to laugh. "Ha, I made her feel better because I'm cute."

"Blaze...stop flirting with females when you're dating Crystal," I told him firmly. He fixed me with an irritated glare, but it vanished a moment later in favor of him pouncing on a berry and eating it happily. Weirdo. There's the warning glare again.

"So Force is dead?" Aura repeated, her tail flicking anxiously. Frost and Darkness nodded simultaneously. "Um...then who's that?" she asked, pointing behind them. Everyone's heads snapped around (except Blaze, who was fixated on the berry). Before us stood a tall bipedal jackal-like Pokémon. It had blue fur and a black mask of fur over its eyes. Its stomach was yellow and each paw had a strange spike on the back of its hand. The eyes were yellow with tints of red, giving it a psychotic appearance.

"That's impossible..." Darkness whispered, taking a step back as the strange Pokémon approached. It was grinning at us psychotically, which only made the slow, eager way it was approaching all the more ominous.

"You're dead," Frost said dully, staring at the Pokémon. The silhouette matched that of a Lucario, although I had never seen a picture other than an outline, or real one in person.

"Am I?" the Lucario asked, its voice coming out in a low rasp. "I seem alive."

"How?" Darkness demanded, but she seemed anxious.

"My secret, Umbreon. I'd love to kill your boyfriend next, but that's being handled by someone else!" Force rasped and then cackled. Darkness growled angrily, but didn't say anything.

"What do you want?" Sapphire asked, her body tensing.

"A duel with Frost," the bipedal Pokémon answered simply. By this time, Blaze had noticed the appearance of the aura Pokémon and was looking rather confused. Inattentive idiot. Cue another warning look from Sapphire. I swear, she's got to be reading my mind or something.

Frost raised an eyebrow skeptically. "And what makes you think you can beat me?" he sneered arrogantly. Darkness and Aura gave him uncertain looks.

"How about a magic trick?" the Lucario rasped. Frost blinked, but didn't answer. The insane-looking Pokémon grinned psychotically and raised a paw, producing a pencil sharpened into a vicious point. He waved it around, showing it to all of us that were present. "Might want to keep your EYE on it...I'm going to make this pencil disappear." It chuckled insanely and twirled the pencil in its paw.

"Ooh," Blaze purred, clearly very into the Lucario's act. The bipedal jackal chuckled and formed an orb of blue energy in one paw and threw the pencil upwards. At the peak of its ascent, he brought the other paw around and flung the glowing energy orb towards the spinning writing utensil, blasting it apart.

"Ha ha!" the Lucario cackled, taking a bow and waving its paws mystically, traces of the blue energy seeping around its paws like smoke. "And...it's gone!" He grinned wickedly and studied our reactions. Blaze was applauding, but everyone else was staring at him blankly. "Oh, don't tell me you've seen that one before," he rasped.

"It's magic!" Blaze said, his tail swishing happily. I was about to make a remark, but Sapphire shook her head firmly. What a disappointment.

"And now I'll make you disappear," Force hissed, forming another orb of energy in his paw and throwing it towards Frost. The Glaceon held his ground and his fur shimmered, the projectile reflecting off of his body when it hit, detonating harmlessly on the ground.

"Be careful, Frost," the female Umbreon whispered.

Frost smirked, his attention on the crazed Lucario. "It pains me how little faith you have in my abilities, Dark. This shouldn't take long."

"That's right. I'll kill you in no time!" Force cackled.


	230. The Loss of Spark

**Leaf POV**

"Well? What are you waiting for, Psycho?" Diablos sneered. I shivered. The sound of a kit's voice filled with that degree of venom was too terrible to describe. I felt as if my very heart was being torn with each word. What had the young kit done to deserve this? His parents had been killed by the phantom and now his own life had been put on the line.

My brother stared at the Pichu kit, his jaw clenching. There was a cold expression in his eyes. So merciless and hateful. I never thought my brother would actually consider murdering a kit just to get at Diablos. "Shadow," I begged him quietly, but he didn't acknowledge me. His eyes never left the small electric type, which stood in the center of the golden ring surrounding us, the Imprison that Bane had cast. Wait a minute...why would Diablos purposely gamble his life?

From the corner of my eye, I noticed the female Jolteon was gawking at Shadow, which was a very common reaction among females, if half of his complaints were true. Her mate, now assuming the form of the Furret from before, had definitely noticed, but he didn't seem annoyed. I snuck a glance at them and saw that she had averted her gaze and appeared angry at something. A quick look around at the other inhabitants of the area showed me that the Dusknoir was watching the Flareon attentively, and she in turn was looking between Shadow and the possessed Pichu with clear anxiety.

"So much for not hesitating, Psycho. Several minutes have passed and you had your chance to kill me. What's wrong? Can't hurt a little kit? Can't bear to make the sacrifice to accomplish your life's goal?" Diablos hissed, the kittish tone sending a cold shiver down my spine.

"I will destroy you," Shadow replied fiercely. The Pichu laughed mockingly and the female Flareon's fur bristled at the sound.

"If you don't kill me now...you'll lose your chance. The conditions are set, aren't they? You know I can't flee a host while contained within a ghost barrier. No one will interfere with your attacks and as an added bonus, I'm not even forcing you to choose your brother's life, expendable as you think it is..." This last comment prompted me to flinch, my fear returning to the surface. I still couldn't be sure whether Shadow would kill me if it meant finishing off Diablos. I just hoped he wouldn't kill an innocent kit to accomplish his quest for revenge.

"Shadow, please," I begged my brother, but still he showed no sign of acknowledging my words. I knew he heard me, but his focus was fully on the Pichu. Did he sense a trap? Was he weighing the options? I didn't know what he was thinking.

"Tsk, you're getting sloppy, Psycho. I remain a severe threat to your life and rather than end the battle when offered the chance, you choose to back down. So typical of you, Psycho. You think you're the cream of the crop, but you show unnecessary mercy. Do you think I'll show you mercy? You'll never beat me if you're merciful, Espeon."

"You son of a bitch," Shadow spoke coldly, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"Oh, I'm so hurt by your words, Espeon. See, me cwying..." the Pichu replied, tears flooding from its eyes. The upsetting sight was ruined partially by the Pichu's gleaming yellow eyes and the cold smirk upon its face. Shadow growled and the electric type's body was engulfed in blue energy.

"Shadow, don't!" I shouted, my voice cracking as I pleaded. Shadow said nothing, his forehead gem pulsing with light. This couldn't be what my brother had been reduced to. I didn't want to believe he would murder a kit in cold blood. Diablos chuckled, his yellow eyes still weeping tears.

"Do it, Psycho. You long to destroy me, don't you? What choice do you have? If you can't kill the kit, I'll be able to use the body to harm others as I see fit, knowing that the Pokémon of Destiny won't dare harm me, even at the cost of his brother's life. I deserve it, don't I? Justify it to yourself, Espeon. Feed into your hatred of me. You'll rid the world of me...just like you vowed to do."

A silence filled the surrounding area. No one spoke. Even the sound of breathing disappeared as everyone stared at the two Pokémon, waiting to see what would happen to the Pichu. Tears started to form in my own eyes. Please no...If Shadow killed the kit...then I didn't know my own brother anymore. He wouldn't be my brother. He would have become a warped creature, a monster in his own right. I don't think I'd be able to take it if Shadow...if the Espeon using the name I gave to my brother...if he killed such a young Pokémon in front of me. I don't care how he justified it. To me it'd still be a crime.

"You vowed to destroy me...to avenge the death of your parents. You said you'd make sure I never did it to someone else. Oh, but you failed, Espeon. The kit whose life you hold within your psychic grasp also lost both parents by my hand, didn't he?" Diablos whispered. Shadow's eye twitched and the possessed Pichu was slammed forcefully to the ground with a dull thud. Diablos cackled with glee, the sound so much more disturbing when coming from the kit's mouth.

"Shadow!" I whined, trying to get him to realize how upsetting his actions were to me, but the black furred Espeon's only response was the twitch of one of his ears. His gaze didn't shift from the small electric type. I've never seen my brother like this.

Diablos laughed again and sparks flew from the Pichu's small black tail and pink cheeks. "Going to finish me? Or are you going to kill me slowly and painfully, delighting in every spasm of agony you inflict? My, and I thought Volt's methods were uncouth. It seems you've become vicious, Espeon. Vicious, but pathetically soft." Another cackle was torn from the kit's throat, silenced as Shadow's eyes flashed coldly. A cold trickle of terror spread slowly through my blood, starting from my heart and expanding outwards.

"Shadow...please don't," I pleaded, another tear rolling down my face. Shadow's gaze flicked to me for only a moment. His expression didn't soften, but the Pichu went limp, released from the psychic hold my brother had conjured.

"So be it," Diablos sneered, the golden circle fading from existence. The injured kit stood, a feat that no normal kit that age should have been able to accomplish. "Then it's you who shall perish instead. You worked all this time to engage me and instead I'll send you to your doom! That was unintentional, Doom," the Pichu added to the Dusknoir.

"I know, Master," the tall ghost answered solemnly.

"Not sure what you expect to do now, Espeon. I could use this body from now on until it dies from fatigue. You can't save it. You're too soft...too predictable," Diablos hissed to Shadow, who glared back at him coldly. "How ironic, Espeon. You sealed your emotions and yet you expose them so freely when we're face to face. Looks like you have no advantages against me after all, short of a nigh-impeccable mental barrier."

Another silence claimed the area as many of the other Pokémon present exchanged anxious looks. Spark's cheeks crackled with electricity, forming a small compressed orb of the static energy and then launched it towards Shadow. My brother teleported out of the way with ease. Diablos twitched slightly; I noticed that the charge conjured by the Pichu had some form of recoil damage, but the phantom brushed the discomfort off. In response to an inquisitive look from Bane, the Pichu gestured quickly, prompting the marionette Pokémon to fade from view.

"Come come, Psycho," Diablos sneered to the air. My brother still hadn't reappeared from his teleport, but I knew he was still in the area. It was a strategy he tended to use when at a disadvantage: he'd teleport to a shadowy area and rework his strategy, often by attacking abruptly. "Hide and seek won't do you any good. And me want to play," the phantom continued, adopting an obnoxiously kittish tone for the last sentence. There was no answer and the Pichu's smirk faded.

"Let Spark go!" the female Flareon snapped suddenly. Doom held an arm to block her path, yet she made no motion to move forward.

"Don't you have larger concerns than that, Flareon?" Diablos whispered quietly, his yellow eyes gleaming as he met her glare calmly.

"Where's Blaze?" she snarled.

"Lusting for another, if I had to guess," the phantom replied coolly. "To him you're just a nuisance, a nuisance he longs to be rid of. Your fear is not for naught. He craves freedom and you want control, but the harder you tighten your grip, the less you'll hold."

"What'd you say?!" Crystal snapped. The Pichu adopted a painfully cute sad expression, his eyes glistening with tears.

"No yell at me!" he wailed, Diablos' malicious tone vaguely present in the Pichu's voice. Crystal flinched and Diablos laughed, dropping the cute act to remark, "Oh, this host is ever so much fun."

The phantom turned and raised a small paw, a blob of shadow energy expanding in the palm. He then threw the orb to the side with an air of carelessness. A flash of light from the direction of the projectile's target signaled that Shadow had been waiting there and had been fleshed out. Sure enough, Shadow reappeared on top of the Moss Rock. Judging by his momentarily confused expression, I assumed he didn't mean to appear there. Diablos smirked and blue lightning surrounded his body, casting a fluorescent glow upon the dark surroundings of the forest. I gasped as the Pichu bolted forward at incredible speed, taking advantage of Shadow's imbalance and hurling his body against him.

Shadow braced himself for the impact, the force of the collision sending him sprawling back. He panted, twitching as the electricity flowed through him, his fur sticking up on end from the static. "Endure. Recover," he managed to gasp.

"I think not. Soul cast Heal Block on you already, Espeon," Diablos sneered, twitching as electricity from his own attack seeped into his body. Shadow's eyes widened. "So predictable. I have prepared a counter for everything you can do. Your reliance on your recovery techniques was one of the first things I needed to prepare for, and Soul is the perfect countermeasure to deal with that." The Pichu gestured and the ghostly insect shell appeared.

"Unless he's allergic to Simochi," Morph remarked, his furry tail casually brushing against the female Jolteon beside him.

"What?" the Jolteon asked blankly. The Furret chuckled and kissed her neck, earning a shock in the bargain. I looked away uncomfortably when he purred in response. Shadow had stopped panting and was eyeing Soul critically.

"Don't you see, Psycho? All your effort and training was in vain. You cannot defeat me. Your strategies are obsolete and your abilities are subpar. Once again you rush to engage me and once again you're knocked on your tail. I didn't take you seriously before, but I have grown weary of your persistence. Once more I shall make my proposition. Leave now unscathed and never cross my path again. Or continue this fight and die," Diablos hissed.

Shadow scowled, "I'm not giving up."

"Now, that's not very good logic, Espeon. If you won't do your task, know you can't win the fight, but won't surrender and live...what is it you're trying to accomplish?" Diablos sneered. Once again the Pichu's body was surrounded by the blue electricity, but Shadow teleported before Diablos could begin the attack. Diablos frowned and the electric aura dissipated.

"Do you think he fled, Master?" Doom inquired. The Pichu closed its eyes, the ears twitching.

"No. But I'll flesh him out this time," he answered calmly. Without opening his eyes, Spark's paw jerked in the direction of a medium sized pool of water behind the Moss Rock. The water rose into the air and compressed into a solid sphere. The kit's forehead was wrinkled in concentration and the yellow eyes flew open. The instant the eyes parted, the sphere expanded outwards, similar to Frost's Water Pulse tidal wave technique. The water tore through the bushes and splashed around the trees surrounding us. The wave had left only the inner circle dry, sparing us from the crushing force of the waves. So little water had been used, but the startled shout of my brother told us that the tactic had been effective.

"Surf?" Morph gasped, staring at the Pichu in awe. "How?!"

"There's no way the kit knew Surf," Doom agreed, incredulous.

"You're right. It doesn't know Surf. Nor does it know Volt Tackle, but yet I was able to utilize that. You forget that a host doesn't have to KNOW how to use the move, because it's not in control, but I am," Diablos answered, forming a charge of energy and releasing it as an expanding wave, passing the charge to every damp object it touched. Shadow teleported into view, his raven colored fur damp. "You can't hide from me, Psycho."

"Master, how could you use Surf, then?" Morph asked.

"Not the time to discuss it, Morph. First I must rid the world of this pest!" Diablos replied, punching a fist at Shadow, the paw crackling right before impact. The shock surged through my brother's fur and he grunted, his eyes pained. Diablos grasped Shadow's throat with the charged paw, his yellow eyes staring into my brother's own. "You've lost, Psycho. And how pathetic that I destroyed you using the body of a three month old kit. You'll finally be reunited with- ARGH!" The Pichu recoiled suddenly, releasing Shadow's throat and clutching his chest with both paws. Shadow seized this opportunity and a flash of light lit the forest.

When I opened my eyes, nothing had changed. I was still where I had been before, but Shadow and the Flareon had vanished. The Pichu stared around with narrowed eyes, no longer holding its chest. He seemed surprised that I was still present, but didn't say anything to me.

"He's gone. Doom, take us from here. Bane...bring Leaf. No need to make him suffer here alone," he ordered, but the tone was noticeably less malicious. The Banette materialized next to me and touched my shoulder lightly, the touch sending chills through me. Diablos studied me thoughtfully and nodded. Bane warned me to close my eyes. After I obliged, I felt a strange sensation, opening my eyes when instructed to do so. Wherever we were, it was too dark to see anything.

"Lera," Diablos' voice called and the Haunter I had seen in the base appeared, making a strange bowing gesture when she saw the speaker.

"Haou," she murmured reverently.

"Attend to the Leafeon's injuries. The wound is healed, but the injuries are not," he said firmly. The Haunter repeated the bowing motion.

"I will, Haou," she answered. She gestured for me to follow her. Perplexed, I walked after her floating form, my body aches abruptly reminded me of their existence. What was going on?


	231. Saving Offer

**Leaf POV**

The Haunter led me through the impenetrable darkness for only a little longer, finally stopping and gesturing for me to do the same. She warned me to shut my eyes and once I had obliged, a sudden light flared through my eyelids. The severity of the light diminished within seconds and she informed me that I could open my eyes.

I blinked several times to adjust to the light and determined that we were in some sort of cave. Many glowing orbs of light floated overhead, similar to the concentrated sunlight from my Sunny Day technique. The rock beneath my paws was flat and well-maintained so that the entire area was level. In the very back of the cave room was a pool of water. I didn't have a clue where I was, but it didn't seem to be dangerous or foreboding. Not yet, anyway.

I grunted as the pain in my side recurred...the side where Fear had struck me...why did it continue to pain me? How had the wound by healed? If Jolt had healed me using Wish, the pain should have gone with it. Even my Synthesis dulled the pain, so why wouldn't it fade? Did someone else do the healing and what method could have been used if only the basic wound was repaired?

I voiced this last question and the Haunter paused to consider it. "It could have been a weaker version of a regular healing technique," she suggested. "You know, uh, Synthesis, correct?"

"Yeah," I answered, unsure where she was going with this. My Synthesis was sufficiently strong to fully heal my wounds and pain. I didn't even think I had managed to use Synthesis before being defeated.

"Synthesis draws its power from the sun and if sunlight was limited, the strength could have been weakened. I cannot be sure; I wasn't there," Lera told me gently. I nodded, accepting that I will probably never learn the answer.

"How do you plan to heal my injuries? I've tried Synthesis and it doesn't work," I pointed out.

"Correct, it shouldn't. Enough time has passed since you gained the injuries that recovery moves won't have any effect. You'd have to recover the old fashioned way: R and R," she agreed.

"But then...how would you...that doesn't make any sense!" I protested. She chuckled.

"Relax. You'll be fine. Don't make me get Nightmare to Hypnose you."

"Uh...okay," I mumbled weakly. I guess I had no choice but to trust the Haunter to take care of the problem. She seemed confident that she knew what to do, but whatever it was probably wouldn't make any sense to me. She gestured a paw towards the water and I walked over to the edge. She pointed a finger equivalent into the water and I squinted to see through the water. Lera entered the water, disappearing from my sight, but returned lugging a large metal box of some sort, which she deposited beside me, the box clanging loudly. I tilted my head at the box uncertainly.

"We moved the location of this recently," she said absently, examining the lock on the box and changing the shape of a finger, inserting the shifted finger into the lock and removing it with a click. With her free paw, she pushed the lid open and removed a piece of paper, which she examined quickly. After a few seconds of rapidly reading, she turned her attention to the rest of the contents, none of which I could see from my angle.

With a triumphant cry, she removed a small shiny disk from the box and showed it to me. "What's that?" I asked, squinting at it. She chuckled.

"This is a TM. Rest, if I am not mistaken. Think of it as a power nap that'll repair your injuries in no time. You need rest to naturally heal, so this is the perfect move for the job," Lera explained, but then hesitated. "One problem. I have no method to distribute the technique."

_"You forgot that?"_ Nightmare's echoing voice teased as the gaseous ghost materialized next to the Haunter. For the briefest of moments, the Gastly brushed its gaseous form against the Haunter, but the contact was short lived.

Lera giggled, "Hi Nightmare. Could you fetch Haou for me?"

_"I already have."_

"What is it?" Diablos' voice inquired and the yellow eyed Pichu stepped into view, coming from the direction I had followed to get here. The Pichu's gaze fell on the disk the Haunter held and nodded. "I see. Which technique?"

Lera made the bowing gesture again before replying in a tone of great respect, "Rest."

"Of course," the electric type murmured, stepping further into the chamber. "I trust Chaos is unavailable?"

"Chaos cannot move his TM Ray. It's too large. And he's finishing up that device," Lera reminded the Pichu.

Nightmare smirked, _"What does he even plan to do with it?"_

"Remember, the shock collar's original purpose was impractical," Diablos reminded the Gastly softly. "Yet it has proved to have multiple uses. Chaos has a habit of creating such devices. A pity he's not quite as good at building useful ones." At this time, the phantom had closed the remaining distance between himself and me. He took the disk from Lera and placed a small paw on my leg. I twitched uncomfortably.

"Relax," Lera urged softly. I glared at Diablos, but he returned my gaze, untroubled.

"You may experience some slight discomfort, but it shouldn't hurt, Leaf," he whispered softly. The tone was less malicious than I was used to hearing, but a fragment of this quality remained. The disk in his paw glowed and I felt a strange tingling sensation, similar to an electrical shock through my body, but true to his word, it didn't actually inflict pain. The glowing soon faded and Diablos removed his paw, tossing the disk aside and blasting it to fragments with a charge of electricity. Without another word, the Pichu turned and left the chamber.

"Now what?" I asked, swallowing nervously.

"You use Rest to recover," Bane answered, adding to our numbers. "It doesn't take much. Just like using Synthesis, except now your goal is to fall asleep."

"Oh, I g-guess," I muttered, focusing for a few minutes, finally locating the most recent source of energy inside me...the energy that the TM had given me. Once located, I felt an immediate sense of drowsiness and allowed it to come over me.

* * *

An incredibly loud sound beside my ear startled me from my sleep. I shot upright, spinning around instinctively with my Leaf Blade readied to attack. A startled grunt was heard when my tail impacted with the source of the sound, followed by the sound of something hitting the rock floor.

"Oh, that wasn't nice, Morph," Bane chuckled.

"I could have hit him with the Wake-Up Slap," the shape shifter pointed out, changing from the Machoke form to a female Leafeon, which looked identical to me for bonus creepiness. I looked around, semi-panicked, but quickly assessed that there was no danger, the ghosts notwithstanding.

Lera floated over to me and looked me over critically. "Feeling better?" she asked. I took the time to test my mobility and was pleased to discover that I no longer felt pain, prompting me to nod an affirmative. "Good," the Haunter said.

"So now what?" I asked her.

"I don't know. No one told me anything," she admitted.

"That might have something to do with your whole little incident, what was it, two years ago?" Bane snickered. Nightmare suddenly launched a ring of black energy at the Banette, striking him and hurling him backwards. The Banette chuckled once he recovered from the attack, seemingly unharmed.

_"Shut up, Bane!"_ the Gastly snarled.

"Someone's cranky," the female Leafeon remarked, and grinned mischievously. "And it's not Zap."

"Silver, use your male Vaporeon," the Jolteon said sweetly. The shape shifter blinked, but obliged, taking the form of a Vaporeon male. The Jolteon pounced on the Vaporeon's tail playfully, then abruptly sank her teeth into the fin and discharged a powerful electrical shock into his body. "I'm not cranky. Got it, Silver?" she hissed, one eye twitching.

"Sorry," the shape shifter gasped, twitching in pain. I stared, my mouth slightly agape. What the hell was that about? The situation got weirder as the Jolteon released her bite on her mate's tail and began kissing the fin flirtatiously. I decided to stop paying attention around this time. I didn't really remember my early kithood, but I did remember my parents had been a female Jolteon and male Vaporeon, so I was really uncomfortable around these two.

"Has anyone ever told you how nauseating you two are?" Diablos' cold voice asked, the Pichu returning to the chamber.

"About once a week we hear it from you, Master," the Vaporeon said casually.

"Either contain your foolish lust or take it elsewhere," the Pichu growled. The Vaporeon bowed sarcastically and shape shifted into a Kadabra. They both disappeared, although without the obligatory flash of light.

"They seem to get along well," Bane chuckled, rubbing his paws together. Diablos grunted indifferently and shifted his gaze to me. I twitched, tensing in case I'd need to fight, yet there were no aggressive motions towards me. As if on some invisible signal, all the other ghosts faded out, leaving me and the phantom alone, heightening my sense of anxiety.

Diablos' yellow eyes studied me carefully, giving me the feeling he was looking through me, rather than simply at me. I wasn't sure why, but I felt extremely uncomfortable even when he wasn't posing an immediate danger. I averted my gaze to the side, determinedly looking at the cavern wall. Diablos chuckled softly, "Look at me, Leaf."

Without hesitation, I obeyed, meeting the Pichu's yellow eyes. My mind resisted the command, but my body had acted before I could stop myself. The gaze of the phantom was piercing and again gave me the impression he was seeing something inside me, rather than what was visible. "What?" I challenged, an annoyed growl escaping my throat.

Diablos was unimpressed by my growl. "It seems you were left behind. How does that make you feel?" he asked softly. I flinched, but didn't answer. "How does it feel to realize that your brother doesn't care for your well-being? And this isn't the first time...is it?"

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

"I can see it...see beyond the mask. See beyond the veil you've created for yourself. Hiding behind the mask of optimism...it hurts so much, doesn't it? To never show the face concealed?" Diablos' voice was soft and non-threatening. For some reason, the tone alone made me want to listen...to know what he was trying to say. To understand what he was getting at.

"What are you talking about?" I snapped. Even if I was curious to know, I couldn't trust this phantom. He was known for toying with people's minds.

"You try so hard to help. You work so hard to make others happy and for what? To have your efforts walked over or taken advantage of," Diablos continued softly. "You wear a happy face, reeking of optimism and hope, but deep down you feel pain. You act like it doesn't bother you, the way your suggestions are ignored, the way your needs are neglected in favor of someone else's, but inside you feel empty and unwanted."

"What? No, I don't," I protested. Diablos laughed in amusement, but I saw nothing funny.

"Did it hurt to see your brother today? Did it pain you to see him, so eager to harm a kit? He's done similar in the past, but of course you didn't know this," Diablos breathed. I stared at him. What did he mean that Shadow had done similar in the past? What was he talking about?

"Done what?" I blurted.

The possessed Pichu smirked. "They claim you have potential, yet you're the only one left out of knowing such critical information. It's only when you realize you don't have it that you find out how little you know. You didn't know Volt, didn't know his relationship to your Jolteon companion, but amazingly everyone else did. Everyone but you. I thought you were a part of the group, but alas you were excluded from this tidbit of knowledge. Such a dangerous enemy lurking in the shadows, yet you were left uninformed. Really shows how much they care for your safety, doesn't it?"

"I...but..." I stammered, unsure what I was trying to say in defense of the group. What the phantom said was true. Why wasn't I told about Volt? Ever since I encountered him at the Dark Organization headquarters, I gathered that our group engaged him frequently. So what took so long for me to know about him? What else was being hidden from me?

"And you're the only one who didn't know about Psycho's tendency to eliminate anyone who stands in his way, whether the path is relevant to his goal or not. So tell me...why do you work with that group?"

"Why do you care?" I retorted bravely.

Diablos laughed, but it wasn't a mocking laugh, but one of genuine amusement. "Isn't that the point? No one else does. Tell me...how many members of your precious group have been genuinely concerned about you since leaving you to fend for yourself in the wild? Did any of them object to leaving you there? Did they see you again because they wanted to see you?"

I flinched at this question, frowning to myself. Frost had not expected to find me at Blizzard's cave. Jolt had come to talk and have me make him feel better. He disappeared after my injury and the one I thought was Jolt coming back for me turned out to be a shape shifter. There had been no word from Darkness and Shadow had only appeared to fight Diablos. And he had left me behind again! He had left me in an area where Diablos was and I could have been killed if Diablos wanted me dead. It was lucky for me that the phantom didn't seem to want that. I blinked back tears at the realization. Maybe the ones I had been so close to...maybe they really didn't care about me. Maybe I really was expendable to them. And yet...what else did I have?

"Why work with those who don't appreciate your talents? Why try to help those who deny your help? They use you for their own agenda and you get nothing out of it. Those who turn you away must learn to manage without you. But things can be different. There's still hope for you to use your potential, to know that you have purpose, that you have value," Diablos whispered, his eyes gleaming.

I shivered. His words made so much sense, but yet they seemed wrong. Just because people were jerks didn't mean I shouldn't help them...but why should I spend my time trying to show people that I wanted to help when they didn't want me to help, or they didn't like my ideas, even if the ideas could work?

"Why should I believe you? You killed my parents. You attacked and later killed Kira! You're a vicious, evil monster!" I burst out, my doubt fading.

Diablos was unfazed by my outburst. "And you and your group continue to oppose me. Why should I spare an enemy? But once united with me, you can move closer to getting the respect and admiration you deserve. Volt was skeptical at first, but once allied with me, he learned to make the sacrifice needed to get what he wanted. He let go of past attachments to those who betrayed him and moved on. He went from pain to happiness, and the same applies to so many others. Once with me, past animosity can be set aside."

I stopped and stared at the possessed Pichu. Maybe he had a point. If I wasn't an enemy to him...I wouldn't be in danger from him. "I...I don't know..." I stammered.

"You do know. But you're afraid of being taken advantage of, afraid that you'll be neglected in the same way you already have been. Put those fears to rest. Lock up the uncertainty, seal up the fear. Your skills can approve. You will be accepted, appreciated...seen in the light you deserve to be seen in. Isn't that what you want? To be admired and appreciated? Not to stand over, but to stand beside?"

The Pichu extended a paw towards me; I stared at it uncertainly. "I...I...but..." I stuttered, unable to form my concerns.

"We've already helped you recover. We can help you more. We help each other. Chaos has helped his Drifloon friend. She is part of the group, but not forced to tasks. If you don't want to do a task, you won't have to. You're not a slave, but an ally. Not beneath, but alongside. So...what do you say?" Diablos whispered, and my attention turned to the paw again, the phantom waiting for my answer. What was my answer?


	232. Casual Discussion

**Ember POV**

Not long after the Tyranitar departed, I decided to see what Chaos was up to. Venom didn't seem too interested, so he remained where he was, while I followed the path I assumed the Rotom had taken. On the way, I considered a few of the most recent happenings. Ever since Dragonair had come across Spark, my life had taken a considerable turn for the worse. Some aspects were better, I had to admit, but the trials remained so difficult, and I once again doubted my capability to cope with it. Some old wounds had been torn open and the pain was fresh.

Seeing my mom had been...agonizing. Learning just how much she despised my existence had obviously not numbed the pain. That wasn't how families were supposed to be. Deep down, I knew that I didn't even know what a real family was. Dragonair couldn't remember much of his family and the majority of the Rocket Pokémon had been taken from their parents long ago, to the point where they no longer cared or remembered. I wanted to know what a family was like. I longed to know this, a desire that burned within my chest. I had no family members, save my cruel and hateful mother. Maybe there was someone else who knew that I could find the answer from.

This year I had begun to wonder whether I'd be able to have a family of my own, if I ever found a good mate. Dragonair and Sapphire had mentioned an eventual plan to have a kit, and Crystal seemed intent on having a kit. If I had a mate, I might one day want to have one as well. I pondered a moment, wondering why these thoughts had even surfaced. With the Rockets, kits weren't a topic I had ever really thought about. So why was I visiting this subject at all? Perhaps it was because of how I felt when keeping an eye on Spark. His innocent happiness reminded me of a feeling long since lost to me. He awakened an odd, but pleasant emotion within me. A dependency. He made me feel needed and cared about, while at the same time giving me someone to care about.

I was jerked from my thoughts as I collided with the white furred female Eevee, who I had failed to notice, the collision sending us both to the ground in a heap. She yelped and stared at me, a blush forming on her face. "S-sorry. I w-wasn't paying a-attention," she stammered. I stood up again and brushed some dirt from my scales distractedly.

"My bad. Was sort of lost in thought," I admitted. She giggled and climbed back to her feet, her tail swishing cheerfully.

"That's okay. You all right?" she asked. I nodded, causing her to smile at me.

"You're okay?" I asked, more to be polite than from actual concern. She didn't seem hurt, so it was a bit of an obvious question. She nodded, then looked around curiously.

"What are you doing?" she asked. I shrugged before replying,

"Going to the shrine or whatever, I guess. You?"

"That's where I'm going," she answered, giggling. She seemed curiously cheerful, a sharp contrast to my less-than-enthusiastic mood. "Come on, let's go," she urged. I managed a small smile and followed after her. We walked in general silence until the building loomed into view. I expected the strange fog to appear, like it had every other time I had come here, but it never came. Icicle stopped at the foot of the stairs and followed me up. I got the impression she was using me as a shield, although she appeared to be at ease, so I wondered why she chose to come after me, rather than lead.

I hesitated a moment at the entrance, but the Eevee nudged me from behind until I walked inside. I remembered the room well from when Tarot had brought me here to get the TMs. The machine that had transferred the techniques was where it had been. I noticed the strange balloon creature was looking at the machine curiously and Chaos was in the back of the room by the computer, fiddling with the odd device he had brought with him. Icicle coughed quietly to get their attention.

"Hiya Icicle!" Chaos chirped. The white furred Eevee smiled shyly at the Rotom. The balloon ghost hovered a little closer to Chaos, so that his body was partially obstructing our view of her. I also noticed that the red ball of yarn I had seen tied to her stringy arm had been placed near the door. "What's wrong, Helium?" Chaos asked the purple ghost, noticing her odd behavior.

"N-nothing," she stammered, using an arm to pat the fluff on her head. Chaos giggled at this gesture.

"Nervous?"

"A l-little," she mumbled. Icicle and I looked around awkwardly. It feels so strange being around someone that anxious. That's just taking shyness to a whole new level. Chaos studied the Drifloon for a moment, but then resumed his tinkering with the device before him.

"What is that?" Icicle asked, approaching the machine warily. Chaos giggled.

"It's my de-evolution device!" he announced proudly. She stared at him blankly. "It reverses evolution! I'm almost done with it! Only needs a few stuff!"

"Okay..." the female Eevee said slowly, clearly unsure how to respond to this announcement. "Um...is Lera around?"

"Nope, she's with the boss!" Chaos answered brightly. Icicle sighed but didn't say anything else, instead walking over to the pillow propped against the wall, tugging it from its location and climbing onto it. I sat down on the ground, a few stray thoughts coming to mind. A de-evolution device? If the Rotom could actually make that work, it would be a revolutionary technology. I don't think any human laboratory division had ever come close to making such a device work, although I had heard that the Rockets had once made a signal to force evolution, if Dragonair's remark was accurate. I never really paid much attention to the science projects, so I didn't know what had happened with that project.

_"Chaos,"_ Nightmare's echoing tone called suddenly, startling the Drifloon. Chaos paid the voice no attention until the Gastly materialized.

Before either ghost could say anything, Icicle blurted, "Where's Lera?" Nightmare looked towards the Eevee, a trace of a frown appearing.

_"She will be busy, but I'm off duty right now. One moment, I must have a word with Chaos."_

"Whatcha need?" Chaos inquired happily, his attention still on the machine he was hovering around, occasionally inserting a small metal part into one area of the device and welding it with a charge of electricity.

_"The master wishes to know how you will test your device upon its completion,"_ Nightmare replied. Chaos paused his work and stared at the Gastly. The Rotom's expression seemed to amuse both Nightmare and the Drifloon.

"I'm not sure!" Chaos answered finally, still using a cheerful tone.

_"Considering you have outlined some key risks in its use and the conditions required, the master is skeptical you'll even find out if it works, unless you use either a volunteer or we acquire a test subject,"_ Nightmare continued.

"That's not cool!" the Rotom wailed.

_"The master will be changing his plans. He refuses to put any personal effort into acquiring a test subject, and I do not like the risks involved. You will have to find a volunteer."_

"I will when I finish," Chaos muttered, his cheerfulness diminished.

_"As you wish,"_ Nightmare stated, turning his attention back to the white furred Eevee. _"What do you need Lera for, Icicle?"_

"I'm just k-kind of lonely and w-wanted to talk to her," Icicle mumbled. The gaseous ghost blinked twice.

_"I know that feeling well. Only too well..."_ Nightmare frowned and averted his gaze, fading out without another word. Icicle stared at the spot where the Gastly had occupied.

"Is it normal if I'm completely confused?" I asked, speaking up for the first time since entering the shrine. Chaos giggled and bobbed an affirmative.

"Yup!" he chirped, resuming his work with the device. I watched him gliding around the machine for a few minutes, but quickly lost interest. Icicle was settled on the pillow and curled into a ball of white fur, her tail wrapped around her side so that the tip of her tail was tickling her chin whenever it twitched. She opened her eyes, as if aware I was watching her, and she tilted her head at me.

"What?"

"Sorry, just thinking," I replied quickly. She seemed content with the vague reply, but regarded me thoughtfully for an awkwardly long time. "What?" I asked, perhaps a bit more aggressively than necessary. I was still in a very self-conscious mood, although the unpleasant feelings I tended to associate with the March month were diminishing. Seemed a bit early for the relief, but I sure hell wasn't going to complain. I hate this month.

"Sorry. I just want someone to talk to," she mumbled, cringing slightly. I winced.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to sound so...you know," I muttered.

"The word is 'hostile'!" Chaos chirped helpfully. I shot the electric ghost an aggravated look, but he either didn't notice or chose to ignore it. Either way, he stopped talking. Icicle, on the other paw, relaxed.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked, pleased at the mere thought of someone willing to socialize with me without forcing me to endure the veiled comments that Dragonair somehow managed to slip into nearly every conversation. Remind me why we're friends again.

"Well...I have trouble meeting people. Um...your name's, um..." Icicle trailed off, furrowing her brow in thought.

"Ember," I supplied.

"Right, I knew that," Icicle insisted. She paused again and the thought of my desired question popped into my mind.

"This is an odd question, but um...do you know your family?" I blurted. The Eevee twitched, but nodded. "What are they like?"

"Jerks. Don't want to talk about them," she growled, the sudden hostility startling me.

"Why?"

"I said I don't want to talk about them!" she repeated, her fur bristling.

"Sorry. I just wanted to know if you knew what families were like," I muttered.

"Hmph. My family hated me. Happy?" she grumbled, wrapping her tail around herself defensively. I flinched at the tone in her voice, but also felt a stab of disappointment. She had a family that disliked her, just as my only relative hated me.

"Why?" I pressed, keeping my voice calm and quiet, so as not to upset her. She seemed like she had some serious issues, possibly even worse than mine.

"Not talking about it," she growled. I got the hint to just shut up about it, otherwise that psychotic Umbreon might attack me. I had seen what had happened to the Machamp for his comment, and Nightmare's warning not to upset her made a lot more sense. This reminded me of a different question.

"That Umbreon's your mate, right?" I asked. Icicle looked at me suspiciously, but nodded. "Not trying to be rude, but-"

"Why do I like him? Do I know he's psychotic? Am I scared of him? I've heard them all before," she supplied with a sigh. I nodded uncomfortably and she fixed me with a small glare, although less hostile than the look she wore when I had asked about her family. "I'm so sick of those questions. It's not something anyone else is expected to understand. Please don't ask me things like that."

"If you evolved-" I began and she sighed again.

"Do I have to evolve? Am I not allowed to stay an Eevee?" she asked. "Not all Pokémon have to evolve, you know. Maybe I don't want to evolve."

"I...I wasn't saying that you did...I was just wondering...I don't want to evolve, either..." I stammered awkwardly.

"Hmph. I hate how everyone acts like I'm weird for not wanting to evolve. It's not that odd for Eevee. Especially Eevee with my fur color. Ask any other one you meet, you'll probably get the same answer. I like how I look," she growled. Sheesh, she was hostile. Maybe I was just hitting her berserk buttons. "Besides, unless I'm a Glaceon, my name sounds stupid. It'd be like a Jolteon named Leaf."

"What about me?" a familiar voice asked. Icicle jumped and turned towards the source, which was the Leafeon I remembered seeing...the brother of the black furred Espeon. I felt a warm flush climb to my face as I looked him over briefly. He still looked as cute as before.

_"Dropping him off here,"_ Nightmare announced, accompanied by the female Haunter. Icicle smiled at the female ghost.

"Were you talking about me? I heard my name," the Leafeon insisted.

"No, we weren't talking about you," I assured him. "Uh...why are you here?"

"Diablos tried to recruit me," Leaf said, a trace of irritability in his voice. I raised an eye scale, and he added, "I said I'd think about it. Which meant 'no'."

"And he wasn't pissed off?" I asked, surprised.

Leaf shrugged. "He said it was my loss." The grass Eon snorted, and added, "Like I'd join the side of the guy who killed my parents. Shadow's been against him for almost my entire life. I'm not going to HIS side, even if my brother is being a jerk. I'd rather give Shadow the benefit of the doubt than give him incentive to do anything against me." He didn't elaborate and seemed to be talking to himself more than me. Which I didn't really mind that much.

"He tried to get me to join, also. I said 'no', also," I told him.

Leaf nodded and resumed murmuring to himself. "It didn't help his case that he was using a kit's body. I'm not an idiot. If his argument is that Shadow was going to kill the kit, he probably shouldn't be clinging to the kit's body. I know it's not much better than-"

"What kit?" I demanded, a twinge of fear rising in the pit of my stomach. Leaf blinked.

"The Pichu that-"

"Oh that Mew-damned..." I continued a rather long-winded curse fest that Leaf covered his ears half-way through, muttering the names of various fruits under his breath in his attempt to block my words out. He cautiously uncovered one ear when I stopped for breath.

"Are you done? I'm only two!" he complained.

"I'm convinced she made the seventeenth one up," Lera remarked.

"The sixth, seventeenth and twentieth have no definitions, and the comment about what she'll do to the boss with her claws is physically impossible," Chaos agreed.

_"Here's an idea. Let's NOT speak of this again,"_ Nightmare suggested, looking deeply discomforted. Leaf suddenly brightened.

"Can you drop us off near Violet City?" he asked the Haunter.

"Us?" she repeated. Leaf nodded and gestured to me, which surprised me. Lera hesitated, but seemed to agree, touching both of us with one paw apiece and I shut my eyes on her command, opening my eyes when instructed to do so. The entire area had changed to the outskirts of an unfamiliar town. Leaf looked around and nodded.

"Thanks," he said to the female ghost. "We won't need a ride back." The Haunter disappeared and the Leafeon grinned.

"Where are we and why?" I asked blankly.


	233. Force of Frost

**Darkness POV**

"Stay back, this battle is mine," Frost ordered firmly before I had even taken a step forward. I hesitated, but from my position I could see the gleam of confidence in the Glaceon's eyes and that told me all I needed to know. Frost was eager for the battle, excited at the prospect of facing the Lucario that somehow had survived the broken neck with no side effects. How was that even possible? I know Shadow had killed him, yet he stood here alive, in well enough condition to challenge Frost.

Ordinarily, I'd be confident that Frost would triumph. The Glaceon had overcome several opponents, and had even defeated every member of our group simultaneously. That had been an embarrassing defeat for all of us. However, Force had been thrashing our entire group and then some before Shadow had killed him. Admittedly, we weren't at our peak during that battle, but it hardly mattered. A quick glance at the other Pokémon present confirmed that they all intended to stay out of the fight. The Vaporeon, Aura, had backed away from the battle. The Dragonair female whose name escapes me had also moved out of range, and the Dragonite had changed his position to get a better view, but far enough to be considered out of the way.

This left only me and the fire Eon within range to join the battle if the mood struck us. I had gathered that this was the Flareon who had beaten Frost...the only one to ever truly defeat him. The defeat had clearly upset Frost, but I made certain that none of other members of our group would try to mock him about it. The Glaceon had shown several signs of regret for shifting his allegiance and the reminder of the loss agitated him. It similarly bothered him how upset I had gotten over his actions. Well, he should be upset about that.

Force seemed amused by the Glaceon's command. "You couldn't beat me when it was at least seven on one," the Lucario rasped, waving his paws through the air mystically, plumes of blue energy trailing from the center of the paws. Frost smirked, unfazed by the challenge.

"We'll see, won't we?" he sneered, his tail flicking confidently. The Flareon beside me took a pace backwards as both Pokémon tensed, ready to battle. The Lucario started immediately after making eye contact, conjuring another of the energy orbs between his paws and throwing it towards Frost. The Glaceon smirked and his fur shimmered, deflecting the projectile effortlessly when it hit. The Aura Sphere rebounded upon its owner, exploding forcefully. Frost narrowed his eyes at the cloud of smoke as it faded, revealing an unharmed Lucario.

"My aura won't harm its source," Force cackled. The bipedal canine disappeared, impacting with Frost at great speed and slamming his fist into Frost's face, sending the Glaceon backwards, blood trickling from his nose. Regardless, the Glaceon pushed himself up, the fire in his eyes intensifying. "Get up...get up and I'll knock you down!" the Lucario cackled, striking Frost again, the blow once again sent Frost sprawling, but he rolled to his feet nimbly, orbs of energy surrounding his body mid-roll and firing towards his opponent. Force grunted as each orb connected with various points on his body, but shook them off with a psychotic cackle.

I growled quietly, a trickle of anxiety entering my mind. Frost had been seriously wounded by Force last time and from the rate the battle was going, there was a good chance of a repeat. I wanted to try to assist the Glaceon, but the fire in his eyes stopped me. The raw determination...the strength and confidence...these traits shone out from the ice Eon so clearly. It was both impressive and so...alluring. I shook this thought away, refocusing on the battle before me.

"Let's make this more fun," Force hissed and a circle of Lucario appeared around Frost, like a stretched image. Frost blinked, but a grin appeared on his face.

"Error: Proximity is ill-advised while using Agility," he warned. A puzzled look briefly showed on the aura Pokémon's face before a vortex of ice expanded from Frost's body, striking the Lucario as it grew around them. Force grunted, but remained on his feet, within the Hail Shield, which I noted was wider than Frost usually made them. At the same time, Frost clamped his mouth shut and a wave of water erupted from the ground beneath his feet, expanding outwards to engulf the stunned Lucario. The force of the wave threw the opponent to the ground, but Force rolled backwards, rising to his feet again, neglecting to notice the Hail's boundary. The ice from the storm clung to the canine's body and he began to shiver violently. "Error: Inattentive to details," Frost remarked.

"Ouch," the Dragonite commented snidely. I gave him a brief look. Was that the Dragonair that Frost had campaigned to duel? He must have evolved since I had last seen him, back in Blackthorn when the insane Porygon had attacked. Frost blew out a breath of air from his mouth, pieces of snow and ice forming from the air around him and slamming into the chilled Lucario. I knew the technique as Icy Wind, one of the attacks Frost used to make quicker foes more sluggish, putting opponents that depended on speed attacks at a mild disadvantage. If he did that enough, Force would lose the effectiveness of his Extreme Speed technique.

The reason I know some of Frost's battle strategies was because we trained together more often than not. Whenever I needed to let off some steam, the Glaceon would agree to practice with me. Even in practice, he was merciless, but the point wasn't for me to win, but for me to improve my battle abilities while calming down. Through this method, I perfected my Shadow Ball and Dark Pulse accuracy, among other things. Frost also tried to teach me how to predict an opponent's strategy and counter it accordingly, but we never got very far with that.

"You're turning out to be quite the disappointment, Lucario," Frost sneered, wiping the blood from his nose dismissively, staining the fur on his paw. "Pathetic, really. I expected a challenge and I got you."

"How's this for disappointment?" Force retorted, and suddenly his foot was engulfed in fire, the heat traveling through his body and melting much of the ice clinging to his body. The Lucario then crossed his arms across his chest and leapt towards the Glaceon, uncrossing the arms and catching Frost in the throat with the blow. Frost made a choking sound as he tumbled back, bouncing across the ground. He slowly got up, his breathing strained. Force cackled and flung a palm-sized Aura Sphere towards the injured Glaceon. Frost exhaled, but nothing happened. A look of shock passed over his face as the Sphere hit him, exploding with considerable force, despite its size.

"Ooh..." the Flareon winced, but his tail flicked with amusement. I whirled on him, my blue rings glowing in my anger.

"DON'T ACT AMUSED!" I snarled in his face. He jerked away from me, terror appearing on his face. I took a pace closer, seething with anger.

"Leave him, Dark. He's insignificant," Frost said sharply, stopping me in my tracks. I turned back towards the battle, noticing a pair of identical Glaceon standing on either side of where the Aura Sphere had hit. "Just a Flareon who wants to think he's hot because of a fluke."

"You can't fake me out, Glaceon," Force rasped, lifting a paw, which glowed with blue energy. A moment later, the left Glaceon also glowed with this energy. "There you are," the Lucario chuckled. The right Glaceon vanished and Frost frowned slightly. Force conjured a small orb of energy in each paw and flung them at Frost, one after the other. Without hesitation, the Glaceon's fur shimmered, deflecting both projectiles harmlessly. With a chuckle, Force opened his mouth, an orb of a different blue energy formed, pulsing dangerously before firing towards Frost.

"Error: Similar techniques easily deflected," Frost remarked calmly, his fur taking on the reflective properties again and the pulse of energy rebounded upon Force, who waved his paw oddly. The Glaceon's eyes narrowed to slits as the pulse of energy rebounded from the Lucario's body, striking a tree and tearing through the bark, splintering the tree easily. Frost rolled to the side to avoid getting flattened by the large trunk as it came crashing down.

"So predictable, Glaceon," Force sneered, lashing a paw forward and striking Frost as the ice Eon stood. Frost grunted in pain and then received a powerful kick to the ribs. I winced as I heard a cracking sound. "Don't think Wish will save you, Glaceon. It saved me, but it won't save you..." Force hissed, approaching the fallen ice type. I moved forward, intent on joining the battle.

"Stay back, Dark!" Frost snapped. I flinched, but stepped back a few paces uncertainly. Why didn't Frost want me to step in? Why would he choose to perish over accepting help? I looked at the ice Eon anxiously, my gaze flicking between him and the bipedal canine. Frost showed no indication of using his Wish technique, but why not? He couldn't fight with broken ribs and if he didn't get healed, Force would kill him.

"The master chose wisely to send me to kill you, Glaceon. Now maybe I can kill Psycho, too," Force rasped triumphantly.

"Error: Brag after I'm dead," Frost said dully, then smirked, "You know, after you actually accomplish something. Bragging before completing the task is so...crude. It shows how truly unworthy you are."

"Shut up!" Force rasped, closing the distance between himself and the injured Glaceon. Without hesitation, it struck Frost with a paw and then immediately punched him with the other. Next, Force lashed out a foot and kicked Frost in the stomach, sending Frost tumbling across the ground. The Lucario laughed, his crazed eyes fixed upon the immobile ice Eon.

"Error: Creating distance after Close Combat enables comeback," Frost panted. Force cackled insanely.

"You have broken bones, Glaceon. Just try to fight back," he challenged. I twitched, watching Frost anxiously, my rings pulsing. He still showed no indication of using Wish, but slowly he pushed his forepaws against the ground, gradually lifting his weight above the ground.

"I'd never have had the chance to rise before you beat me down if there wasn't distance between us, Lucario," Frost panted, agony showed clearly upon his face. "For that error, you'll lose."

"He's cracked," the Dragonite snickered.

"Cracked like his ribs," Force agreed, his crazed yellow eyes flicking towards the large dragon.

"That really killed the non-sadistic humor potential," the Dragonite grumbled.

"Speaking of killing, I have a Glaceon to eliminate," the Lucario cackled, leaping into the air and bringing a glowing fist down upon Frost. The fist struck Frost, which glowed and shattered apart. "What?!" Force demanded, staring at the spot where the Substitute had been.

"Error: Lost focus," Frost chided, and a beam of icy energy struck Force from behind, throwing the canine forward to the ground. Frost chuckled, his voice originating from the cover of the fallen tree. Force snarled and flipped to his feet, forming Aura Spheres in the palms of each paw. A shard of ice fired from behind the leaves of the tree, striking Force in the forehead, but the steel-like fur took the blow with minimal damage. Force hesitated for an instant before throwing the projectiles at the tree, blasting a few of the branches apart.

"Coward," Force rasped when the destruction failed to uncover the Glaceon's hiding spot. There was no reply from the Glaceon, prompting a scowl from his opponent. I smiled to myself. Frost knew that comments meant to provoke a reaction should not be replied to, especially if he as hiding. He told me that this was something I needed to remember whenever using the shadows as cover. Frost could be frustrating when training with, but he knew what he was talking about. I still couldn't understand why the Glaceon wasn't using Wish, especially since he had a spot to hide out in until the effect activated. "You can't hide, Glaceon!" Force hissed, his paw glowing. Moments later, the same glowing appeared at a spot hidden from view by the tree.

The Lucario cackled triumphantly and moved in a blur of motion, leaping onto the tree trunk and slamming a paw down where the glow was originating from. To his alarm, the glow suddenly disappeared, reappearing behind him as a trio of Glaceon appeared. In the moment of distraction, all three ice Eons unleashed devastating storms of ice and snow at point blank range, encasing the bipedal canine in a thick film of ice. The glow around the third Glaceon faded and the clones disappeared as well, leaving this Glaceon alone.

There was a long, shocked silence as everyone stared at Frost in awe. His face still showed agony, but only now did his body glow to call upon the healing technique. Frost panted heavily and I could only imagine the pain he had endured to win the battle without healing himself. I suddenly understood why Frost had refused to use Wish. The Glaceon had once said that he wanted to push himself harder, to go above and beyond the average accomplishments, to perfect himself. The battle he had just fought...to me it showed how skilled he was, how much pain he could endure and still win. He was just in a whole different league of skill and strength.

Frost turned his attention to the frozen Lucario, frowning to himself. "How did he survive the broken neck?" the Vaporeon asked tentatively. I was wondering the same thing.

"I say kill him," the Dragonite suggested. The female Dragonair frowned at her mate, but didn't say anything.

"I reserve killing for when there is no other option, Dragonite," Frost said coldly. "I won without resorting to brutality."

"Good for you, Batman," the Dragonite snorted. Frost surprisingly chuckled at this. I didn't even understand it and most of the other Pokémon looked puzzled.

"You may be right, Dragonite. But if the Lucario survived death once, I'd want to determine how before assuming death ends the struggle," Frost mused. He grunted in pain, but gazed upwards as a golden orb shone down from the sky and contacted his body, bathing him in a bright light for almost a full minute. When the light faded, Frost pivoted his body experimentally. Once satisfied, he studied the frozen Lucario.

I walked over to the Glaceon and rubbed against his side. "Good battle, Frost," I mumbled. I expected him to ignore me or tell me to stop, or maybe just give a comment chiding my 'surprise' at his victory, but I was pleasantly surprised by him instead licking my ear gently. It was a casual gesture, but it filled me with happiness regardless. I was too used to Shadow's reaction. Frost was almost always nicer to me, even if my action was unwelcome.

"So now what?" the Flareon asked. A portal suddenly opened in front of us and a beam of energy fired from it. I instinctively stepped in front of the beam, the psychic energy neutralizing as it hit my body.

"Future Sight?" Frost murmured, a smirk appearing on his face. As if to confirm this, a familiar humanoid ghost with a purple body and glittering gemstone eyes appeared before us, a small deck of cards clutched in his paws. "Tarot," Frost sneered. "Here for a rematch?"

"In a matter of speaking," the Sableye replied calmly, tapping the frozen Lucario, which disappeared with a flash of light from the ghost's eyes.

Frost grinned confidently, "This time, I'll win."

"We shall see," Tarot nodded, his gem eyes glittering.


	234. Sprout Tower Planning

**Ember POV**

The Leafeon led me towards the city entrance, smiling to himself. He politely declined to explain why we were here, at least for now, but did tell me that we were just outside the Johto city of Violet. I asked a few more questions about where that city was located in relation to Goldenrod, which was one of the only Johto cities I actually knew much about.

"Uh...I think Goldenrod is to the..." Leaf paused and pointed forward, then backwards, muttering 'north', then 'south'. He hesitated again and pointed right and, with a nod of satisfaction, pointed left, muttering 'east' and 'west' respectively. "It's to the west," he announced, "Southwest to be more exact."

"Oh, thanks. Any chance of you telling me why we're here?" I asked hopefully, stopping at the entrance to the city.

"To get away from the ghosts," Leaf answered, stopping to look back at me. "I didn't think you wanted to stay there, either."

"Yeah, but why are we HERE? Violet City specifically? We could go almost anywhere else," I pointed out, betraying a hint of impatience in my tone. Why was he being so vague?

"I'll tell you later," he assured me, and I gave up asking. That seemed like it was going to be the best answer I'd receive for now, and pestering him would only delay the matter while frustrating me. I learned that lesson whenever I tried to pester Dragonair for information. Actually, it was unusual if interacting with Dragonair altogether was anything other than frustrating.

I cautiously followed the Leafeon into the city. Unlike me, Leaf seemed almost completely at ease, despite the presence of several humans, including some that were undoubtedly Pokémon trainers. Dragonair had said that Charmander were high-demand Pokémon to many trainers, so I had good reason to be wary around them. The Eevee line was probably more popular with trainers, so I wasn't sure how safe Leaf was, either. To my surprise, Leaf only received passing glances and only one or two prolonged stares.

"Walk with more confidence," Leaf told me. I turned my head towards him. "Like I am. Trainer Pokémon sometimes wander through cities with their trainers, but if you're looking out of place, you attract attention. It looks more obvious that you're not a trainer Pokémon."

"Oh...thanks," I said, straightening up a little more. Maybe the extra confidence would make me look more appealing to males, so it was worth a shot. I shot a glance at the Leafeon, a slight blush rising to my cheeks, but I looked away quickly. "Where to?" I asked.

"See that tall building?" Leaf asked, nodding towards the northern end of the city. I nodded. "That's where we're going."

"Why?" I blurted. Leaf only grinned, reminding me that he wasn't planning on letting that detail slip just yet. I sighed, but didn't press the issue further. We received a few more looks from passerby, both Pokémon and human, as we got closer to the small tower-like building. The closer we got, the more it seemed like the building was swaying, but maybe it was a trick of my eyes. Why would a building be doing that? Leaf didn't seem to notice this and I didn't want him to think I was crazy, so I didn't comment on it.

It wasn't until we were almost to the entrance of tower that I again questioned whether my eyes were playing a trick on me. The building was visibly shaking, but Leaf still didn't notice or, if he did, he wasn't commenting on it. Without hesitation, the cute grass Eon bounded up the steps leading to the door. I climbed up to where he waited and helped him push the door open. He stepped inside and I hastened to follow, shutting the wooden door behind me.

The interior of the building was furnished with wood and my tail flame shone brightly in the dim light. Before us, a large pillar stood in the center of the room, swaying similarly to the rest of the building. Unable to contain the question any longer, I voiced my uncertainty.

Leaf blinked and then chuckled politely. "Yeah, the building sways. Can't remember why; I was still pretty young when I first came here and I didn't ask about it afterwards."

"Have you been here often?" I asked, my voice a nervous whisper. I'm not sure why I felt like I needed to whisper. It just felt like it was forbidden to talk here, sort of like in a public library. Pokémon had been banned from the library in Cerulean after Dragonair decided it would be amusing to go to various locations of the city with various condescending and insulting signs.

In the library, I think the sign had words to the effect of _"This sign is to test whether you're actually literate (unlikely) or just pretending to be smart in order to pick up intellectual chicks...who are probably pretending to be intellectual chicks for the sole purpose of picking up less-than-intelligent males."_ As if that wasn't bad enough, Dragonair added the line _"PS: This doesn't count as talking, so you can't throw me out for being noisy."_ And that's not even the worst of them.

"Only a few times," Leaf answered, leading me past the pillar. Unlike me, he didn't bother to keep his voice down. "I like it here."

"Why?"

"The humans here don't mind wandering Pokémon and they grow plants and train Pokémon," Leaf explained, his leaf tail flicking brightly. He reached a staircase on the opposite side of the room to the door and bounded up them, looking back towards me every few steps. I ascended at a much slower rate, but Leaf was patient, which I appreciated.

We emerged on a landing with another swaying pillar and I hesitated when I noticed two humans dressed in some sort of strange robe, sitting on the floor beside a group of Bellsprout and Oddish. The grass Pokémon flinched when they noticed me, but the humans only nodded politely to the two of us. Leaf grinned and led me past them down a narrow hallway lined with potted plants. Leaf paused to examine a few of them, but didn't linger long. I kept an eye on my tail flame to avoid starting a fire. The location of the plants made this an unlikely scenario, but better to be careful nevertheless.

We climbed another staircase at the end of this hallway, emerging on yet another landing. There were other Pokémon here than just grass types, although I couldn't identify a few of them without staring longer than I felt comfortable doing. Leaf didn't seem overly concerned about the presence of either humans or other Pokémon, aside from brief looks of curiosity. I was a little winded from climbing the stairs, but didn't want to complain. I had trained in endurance during my Rocket years, so it would be embarrassing to admit that climbing stairs was harder than it should be.

"Where are we going?" I whispered and Leaf jerked his head upwards. Mew damn it, that meant more stairs, I bet. We weaved through a group of Pokémon, one of which being a blue bipedal reptilian Pokémon with teeth filled jaws red spines on its back. I recognized it as a Totodile, and definitely male, made further obvious when it turned its head towards me curiously. The look might have increased my feeling of self-consciousness, yet I was still pleased to have attracted some notice, even if it wasn't actually attraction based.

"Hey!" the Totodile called suddenly and both Leaf and I turned. The blue reptile grinned. "Where are you two goin'?"

"To the top," Leaf answered, tilting his head at the Totodile, as if trying to figure out who he was.

The reptile chuckled and leaned against the swaying pillar casually. "Looking for Pablo?"

"Kind of, yeah," Leaf muttered. The Totodile pushed off from the pillar and stumbled towards us, although he attempted to pass the stumble off as a macho walk. I was rapidly losing the momentary interest I had in him, which could be considered quite an accomplishment.

"You're in luck, then. I know where he is, and it's not at the top," he said, seizing Leaf's ear and giving it a sharp tug. Leaf winced and I dug my claws into the offending Totodile's paw. He released the Leafeon's ear with a startled yelp and fixed me with a disgruntled look. I responded with a grin; the Totodile shrugged irritably and walked down a side corridor, shoving any Pokémon in his path to the side. Leaf scowled and checked to make sure each 'victim' was all right before proceeding after the water type.

We were eventually led to a nook on one side of the tower, in a chamber large enough for all of us to sit comfortably, but standing was a bit trickier, so I had to crawl in. Once inside, it was easy to spot the large bug Pokémon occupying the majority of the free space. Its face was green and most of its insectoid body was red. It had two pairs of wings sheathed on its back, each wing white with a red stripe. "Hey Pablo," Leaf said politely.

"You're...Leaf, right man?" the Yanma asked. His voice was a sharp contrast to his current action. While his body was sedate and calm, the voice seemed full of energy and sounded eager. Leaf smiled and nodded. "Man, I haven't seen you for...like, forever! Usually you're here with that Eevee, right...uh...what's her name? Bubble?"

"Kira, I think," the Totodile piped up.

"Good one, Bubble man," the Yanma crooned. "Yeah, so how is she?"

Leaf twitched, but didn't answer, creating an awkward silence. Kira...the name sounded familiar. I wracked my brain to remember where I had heard the name before. She was an Eevee, and the only female Eevee I knew other than the white furred one was...right, Kira was the name of the Eevee that the Jolteon in Leaf's group was mated to, if my information was right.

"We missed that, speak up," the Totodile said. The comment reminded me so much of something Dragonair would have said, considering Leaf obviously never actually said anything.

"She's dead," Leaf growled. Both Pokémon stared, the Totodile looking stunned and the Yanma looking embarrassed.

"Sorry to hear that, man. Give her mate my sympathies, man. He is alive, right?" the bug Pokémon said, his voice holding considerably less energy than it had before the revelation. I shifted my weight from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"I think so," Leaf answered dully.

"What are you up to, man?" the Yanma asked, clearly trying to change the subject. I looked towards Leaf expectantly. Maybe now I'd figure out what business he had in coming here. The Leafeon noticed my expression and chuckled quietly.

"Well...you know that Rocket base in the area?" he asked the Yanma, which buzzed its wings. "That's what I'm up to."

"You're going to tackle the base by yourself?!" the Totodile asked, awestruck. Leaf twitched, a blush appearing on his face.

"Er...no, that's partly why I came here. Without the rest of the group helping out, I wanted to be prepared," he explained and then added in a flattering tone, "And you know a lot of information about Rockets."

"I can't help with the work itself, Leaf man," the Yanma said, his voice returning to his previous energetic state.

"I know. I just wanted a little info, if you have it," Leaf said quickly. The dragonfly Pokémon was silent for several seconds.

"Sorry man, I've got some info, but most of it's secondhand. Sprout Tower is a gossip chain, man. No good for whatever you're up to."

"Well, can you help me figure out a strategy? I'm aiming for more stealth than battle here," Leaf urged. The Totodile muttered something I didn't catch to the bug Pokémon, which buzzed.

"Good one, Bubble man. Leaf man, if you can pose as a Rocket Pokémon, you might pull it off. But you have next to no chance of pulling it off alone. Other Rocket Pokémon might see right through the guise and then you're done, man."

"Oh...well, what other-" Leaf began, but the Yanma buzzed loudly, interrupting him.

"But...if you're with either a converted Rocket or an ex-Rocket, that person can help give you credibility and backup," the Yanma continued.

Leaf frowned, "I don't know any, aside from you."

"I'm an ex-Rocket," I pointed out. The Leafeon blinked, his expression brightening a little. The Yanma looked me over critically.

"You're the Charmander who was always with that Dragonair, right? Kanto based?"

"Uh...yeah, how'd you know that?" I asked.

The Yanma chuckled. "Look at that, Leaf man. She not only is an ex-Rocket, she has credentials. Admittedly, now that the rumor is that Dragonair deserted, those credentials are lessened, but they should still work."

"I don't know anything about Johto bases," I admitted quickly, my confidence trickling away. Leaf frowned and I flinched. Great, now I looked bad or unhelpful or something.

"Well, you could try to look up Moonlight," the Yanma said, sounding amused. Leaf and I looked at him blankly. "It's just a rumor, but this is also just Sprout Tower, so what do you expect, man?"

"What's just a rumor?" I asked impatiently.

"Well, I remember Moonlight from my early days as a Rocket, and the rumor is she was liberated from the Rockets...I don't know, a couple months or weeks ago?"

"Liberated?" I repeated, raising an eye scale.

"Released from Rocket employ or capture, often by an insider or an invader. Some of those Pokémon get re-settled or released to the wild. It happens with surprising frequency, what with humans and Pokémon both making such plans, man, it's bound to happen," the Yanma explained brightly.

"If she was liberated, that means she'd be next to impossible to find," Leaf complained. The Totodile chuckled.

"Not if she was resettled, which she was."

"Where?" the Leafeon asked.

"Johto-based clan," the Totodile responded with a wide smirk. "Not too far from this city, come to think of it."

"Do you know where that is?" I asked, not sure what to expect the answer would be. Interacting with Dragonair had created a great deal of uncertainty when dealing with inexact answers and statements.

"Assuming they haven't moved, then Specs can tell you where that is, man. Doesn't mean it'll be easy. The clan is very protective of its members and even being an Eon doesn't mean you'll be allowed near them, man," the Yanma pointed out.

"Why not?" Leaf asked, looking puzzled.

"I sometimes think they're afraid of 'contaminating' the gene pool, so non-Eon males are effectively banned. Eons have to be approved for membership and that's not even covering the trust concerns," the Totodile snickered.

"But...we're not trying to live there," I argued.

"And the idea of an unapproved Eon male wishing to contact a female Eon from the clan and leave the area? That's wouldn't be suspicious to them at all," the Totodile said sarcastically.

"They are paranoid," a solemn voice announced from behind me. I jumped, smacking my head against the low ceiling. "Peaceful, but paranoid. Then again, history is marked with the death of Eons and Eevee. They are like the scapegoat of the world. Almost every notable Eevee or Eon lost their parents, friends, or other family violently."

"Specs, just the man I was looking for," the Yanma said. I slowly turned to face the speaker, rubbing my sore head. My sight was greeted by a solemn, but wise-looking green bird with a red feather jutting from the back of its head. On its chest were two strange eye-like shapes, but they didn't seem to be real. Its wings were decorated with several colors, including white and stripes of red, yellow, and black.

"Moonlight would be a great asset to your mission," the Xatu told Leaf solemnly. "I can show you where the clan is, but do not anticipate the path being easy." Leaf took a pace back from the bird Pokémon, visibly spooked, but the look of determination remained.

"Before you go on your mission, return here man," the Yanma said. Leaf blinked, but nodded.

"Are you ready? Allow me to show you the way," the Xatu said. Leaf twitched, but nodded. I also nodded, although with far less confidence. The Xatu's wings flew open and the tight nook was filled with bright light.

When the light faded, I quickly discovered we were outdoors again. Leaf gazed around, a bit nervously, but he regained his composure quickly. "Now what?" he asked the psychic bird.

"You walk in that direction," the Xatu answered, turning his head to the side, his beak pointing towards our apparent destination. "I will not be following."

"Uh…okay, let's go then," the Leafeon said to me, cautiously walking in the designated direction.


	235. Frosted Tarot Reading

**Dragonair POV**

The Glaceon and Sableye stood at the ready, facing each other. The humanoid ghost rapidly shuffled the tarot deck, his paws demonstrating fluid control over the cards. Frost's gaze never left the Sableye, even when Blaze inexplicably started humming. I turned to stare at the fire Eon, whose humming had also attracted Aura and Darkness' attention, the latter looking annoyed, the former just amused.

"Why the hell are you humming 'Ride of the Valkyries'?" I demanded. Blaze paused his humming and gave me a puzzled look.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"The tune you're humming is called 'Ride of the Valkyries'," I explained as patiently as I could. Blaze's look of confusion intensified, which really shouldn't be surprising.

"No, it's called 'Salute to Oranges'. I made it up," he insisted. What in Celebi's name is he on? Who can confuse a popular tune with one he made up? And why the hell did he title it something as ridiculous as...oh right, it's Blaze. The announcement seemed to get a variety of reactions from everyone in earshot. Both Frost and Tarot stared at the Flareon in disbelief; Sapphire looked confused; Darkness tilted her head uncertainly, and Aura...she purred. Weeeeird...

"What?" Blaze whined, noticing that everyone was staring at him.

"Let's move on!" Frost snapped, forming a blue orb in his mouth, a beam extending outwards towards Tarot, but Tarot waved a paw to conjure a barrier of yellow light to repel the Water Pulse. I watched the battle with interest. Like the large scale battle with the Porygon2 back in Blackthorn, this had the potential to be good entertainment. Any battle was better than most human sitcoms, anyway. Or the Celebi-damned reality shows, although maybe not as good as some of the game shows, because those provided entertainment at the expense of stupid contestants and the thrill of a brain teaser in one. I'm undecided about the entertainment value of police dramas and soap operas because police dramas are just plain funny and soaps...well, those could be a guilty pleasure. Or fun to force others to watch them just to see their reactions when they realize what they've been watching.

"And now!" Tarot called, drawing multiple cards from the deck and flicking them upwards. Frost tensed, but hesitated when the cards hovered in midair. Three of the cards floated in a row, with one card above those three, aligned with the center card. All four cards were facing towards Tarot, making him the only one who could see the faces of the card if he looked upwards.

"Living up to your name?" Frost asked, his tone bland and indifferent. Tarot chuckled.

"Of course. Now, the dominant card for you..." Tarot gestured, and the uppermost card glowed, rotating around so that its picture was facing the group, a picture of a spire struck by lightning. "The Tower. This card symbolizes sudden change and disruption. It can symbolize ruin, chaos, or an uncomfortable experience. Essentially, the card depicts hard times."

"Fascinating," Frost sneered. Blaze glared at the card and looked away. Aura blinked at this odd reaction and walked over to him, whispering something I couldn't catch. Blaze's response was similarly quiet, so I gave up on paying attention to them and turned back to the 'battle'.

"To understand the dominant card, one must discover the roots. And the roots from the past..." Tarot gestured again and the far left card turned around, glowing briefly. I was too far away to get a good look at the card's picture, but I didn't really care that much because the card seemed to be upside down. "The World. This card symbolizes fulfillment, success, and satisfaction. Unfortunately, the card has appeared upside down, which I interpret as symbolizing emptiness. Perhaps referencing weariness and boredom rather than joy and contentment. This is from the past, so perhaps things have changed by the present. Let's find out, shall we?"

"Whatever," Frost muttered. The Sableye's eyes glittered and he waved a paw, triggering the motion of the middle card in the row of three, which glowed while turning around.

"In the present, we find the Chariot. This card represents willpower, honor, and conviction. It reveals that you have success and recognition, but have not let yourself slip into laziness. You remain determined and proud of your accomplishments. However, the Chariot also warns of inflexibility, perhaps not of tactics, but of mind."

"Are you kidding?" Darkness scoffed. "Frost changes his mind all the time."

"The Chariot can also signal impulsivity, so if not inflexibility, then maybe TOO flexible, too often. These are not necessarily positive or negative," Tarot replied calmly, shuffling the remainder of the deck in his paws. I was starting to lose interest in the whole ordeal. I had never really understood tarot cards or other forms of divination.

"Are you going to hurry up so we can finish our battle?" Frost asked calmly. "We've both been defeated only once and your reputation is just as widespread as mine. This should be a suitably thrilling battle. The difference is that I can defeat my opponent and yours is destroyed."

"You are wrong," Tarot replied serenely.

The Glaceon stared, scowling faintly, "What?"

"Fear isn't dead, Frost," Darkness whispered. Frost blinked at the female Umbreon uncertainly. "I saw him."

"You're going to have to clear a few things up after this battle then, Dark," the ice Eon said, turning his focus back to the patiently waiting Sableye.

"And now for your future, Frost," Tarot said, waving a paw. The last card glowed and rotated around. Frost visibly flinched. "Ah, I see you know this one. The Fiend is an extremely powerful card, and so darkly appropriate," the Sableye said serenely.

"What's it mean?" Darkness asked blankly, earning a momentary glare from the Glaceon. Tarot however, did not miss a beat in replying.

"The Fiend symbolizes many things, such as obsession and lust. It reveals stagnation, a lack of progress, the existence of errors, and the presence dark emotions such as anger, ignorance, and fear. The Fiend hints at losing faith, of losing sight of what is considered important," he explained, holding out his paw. The hovering cards slowly dropped into his paw and he shuffled them back into the deck.

"Done?" Frost sneered. Tarot nodded, still shuffling. Frost's fur bristled and needles of ice launched from his fur towards the ghost. Tarot faded out and reappeared to Frost's right. The Glaceon spun around, his tail glowing, and struck the Sableye's paw with it, sending the tarot cards scattering across the ground. "Error, predictable reappearance point," Frost remarked. Tarot glanced down at the fallen cards and a grin crossed his face.

"The Wheel of Fate is the only card that landed face-up," the Sableye mused. The card glowed brightly and a beam of light lanced from the card towards Frost, but the Glaceon's fur shimmered. When the beam hit, it reflected off the fur back towards the ghost, but passed through him harmlessly.

"Error, predictable tactic. Don't you have any new tricks, Tarot?" Frost sneered. "So far, you've used all the old tricks and in case you forgot, I know all of them."

"You want something new?" Tarot asked calmly, chuckling gently. His eyes glinted in the light and I felt a thrill of excitement. Maybe something interesting was going to happen, after enduring the less-than-exciting tarot reading. Frost opened his mouth and fired a thin beam of white energy towards the Sableye, who countered it with a paw engulfed in black energy. To everyone's surprise, the beam reflected upon the user, the color of the beam changing to black. Frost's fur shimmered, but the bolt hit and sent the Glaceon sprawling.

"What?" Frost gasped. Tarot chuckled.

"Sucker Punch. It strikes first and isn't affected by Mirror Coat. Is this new enough for you?" he replied. Frost leapt to his feet, his eyes gleaming with determination.

"It's a start," he answered.

"Hold that thought," Tarot said, one paw glowing. A strange aura surrounded Frost, who winced and stumbled.

"What was that?" the Glaceon demanded.

"Spite. It drains the energy your last technique calls upon. So you'll tire out the effectiveness of that move if you insist on using it," Tarot replied. Frost stared and Darkness cursed under her breath. The Sableye's shadow suddenly stretched out to encompass the ice Eon's and Tarot vanished, promptly reappearing behind Frost. Frost rolled to the side as the Sableye lashed out a paw engulfed in flames.

"I see your reputation is no exaggeration," Frost mused, several needles of ice flying from his fur as he spoke. Tarot faded out to avoid the Ice Shards, and when he reappeared, the same aura as before surrounded Frost, the Glaceon wincing as the aura faded.

"Your error. You underestimated me," Tarot said softly.

"Touché," Frost panted. "But I'm not that easily dispatched."

"You are indeed resilient," Tarot agreed. Frost looked puzzled for a moment, but shook it off, spitting an orb of black energy at the ghost, but the projectile was deflected by another Light Screen. Frost frowned, the fire in his eyes still blazing intensely. I was admittedly impressed by the Glaceon's determination, and also impressed by the Sableye's battle prowess. The only times I had seen him battle had been in the building near Celadon where we had battled several of the ghosts, and in Blackthorn, where Fear had beaten almost everyone. The news that the cyber Pokémon had survived the encounter with Diablos was just strange, but without further information, there weren't much to think about.

"This would have been better to watch with popcorn," I said absently. A lot of things are better to watch with popcorn. People getting beat up, lovers' quarrels, and just about anything else that I could watch for entertainment. Considering what was usually on TV, that essentially included anything short of watching something NOT doing anything. Paint drying, grass growing and the like are valid human entertainments, but I like to remember that I can find something more entertaining. Although come to think of it, watching paint dry is interesting when the paint if black and dripping from the kitchen ceiling onto a Rocket grunt's head. Or the apple he was eating. It takes a special type of idiot not to realize the kitchen had been repainted black in the last hour or so, despite a Dratini and a very guilty looking female Charmander are in said kitchen staring at you.

Frost exhaled forcefully, blowing a powerful gale of snow and ice from his mouth, which quickly accumulated more snow and ice as the attack traveled through the air. Tarot, who had been retrieving his fallen tarot deck, was caught by surprise when the Blizzard impacted with him. I winced; that had to hurt. The sudden temperature drop was uncomfortable enough, so I could only shudder at the thought of being hit directly.

"Error, lowered guard," Frost sneered. Darkness suddenly cried out, drawing my attention to whatever it was she had noticed. Frost split into four Glaceon, just as the Sableye materialized behind him, a fist engulfed in flames. The Fire Punch shattered one of the copies easily, leaving three to choose from. Each of the three Glaceon launched a different attack: Ice Beam, Blizzard, and Shadow Ball. Tarot faded out to avoid the triple threat. Without missing a beat, the three Glaceon changed their attack angles without letting up their respective attacks. I ducked the Ice Beam when it soared haphazardly near my head.

Tarot reappeared and was immediately greeted with an on-going Blizzard attack. Frost chuckled and the clones vanished, leaving the one Glaceon alone. Slowly, Tarot got up, his gem eyes glittering at the ice Eon. "That was well executed," the ghost remarked calmly.

"Giving up?" Frost smirked, his tail flicking arrogantly. Tarot chuckled, telekinetically drawing the fallen tarot cards to his paw and shuffling them together rapidly. The speed of the shuffle resulted in the cards tumbling from the ghost's paws, scattering over the grass. The Sableye blinked as it became clear that of the twenty-odd cards, only one of them had landed face up.

"The Emperor...this card symbolizes power, authority, and experience. It stands alone, symbolizing the one sane man, the only one with common sense. This card does not symbolize only you, but me as well. We are both bound by the influence of the Emperor," Tarot said calmly.

Frost raised an eyebrow. "Run that by me again."

Tarot smiled. "We are both powerful, the most powerful of our respective divisions. This strength has given us the position of leadership over our peers, and as the eldest of our groups, we have the most experience. The Emperor card stands alone in a pool of faceless peers," the Sableye gestured to the fallen cards, all of which remained facedown. "Its position in the improvised spread indicates our reputations and increased status. However, with this position comes the danger of egotism and believing oneself to be more important than others, leading to serving only the interest of the self."

"And this depicts us accurately?" Frost sneered.

"It depicts the danger. Your risk is higher than mine," Tarot corrected calmly. "Must we continue the battle? Do you believe it a requirement to risk your health and safety for your own ego? Common sense dictates that endangering your safety is a mistake and you work to eliminate such mistakes. That does not even take into account that perhaps you will lose. The Tower symbolizes a blow to the ego, and that card was dominating in the spread. Should you lose, your reputation is jeopardized. Your stubbornness would have led to your defeat, much like your first loss. You allowed your arrogance to control your actions and underestimated your foe."

"I know what I did wrong. It will be amended," Frost replied icily.

"It is your choice, Frost, whether to continue this battle. Even if I win, your life will be spared. What is important to you? And how greatly can accepting the risk backfire?" Tarot whispered. Frost hesitated. Tarot again telekinetically drew the cards back to his paw, flipped the Emperor card back facedown, and proceeded to reshuffle.

"This is turning out to seem anti-climactic," I grumbled. Tarot chuckled and drew the top card of the tarot deck, examining it.

"The Hanged Man card, Frost. The card reveals the conflict within. The inner struggle between acceptance and sacrifice. On one hand, ending the battle would be a safe course of action without any loss, but likewise little gain. On the other, continuing could lead to success or failure, honor or humiliation. Do you make the sacrifice of glory to prevent the risk of failure?" Tarot mused.

Frost frowned to himself, finally heaving a sigh, "Fine. It's a stalemate." Tarot chuckled softly in reply, whereas I heaved a groan of disappointment. I hate anti-climax endings. Especially ones where an annoying Glaceon should be getting the stuffing knocked out of him.

"A wise decision, Frost. Perhaps your destiny is not as grim as it looks," the Sableye said, fading from view. I yawned pointedly.

"You so would have gotten thrashed, Frosty the Snow-eon," I commented. Frost ignored me, his attention turning to the blue-ringed Umbreon, which had approached him. They whispered to each other too quietly for me to hear, culminating with him kissing her forehead. Discontented with being ignored, I raised my voice, "Isn't she the mate of the Espeon? You should-"

"Learn what you're talking about, Dragonite," an emotionless voice chided. I turned my head quickly to spot the black furred Espeon walking towards our group, followed by a familiar female Flareon. Darkness bristled and Frost looked over at the arrivals with indifference. Psycho seemed completely unbothered by either their reaction or their previous behavior, but I'm sure he saw.

"Blaze?" Crystal called, her tail flicking uncomfortably. The male Flareon looked up, noticing the female's presence for the first time. His eyes lit up for a moment, but as quickly as it appeared, the expression vanished and he gave her a glare instead. Aura took a few paces backwards, looking between the two Flareon warily.

"What are you doing here, Shadow?" Frost asked.

"Dropping her with you," the Espeon replied. Frost narrowed his eyes.

"Something troubling you, Shadow? You seem more uptight than normal," the Glaceon remarked.

"I found Diablos and engaged him," the Espeon answered monotonously. "He possessed the Pichu."

"What Pichu?" I demanded, staring at Psycho in alarm. Spark was dead, wasn't he?

"The Pichu you travel with, Dragonite," Psycho answered indifferently. So…Spark was alive? And possessed? What the freaking hell?!

"And?" Frost prompted, his eyes reduced to slits.

"Leaf told me not to kill him. But I should have and almost did," the Espeon growled.

"YOU ALMOST DID WHAT?!" Frost snarled, spitting a Shadow Ball at the Espeon, the psychic Eon teleporting out of the way. Frost made no attempts at a second attack, but glared at Psycho when he reappeared. "Kits and females are off-limits, you idiot!"

"It doesn't matter," Psycho replied coolly. Frost's eye twitched, but he suddenly blinked in surprise and removed a small device from a concealed pouch.

"What?" he muttered, flipping the device open, revealing it to be a cellular phone. "Yes? Hey, where the hell are you, you were supposed to be here for transportation. Uh huh...so you're not coming? And why not?"

Sapphire and I exchanged looks as the Glaceon muttered into the phone. If we weren't getting transportation, we'd have to travel the hard way, which I could live with, even if it was inconvenient. "Oh well, lovers' quarrel time," I said abruptly, turning back to watch the two Flareon. I doubted this would have an anti-climax ending, but knowing my luck and Blaze's wussiness, I could be wrong.


	236. Help With the Plan at the Clan

**To "Unidentified Pokémon Fan": (Damn I hate writing author notes to one person...or period, for that matter, but this chap needed a bit of word padding to reach my minimum, so...) Uh...Gamble made like 3 appearances in the entire fic and Luthor the same. They have barely even been glimpsed in the last 50 chapters and both are the "personal enemy" of two of the protagonists (Dragonair and Blaze, respectively), and both have also been shown to be greater fighters than their respective foes. Those factors alone may as well put a sign of them marked "Can't be killed until required by plot".**

**Ember POV**

I followed after the Leafeon, my eyes scanning the surrounding trees warily. I had no idea where we were and I felt anxious about going to this unknown clan. What was Leaf planning that involved a Rocket base? Did he even have a reason for randomly going to a Rocket base? Unless there was something I just wasn't seeing, he seemed to be making this plan for the sake of it. Dragonair and I hadn't even gone after a random human building unless we had to; although Dragonair had made it clear he was going to resist Rocket operations. I suppose we've just been sidetracked by all the problems involving the damn phantom and the other Pokémon underworld organizations.

Leaf hesitated, his leaf-like ears twitching. "We're close, I think," he told me.

"Do you even have a clue what to do once we're there?" I asked, trying not to sound accusing. Leaf frowned, but didn't answer. I growled under my breath, my tail flame flaring up irritably. It was just so damn annoying how little information he was giving me. I took a deep breath to soothe my temper. The grass type was probably not trying to be annoying. Some questions he really didn't know the answer to.

"Sorry," Leaf said, noticing my expression. I nodded curtly, but didn't say anything in reply. I didn't have anything to say that wouldn't make the situation all the more awkward, and silence seemed to be the next best thing to saying something worthwhile. We continued along the path, Leaf stopping to listen every minute or two. "I think we have to go this way," he said, leaving the path and slipping through some bushes. I followed, careful not to touch my tail flame to the flammable plants, wincing as the branches brushed against my face and stomach. My scales were tough enough to avoid picking up scratches, even if they were in a league far below Dragonair's.

The two of us finally emerged in a large clearing, vaguely reminiscent of the clearing that Spark and I had found when looking for Dragonair the night he had returned to face the Ekans that had injured Spark. The clearing was a large meadow with various environments. One corner had a large pool of water that appeared empty, although I did see at least one Vaporeon sunbathing, its fish-like tail dipped into the water. From our location, I could see a surprising number of Eons and Eevee; Never before had I seen so many in one place. Despite the crowd of Pokémon present, the surrounding area was very spacious.

"I'm amazed no humans have completely invaded this place," I commented. Eevee and their evolutions were, to some trainers and organizations, highly prized and sought after. I thought the Eevee line was rare, but judging by the sheer number of Eons I've seen in the past two months, especially here, caused me to question the accuracy of this assessment.

A sudden growl forced me to shift my attention to the source. Leaf flinched, slowly turning his focus to a nearby female Umbreon, which narrowed her eyes at the two of us. "Stay where you are," she growled. Leaf and I nodded quickly; those fangs looked nasty.

"Uh...okay," Leaf stammered, eyeing the Umbreon apprehensively. I was bewildered by the sudden disappearance of the young Leafeon's self-confidence, but I wasn't feeling too confident myself, so I couldn't point it out.

"Hey Star! Get Aqua!" the dark type shouted, drawing the attention of a male Flareon that was passing. The Flareon took one look at us before hurrying off in the direction of the water. The Umbreon's eyes glowed and a chill ran down my spine, any thought of leaving gone from my mind. I followed the path of the Flareon, which had prodded the sunbathing Vaporeon urgently. They exchanged words and it rose to its feet, walking after the Flareon as it raced back in our direction.

"She's coming," the fire type panted when he returned. Two nerve-wracking minutes later, the Vaporeon joined us. At this distance, it was distinguishably female. "She's here," the Flareon announced, as if we were blind and couldn't see the water type standing no more than twenty feet away.

"May I help you?" the Vaporeon inquired, her gaze resting on Leaf and then on me. I looked pointedly at the Leafeon, who twitched when the three Eons focused more on him.

"Um...I'm, uh...l-looking for, um...uh..." Leaf's eyes flicked in several directions as he spoke. I'm guessing he forgot who we were looking for in his discomfort.

"Uh, I think the name's Moonlight," I supplied.

"Why?" the Umbreon demanded, growling. Leaf flinched.

"Um..."

"Speak faster," the Umbreon told him impatiently.

"We wanted her help to, um..." I could almost see the wheels in Leaf's head jamming at this point.

"Perhaps we should try this again," the Vaporeon interrupted. "Your names, please?"

"I'm Leaf and this is-"

I cut the grass Eon off with a sharp, "I'm Ember." I can introduce myself without having to sit still. He was the one who kept forgetting details.

"Very well. I'm Aqua, and I'm in charge of the clan," the Vaporeon told us, pointing at the Flareon and then the Umbreon. "This is Star, and she's Moonlight."

"Figures," I muttered, glancing at the dark Eon. How is it that, of all the Pokémon we could have run into, we had to encounter the one we were looking for and not even realize it? Granted, we had absolutely no way of knowing she was the one we had been looking for, but it seemed like a bizarre coincidence that made the situation awkward now.

"What do you want Moonlight to help with?" Aqua asked, her tail swishing. Leaf took a deep breath before explaining.

"Well, we're going to a Team Rocket facility in the nearby area and one of my friends suggested that it'd be easier if we had a former Rocket that would be, uh, knowledgeable about Johto bases. It was then suggested that we look for her and we were told to check here," Leaf explained, with a minimal amount of stumbling.

"Leaf, huh?" Moonlight murmured thoughtfully, but didn't say anything else for at least a minute. "Who told you I was here?" she inquired, her tone laced with suspicion.

"Pablo, from the Sprout Tower," Leaf answered. I nodded, even though I wasn't sure whether it had been the Yanma or the Totodile that had actually said where she was. That detail probably wasn't that important, but the Umbreon only frowned and continued.

"Suppose for a second that I would agree to help you. What exactly are you planning to do?" she asked. Leaf hesitated. I looked at him, hoping that finally I'd get a clue as to what he was hoping to accomplish with this sudden interest in the Rocket bases.

"We haven't gotten to the actual planning yet," he admitted sheepishly. "We kind of h-hoped that you could help us figure out a plan, since you know Johto bases."

"Not all Johto bases are alike, you know," Moonlight replied with a smirk. "Why are you going after this base anyway? I don't know anyone stupid enough to randomly go after a Team base without at least having an objective."

"I have an objective," Leaf mumbled, his face flushing. Moonlight scoffed.

"Sure you do. Spill it."

"Well...it's a personal reason," Leaf argued awkwardly. I sighed in annoyance at the Leafeon's unnecessary vagueness. If he had a reason, he may as well just let us know so we can tell that we're not just doing something for the sheer hell of it.

"Just tell them the damn reason!" I snarled. Leaf flinched, his ears drooping. I immediately felt guilty, but he was being really frustrating and I was feeling a little aggressive.

"Whatever, I don't really care," Moonlight said. I scowled at her, but was ignored. She smirked in amusement, watching Leaf thoughtfully. "Tell you what. I'll help you if you battle me."

"Uh...okay," Leaf answered, a small confident smile forming. I glanced between the two uncertainly. Really, the only examples I'd ever seen of Leaf battling was against Fear and Frost. I knew he was good, but was he good enough? The Umbreon looked confident as well and she had challenged him, so she probably wasn't helpless.

"Wouldn't you still need to get permission?" the Flareon asked, earning a glare from Moonlight.

"Go to hell, Star. I can do whatever the hell I want without asking permission. I'm not his little toady or a slave. I wasn't born in this clan and I'm only here because he invited me. I'm free to come and go as I wish," Moonlight snapped.

"You'd never say that to his face," Aqua giggled. Leaf and I exchanged puzzled looks. What on earth were they talking about? I voiced this question to the Leafeon using a low whisper.

"Well, Pablo said that the clan is protective of its members, right? So they probably have a system where members aren't permitted to leave or something? I don't know; I'm not a clan Pokémon," Leaf whispered back. I nodded. That made some sense, even if it didn't seem very practical. Having to get permission to leave your home would be unbearably annoying, though.

"No, Toady wouldn't say it to his face. I'm not scared of him," Moonlight argued, oblivious to the short interaction between me and Leaf.

"Says the Umbreon that gets all shy and submissive whenever he shows up," Aqua teased. Leaf coughed quietly, but they paid him no attention. He repeated the cough, a little louder this time.

"Sick or something?" the Flareon inquired, his smirk telling me that he knew what Leaf was trying to do.

"Er…no," Leaf muttered.

"Don't bother trying to break them up. They'll stop when they're done. It never gets violent and even if it did, Aqua can handle it," the fire type said, turning and walking away.

"I suppose that was reassuring," I muttered sarcastically. Leaf chuckled, but repeated his cough, much louder than the previous two. The arguing Eons looked over at him.

"Need a cough drop?" Moonlight asked with a tiny sneer. Leaf blinked and shook his head.

"I'd kind of like to get going with the planning and you're uh…taking a while to get ready," he said tentatively.

"She's slow sometimes," Aqua agreed with a grin. Moonlight smirked.

"Ready then?" she asked lazily. I got the impression she was changing the subject quickly. Leaf nodded and assumed a battle pose. "You better give me a challenge," she warned him. Aqua and I hastily took several paces away from the two.

"I'm ready," Leaf said eagerly.

"I hope so," Moonlight smirked.


	237. Private Concerns

**Sapphire POV**

I raised an eye scale at Dragonair when he turned his attention to the Flareon couple. I was reluctant to admit that he was undoubtedly correct in his claim that they were about to quarrel. Unlike him, I did not find such a prospect entertaining. Knowing Dragonair as I did, I doubted he would be inclined to give the Flareon privacy to work out any conflicts between them. More likely he would encourage them to fight. It bothered me that my mate chose to encourage conflict. I knew I could not force him to abandon his more immature pastimes without causing unnecessary tension between us, but even so I wished he'd show a little more common courtesy than he did.

Judging by his expressions alone, I concluded that he had been longing to torment Blaze all morning, but he hesitated whenever he cast a glance at my expression. I'm not sure what my expression had been, but whatever it had been must have been sufficient to deter him from acting on his nastier impulses. I considered this conclusion to be a ray of hope, for it told me that Dragonair cared how I felt about his behavior. Such a realization filled me with warmth, a feeling I normally only felt whenever our serpentine bodies were entwined. I also did not like his Dragonite body as much as his former form, but I still felt the attraction to him. Nothing thus far had ever caused me to lose this attraction, least of all his evolution.

I was startled from my thoughts by a nervous cough to my left. Aura looked up at me when I looked towards her. "Yes?" I asked, raising an eye scale. The Vaporeon shifted uncomfortably for a few moments and gazed around, as if afraid that someone was listening in on a private conversation.

"I...I want to talk to you," she whispered. Perplexed by her lowered tone and discomforted behavior, I assumed whatever it was she wished to speak to me about was a personal matter. Dragonair had not noticed my exchange with the water Eon, his attention fixed on Blaze and Crystal. The female Umbreon, however, had noticed the exchange.

"Would you be more comfortable if we discussed this with fewer distractions around?" I offered, changing my own volume to a gentle whisper. Aura nodded silently, her tail swishing. It took me a bit longer to rise into the air from my semi-coiled position, for I did not wish to attract the attention of the feuding Flareon or Dragonair. It was too late to avoid attracting the notice of the Umbreon, and the Glaceon was entirely indifferent to Dragonair's selection of entertainment, so he also noticed our movement. Despite this, neither Eon made any comment regarding us, although that could have been in part to the ice Eon still being on his phone (Dragonair had once explained the human device to me, but I did not understand why a quadruped Pokémon would be carrying one, or whom he might be contacting).

Aura led the way, giving me an excellent view of how nervous and shaky she presently was. I wondered whether she was still feeling weak from her unknown amount of time as a possession victim. I doubted she had fully recovered from said ordeal. The Vaporeon finally stopped and turned around to face me. I gazed behind me to verify that we had not been followed, and coiled up comfortably. Aura lowered herself down to a sitting position, her tail curled around her side to rest in front of her forepaws. Now that we were alone, she didn't seem to be able to look me in the face anymore.

I waited patiently for the water Eon to speak, noting that Aura was taking deep, soothing breaths. To help her relax further, I extended my calming aura to encompass her. Such a feat is much more difficult to accomplish for most non-psychics, but it is a natural ability of a Dragonair, related to their ability to affect the weather. I discovered that I could extend my aura after a meditation session and have not hesitated to do so whenever the situation called for soothing someone undergoing significant or even minor agitation.

"Thanks," Aura mumbled, aware of what I was doing. "Sorry, this is just...so hard for me," she apologized. I smiled gently, absently trailing the tip of my tail over my coils.

"May I ask what the subject of the discussion is? It may help you get started," I prompted gently. Aura hesitated, a blush rapidly forming over her face. That was a good clue, but I preferred not to jump to any conclusions.

"It's...it's about Blaze," she admitted finally, scratching the back of one paw with the other. I tilted my head at her curiously. What about Blaze could be causing her such distress and discomfort? With this mental question in mind, it occurred to me that I didn't really know much about Aura in the first place. She had traveled with us for a while, but then had gone her separate way before the problem concerning Blaze's sister. We had seen her only a few times since then.

"Oh? Could you elaborate, please?" I asked, careful not to sound like I was rushing her into responding. Aura twitched and sighed heavily.

"Is...is it wrong?" she asked. I raised an eye scale. Was what wrong? What was she asking me?

"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you are referring to," I told her. Aura's tail twitched.

"Is it wrong that...that I hope they break up?" she asked, no longer even looking at me. I stared at her blankly for several moments, running that question over in my mind many times.

"That...that Blaze and Crystal break up?" I asked tentatively. If the topic was about Blaze, this was the logical conclusion, but I didn't want to have jumped too far ahead and offend the water type. Aura nodded, getting to her feet and pacing in a circle, too agitated to sit still. I refocused the calm aura towards the Vaporeon, hoping to ease her tension, but this ultimately had little to no effect on her mood. I turned her answer over in my mind, thinking of how best to phrase my response.

On one paw, I did not fully understand what Aura meant. Was she trying to gain something from a breakup if it occurred? Did she have a legitimate concern that would be resolved in the aftermath of such an event? I did not wish to jump to a hasty conclusion and therefore I could not give an immediate response.

"I'm afraid I do not understand your question. Why would you want this to happen?" I asked, keeping my voice calm and gentle, but a flicker of indignant anger was creeping over me. If I ever got wind of someone wishing ill of my relationship with Dragonair...I'm a little afraid of how I'd react. I am not a hypocrite, so I feel no more lenient towards wishes for another's relationship going up in flames.

My question triggered an odd reaction from the Vaporeon. Her body tensed and her eyes flicked around our surroundings, looking everywhere except at me. I could easily detect her unease and tension, which piqued my curiosity. Aura took a deep breath and replied with a quiet whisper.

"You don't think they're really that good of a match, do you?" This answer prompted a small frown from me.

"It's not my place to pass judgment," I replied, betraying a hint of coldness. Aura flinched, reminding me to keep my temper in check. I took a deep, soothing breath. "Why does it concern you whether or not they are a good match?" I think I already knew the answer, but I preferred confirmation to assuming too much. The water type hesitated.

"I...I guess I like him," she mumbled.

"Oh?"

"No...I do like him. I always have," she said, shifting her weight guiltily. I was altogether unsurprised by this revelation, for it confirmed my previous suspicion. However, I was admittedly curious about the Vaporeon's feelings on the matter, for it directly contradicted several of the things she had previously insisted upon.

"You have? I believe Blaze is convinced of the contrary," I remarked, doing my best not to emulate Dragonair. Aura winced as if I had slapped her with my tail.

"I know," she muttered. I studied the water type thoughtfully.

"I wonder whether perhaps there is more to this concern than you have revealed. Is this what you wished to speak to me about?" I asked gently, moving closer to her and placing part of my tail around her in a soothing embrace.

"Yes," Aura mumbled, closing her eyes. I allowed her a few moments to get her thoughts in order. "You see, Sapphire...Blaze was put into the female Rocket cells on purpose," she whispered, reopening her eyes and finally looking up at me.

I nodded; I already knew this part. It had come up before; although I believed the male Flareon remained oblivious to this knowledge. I patiently waited for Aura to continue speaking.

"I don't think Blaze knew. Maybe he does now. I...I don't know. But they wanted to breed Eevee, so they put him in the cell I was in with the hopes that we'd...you know."

"Yes," I answered. Dragonair had mentioned this 'plan' to me at least twice since Ember and I freed him from the facility. These mentionings were accompanied by comments about how ridiculously flawed the plan was because it could have gone wrong in so many ways, especially if Blaze preferred one of the non-Eon females. I had countered that perhaps humans frowned upon cross-breeding to the extent where they did not believe it possible that a male would prefer a female of a different specie if a female of the same evolutionary line was available. He had no response to that. This theory was taken from observing the human 'breeder', who had tried to fix Ember up with a Charmeleon and Blaze with a Flareon. Neither of those potential mates were of a varied evolutionary line.

"But I knew. I knew what they planned," Aura continued, gaining a little more confidence as she spoke. She sighed and continued, "I didn't know how to act. I liked him and he was kind of sweet. But I was still afraid."

"Afraid?" I repeated. "About what, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I was scared. I didn't know what to do. I was afraid of what might happen if Blaze and I got too close. The Rockets wanted us to breed, so what would happen if they got what they wanted? What would become of a kit if I had one?" Aura explained, an anxious whimper escaping her throat. I frowned, silently analyzing the question. It was not difficult to see her concern.

"I understand the problem," I assured the Vaporeon.

"I knew they'd take it away and sell it, or train it to serve them loyally," Aura continued, her tail almost thrashing in her agitation. "And then what would happen? Would they have split us up? Would they start using hormone products or experiments to try to entice more? That's not the type of relationship I wanted."

"So you liked him, but the situation came with too many risks?" I asked, feeling some sympathy for the water type's original plight, but I knew I didn't yet have a grasp of the full situation. There had to be more to it than just her concerns.

"Kind of. I decided it was better not to get too close," Aura said, looking at the ground rather than me. "But after a while, I knew how I felt about him," she continued, starting to sound depressed. I tilted my head at her curiously, waiting for an explanation.

"How did you learn how you felt?" I prompted when the Vaporeon was silent for a long time. Aura flinched, jerking from her daze.

"Huh? Oh...well, one day the Rockets took him from the cell. This wasn't unusual, for they often took either Blaze or me from the cage and examined us. Well, they examined me, anyway. I don't know what they did whenever they took him out. We were better off not asking, because all of us knew that some brutal conditions existed. Blaze was hurt badly when he first arrived," Aura explained unhappily.

"What happened?" I asked. "That one day?" I clarified when Aura looked confused.

"Oh...well, he didn't return for the rest of the day. Or the next. Or...I don't know how long he was gone. I missed him...I longed for him to come back and I was terrified that he was dead or never coming back," Aura told me, shuddering at the memory. I knew the feeling well. Dragonair and I used to keep a more long-distance relationship and I sometimes had trouble sleeping some nights when I wondered when I'd see him next.

We didn't have the best system for keeping contact; we used to have a meeting location selected and a date that we'd meet up, but it relied heavily on both of us being able to get to that location on that date. If one of us forgot or was unable to attend, the other would feel devastated. I remember this because one time Dragonair could not come, but sent another Pokémon to meet with me and let me know the circumstances. It was very thoughtful of the male dragon, and I made sure to reward him for his consideration.

"Then one day, they brought him back in. He wouldn't say a word about what had happened. No one could get him to tell them anything. A nosy Ralts tried flirting with him to get an answer, but he point-blank told her to never touch him again. When she tried prying into his mind, he snapped and attacked her. She was moved from the cell after that," Aura said, a trace of a smile appearing on her face.

"Have you ever figured out what happened?" I asked, wincing when it occurred to me that it really wasn't my business, even if the Vaporeon did know. Fortunately, Aura shook her head.

"No. I don't want to ask, either," she told me firmly, but then sighed. "After we got out of the cages and the Rockets no longer were a factor...I didn't know how to act. Blaze liked me, I knew that much, but...I didn't know whether I should act as interested as I was. I didn't want to lift my conditions and let him get too close. I wasn't sure if his interest was because I didn't make things too easy, so I guess I was playing hard to get."

Sudden understanding blazed its way into my mind. That last comment explained a great deal. If Aura thought Blaze would lose interest if she was too easy to sway, especially after spending a long time resisting his interest, she would continue acting like she wasn't nearly as interested as she truly was. I was impressed by how well she had maintained that facade.

"But it backfired, didn't it?" I asked. Aura made a strange whining sound at this remark.

"I never thought...I hoped...I..." she began, but kept changing her line of thought, getting more agitated as a result.

I constricted my tail a bit tighter around her, concentrating on soothing her stress. Finally, she relaxed enough to finish her thoughts.

"I never thought there'd be a time when another female would be so interested to force me on the spot so soon. I wanted to warm up to him bit by bit, so that the transition from friend to mate might be simpler and more natural. But with Crystal...I'd have to be ready to commit and admit how I felt, and I was just so jealous over his interest in her. I tried to chase her off instead, to give me more time, but it didn't work."

"I see," I murmured, understanding the Vaporeon's logic, even if it wasn't the most effective method of doing things.

"And Crystal was so hostile around me; I decided I should leave for a while, to try to move on from my feelings of jealousy. But no matter how hard I tried, I can't stop thinking about him. I know he's upset with her. I...I feel so guilty for my thoughts, but I want them to separate. I want him to know how I feel...but I can't do it. I feel so alone and I know I messed everything up for myself," the Vaporeon seemed near tears now and she lay down miserably. I stroked her back with my tail.

"I can't help you, Aura," I told her gently. "I cannot offer you hope, nor can I give advice on how you can maybe get Blaze to like you. The only thing I can say is that you must learn from this. Hiding your feelings will never help you get what you want. But you cannot interfere with Blaze's chance to be happy just because of what you want."

"I know," the water Eon whimpered.

"As for your original question...yes, I believe it is wrong to wish ill of another's relationship," I said, leaving an icy glaze over my words.

"I..." Aura faltered and sighed in defeat. "I'm going for a walk. Be back in a bit. Stay here, please?"

"Very well," I promised, coiling up more comfortably as she slid from my coils. Hopefully, she'd calm down from the walk.


	238. Moonlight Battle

**Leaf POV**

The Umbreon lunged as soon as she had finished speaking and rammed her head into my chest. I stumbled back, grunting from the force of the blow. Thankfully her momentum had not been that great, otherwise that would have really hurt. I rolled to the side when she attempted to pounce on me, and got to my feet, releasing a wave of razor-edged leaves towards her. She mimicked my roll to evade them, getting to her feet gracefully.

So far, her strategy seemed to revolve around close combat. She had yet to use a projectile based attack, but I noticed she didn't wait around for her opponent to make a move, but took the initiative to strike as soon as possible. Did that mean she was reckless or just more of a melee fighter? I still needed some practice studying my opponent's strategy. I had practice battling Umbreon, so I wasn't completely outmatched, even if she used an odd strategy.

I ducked and backpedaled hastily, narrowly avoiding a swipe of her paw to my head. I gathered my elemental energy into my tail and spun around, hoping to catch the dark type by surprise. Instead, I was rewarded with a searing pain in my tail. I cried out, looking over my shoulder to see that Moonlight had caught my tail in her teeth, the bite interrupting my Leaf Blade and leaving said tail at her mercy. I froze in place, unwilling to risk tearing my tail if I pulled away. Moonlight smirked, clearly amused.

"Uh...can I have my tail back?" I asked, blushing a little. Without hesitation, she relinquished her bite and I hastily checked for damage. Relieved that there wasn't much, I turned my attention back to the female Umbreon. She made a show of yawning.

"That was...disappointing," she commented.

I frowned, "We're not done."

"We may as well be. So many times I've faced annoying males that were eager to show off their abilities and save one I've beaten them all. Compared to those who've lost, only one put up less of a fight than you did. Stupid Flareon," Moonlight muttered, sounding bitter. I felt a twinge of irritation.

"I want to keep going," I said. She looked at me with a scowl.

"Fine, but I'm going all out now."

"You do that," I muttered, taking a deep breath to soothe my irritation. My breath was cut short by the dark type pouncing on me, catching me by surprise and forcing me onto my back. I had not expected her to attack before we were both ready, but I shouldn't have been so off-guard. Frost would be chastising me now for that. Fortunately, I was familiar with the tactic of being tackled, thanks to my training with Darkness. Moonlight bit my shoulder before I could retaliate. I winced and tried to roll to the side to knock her off, but she pinned me quickly.

"Ugh, you're such a disappointment. Why did I even bother?" she muttered, swiping my shoulder with her claws irritably. I struggled to get out from under her, and she bit my ear aggressively. "Stop twitching," she ordered.

"What's going on?" Ember demanded.

"Moonlight plays exclusively with Umbreon rules," Aqua answered, although I couldn't see her. "Remember, Moonlight, you can't have him as a mate unless he agrees," the Vaporeon reminded the Umbreon.

"You're a riot, Aqua," Moonlight sneered.

"It's clan law," the Vaporeon insisted. Moonlight rolled her eyes, but I think I was the only one able to see this.

"You're what...three years old?" she asked me.

"Two and a half," I grunted, wincing when she shifted her weight, pressing down a little more on my stomach. I don't think this was intentional, but it was uncomfortable.

"Even worse," she scoffed. She seemed a little distracted, so I took the opportunity to extend a vine from a sprout on my back leg, where she was unlikely to notice. Controlling my vines was something I needed to practice using consistently. Recently this practice has come in the form of using Grass Knot as often as possible. My practice had paid off when I fought Fear, but I knew that was more because of my excellent focus at the time. Using a vine to tie an opponent's legs was easy enough, but I wanted to be able to use Grass Knot for multiple uses, much like how other grass types could use Vine Whip. I had tried carrying things with the vines, but that was difficult, so I was more concerned with mastering the basics of the technique. A few times I've used the vines as more flexible paws, especially when it came to grooming or scratching an itch, or reaching for something, but I still needed a lot of work.

The vine snaked around the Umbreon's leg and tightened, immediately drawing the Umbreon's attention. I jerked my leg, tugging the vine to the side. Moonlight yelped as her tied leg was jerked from its location, severely upsetting her balance and sending her crashing to the ground beside me. I rolled to my feet, using Razor Leaves to sever the vine so that I could move more freely. Ordinarily, the vine would then coil around another of the opponent's legs to create a trip, but I had been using a less energized variation of Grass Knot and so the severed vine did nothing further.

Moonlight growled and pushed herself up slowly, her yellow rings glowing. I ran forward, my body soon leaving a white trail of energy behind me. Aerial Ace was a move I had mastered recently, although Volt had countered it with absurd ease when I fought him back at the Dark Organization HQ. Moonlight either didn't have a counter or she was just unprepared because I collided with her forcefully, the impact sending her sprawling to the ground again.

"Nice comeback," Ember praised. I grinned in reply, the expression faltering when I noticed the odd, appraising look she was giving me. Moonlight climbed up to her feet, her eyes angry.

"I wouldn't celebrate so soon," she spat. I took a pace backwards, a flicker of fear striking my heart. The anger was not as intense as Darkness' random fits of rage, but it was nevertheless unsettling. My mind raced to think of something I could do to defuse the situation. Moonlight closed the distance between us long before I could even open my mouth. I ducked instinctively, but she plowed into me; both of us sprawled on the ground, the Umbreon ultimately securing the advantage. My legs were trapped under me, preventing me from using my vines to break the pin she had over me.

"Okay, I give up!" I whined when she pressed down on the back of my neck with her claws. She got off my back, seemingly satisfied. I glared at her, rubbing my neck with a paw. The injury wasn't bad enough to require healing it with Synthesis, but it was aggravating how rough she ended up being. I thought the battle was going to be more for sport, but she took it further than I expected.

"You're better than I thought," Moonlight admitted grudgingly.

"So are you going to help us?" Ember asked. I had to admire the Charmander's willingness to follow my plan, even though I didn't give her a reason why I was so interested. I preferred to keep it that way for now. I had my reason...I just wasn't comfortable telling anyone yet.

"Well, ordinarily I'd say no," Moonlight answered. "But I'm bored, so I'm going to say no."

"What?" Ember and I blurted simultaneously.

"I don't see why I should help," the Umbreon explained. "I thought I was done with Rockets. Done with them trying to breed Eevee by trying to set me up with every pathetic male quadruped they could get their hands on."

"Lucky," Ember muttered, just quietly enough for me to hear her. Moonlight raised an eyebrow at the Charmander.

"Lucky? How am I lucky?" she demanded, but her expression was more amused than angry. Ember's scales took on a darker hue and she shook her head awkwardly. I intervened quickly.

"Look, we're not trying to get you to do much. We just want your help with the plan so that we can do things smoothly. Okay?" I begged. The female Umbreon seemed to consider it.

"I don't know. Why should I spent time making a plan for you when you're not really good enough to make it work?" she challenged. I bristled indignantly, but hastily regained my composure. Now was not a good time to get angry.

"We'll work it out so it works," Ember retorted, looking peeved about something. Maybe the Umbreon's words had hit a sour note with her somewhere. This may, surprisingly, have been the right thing to say, because Moonlight nodded.

"Fine. Now what?" she asked with a faint sneer. I had an answer ready for such a question.

"We go talk to Pablo. That's what he told us to do." I was not sure why the Yanma had wanted us to go back to him, but I suppose it would be better to have more opinions available when planning. That's how our group normally operated, at least whenever we weren't split up across various regions. Shadow would usually have the objective, which more often than not was to infiltrate a Team Rocket base, or the Cave Army caves, or something like that, in order to find some information Shadow was looking for, whether it was data on a particular Pokémon we had recently run across, information corresponding to suspicious deaths or attacks, or whether there was another objective, like freeing captured Pokémon.

Shadow's efforts were more focused on Diablos and the Pokémon associated with him. Frost usually was interested in the information. Darkness and Jolt were mainly just parts of the arsenal. Sometimes I would get to help; other times I'd stay behind with Kira. Our group would discuss potential hazards before starting a mission and how best to deal with complications. A lot of emphasis had been placed on not leaving anyone behind and looking out for each other. This emphasis was painful to think about now. I forced my attention back to the present, aware that someone had been speaking to me.

"...the plan?" Moonlight asked.

"Er...sorry, I missed that," I muttered, scratching my head awkwardly.

"She asked whether she's needed after making the plan," Ember supplied.

"Er...no, I don't think so," I answered. "I don't know the plan yet."

"Well, let's make a plan where I'm not needed, then," Moonlight insisted. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Why had it been suggested to get her in the first place? She was being really uncooperative and I didn't even have real evidence that she could help us in a way that Ember and I couldn't figure out on our own.

"Can we just go?" Ember complained.

"Yeah. You ready?" I asked the Umbreon. Moonlight and Aqua exchanged a few whispered words that I couldn't hear. After what felt like hours, Moonlight nodded.

"Do you think the…Xatu, right? Do you think he's still waiting for us?" Ember whispered to me.

"Probably," I said optimistically. However, when we returned to where we had arrived, the area was deserted. "Ah, fruit," I grumbled.

"Er…'fruit'?" Ember repeated, raising an eye scale at me. Moonlight rolled her eyes.

"Do we have to walk now or should we go get an Espeon from the clan?" she asked. That was a good question. Walking took longer, but was good exercise.

"I vote the Espeon," Ember answered immediately. Moonlight immediately turned around and walked back in the direction of the clan. The Charmander and I exchanged looks, unsure whether we were supposed to follow her or not. When she didn't look back, we came to the conclusion our presence was unneeded. "So…what was the deal with saying 'fruit'?" Ember asked teasingly.

My face flushed, "I d-don't know."

"Liar," Ember teased.

"It doesn't matter. Long story," I said hastily. The Charmander frowned, but dropped the subject. I paced back and forth, waiting for the Umbreon to return. Several minutes passed in relative silence; I noticed that Ember seemed deep in thought, but her expression was calm, so I didn't ask whether something was bothering her.

"Here we are," Moonlight's voice said suddenly as she and a male Espeon appeared in the flash of light that seemed to accompany teleportation. The Espeon had the regular colored fur, which seemed really odd. I had never seen a male Espeon besides Shadow. Come to think of it, I think the only Espeon I've ever seen was Shadow, at least until I met Mystic. I only knew the specie's regular color because I had asked about how Shadow's fur was different.

"Hi," I said politely to the psychic Eon, but only got a nod in reply. "Uh…Sprout Tower, third floor if possible," I said, cutting to the chase. The Espeon nodded again, touching his tail to Moonlight and teleporting us in a flash of light. I opened my eyes in time to see the Umbreon slap the psychic Eon's tail off her and fixing him with a glare. Ember looked around uncertainly, trying to get her bearings.

"Sorry," the Espeon muttered apologetically, with a small, submissive bow.

"Just be quiet, Toady," Moonlight grumbled.

"As you wish, mistress Moonlight," the Espeon said, bowing his head again. This was…unsettling.

"Oh, you're back?" the Totodile's voice caught my attention and I turned towards the blue reptile. "Pablo moved to the top of the tower now."

"To the top of the tower or the top floor?" I asked warily. Pablo WAS a bug Pokémon capable of flight after all…

"Top floor," the water type answered, grinning. "This way," he said, leading the way towards the stairs on the opposite end of the landing where we stood.

"Toady and I are teleporting," Moonlight said promptly. Ember looked tempted to be teleported also, but the two Eons disappeared before she could say anything.

"Figures," she muttered, walking after the Totodile.


	239. Sapphire Reflection

**Sapphire POV**

The sun overhead cast its gentle rays of warmth upon my coils. The Hoenn region was much warmer and more tropical than the other regions of Kanto and Johto, but I found the climate more enjoyable. I could adapt to other climates easily and if an area became too uncomfortable, I would give the weather a small nudge to ease it back to my desired conditions. Although I enjoyed traveling, I found myself looking forward to a time when I could settle down and enjoy the company of a mate and maybe a kit or two.

I suppose I was restless. I disliked congested areas, preferring the open areas where few marks of civilization existed. A natural desire for a rare dragon Pokémon, but I later attributed a portion of this aversion to crowds to claustrophobia. The time spent in those cages in the cave...I shivered at the memory. It was just so unpleasant. I know Dragonair had noticed my agitation and he was very sweet in trying to console me. I felt weak and ashamed for losing my composure, but the male dragon showed no indication of thinking less of me for it. I am quick to admit I am not perfect, nor do I strive for it, but even so it had troubled me to feel like a burden, even if my mate did not interpret me as such.

I smiled to myself, closing my eyes and adjusting my coils to better bask in the sun's rays. Dragonair was so sweet sometimes. He did not require me to maintain a sense of worth in order to be attracted to me. I could show myself to be vulnerable. It was a challenge for dragons to keep mates, for many were considered to be impulsive about mate selection and so dragonesses (and male dragons even) would dismiss their mates once they had tired of them and seek another. My parents had taught me to select a mate carefully and stick with him. I had encountered a few potential mates over the course of my travels, but none appealed enough for me to approach them, as I had for Dragonair.

Many may consider my selection to be a settlement, rather than a choice with maximum potential. Dragonair had many glaring flaws, whereas I was considered the cream of the crop for our specie. I disagreed with this assessment, however. Personality was a much higher concern to me than attractiveness. I did not want a shallow mate. I do not deny I have attractive qualities, but this was a negative for it attracted unwanted attention (what is it with me and fire quadrupeds?) and it made determining the sincerity of a male's attention more challenging. Thankfully, this problem was averted with Dragonair, for he was not focused on my appearance, but more by my personality.

As far as other supposed flaws about my mate, the most irritating to me was his tendency to insult or otherwise mock those around him. He could be rash and reckless at times, but I knew he cared for me deeply and that he was trustworthy. I did not ask for all the details to his past and I chose not to pester him about molding himself to my specifications. His association with the human crime syndicate was frankly none of my concern, and I found it tactful to let him live that aspect of his life as he saw fit. I attempted to take this approach with his teasing as well, interfering when I thought he was going too far.

I do not deny the male dragon's occasional evasion of important details irked me. At Blackthorn, I was very displeased about his attempts to hide the details of the dangerous encounters. I saw his reasoning, but I did not agree that pretending nothing happened was the wisest course of action. It was a low blow to imply I was concerned about his trustworthiness, something I had not yet told him I had exaggerated. I disliked the idea of controlling him through threats and similar means. I wanted to us to get along and have a strong foundation for our relationship.

I had told Dragonair that we would discuss the possibility for a kit after about a year. That time had passed, but given the present circumstances, I knew that now was not the time for such an important discussion. There were other matters taking priority. For one, the unusually colored Espeon had revealed that Spark was not dead, but instead possessed by the diabolical phantom that had killed his parents and thrust the responsibility of caring for the Pichu kit upon Dragonair and me. This was a troubling predicament, mostly because I could not think of a way to help the young Pichu. For another, we still had not seen or heard from Ember since she had been taken from the group, back in the caves. How long we had been in the caves, none of us were positive. Dragonair had made a remark earlier about looking for a recent newspaper, but I don't know when we'll come across one outside of a city.

Another concern, at least to me, regarded what Aura had come to talk to me about. As much as I tried to sympathize with the Vaporeon's dilemma, I could not determine a course of action or advice that would benefit her. I rather not get involved in the sticky matters of another's love life. I may make an exception with Ember, if she ever asked for help, but Aura's problem revolved around Blaze's current relationship and I did not want to be held accountable for any conflicts that arose from my advice or intervention. I doubted Dragonair would be any more lenient if he knew the situation. Actually, I wasn't entirely convinced on the male dragon's standpoint on these sort of situations. He loved pretending to be an expert on matters he only held opinions on, although his arguments carried a lot of logic to them; potentially enough logic to convince someone he knew more than he did.

I turned my body so that I was lying with my stomach facing upwards, so that the sun's rays fell over my white scales. Even with my eyes closed, I could easily determine the locations of the clouds that may obscure the sun's rays. With a little focus, I could redirect the wind so that the clouds never passed in front of the sky's light. One thing I appreciated about my proficiency for controlling the weather was that not only was it simpler to adapt to other climates, but it was much easier to relax. In this case, by sunbathing. My abilities were negated in the presence of another whose abilities exceeded mine, such as Articuno. The legendary bird of ice had demonstrated that she wielded greater control over clouds, rain, and snow than I did.

I'm not entirely sure how I had ended up in a competition with the rare legend, but I assume it had to do with unintentionally angering the other legendary bird, Zapdos, by negating his thunderstorm. I tried to apologize when I realized what I had done, but he was displeased to say the least. I do not try to brag about my abilities which, according to Articuno, are exceptional to be able to overpower Zapdos. Legendaries are a prideful lot and the story of Zapdos being outdone by a Dragonair had damaged his pride, prompting Articuno to avenge her electric counterpart. This had been one of my earliest indications of my level of control, and Jirachi had even acknowledged that she knew of the story.

Speaking of Jirachi, I hoped the clearing I had asked her to guard was still unoccupied. It had been about a month since I had set off to help Dragonair and I wasn't sure the Hoenn legend was inclined to keep the clearing safe for long. Neither she, nor her mysterious messenger, had contacted me since, so I had no idea what to expect upon my return. I only hoped that we would not get sidetracked now that we were so close to our goal. We had gotten to Hoenn after the odd incident with the Porygon2, saving us a great deal of travel time, but nevertheless we still had a potentially long way to go. Our penchant for getting sidetracked could complicate everything and with the uncertainty surrounding Spark and Ember, getting sidetracked didn't sound especially difficult to accomplish, especially since we weren't even sure where in Hoenn we were.

I detected a change in the air around me, prompting me to open my eyes and lift up my head. Aura was walking towards me, looking less agitated than before. That was not to say she was cheerful, but I found her mood to be reasonable for the situation. "Feeling better?" I asked gently.

"A little," the Vaporeon answered, smiling faintly. I nodded. Taking some time alone to cool off usually helped ease stress immensely. I knew this only too well, for I followed the same tactic whenever I wanted to move rather than meditate.

"Ready to go back?"

"I guess," she replied, leading the way towards where we had left the rest of the group. I was a little surprised (but not unhappy) to see that the argument between Blaze and Crystal had either been averted or had ended. The two Flareon were snuggled cutely against each other in a mutual embrace. The look on the onlooking Dragonite's face told me most of what I needed to know.

"Disappointed?" I asked, coiling up beside him.

"Only in the ending," he sighed. "It started with just some basic hostility and then slowly escalate into snapping at each other a bit. Crystal eventually said he was being petty about his money and he called her a bitch. She said he was so damn self-centered and he said that all she cared about was a kit and he wasn't her little toy. She didn't like that."

"And this was disappointing?" I asked, raising an eye scale. Sounded so far to be exactly what Dragonair wanted.

"No, then they started exchanging random insults until Blaze pulled the trump of 'stupid Flareon whose fur is so less-fluffy that she reminds him of a Flareon with less-fluffy fur'. She was completely floored at that."

"And then they started cuddling?" I guessed.

"For some reason," Dragonair said, scratching his head with an orange scaled paw. "They're weird."

"What's so weird about cuddling with a warm and fluffy Flareon after having a huge argument with her?" Blaze whined.

"There's about six or seven things weird about it and half of them are in that sentence alone," Dragonair retorted. Blaze shrugged a little and continued cuddling with the female fire type.

I looked over at Aura subtly. She was hiding her feelings well, but I could see the pain and sorrow in her eyes as she pointedly looked away from the Flareon couple. Her tail gave a melancholy flick as she wet her paw with a burst of water and used the damp paw to groom her short fur. Even in what was undoubtedly a crushing and devastating moment, she kept the illusion of indifference so that no one would know how she really felt. But now I knew…and I felt the same pain.

**I'd really appreciate a review at this point. I'm trying to go back and patch up a few of the earlier chapters to fix up grammar, poorer writing, some old plot holes, etc. It might take me a while, but I hope I don't fall behind on updates. If anyone knows of some problems I should take note of, you can point them out in a PM. But if you can, please, please, PLEASE leave a review I can actually make use of. Criticism is okay. Compliments are okay. Being specific is REALLY helpful.**


	240. Catching Up and Phone Calls

**Dragonair POV**

The appeal of paying attention to the two cuddling Flareon wore off once I realized it was unlikely one of them would go into a fit of rage and attack the other. Pity, really. With that option gone, I needed to find a new source of entertainment, but my options for that were limited. Sapphire and Aura were unlikely to explain why they had inexplicably left during the argument, and I knew that pestering either of them would probably not turn out well for me. Not that I'd get hurt, since Sapphire wasn't that aggressive and the Vaporeon likewise didn't seem to have the "mean bone" required to attack me with any degree of credibility. I thought that of Blaze too, but that was later proven wrong. Crazy Flareon.

Then there were the lingering Eons to consider. The raven furred kitten's voice was too grating to start a conversation with, and I didn't really want to waste time and energy trying to find his berserk button, partly because my luck with psychics really wasn't that good. It's extremely difficult to dodge an attack that essentially surrounds you and hurls you against the nearest wall or wall substitute. Unlike margarine, wall substitutes were usually better than their ordinary counterparts. Just not in the rich, buttery-sweet type of way and more in the 'inflicting lots of pain' way.

My next thought was the blue-ringed Umbreon. She seemed very easy to piss off, but our short battle back in the Cave Army had revealed to me that she was no push-over in battle and was actually quite capable of damaging me. Tangling with her could be dangerous and would fail to give me the amusement I craved. I'd reach the peak of amusement too fast and then it'd be a fast descent. My last option was the arrogant Glaceon, but so far I still had nothing to hit him with and he had already proven himself to be able to do me a lot of damage.

Ugh, I needed to find some new entertainment. After spending so much time in the presence of idiotic humans from Team Rocket, in addition to the Rocket Pokémon, it appeared that in the wild my potential mocking targets were few and far in between. Ember and I were in an understanding that teasing remarks about things that severely upset her, such as mates, hormones, heat, and the like were off limits. I preferred Ember when she didn't want to kill me, so...it really wasn't a hard agreement to make. Speaking of which...

"Hey, does anyone know anything about Ember?" I asked, looking towards each of the nearby Pokémon. I was disappointed that the response was overwhelmingly negative, with each Pokémon shaking their heads solemnly. "Celebi damn it," I grumbled.

"Why? Is my information not good enough?" Crystal snapped. I jerked my head towards her in alarm.

"Excuse me?"

"You asked and I nodded, and then you got all cranky," the female Flareon growled. Blaze raised an eyebrow at the female Flareon. I had a similar reaction; I hadn't even noticed her nodding. The problem with her cuddling with Blaze was that her gentle nuzzling made it easy to mistake her head motions, or whether she had even responded at all.

"I saw everyone else shaking their head or shrugging, my dear Flareon. You were cuddling with Blaze, so perhaps you should be more vocal...er, when answering questions," I retorted.

"Fine. Is this better?" Crystal growled.

"No, I still can't tell how you're answering," I responded, a flicker of smirk crossing my face. Judging by the Flareon's expression, she did not appreciate me interrupting her before she had said anything. Fire types are so much fun sometimes. Such short tempers and their fire attacks were so ineffective. Except Blaze when he's crazy; then the fire techniques hurt like hell.

"Do you want me to tell you or not? I could just cuddle with Blaze some more, the little cutie," Crystal snapped. The male Flareon brightened at the random compliment. From the corner of my eye I saw Aura roll her eyes, but I didn't reflect on that.

"Yes, please tell me all you know. The whole story," I replied.

"Once upon a time..." Blaze began; Crystal turned on him irritably and gave him a sharp nip to his ear. It was not an affectionate gesture and Blaze's whine seemed to agree. Aura growled quietly, which I assume was because of Blaze's obnoxiousness. The Vaporeon probably wanted to know what had happened to Ember as much as I did and the male Flareon was holding us up. Even so, Crystal was acting rather temperamental. Last I checked, it wasn't the best idea to attack your mate when your relationship is already on the rocks. Just because Blaze is bizarrely forgiving doesn't mean she should be so...harsh. I was used to Blaze's oddities, even if he was fun to torment sometimes.

"Better yet, tell me some of what happened after we got separated in the first place," I prompted, trying to remind the female fire type what she was doing, as well as attempting to gather more information about what happened to her and Blaze. Their argument hadn't revealed enough for me to get the total picture behind their animosity, aside from the money problem. I hate arguments that seem to be hiding all the fun details from the onlookers. I also hate arguments that involve phrases that are obviously yelled to TELL onlookers what's going on. Like 'how could you sleep with that whore, Rachel, on our wedding anniversary?' Damn soap operas.

Crystal frowned briefly, but seemingly agreed, "Blaze and I got separated and I went looking for him. I eventually found him and we argued and he left. Ember followed and I went looking for them both, with another Charmander and a...Parasect, I think. I found both Ember and Spark and went looking for Blaze."

"Uh huh," I replied, starting to feel disappointed. I had hoped for a better story than this. Apparently the real trigger to their animosity was the lost money, which I assumed was what they had argued about, but maybe I was wrong. "Continue."

"Then we got attacked by some ghosts and I was put to sleep," Crystal growled. She abruptly shuddered and wrapped her tail tightly around herself, as if repelling a powerful chill. Blaze looked at her uncertainly, but the Flareon didn't explain her shift in behavior. Slowly she relaxed again and her voice was calm, albeit with a faint stammer. "I w-woke up later and learned that the Charmander we were with had evolved and Ember was gone. I asked him-"

"Him?" I repeated. "The Charmander was a male?"

"Uh...yeah," Crystal said slowly.

"How'd he and Ember get along?" I pressed. Sapphire sighed, quietly enough for me to ignore the sound.

"Pretty well. But he said that after he evolved, she got really cold and ended any thought of a relationship. He was pretty pissed off," Crystal explained. I nodded. Ember despised Charmeleon for some reason. She had never told me anything beyond that they weren't very attractive, but unless she was really finicky, I'd have thought that Charmeleon would actually be more attractive to a Charmander. Of course, she WAS rather finicky, so I'm not that surprised. I personally would have expected that if she got to know someone before they evolved, she'd put the unnatural hostility aside, especially since she was so sensitive about not having a mate.

"Anyway, what did you ask him?" I prompted, intent on continuing the story where she had left off. Crystal thought for a few moments.

"I asked what happened. He told me about the battle that I had missed and said that the ghosts left with Ember after taking him down," Crystal explained.

"What happened with Spark?" I asked, frowning at the realization that she didn't have more information concerning my Charmander friend. From the corner of my eye, I noticed the other three Eons were conversing in whispers. Looked a little like an argument, but I pushed that thought aside in favor to listening to Crystal. Lucky her; she had my attention.

"The Dusknoir came back," the female Flareon answered, scowling. I narrowed my eyes thoughtfully. Dusknoir? Based on logic, that was the evolved form of Dusclops, which meant it was that ghost with the punny name that Nightmare loved: Doom. "Spark was with me and we got captured quickly and taken to some forest."

"Where?" Sapphire asked, also taking interest in the conversation.

"Ilex Forest in Johto," Psycho answered monotonously. I fought the urge to tell him we weren't asking him, but I settled for the answer, regardless of the source.

"What happened?" I demanded, looking towards the Espeon suspiciously. He had said he had almost killed Spark and I wanted to know what had been going on.

"Bane told me where I could find Diablos," Psycho replied, his tail flicking with an air of indifference; his voice giving nothing away. "I arrived to find him, the Pichu, the Flareon, and my brother. I dealt with his Jumpluff host and he moved on to take the Pichu as his host. I was presented with the opportunity to eliminate him for good. He told Bane to seal him with Imprison. When the phantom is killed inside a host, he will dissipate. With Imprison, he would be unable to leave the host."

"Was he sealed before or after possessing the Pichu?" Frost asked seriously. Psycho frowned and shook his head, signaling that he wasn't sure.

"Before," Crystal answered.

"Does it matter?" Psycho inquired coldly.

"Yes! Error: Ignorant of foe's abilities. Diablos was playing you for a fool, Shadow!" Frost sneered. "And you almost let him. If you had gone through with killing the Pichu, Diablos would still have been able to leave the host unscathed and possibly resume work under your radar. You'd think it was over, but he would still be around!"

"I don't understand," Psycho said slowly. "If the condition was fulfilled for eliminating him...then how would he escape?"

"We can't even trust that our information on that is the same for him as it is for most ghosts. Diablos is in a different league of phantom, but the host would at least have to be possessed BEFORE being sealed. It was a trick!" Frost snapped.

"What happened?" I asked Crystal, seeing as the Espeon was too distracted to finish telling the story.

"His brother told him to stop. Then they fought and he teleported us," Crystal answered, nodding towards Psycho. "He was confused that his brother hadn't been teleported with us and went back, but everyone was gone. He brought me here, then."

"So nothing more on Ember?" I asked, feeling a surge of anxiety. Crystal shook her head unhappily and I clenched my fist in anger. Ember had been captured by Diablos' ghosts, but hadn't been seen since. Psycho's Leafeon brother had also been caught. Something wasn't adding up and I worried that maybe Ember was in danger. What if Diablos was toying with her mind again? Last time, she had almost killed herself because he had struck her core and upset her. He had created so much doubt and tension that she felt hopeless and scared enough to try to relieve the pain by her death. I had to find her. Her and Spark. I couldn't let that damned phantom have his way with my friends.

Frost suddenly broke off his argument with Psycho and looked puzzled. Slowly, he withdrew the cellular phone from the pouch he carried it in and tapped it with a claw. "Yes?" he asked, his ear twitching as he listened. "Who is this?" he demanded, his fur bristling. His ear twitched again and he glared at the phone, tapping a button and tossing the phone towards me. "It's for you," he said as I instinctively caught the phone in my paw.

"You serious?" I asked, staring at him. He nodded curtly and I lifted the phone to my head. "Hello?"

"Dragonair?" a voice crackled from the phone. I recoiled a little from the speaker. Apparently Frost's phone had a speakerphone function, as it was loud enough for everyone to overhear.

"Yeah? Who's this?" I demanded. A familiar chuckle crackled from the phone, but I couldn't place where I had heard it before.

"I heard you have a lovely new evolution. Orange probably doesn't suit you, does it, snake?"

"Who the hell is this?" I demanded, an irritated growl escaping my throat. Who had the guts to mock my evolution?

"Want to be a Dragonair again?" the voice asked softly. I froze and stared at the phone. "It can be done, Dragonair."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, feeling a sense of hope rise up inside my gut. Was it possible to be de-evolved?

"I know how you can become a Dragonair again. The phantom's Rotom just finished it," the voice continued. "But you'll have to meet me. We have something to settle, after all."

"Depends. Who are you and what's your deal with me?" I demanded again.

"You don't recognize me yet? Does the name Master Ed ring a bell, you damned snake?!" the voice snarled and I shivered involuntarily.

"Venom," I whispered.

"Oh, now you caught on," the voice sneered. I wanted to slap myself for not recognizing the voice earlier.

"Suppose I agree to meet you. Why should I?" I demanded. "If the Rotom made something, why can't he bring it here?"

"He can't transport it. Besides, like I said, we have something to settle, don't we? And I might know where your Charmander friend is. Interested?" Venom's voice sneered. I frowned, but nodded, even though he wouldn't tell I had nodded.

"Very."

"I thought so," Venom snickered.

"Where are you?"

"I'm at the shrine where, quote, the Charmander learned her new moves. Kanto. Surely you can find it?" Venom jeered. I twitched, but nodded again.

"Yeah."

"I'll be waiting, snake." With that, the connection went out. I tossed the phone back towards Frost, who yelped when the phone immediately rang again. I stared at him as he quickly answered it.

"Yes?" he growled.

"Frost, is it? I've heard of you," the voice on the other end murmured. The Glaceon had neglected to take off the speakerphone.

"Where did you get my number?" Frost demanded. A chuckle came from the other end.

"I've been meaning to challenge you for quite some time, Frost. A tag team duel, if you have the skill to take it. Me and my mate versus you and your...partner. Because we all know you can't hold a mate, can you?"

"Who the fruit are you?" Frost snapped into the phone. I raised an eye scale at this outburst. Weird substitution for a curse word.

"Fruit? Odd..." the other voice muttered. "We'll be at the location where the Arcana Tournament was. And tell that Flareon, Blazey, that if he really beat you, that he better come and defend himself from Luthor's tag team. Otherwise your rep's been shot to hell. And we'll tell everyone..."

The phone line buzzed, signaling the loss of connection. Frost stared at the phone and shoved it into the pouch around his neck with unmistakable anger. He turned towards Blaze coldly, his eyes afire with emotion. "You beat me, but lost to someone else," he sneered.

"You knew that," Blaze pointed out. Frost's eye twitched, but he quickly regained his composure. I turned to Sapphire, who looked at me uncertainly.

"I'm going to go," I told her, knowing what she was wondering. A trace of a frown appeared on her face.

"But Dragonair..." she said, a hint of a whine in her voice.

"I want to find out about Ember, Sapphire. Do you understand that?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level. I was frustrated, but didn't want to take it out on her. "If I can become a Dragonair again, that'll be great, but I need to find Ember. She's my friend! If Venom knows something, I'll travel to Kanto to learn what it is!"

"Dragonair...it's not that I don't understand or that I don't want you to help Ember," the dragoness whispered.

"Is this about me leaving? Delaying us from settling down?" I demanded, unable to keep my temper any longer. The female Dragonair twitched. I took a deep breath and continued, "Sapphire, I care about you a lot, but sometimes I need to do things that take priority. Settling down is second priority. Ember and Spark are first. I'll find them, no matter the cost."

My tone was so serious that Sapphire hesitated. "I'm not selfish, Dragonair," she said quietly, kissing my cheek softly.

"I didn't say you were," I assured her.

"I don't want to take steps backwards, Dragonair. I want to stay here, in Hoenn. When you're finished...I hope you come find me at the clearing where I live," she said. I raised an eye scale.

"Of course I will. You don't have to come with me," I told her. I knew it wasn't her nature to get involved in fights and I had a hunch that there would be fighting. The phantom had taken Spark from my protection and I was going to get him back. It was not just my responsibility; it was what I wanted to do.

"Mind if I'm with you, Sapphire?" Aura whispered, just loudly enough for me to hear, but I didn't wait to hear her answer. I knew Sapphire would accompany anyone who wanted to. I had faith in the dragoness to be able to take care of herself in my absence.

I flapped my Dragonite wings experimentally. If it weren't for Frost's demonstration when he had control of my body, I would have doubted the small wings were capable of flight, but I knew they would enlarge to be able to lift me from the ground. Dragonite had the advantage of being very fast; supposedly they could fly around the world in under a day, so I didn't expect a trip from Hoenn to Kanto to take long. The trick would be to find the location Venom had designated.

I tenderly kissed Sapphire's cheek in a final gesture of farewell and kicked up from the ground, flapping my wings to lift myself higher into the sky. It took me several moments to orient myself and point myself north, towards Kanto and Johto. The trip wouldn't take long without land-based Pokémon tagging along and with my improved speed. I only hoped that I wouldn't have a hard time getting back unharmed.


	241. On the Road

**Dragonair POV**

Sadly, I have found another advantage of the Dragonite form: Dragonite are incredibly fast fliers. As a Dragonair, the trip from the south side of Hoenn would have taken forever, but as a Dragonite, I managed the trip in a couple hours. At first my speed was slower to allow me to adjust to the new method of flight. Rather than the Dragonair's ability to float, I actually had to use wings. The amount of effort to maintain flight was low, but I wasn't an expert and so I found my flight pattern a bit erratic at first, but as I approached Kanto, I had enough control for the remainder of the flight to be smooth. Admittedly, the trip was rather boring, but it gave me time to think.

First question in my mind was whether what Venom said was true. Was it actually possible to reverse an evolution? He claimed that the Rotom had created something that made this possible. Could a machine or device actually defeat nature? Humans had never created that technology to my knowledge, so it couldn't be a simple process. And even if the electronic ghost had managed such a feat, why would it be offered to me?

Another concern was what Venom had meant when he said he knew about Ember. Was it a positive thing or a negative one? He undoubtedly had brought it up to convince me to travel to his location. I didn't believe what he said about Chaos being unable to transport his device. The Gyarados wanted me to come to him, but for what? What had he meant that he and I still had something to settle? We had a bit of a rivalry, always had, but I came out on top more often than not, even as a Dratini. Did he still have a grudge against me for my triumphs? Was this all a big trap to help him settle the score? The last I had seen of the Gyarados was back in Johto, where Diablos had tried to convince Venom to kill me (and Venom almost obliged). If Venom, Machamp, and Fiend had joined Diablos' side, the danger of this arrangement being a trap increased. I didn't feel right about going into Diablos' territory chasing a possible lure, but I was willing to take the risk if it would restore my preferred form and give me a shot at saving Spark or Ember.

Was there more to this arrangement that I just didn't see? Beyond the obvious chance of it being a trick or trap, there had to be more present than met the eye. Where, first of all, had Venom managed to get access to a phone and Frost's number? How had he known I was nearby? Were people spying on our group? What if the trick wasn't to get me, but to get me out of the way so that the rest of the group would be defenseless? Sapphire...was she at risk? Could the phantom have a plan involving her? So many of the factors may have added up. Frost and Blaze were essentially summoned elsewhere and judging by the Glaceon's arrogance, there was no way in hell Blaze could refuse if Frost was concerned about his reputation. That took them out of the equation. Aura seemed intent on sticking with Sapphire, but the Vaporeon was still weak from her possession and I didn't think it was likely she'd be much help in the event of an attack. Crystal was probably going to go with Blaze and the other two Eons couldn't be relied on to stick around.

I pushed these thoughts away. I had faith that Sapphire could hold her own and she was never a target in the past. Diablos and all the other obsessive groups were interested in me. I wouldn't be able to help even if something did happen, so I should be focusing on the present and not what might happen. The situation was strange and suspicious, but I couldn't get distracted. Now to find the Gyarados' location. I hadn't been given a very specific clue to where he would be, aside from where Ember had gotten her new moves. I assumed he was referring to her Shadow and Dragon Claws, in addition to Brick Break. I frowned and considered that for a few seconds. Ember hadn't been with our group when she got those moves, but she had told the story of what she had done when our group had rescued Spark's parents. Damn it, where was that spot?

The first step was to retrace our steps. Where had we been when Ember had first left the group? I had all but forgotten the situation and I hadn't made any mental notes to remember our location. It was...yeah, it was after they had broken me out of that 'facility'. Where had we been, damn it? We had next decided to hit Saffron, but Ember had left before we had reached Saffron. With a scowl, I descended to the ground below and landed, my eyes flicking around the area. A Dragonite would attract far too much attention from humans.

"Look, a Dragonite!" a human voice cried. Celebi damn it. I sighed and turned towards the voice, noticing a trio of humans approaching. How typical that trainers travel together in packs of three. It's like an unwritten law. It's better to be unwritten, because the written ones leave behind documents as evidence of how completely stupid some human rules were, such as the law stating that ten year olds are mature enough to leave home to try to capture and battle Pokémon, despite the fact that some Pokémon are blatantly homicidal. I bet the Pokémon Control Unit has hell trying to keep them at bay. That doesn't even go into the human dangers, like Team Aqua and Magma. And maybe the Rockets, but I never heard much.

"It's looking at us!" the female trainer said, tapping her chin.

"Look, a human. It's looking at me!" I snorted, mimicking their tones. "Not so interesting when I do it, is it?" To my surprise (and disappointment), none of the humans reacted to my words at all. "Ah, you're the humans with slow reaction times, eh?" I asked. Once again, I received no response. How strange that the humans acted oblivious to my words. I was so unused to my acquaintances being able to ignore me.

"Let's try to capture it!" said one of the humans, undoubtedly the youngest and most delusional of the trio. "Go Caterpie!" he yelled, throwing a Pokeball forward, which opened with a bright glow of light, which formed the green caterpillar Pokémon that frequently inhabited Viridian Forest. I stared at it with mock fear. "See? It's already scared!" the kid said smugly. His two companions groaned and placed their face in one hand. I believe the term for that is 'face palm', a gesture of disbelief or shame. Disbelief is the inability or unwillingness to believe and shame is the uncomfortable feeling associated with becoming aware of...

Why am I defining words mentally?

"Hello random Caterpie. Do you really want to become ash?" I asked the tiny bug, which was staring at me with an expression of awe and reverence.

"N-n-no," the bug squeaked, stammering an appropriate number of times.

"Then when the idiot human tries to get you to attack me, be smart and NOT do it," I advised.

"H-he's not an idiot!" the Caterpie squeaked indignantly. That's right; defend the delusional human sending you on a suicide mission.

"Look bug, he sent you to fight a Dragonite. How is this not idiotic?"

"He...um...I'm the strongest Pokémon he has!" the Caterpie answered proudly. I heard that Pokémon trainers rub off on their Pokémon, but a delusional Caterpie is just too funny. I could probably poke the thing and knock it into a coma, but here it was bragging that it was the strongest Pokémon his trainer had. There's simply no reason to brag, least of all to a fully evolved dragon type.

"Caterpie, use String Shot!" the human squealed. That's not a joke. The human squealed like a Dratini kit on a sugar high. Not like I have any idea what that sounds like from experience. The green bug hesitated, torn between obeying his master, and not being turned into ash by a pissed off Dragonite. It's sort of sad how frequently people have trouble with that kind of dilemma.

Fortunately for the Caterpie, not all three of the humans were morons. The female quickly tugged the self-destructive trainer's ear and hissed something I didn't catch. They then held a very brief argument composed entirely of snake-like hisses to each other. While it was very effective for hiding their conversation from me, it sounded like a pair of Ekans seducing each other. They'll probably make a lovely couple someday. The male finally jerked out of the female's grip and raised his Pokeball, withdrawing his pet bug into its spherical prison.

"Now what?" he muttered.

"You could prostate yourself before me and give worship," I suggested. The humans didn't respond to my comment, which again was disappointing.

"Ooh, I've got it!" the same human cried suddenly, sounding appallingly like Blaze as he raised a finger skywards. "Let's become friends with it!"

I snickered. "You watch too much TV." What idiots actually believed a powerful Pokémon would just become friends with some moronic humans? I'd be more likely to Hyper Beam their face. Once again, my words didn't draw their attention, leading me to wonder how they could still ignore me. It was like they couldn't even understand me, but that didn't make sense. Humans have been able to understand me ever since I got that...oh right, the collar. I lifted a paw and felt around my neck. Sure enough, the collar I had gotten used to wearing as a Dragonair was gone. My evolution had probably broken it, and since I had been possessed at the time, I never noticed its absence. Celebi damn it.

My attention diverted, I flew into the air again, ignoring the pleas from below for me to linger. Enough of that foolishness, anyway. I needed to find Venom and to find him; I needed to remember where Ember had gone. It took several minutes of circling before my eye caught sight of a familiar location. Although not immediately distinguishable from an aerial view, I remembered it being our resting spot after escaping the facility. And that meant Ember had gone...ah, that way!

Once I had the initial path, I quickly located the so-called shrine. It was a small gray building that instantly reminded me of the strange shrine Ember, Spark, and I had stumbled upon the night we first encountered Diablos. It was a small gray building built from stone with a staircase leading from the ground to the entrance. I remembered Ember mentioning a fog security, but when I landed and moved closer, nothing changed. Perhaps the security was disabled...or maybe the whole damn thing was a trap after all. I gazed around uncertainly. Venom said he'd be here...and the shrine seemed too small to harbor the Gyarados, even though he was the only serpentine Pokémon I knew that could move on land and water while lacking levitation abilities. The building was just too small.

"Stop where you are, Dragonite," a cold voice growled suddenly. I stopped obediently but turned to face the speaker. I had expected to be ambushed, so I was altogether unsurprised to see the psychotic Umbreon glaring at me from the top of the stairs leading to the shrine. To my slight bewilderment, I spotted a nervous-looking Eevee with snow-white fur huddling behind the dark type.

"Yeah?" I sneered to the Umbreon. The dark type cursed angrily.

"Can I ever, EVER get the peace I need?" he snarled. I was about to retort, but the Eevee made a movement that stopped me in my tracks. Specifically, it ran a paw down his side in an undoubtedly flirtatious gesture. The Umbreon's anger-filled eyes softened considerably and the faint hints of a purr replaced the previous growl. The abrupt change struck me as rather disturbing, considering the blatant sociopathic nature of the Umbreon, from what I had seen of him. Hm, so that Eevee was probably the 'female friend' that the insane Porygon2 had subtly threatened back in Blackthorn. I only remembered this detail because the ghosts overhearing the threat and looked horrified and the Umbreon had completely flipped out. The white fur matched the quality known to shiny Eevee, which would have been more interesting had it not been for the more pressing concern of Venom's whereabouts.

"Where's Venom? Or Ember?" I demanded. The Umbreon ignored me, but the Eevee's ears perked up. However, she gave me an inquisitive look, so I repeated my question.

"I'm here, snake," Venom's voice said from my left, before she could answer me. I turned quickly towards the Gyarados, anticipating an attack. The large water snake was watching me with a smirk, somehow coiled up in the absence of a body of water. I have yet to figure out how Venom managed to learn to be mobile on land.

"Venom," I murmured.


	242. Yet Another Eonic Discussion

**Darkness POV**

"_On the road again_..." the Flareon sang. "_Just can't wait to get on the road again..._something something something, _And I can't wait to get on the road again..."_

Frost scowled at the Flareon, but didn't say anything. I shot the fire type an annoyed glare, but he didn't notice because he was too busy bounding around cheerfully. The female Flareon was giving her male counterpart a glare of her own, but he was as oblivious to her as he was to me. The only one that didn't seem irritated with the male Flareon was the Vaporeon that had joined our group temporarily: Aura. She originally had not planned on coming with us, but changed her mind after a short conversation with the dragoness. In contrast to the rest of us, she seemed amused by the Flareon's antics.

_"On the road again..."_ the Flareon continued. Frost winced, but remained quiet. A growl escaped the female fire type, but she took a deep breath and relaxed, although she still glared at him as he continued singing.

"Where are we going?" I grumbled to Frost, eager for a reason to stop paying attention to the obnoxious fire type. No wonder Shadow hates him. No doubt it pained Frost to lose a battle to him, but I didn't doubt that in a rematch, the Glaceon would emerge victorious. Frost frequently learned from his mistakes.

"To answer the challenge," Frost answered. "I trust you are content with serving as my tag team partner? Quite frankly, you're the only one I'd consider."

"Really?" I asked, my cheeks flushing a little, the blush virtually unnoticeable against my black fur, and my midnight blue rings lit up. I looked back at them for a moment and then returned my focus to the Glaceon. With the proper knowledge, one could easily determine my mood by studying my rings. I knew my tendency to be impulsively lustful or abruptly angry, so it was a bit of a habit for me to examine my rings every so often to check for warning signs of a mood change. The rings knew my moods better than my brain, and checking my rings also helped me determine the intensity of the moonlight, a critical detail what with my...condition.

Frost chuckled, "Of course, Dark. We've only been training together for what, a year and a half? That's plenty of time to get an analysis of battle styles, strategies, and affinity with others. I essentially trained you personally, so it can't be a surprise that we have the best affinity. Our styles conflict the least and I am confident in your abilities."

"What about the others?" I asked, still trying to block out the Flareon's singing.

Frost paused thoughtfully, "Leaf's whereabouts are unknown, but his style focuses on close combat and physical power. That conflicts with my preferred strategy. While he has potential to be a powerful, he has yet to tap into it. Shadow and I have too much tension to unite efficiently and he's far too egotistical. Jolt is too worn out to battle, according to you, and he is, frankly, the least useful member of our group. He is not expendable, but certainly not good enough."

I nodded. While his assessments bore few signs of ridiculing the other members of the group, I could tell he was making an effort not to be contemptuous, if only for my sake. I have told him in the past that his frequent condescending remarks irritated me, and while he rarely veered away from making those remarks, they were often more veiled and less nasty than he would normally have done.

"After some study and experimentation, I determined that you and I have the best combination, followed by Leaf and Shadow, as to be expected. Jolt and Leaf are also a good matchup. I have not been able to make further combination observations, but Jolt and I are disastrous together," Frost continued.

"So where are we actually going? Shadow just dropped us off and left," I asked. "The call you got didn't give an actual location."

"Yes, that struck me as odd," the ice type murmured. I looked at him blankly, to which Frost chuckled. "Now, Dark...you don't actually believe you know everything about me, do you?" he murmured rhetorically, licking my ear gently.

"What's odd?" I pressed, smiling at the attention. Frost was just so nice to me.

"For one, I don't know the caller," he said slowly. "Nor can I determine how he got my number, which precious few individuals know. Next, the one contacting me knew who was nearby and had a message to give one of the nearby individuals. Lastly, the person knew precisely how to ensure I'd show up WITH said individual."

"Are you talking about me?" the Flareon demanded, halting his singing.

"Yes, we are," Frost answered indifferently, without missing a beat. I winced as the fire type's voice raised several pitches.

"Why are you talking about me?!" he wailed.

"Why are you with him, Flareon?" Frost asked the female, who glared at him.

"That's none of your business!" she snarled.

"Crystal, female Flareon. Orientation: Straight. Age: 3 years. Birth date:..." Frost paused to study the alarmed expression on the female Flareon's face before continuing, "September third. Known family: At least three siblings. Raised from an egg by a breeder. Parent details lacking, but both purebred members of the Eon line. Mate: Blaze."

"How the hell do you know all that?" Crystal growled. Frost smirked, his expression smug.

"I have my sources. Now about Blaze...specie: male Flareon. Questionable. Age: 3 years. Birth date..."

"There's no way you know that," Blaze said promptly.

"No?" Frost sneered, a challenge evident in his voice. "As I was saying, birth date: August seventeenth."

"Huh?!"

Frost smirked at Blaze's surprised expression. "Don't underestimate my sources, Flareon. They haven't let me down yet. Known family: Eevee sister, Sis, deceased. Presumed several half siblings, but a lack of specific information regarding his mother prevents confirmation. The Eevee known as Sis is his only full-blood sibling, as the father died."

"I never knew my parents," Blaze said smugly. Frost raised an eyebrow.

"You have my pity, however short-lived," he told the Flareon. "Current mate: Crystal. Was raised by a clan, but was exiled..."

"HA! I left!" Blaze jeered. "So your source was wrong!"

"You are incorrect, Flareon," Frost answered calmly.

"How am I incorrect about whether or not I left?" Blaze asked blankly.

"I mean you are incorrect on my source's accuracy. Your clan has labeled you as 'exiled'. If you try to return, they will attack. My record on you has correctly identified the circumstances regarding your departure," Frost said, his tail flicking victoriously.

"Wow, do me now," Aura said.

Frost gave her a briefly bewildered look, but then shook his head. "Jolt and an Oran would draw so much attention to that one," he muttered to me. I chuckled, appreciating the inside joke. "Very well..." Frost paused for a moment to think. "Aura, female Vaporeon. Age: 3. Birth date: June 30. Known family: Eevee father captured by Pokémon trainer. Espeon mother's whereabouts unknown."

"I have an Eevee father and an Espeon mother?" Aura repeated, surprised.

"Indeed," Frost answered. "Currently no mate, but definitely lovely enough to acquire one." Aura's face flushed, but she regained her composure quickly.

I growled quietly. I don't know why I did, but I did. Frost glanced towards me with a small smirk.

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Dark," he murmured, kissing my forehead. I giggled, ignoring the stares we were receiving from the trio of Eons.

"I usually say it's bad to flirt with two females at the same time," Blaze said, in a tone of superiority. Crystal bit his ear, prompting a yelp of pain.

"Hypocrite," she growled. Aura giggled, but fell silent when the female Flareon glared at her. Frost rolled his eyes.

"Shall we continue?" he asked, taking the lead once again and leading us to our unknown destination.

"You didn't recite facts on her," Blaze said, gesturing at me. "What, don't you know anything?" Frost gave him a scathing look.

"Did it occur to you that maybe I had a reason for revealing the information I did?" Frost sneered. "The female Flareon said her purpose for being with you wasn't my business, so I decided to inform her that the amount I do know gives me enough insight to let me guess. I knew you would challenge my knowledge about you if given the opportunity, you smug fool, and Aura asked."

"I bet you don't know anything about her," Blaze repeated stubbornly. Frost rolled his eyes.

"Fortunately, what I know about her ISN'T your business and your opinion on this matter means nothing to me. Such a painfully obvious trick of reverse psychology only assures me of your lack of intellect, Flareon," Frost mocked.

"But the info you gave on us isn't THAT private, was it?" Aura pointed out. Frost hesitated and glanced at me inquisitively. I shrugged in response. I doubted he was stupid enough to give away anything too personal.

"Darkness, female Umbreon. Distinguishing features: Midnight blue rings. Age: ..." Frost paused for a moment. "No one other than me knows your age or birthday, do they, Dark?" he asked. I shook my head. "As I was saying, age: 5. Birthday: May 24. Known family: Surprisingly, no siblings. Mother confirmed to be a pure-bred Umbreon. Father unconfirmed. Grew up in a clan, but was-"

"Frost..." I growled, halting the Glaceon mid-sentence. I didn't want him to reveal that much information. He gave me a subtle apologetic look.

"No current mate following break-up with Psycho," he finished awkwardly. "I see no reason to disclose personality details to the likes of you. Enough of this; let's go."

"Where are we even going?" Aura asked.

"I don't know. He's making us go fight Luthor," Blaze told her. I noticed the female Flareon was glaring at the Vaporeon for no apparent reason. They must have some sort of feud going on.

"Luthor?" I repeated. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had heard it. Frost nodded.

"Kanto branch leader of the Cave Army," he whispered. "One of the most popular of the branch leaders. Male Leafeon. He's from the same clan as that Flareon, as is his mate; Lexa, a female Leafeon."

"...and then I bit him and he started crying like a little kit!" Blaze finished proudly. He seemed to have finished recounting some sort of story, but I hadn't been listening. Judging by the amused expression on the Vaporeon's face and the disgruntled expression on the female Flareon's, the story hadn't made any sense in context. I frowned thoughtfully. Crystal seemed way too serious about...everything. The impression I had gotten from Aura in the short time she was with our group was that she was much more laidback and easygoing. I didn't really trust her around Shadow, but I realize now that my suspicion had been ill-founded and I wasn't even with Shadow anymore.

"Interesting..." Frost murmured. I raised an eyebrow. "Dragonair's group includes the namesake dragon, that Charmander, and the Flareon? Each of the Cave Army branch leaders has some sort of feud with those three."

"Could explain why the Cave Army was after them," I pointed out. Our training group had had many encounters with the Cave Army and had acquired a lot of information about the leaders and members alike. Jolt had discovered his brother had some connection with the underworld group and several reconnaissance missions had been started because of that discovery. Leaf had been excluded from these assignments...especially after what had happened when Volt and Leaf had first fought. Shadow found the knowledge too much for Leaf to retain, so he used a special variation of telekinesis to repress those memories in Leaf. He did the same thing to himself, Kira, and Frost, but I knew the Glaceon had only agreed to satisfy Shadow, who had forgotten Frost's mental barrier was too powerful for the Espeon to break through. I was immune to the psychic technique and Jolt wanted to remember the incident, regardless of how it tormented him. So in the end, only Leaf and Shadow had repressed the memories, but the rest of us still knew.

"Perhaps," Frost murmured. "I have other theories..."

"You had inside knowledge!" I snapped, my rings pulsing in my sudden anger. Frost didn't flinch, but he did look at me a little guiltily. I was one of the only Pokémon that could actually make Frost nervous. He wasn't actually afraid of me, but I could still make him flinch sometimes.

"I'd rather you didn't keep bringing that up, Dark. It was an error in judgment and you are far from immune from those," Frost said. I flinched and bit at him in retaliation. Frost jerked his foreleg up, blocking my bite. "How valiant, Dark," he murmured in my ear. I frowned and took a pace backwards.

"Are we there yet?" Blaze asked. Frost rolled his eyes.

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"We're not even moving, you idiot!" I snapped.

"But we could still be there!" the male Flareon pointed out brightly. "Ha! I one-upped you. I'm one up and you're- ACK!" He ducked as Frost fired a Water Pulse beam towards him.

"Do us a favor, Flareon, and not speak anymore this trip. It'll save you unnecessary harm, which will cost you the stamina required to engage your opponents," Frost suggested coldly and we resumed our walk.

"I thought we were battling them," I pointed out. That's what I thought the challenge had been, anyway. Frost looked confused for a moment, but then chuckled.

"I may not have known who was calling me, Dark, but I know it wasn't either Leafeon. Therefore, no. We're battling a different tag team. Who they are is another matter entirely."

"Now?" Blaze piped up.

"No," Frost said dully.

"What about-"

"NO!" I snarled, my rings flashing with anger. I longed to bite the stupid fire type. Frost brushed his tail against my side, almost immediately soothing my temper.

"We are close," Frost assured us. He then fell into silence, his brow furrowed in thought. Fortunately, the obnoxious fire type remained silent, so the rest of the distance we were traveling was peaceful, albeit boring without the aid of conversation.

"Are we there..."

"SHUT UP!"

On second thought, I preferred the silence. Fortunately, Frost announced our arrival less than a half-hour later. Where we were was a different matter entirely.

"Where are..."

"SHUT UP!"

Needless to say, I was not in a pleasant mood. We had come to a large structure, which bore a resemblance to a colosseum, but decorated with Pokémon statues and pictures. Frost ignored all questions about the location, but went through the cave-like opening before us. With only brief hesitation, the rest of us followed. The entranceway was so dark that we couldn't see one another, lead only by the patter of Frost's paws on the stone. The silence was perfect until...

"_This is the song that never ends...yes it goes and on..._OW!"

"Thank you, whoever did that."

"No, I bit my tongue!" Blaze whined.

"Thank you, Blaze's tooth," Crystal muttered under her breath.

At last, we emerged from the dark corridor into a maze of seats that undoubtedly were designed for Pokémon. One section was designated for quadrupeds, another for bipeds, and another for fliers. I couldn't see the labels for other sections, but my attention was drawn to the center of the open field stretched out in the center of the circular arrangement. Four Pokémon were sitting, no doubt waiting for us.

Frost led the way over to the waiting group. The Flareon couple growled as we came closer to a pair of Leafeon, the male of the grass type couple looking rather smug. The other two were unfamiliar, but I recognized both species. The male of this couple chuckled when he noticed Aura and me.

"You brought two females, Frost? When I said you couldn't hold onto a mate, I didn't mean you should bring a spare. You can only have one partner."

"Unless you adopted a policy of dating two at once. Lecher," the female growled, her yellow quill fur crackling with electricity. Frost narrowed his eyes at her coldly, but then his eyes opened wide in surprise, finally settling into a cool glare.

"I'd like to say I'm glad to see you again, but I can't find the words without choking on a snicker," he sneered.

"And I'm only happy to see you because I get to zap your cheating tail again," the Jolteon retorted.

"I don't cheat, Zapda. Ever." Frost's reply was the iciest retort I had ever heard from the Glaceon. Calling it venomous would not have done it justice.

"Everyone knows each other now?" the male Squirtle beside the Jolteon asked.

"No, who the hell are you?" Frost demanded.

"A better mate than you," the Jolteon snapped.

"Right, had I asked WHAT he was, that would have been a valid response. But now I know he has a lightning fetish, so you learn something new every day," Frost sneered. All the Eons in our group winced.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Blaze asked naively. "I wouldn't want to be fixated on electricity. Then I'd want to poke it and then I'd get zapped and then it'd hurt and then I'd have to..."

"Time it, Lexa," the male Leafeon muttered to his mate, who giggled.

"You're a funny guy, Frost," the Squirtle said casually. His body suddenly glowed white and when the light faded, a female Glaceon was sitting where the Squirtle had been occupying. Eerily enough, it looked identical to Frost, except female. I think I'm the only one who noticed how bizarre it was for a Squirtle to suddenly shape shift. Frost seemed briefly surprised, but the emotion had quickly buried itself.

"This adds an interesting dimension to a few areas of Zapda's profile," Frost remarked, looking the Glaceon over critically. Zapda, as I assume the Jolteon is named, fixed the female Glaceon with a glare.

"Silver, you're not funny. AT ALL!" she snarled. The Glaceon looked apologetic and glowed white again, reappearing as a male Furret.

"...and then I'd do some judo!" Blaze finished, puffing out his chest proudly. Crystal had buried her face in her paw and was avoiding looking at anything other than the ground from sheer embarrassment. I fully sympathized.

**As per usual, I'd like a review. As per usual, I will probably be reminded on how people can't have everything they want in life and how sacrifices are meaningless unless it's on-screen and appropriately dramatic. With good music.**

**On an irrelevent side note, I'm still patching up older chapters.**


	243. Venomous Grudge

**Dragonair POV**

"Long time no see, snake," Venom sneered, his serpentine form coiled lazily, his fin tail positioned strategically to the side, where it would not interfere with his reclining position and was still capable to be used as a weapon if desired.

"Maybe because you need to get your eyesight checked. I'm not remotely snake-like, Venom," I replied. "And it hasn't even been that long; only about two to three weeks." The pleasantness in my voice surprised me; I had expected myself to be more hostile towards the Gyarados, but his demeanor was not particularly violent. That was not to say I was no longer suspicious of his intentions, but he didn't seem to be an immediate threat. A glance to the side confirmed that the Umbreon and Eevee had gone back inside the building, leaving us alone.

Venom smirked and looked me over, clearly amused. "So, you actually did evolve. I thought you carried an Everstone to prevent that. I remember you being afraid to evolve...or was that the Charmander?" he asked.

"It broke or something," I grumbled. "Now let's cut to the chase, Venom. Why did you call me here?"

Venom frowned. "I told you over the phone didn't I? The Rotom finished his de-evolution technology."

"That sounds like Tauros crap to me," I retorted. "How can anyone build something to reverse a natural process?" The Gyarados shook his head, signifying his uncertainty. Of course he didn't know. It shouldn't even be possible. "And why would the technology be offered to me, anyways? I'm not on their side."

"Truth be told, I think he wants someone to test it on. I sure hell am not having MY evolution reversed," Venom snorted.

"Magikarp doesn't have prior evolutions, unless there's evidence from Sinnoh or whatever," I pointed out. Venom ignored the bait, to my disappointment. Maybe I should find new material for the Gyarados. "So what, they decided to make me their Sentret for this or something?"

"You're the one with an undesired evolution," Venom pointed out with a smirk.

"Touché."

"The alternative would be for you to stay a Dragonite forever. Depends on whether or not you give a damn which specie you are," Venom said. I scowled, but didn't object. It was true; I was willing to be the test subject if it meant being a Dragonair again, but I had other questions for the Gyarados.

"Now spill it: what do you know about Ember?" I ordered. Venom gave me a resentful glare.

"I'm not under your command anymore, Dragonair. We're peers, so treat me as such," he snarled. I narrowed my eyes, my orange-scaled paws clenching in irritation. It was true; I was no longer considered an executive and if Venom had left Team Rocket, we were on similar ground.

"Just answer the question, Magikarp."

"Call me a Magikarp and I'll take the knowledge to the grave before telling you!" Venom snapped, gnashing his teeth. Celebi damn it, he had the advantage in this argument. I hate that.

"Fine. Just tell me what you know, Venom," I said, hoping that the note of desperation in my voice wouldn't give the Gyarados incentive to make more demands about my attitude or word choices.

The Gyarados smirked. "That's better. The Charmander is partly the reason I called you here, Dragonair. But more about that when the time comes," Venom paused and watched me carefully. I raised an eye scale. Was this going to be a long story or was he just messing with me to try to turn the tables on me? It was hard to tell what Venom was up to sometimes. He and I had a similar sense of humor, but his version tended to be more malicious or sadistic than the style I preferred, which was, according to Ember, rather malicious or sadistic every now and then.

"Go on," I said, betraying my impatience. Venom smirked in triumph, but didn't stall any longer.

"As you undoubtedly know by now, I was recruited by that bastard phantom, along with Fiend and...and Machamp," he told me. I raised an eye scale at his hesitation, but didn't find it relevant to the conversation. Venom growled, but continued his explanation, "The group was gathering for a meeting of some sort and the Charmander had been present."

"Wait, what? Why...why would they have her present? They captured her, didn't they?" I demanded. Venom rolled his eyes, almost as if he considered me to be slow.

"They were trying to recruit her, idiot. She said no," the Gyarados told me smugly. I twitched. If Ember had rejected Diablos again...didn't that mean she was in danger? Venom wasn't giving me any indication of her fate and had never actually said anything about her still being alive and well...I hope to Celebi that she's all right.

"What happened to her?" I asked hurriedly. Venom sighed. Not a good sign right now.

"If you'd let me continue, I could get to that!" he snapped. "Last I checked, she was fine, if that's what you're so worried about."

"It is," I agreed, calming down. "But what do you mean, last you checked?"

"Simple. She and I had a conversation, and then she wandered off somewhere else. I've been told that she left and I have no reason to doubt the story," Venom said. I hated the casual tone the draconic water snake used, but I wasn't overly surprised. Venom was almost as much of a loner as Ember was. Unlike her, his lifestyle was deliberate. He simply didn't care to be around other Pokémon, excluding Machamp and Fiend.

"Hm...now what do you mean that she was a reason you called me here?" I asked slowly.

"As I just mentioned, we spoke for a while," Venom told me. I nodded and he continued, "Do you even have a clue what's happened to me since the Vermillion operation? Do you have a CLUE?!" he roared the last word, the abrupt anger alarming me.

"Is it my fault?" I deadpanned. Everything is my fault, after all. Yup, definitely my fault that Ember was so insecure that I could set her off with a simple sentence. Definitely my fault that Blaze went crazy because his sister died. Somewhere along the line the logic had blamed me for the death itself. Therefore it was undoubtedly my fault that Venom's life had taken a turn for the worse. I assume that's what he was talking about anyway. I'd be very surprised if a group or individual ever found a way to blame themselves for their own crappy lives without accusing me of eating the doughnut that was directly responsible for their fall from grace (and if it had whipped cream, it was their fault for leaving it out for me to see, but don't expect them to think that). I'm not entirely sure how a doughnut would contribute the utter destruction of their lives, but you can blame people for performing entirely inconsequential actions, logic be damned, and forever believe that as the root.

"No and yes!" Venom answered.

"No and yes? Interesting word order," I commented. Venom smirked.

"I thought you'd appreciate the variety," he said.

"Well, I can tell this is going to be good. What did I do or not do to ruin your life?" I asked, stretching my Dragonite wings. "Try to make it brief."

"You left Team Rocket. Master Ed got promoted. You rescued the Raichus. Master Ed was disgraced. And now he's dead!"

"How is that my fault?" I asked. "I didn't cause his death, directly or indirectly."

"I said 'no and yes'!" Venom reminded me snappishly. "You screwed with Master Ed's career! And now I'm here."

"Working with a psychotic phantom that wants to destroy my life. You should fit right in," I said dully. Venom scowled.

"We have something to settle, Dragonair. The Charmander noticed we were friends once, weren't we?" the Gyarados said. There was a distinctly unsettling tone when he spoke. His words were laced with malice, but also contained a strange, mournful note.

"Yeah," I answered slowly. "So what do we have to settle? You got pissy because I beat you. Not much content to that grudge."

"What?!" Venom gave me a fierce glare. "That's why you think...ugh...so much hate..."

"Yeah, your tendency to mutter death threats got sort of unnerving, too," I mused. "And the fact your precious 'master' was a sadistic and brutal son of a bitch. I swear his mother was a Houndoom."

"She was not!"

"Oh right, she raised you from a wittle egg, didn't she? She waised the wittle Magikarp?"

"I'm only ignoring that because I WAS a Magikarp," Venom growled. "And yes, she did."

"...wait, Ed had his MOTHER raise his Magikarp? The guy was like...48 years old! Even ten year old children raise their own 'karps," I said, snickering. "And he had the girliest scream I've ever heard."

"He really did. I mean, SHUT UP!" Venom raged, his eye twitching. "And he was 37."

"Eleven years still doesn't excuse the scream and laziness," I argued.

"Hate you...so much..." Venom grumbled.

"So if you disagree that your jealousy ruined our friendship, what did?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"You know what it was, you damn snake!" Venom spat.

"Humor me, then."

"No!"

"Then I stand by my story, which is that I don't know," I insisted, chuckling at the frustration evident on the sea serpent Pokémon's face. It also fit the description of an angry expression, but that's unsurprising on a Gyarados. "Either humor me or get over it, Venom."

"Remember when you evolved?" Venom hissed.

"Is this humoring me or getting over it? Either way it's as random as rolling an unloaded die."

"How's this for random then: You stole my mate!" Venom snapped. I thought for several seconds.

"You had a mate? And you think I stole her?" I asked skeptically. That didn't sound like me at all. "I don't think I'm convinced. Sounds like you're just jealous of me because I have a beautiful Dragonair mate. And I don't think you two even met until the Johto encounter..."

"What?" Venom gave me a blank look, then shook his head. "No, not her! Amethyst!"

"Amethyst? Not ringing a bell. Who was he?" I asked. I winced immediately after using the incorrect pronoun. "I meant...she..." I muttered, but the Gyarados didn't hear in time.

"...Amethyst was female, you damn bipedal dragon!" Venom snarled, scowling a moment later to add, "That doesn't have the same ring to it as 'snake'."

"Disappointing, really," I agreed, but quickly refocused. "Amethyst...I'm usually much better at remembering names."

"Milotic," Venom growled.

"Bless you."

"No, she was a Milotic!" Venom snarled. I smirked briefly and considered the information.

"Oh..." I said slowly, a blush making itself known upon my face. Hopefully he'd interpret the blush as me being embarrassed that I had forgotten who Amethyst was. Then again, he was accusing me of stealing his mate. "Amethyst was your mate? I recall her being very single. And why the hell do you think I stole her?"

"Don't play stupid, Dragonair," Venom sneered.

I sighed. "This is one of the most ridiculous accusations I've ever received, Venom. I still don't have a clue where you came up with this."

"Why'd you blush when you remembered who she was? Hiding a secret?" Venom jeered. Somehow the majority of his rage had settled down, but I wasn't willing to bet that the serenity would last long.

"It's awkward to forget the name of the ONLY Rocket Milotic," I answered, scowling when my blush reappeared. "Even so, I still don't recall stealing her."

"You took her away from me!" Venom insisted stubbornly. I was immediately reminded of my earlier thoughts of how people consider inconsequential actions to be the root of problems.

"Please elaborate, Venom," I told him dully.

"You know, damn it! You were flirting with her!" Venom snapped.

"Venom, that hardly counts as stealing her. Flirting is a rather innocent behavior," I pointed out seriously. The Gyarados glared at me. "What?"

"You did more than flirt."

"Venom, you have issues," I said, shaking my head. "Why don't you just get to the point of your random accusations, because you're starting to annoy me? Are you telling me your hostility towards me, which has been going on for a long time, is not because I kept showing you up or because I mock the hell out of you, or even because I was of higher prestige, but because you think I stole your mate from you, despite that not making any sense whatsoever?"

"Oh no, those other factors played a part, too. But I think you'd be hostile if your friend slept with your mate!" Venom snapped. It took all my self-control not to burst out laughing at this accusation. If the Gyarados had cracked a smile, I'd have assumed he was joking, but the steely gaze he fixed me with told me otherwise.

"Oh Celebi, you're serious. You...you actually think..." I sputtered. Venom growled. I rolled my eyes. "Where the hell did you even get that idea?"

"You deny it?" Venom sneered.

"Duh."

"But you..."

"What? I admit I flirted a little."

"So you didn't...?" Venom asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, if you meant 'sleep with' literally, then yes, I did. She was a Milotic and one of the free-roaming Rocket Pokémon."

"I'm confused," Venom stated.

"You were normally in a Pokeball, right? A handful of Rocket Pokémon are called 'free-roamers'. They're Pokémon that aren't confined to a Pokeball all the time. The practical application is that they train with other Rocket Pokémon and therefore are flexible to be transferred between other Rockets while still getting training," I explained.

"I know what a free-roamer is!" Venom growled. "What's your point?"

"As an executive Pokémon, I had a large room with a side room containing a pool of water, you know?" I stated. Venom's blank expression didn't change. "Okay, maybe you don't know. She shared my room because it was the only room available to suit the needs of a large aquatic serpent. So technically...yes, but in the way you're accusing me of, definitely not."

"And I'm supposed to believe this?" Venom challenged.

"Venom, why the hell would you doubt this?" I asked bluntly. "She was a beautiful Milotic, but we had no romantic relationship besides innocent flirting. Anyone with a third of a brain would know that. So unless you don't qualify, you should also have known that. So do tell; if she was your mate, how did I steal her?"

"She...I..." Venom looked surprisingly flustered for several moments, but then growled. "Why'd she leave me?"

"She got transferred, moron," I answered thickly. "If she was my mate or even a legitimate interest, I'd have prevented that the same way I prevented Ember's transfer."

"But the rumors about you having a mate?" Venom inquired.

"Yeah, I met Sapphire," I said irritably. "You thought it was Amethyst?"

"What was I supposed to think?!" Venom shouted. "She left me, was flirty with you, and then you admit you have a mate!"

"Please tell me our friendship didn't die purely on wild assumptions. Oh right, your precious master got on my nerves and you got all sadistic and defended his morally appalling-"

"Morals only hold you back," Venom muttered. "Team Rocket can't show morals. Crime groups can't succeed under such restrictions."

"Blah blah blah. So now you've joined an even more morally questionable group," I said. Venom scowled, his expression darkening.

"I don't want to be here anymore. They let Machamp die. That bastard Umbreon killed him."

"Ah," I muttered. Venom, Machamp, and Fiend were mostly brutal and semi-sadistic, but they were fond of one another. Anyone who chose to mock this ironic friendship was placed in the emergency ward. Fiend did it to me twice.

"Fiend resigned to join a different group," Venom continued, unaware I was only partly listening. "I have nowhere to go, Dragonair."

"How did we settle the thing we had to settle? Namely, the wild accusations? And why did you want to?" I asked him. Seriously, the Gyarados had never once brought up his issue with me. As far as I could tell, he just had become additionally hostile with each passing month.

"The Charmander. She reminded me of why our conflict existed, Dragonair," Venom answered. "I have few options available. The phantom is as much a threat to me as he is to you."

"Trying to get on good terms with the winning side?" I asked. Venom didn't answer, which I interpreted as agreement. "Now that we've seemingly dealt with the issues of Ember and your little grudge, neither of which is fully settled, can we get to this mythical device now?"

"In there," Venom grunted, nodding his head towards the building. I frowned briefly, but flapped my wings, soaring the short distance to the shrine entrance. It saved walking up stairs, which I haven't done since my Dratini years. Even with legs, I didn't like the idea.

"Excuse me," a voice buzzed from behind me. I pivoted my body, allowing a blur to zoom past me into the building. I stepped in after the blur, looking around the room. The interior was a little cramped and stuffed with several machine parts and various devices and objects, few of which seemed to have any purpose. I noticed a large, cannon-like device to one side of the room. From the appearance alone, it seemed to be the same device Ember described as the ray that transferred the TM techniques to her.

"Hiya Ninje!" the Rotom's obnoxiously cheerful voice called. I turned in the direction of the voice and spotted the small electric ghost hovering next to another device. Beside him was armored insect that I had seen back in Blackthorn, and undoubtedly the source of the blur of motion from a moment ago. Ninjask were extremely speedy.

"Is the pretty Ninjask here?" the insect inquired. Chaos giggled.

"Nope!"

"Damn," the Ninjask grumbled.

"And to think I thought these idiots actually respected my wishes," the Umbreon's cold voice muttered. I spotted the dark type curled up at the rear of the room; the white furred Eevee snuggled close to his side.

"Don't worry about it, Volt," the Eevee murmured, licking the dark type's cheek affectionately. He smiled fondly at her. There was something disturbingly cute about them.

"Hiya Dragonair! Ya ready?" Chaos chirped happily.

"I'm not sure whether this thing even works," I said dully. "Care to explain?"

"Sure!" Chaos said.

"Don't," Volt growled, fixing the Rotom with a death glare. Chaos faltered.

"Volt, let's go for a walk," the Eevee suggested quickly. The Umbreon frowned, but rose to his feet obediently. The two left the shrine without another word. I turned back to Chaos.

"Let's do this, then."


	244. DeEvolution Experiment

"This is my device!" Chaos chirped, pointing one of his appendages towards the electronic device. Just from looking at it, I could not tell how it worked, or what it even did. Unlike the large cannon-like ray on the other side of the room, this device was non-descript. It was vaguely box-like and had several lights flashing over its body. There was one part that looked like a gauge of some sort with wires trailing down from it. The rest of the device seemed to be hooked to a strange vacuum of some sort, which was also fitted with a gauge and plugged into some sort of electrical generator.

"This? It'd fill me with more confidence if it didn't look like a random assortment of parts welded together," I remarked. Chaos started whistling innocently. "Yeah...that's not helping."

"Ya ready?" the electric ghost asked, smiling. I frowned, stretching my Dragonite wings absently.

"First of all, I don't even think this thing will work, partly because I don't have a freaking clue what it's supposed to do," I said.

"I do!" Chaos cheered. Damn, he's really hyperactive right now. "I just need someone ta test it on!"

"And I guess I'm the one. But I want to know what the hell it's supposed to do before I put life and limb, literally, on the line," I said.

"It's gonna de-evolve ya!"

"That clarifies nothing. How does the...thing...work?" I asked.

"Ever hear of 'Evo Energy'?" Chaos asked me. I shook my head.

"On a hunch, it means 'Evolution Energy', ergo, the energy needed for a Pokémon to evolve, correct?" I asked. It's not a difficult hunch to come across, based on context and common sense. Chaos giggled.

"Yup!"

The Rotom went on to explain that his device apparently could create a signal that would activate the hormones of a Pokémon that controlled evolution.

"That wouldn't do anything. A Dragonite can't evolve," I pointed out. Chaos giggled again.

"I know, I'm not done talkin'!" Oh goodie. Now he'll never shut up. "That's only the first part!"

"Right," I muttered. Team Rocket had already messed with evolution technology before and that turned into a fiasco, if the stories were true. I didn't care enough to check the sources myself, so my knowledge was rather limited on the subject.

Chaos then began telling me about levels of energy required to maintain a specific evolution. For example, a Dratini will evolve into a Dragonair when it has accumulated enough of the energy earned through battle and training, and after the hormones are activated. When the evolution hormones are activated is considered random.

"Translation: YOU haven't figured out a pattern?" I challenged. The Rotom didn't answer. "Fine, continue."

"Anyway, a Pokémon evolves when they have the proper amount of Evo Energy and their hormones are activated. Some Pokémon wanna cancel their evolutions through willpower. The exertion gives off Evo Energy, so their levels are too low to complete the evolution. Get it?" Chaos asked. I nodded curtly.

"This is fascinating, but it doesn't have anything to do with reversing an evolution," I pointed out. Chaos bobbed.

"If an evolutionary form is decided by a set level of energy, then ya can drain the energy to reverse an evolution. It just needs timin'!"

"Are you kidding me? How do you DRAIN that sort of energy? I get where your insane theory is coming from: If you need a set energy level to evolve to the next form, the next form needs to go beneath the minimum level to revert. The problem is that if willpower only gives off enough to stop the change, how do you expect to drain the energy in a NATURAL way?" I watched the Rotom's reaction.

"That's not a problem!" Chaos chirped. Not quite the reaction I was hoping for. I more expected hesitation or a depressed mannerism. Perkiness doesn't fall into that category at all. "I use this energy vacuum!" The electric ghost gestured to the odd attachment on the peculiar device.

"Wouldn't that just kill or endanger the health of the target Pokémon? Being sapped of your energy that's needed to maintain a higher form is probably really fatal," I said dully.

"Nope, cuz we first need ta activate the hormones," Chaos explained excitedly. "Then we drain the energy. With the hormones active, the body gets tricked into thinking it's evolving from the previous form, but it's really evolving backwards!"

"Oh, and the body is tricked into thinking the same thing about, let's say, a Charmeleon to a Charmander? How does it work with basic forms?" I challenged.

Chaos faltered for a moment, "I dunno. Maybe it believes it was going to evolve, but was cancelled."

"Right, because a person's body is sentient and capable of being tricked in such a way," I remarked snidely.

"The point is that it still works!" Chaos argued.

"In theory. You haven't tested it," I countered. "And this still sounds risky as hell. Wouldn't the energy levels in the body be really imbalanced?"

"That's the other reason for activating the hormones. It balances the levels!" Chaos chirped.

"You're really not convincing me very well," I muttered. The energy leak could create a massive imbalance. Even if Chaos was correct and the energy levels would be automatically balanced, the Pokémon would undoubtedly feel some side effects, depending on how used to their evolved form they were. Going from a winged bipedal dragon to a gravity-defying limbless snake was not an easy transition, regardless of my experience with the latter.

"May I ask a question, Chaos?" the Ninjask asked suddenly, drawing the Rotom's attention.

"Sure, Ninje!"

"Would this device work on a Ninjask? If so, couldn't that mean that theoretically I could have two Shedinja counterparts?"

"Nope!" Chaos answered. The golden armored insect looked perplexed. "You evolved by shedding the Nincada shell. That can't be reversed! Same goes for Metapod and Kakuna. Most bugs can't be reversed for that reason."

"Just wondering," the Ninjask grumbled. I could have sworn I heard him mutter about how he wasn't even useful enough to Chaos' freak experiments.

"Do you have any idea how impractical this device seems to be?" I asked.

"Yup!"

"Of course you do," I muttered. "You know what? Fine. Let's just give this thing a whirl, then."

"We need one more thing!" Chaos interrupted happily. I raised an eye scale at him.

"What would that be?"

"Well, ya can either resist the evolution to rid ya-self of extra energy or ya can use an Everstone!" Chaos answered.

"How does an Everstone help?" I asked skeptically.

"Everstones absorb and negate the Evo Energy or radiation that triggers the hormones," Chaos explained.

"Oh good. Thanks for clearing that up. It would have been really annoying if you answered a question by stating the obvious, but not elaborating on its application," I said, rolling my eyes. "If we're trying to activate the evolutionary hormones, how, in Celebi's name, would an Everstone benefit us?"

"The Everstone would regulate the Evo Energy so that ya don't have to exert ya-self," Chaos answered, as if the answer was obvious. "It won't take as large a toll on ya."

"I don't have an Everstone," I pointed out. Chaos hesitated and looked around quickly.

"Helium, do ya have an Everstone?" he asked a purple balloon creature that had a yellow 'X' shaped mark on its face. The balloon bobbed in a negative gesture, its stringy arms patting the strange wisp of fluff on its head.

"Is this it?" the balloon asked, holding up a small computer disk. Chaos giggled.

"Nope! Silly Driffy," he said.

"This?" the purple Pokémon asked, holding up another random object; in this case, a ball of red yarn.

"Nope! Hey Ninje, ask Icicle if we can borrow hers," Chaos suggested. The Ninjask buzzed irritably.

"I rather not be threatened by Volt, thanks."

"He won't hurt ya," Chaos urged.

"Want to bet?" Ninje retorted. Nevertheless, he disappeared in a blur of motion. Chaos began preparing his device, which along the lines included touching me with wires attached to objects that looked disturbingly similar to electrodes.

"What the hell?" I demanded, gesturing to one of them. The machine was starting to look more and more like a torture device. Chaos giggled.

"It helps gauge ya energy," he explained. I was about to clarify my concern when the Ninjask returned, accompanied by the Umbreon and the Eevee.

"I didn't ask yet," Ninje muttered.

"Hiya Icicle!" Chaos chirped. "Can we borrow your Everstone?"

The Eevee curled her tail around herself protectively, as if the Rotom had just asked to borrow her liver. "No!" she whined.

"Oh come on, I need it!" Chaos whined. "I'll give it back!"

"I need it, too!" she complained.

"Why?" I asked, raising an eye scale. The Umbreon scowled at me, but didn't say anything.

"So I don't evolve," Icicle answered.

"How would you evolve? There's no evolution stones around and I don't have a clue how you'd become a Glaceon or Leafeon," I said. "So you only would have to worry about Espeon or Umbreon, wouldn't you? I think those evolutions can be stopped, but even then I don't think it's that likely."

The ivory-colored Eevee frowned to herself for a few moments. "It's still daytime. I'll let you borrow it at night."

"Why night?" the Ninjask asked. The psychotic Umbreon growled irritably. "Never mind," the insect said quickly. Icicle gave Volt a strange look.

"Just let them get it over with," the Umbreon grumbled. "Then they can GO THE HELL AWAY!"

"You have anger issues," I commented. Chaos and Ninje flinched as Volt turned his cold red eyes towards me.

"And you're going to have a blood deficiency issue," he sneered. Yeah right. I bet he couldn't bite through my scales. The Eevee hastily stepped forward before I could make this challenge.

"H-here," the Eevee stammered, offering Chaos a small gray stone. The Rotom enveloped the stone in an electric field and moved it over to me.

"Hold this," he told me. I took the stone from him and turned it over in my paw, waiting for him to finish the preparations. I still wasn't confident in the electric ghost's plan or theory, but the doubt was not as intense now that some details had been explained. I just hoped the worst case scenario was that it wouldn't work at all.

Chaos turned to the device and examined it for several moments, double checking the various connections and ensuring the wires were 'properly' attached. I stand by my belief that this machine looks like a torture device, but further doubt would do me no benefit. I nodded solemnly when he asked me whether I was ready. With that word of consent, the Rotom released a charge of electricity from his body and several more lights on the device lit up.

"What did that...do...?" I asked, hesitating when I felt a strange sensation. It started off as an easily dismissed tingle, but shortly afterwards it evolved into a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Chaos began watching the gauge part of the device intently, humming happily to himself. I winced as another wave of slight nausea hit my stomach, yet I didn't feel an urge to vomit. That was a benefit, of course and I certainly wasn't complaining beyond the fact that the feeling was very discomforting.

I looked down at myself and noticed that my body was taking on a brief white flash before returning to normal. This would repeat itself again and again, but nothing really changed. Chaos bobbed happily. "That means the hormones are bein' activated!" the Rotom chirped.

"And the reason nothing is changing is because...?" the Umbreon sneered.

"Cuz his body can't evolve!" Chaos answered happily. Volt winced.

"Shouldn't have bothered asking," he muttered to his Eevee companion.

"Then what's the next step?" I asked, despite having a pretty good idea what the answer was going to be.

"Now I use this!" the electric ghost said, gesturing to the weird vacuum attachment. A jolt of electricity brought that unit alive and several more lights activated. "I just finished it so it'll work on Evo Energy! I then gauge the energy levels to the right amount!"

"And you know the right amount?" I muttered, wincing as my stomach abruptly felt like a Butterfree was fluttering inside.

"Yup! Don't I, Helium?" Chaos said, turning to the balloon-like Pokémon, which deflated when our attention turned to it.

"I...um...I d-don't..." the creature stammered in an effeminate voice. I should be taking notes on how many shy females we run into. We had this thing and that ultra-shy Espeon. The white furred Eevee also seemed a little shy. Either that or she just likes needlessly clinging to a murderous psychopath.

"The fact you're trying to have her confirm your story and that she doesn't know the answer is REALLY not filling me with confidence," I said. I abruptly felt a great deal of strength fade from my limbs, nearly causing my legs to collapse under my weight. I cursed loudly, which coincided perfectly with the Rotom making loud '**BLEEP**' sounds.

"Feel that?" Chaos asked me. I glared at him.

"What the **BLEEP** was that?! Celebi **BLEEP** this **BLEEP** machine...okay, stop doing that, I'm not even swearing."

"You called my machine stupid," Chaos grumbled.

"That's not swearing!" I shouted. The sudden loss of energy was making me irritable. "Shouldn't you be **BLEEP**ing the **BLEEP**? Stop censoring **BLEEP** words!"

"But it's fun!" Chaos argued, obediently inspecting the gauge. "Makes people wonder what ya saying," he added with a giggle.

"You are so immature," I muttered.

"He's like a year and a half old," Icicle giggled, her tail brushing against the insane Umbreon.

"Which reminds me!" Chaos said, turning towards the Eevee and her pet psychopath. "We know Glacia's dad!"

"Good for you," Volt sneered.

"Oh really? Who?" Icicle asked, her tail swishing excitedly. Volt glared at the tail, which was undoubtedly tickling his side.

"Guess," Chaos urged.

"How about I put a hole in your head?!" Volt snarled.

"Wh-what?" Icicle whimpered, looking at the Umbreon in shock. He blinked.

"Not you!" he said, licking her face. She frowned.

"Stop threatening everyone!" she snarled, scratching him across the face, leaving a thin red line across his muzzle. He recoiled, the yellow rings on his body lighting up as he growled angrily. She growled right back, a forceful, commanding sound that seemed to catch his attention. "Don't. Growl. At. Me," she hissed, her fur standing on end. The two ghosts gaped at her.

"Gauge!" I shouted. Chaos flinched and hastily checked the gauge. After a moment, he touched a lightning bolt arm to the device and I saw sparks of electricity exit the machine and become absorbed into his plasma body.

"Drop the Everstone," he told me quickly. As soon as the stone left my grasp, my body glowed a bright white, but my vision suddenly went black. Celebi damn it, I'm going to die...

* * *

My eyes slowly opened. I immediately noticed that my face was pressed to the floor, so I had probably fallen over. I groaned and tried to touch my paw to my head, but discovered there didn't seem to be a paw to move. I lifted my head up and twitched my tail experimentally. Good, I definitely had a tail, a very flexible one at that.

"Did it work?" I grunted, almost too nervous to look behind me to check the rest of my body over. Chaos giggled nervously.

"Yup!" he said, then began whistling innocently.

"What the **BLEEP** happened?" I demanded instantly, glaring at the Rotom when he made the bleeping sound.

"Um...I drained too much?" the Rotom said tentatively. "You sorta passed out for a few minutes. I counteracted the drain by using a Thunder TM," he added, gesturing to the cannon-like device, which I noted was pointing in my direction.

"So why are you acting so..." I paused, flicking my tail thoughtfully. "Did you shrink me?"

"Technically?" Chaos mumbled. Unable to resist any longer, I looked behind me.

"You de-evolved me into a Dratini?! Without killing me in the process?!" I shrieked.

"Dragons handle massive energy loss well," Chaos said happily, shrugging. "On the bright side, ya probably won't take long to evolve!"

"That's not the point!"

"So who's Glacia's dad?" Icicle interrupted. I fixed her with a glare, but found the Umbreon giving me one in return.

"Soften that gaze, Dratini," he whispered, revealing his fangs threateningly. "I doubt your scales are as good a defense anymore...and you can't fly away," he murmured. I resisted the urge to shiver, but decided not to press my luck.

"Oh right. It's Frost!" Chaos announced happily. Icicle looked blank, but the psychopath and I gaped at the Rotom in shock.

"Who's Glacia?" I asked seriously, wanting a context to put the revelation into, in order to fully grasp the knowledge given to me.

"The mate of our son," Icicle told me with a smile. I stared at her.

"You have a kit? And so does Frost? And they're mates?!" I demanded, then began laughing hysterically. Volt was cursing furiously under his breath. "Does Frost know?" I asked.

"Yup!" Chaos answered, giggling at the enraged Umbreon.

"This changes nothing," Volt snarled to no one in particular. "I'll kill him anyway." He yelped as the Eevee scratched him again.

"Didn't you hear me the first time?!" she snapped, biting his leg angrily.

I like her.


	245. Cave Conference 2

**As an important note, this chapter is using a different narration method than normal. This style will probably not be used much in the future, but it may resurface sometime.**

Gamble seethed. To his incredible irritation, Sketch was late to the meeting that he himself had called. The Absol paced across the chamber, impatiently waiting for the Smeargle to arrive, stopping only when Inferna sent a Flamethrower in his direction. The scarred Charmeleon was reclining against the wall of the cavernous chamber. Gamble sent her an intimidating glare, which she replied to by casually holding up her middle claw.

"Want to try your luck?" the Absol snapped, his white fur bristling indignantly.

"Take it easy, you two," Emerald warned. Gamble hesitated, glancing at the Vibrava hovering near the stone table covered with food.

"She's not worth it, anyway," Diamond agreed, stretching her red Salamence wings.

"What was that?" Inferna growled, her attention flicking to the large blue dragon. Gamble chuckled. Now he remembered why he kept the two dragonesses in his inner circle.

"Don't press your luck, Inferna," he sneered to the Charmeleon. "You mess with either of them and you'd get your tail handed to you. Doubt you'd get off with a mere scar, either. You wouldn't want to lose your head..." he gestured a claw across his throat to get the second, more threatening, message across.

"Oh shut up," Luthor growled as he and Lexa entered the chamber. Gamble glared at the Leafeon pair. He couldn't understand how the Cave Army, which pointedly refused to employ Eons, would allow a pair of them to acquire the position of the Kanto branch leaders. Sketch had admitted to employing the Umbreon as a special member, but that was almost two years ago. He had been the lone exception back then, but the Leafeon were blatantly given higher status and Gamble hated that. Eons were no more important than other quadrupeds.

He had been quite pleased to discover that many of the underworld organizations denied Eon admissions. The Dark Organization was the forerunner to this policy under Lava's rule, and Sketch had evidently agreed. Eons were untrustworthy. They were so nauseatingly popular and few of them had the heart to commit acts of betrayal or other criminal ventures. The ones that did were prone to backstabbing their allies for the sake of a love interest or some other noble goal. It couldn't help matters that many Eons were purists and looked down on other species as breeding partners or, in extreme cases, as companions.

Even human underworld groups rarely seemed to carry Eons. Gamble had heard of a Jolteon that was impressively capable of underhanded methods and had supposedly worked with all three of the main criminal gangs: Rocket, Magma, and Aqua. Gamble was inclined to bet that this was exaggerated, but he didn't really care either way. Rumors weren't fact and even if it was true, he would never accept an Eon into the Hoenn branch, regardless of talent. It was one of the things wrong with Sketch's leadership: he broke his own rules.

"What's the holdup?" Nonsense complained. Gamble ignored the Farfetch'd. How that bird had ever been promoted to Guardian status, he'd never know. He had supported Kay, but a Huntail wasn't really the best option for a Guardian, so the water Pokémon had been denied the promotion. The Absol's eyes flicked around the room, checking to see who else was missing that held any significance.

"Sketch isn't here," Inferna grumbled. Gamble smirked. The current rumor circulating around suggested that Inferna and Sketch were a couple. No one had been stupid enough to actually suggest this in front of either Inferna or Sketch, but it was a very popular theory. Gamble knew that Inferna held a purist view, but she also had no interest in kits, so he wasn't sure what to make of this knowledge. Was that evidence for or against the possible coupling? To many, it was clear that Sketch favored Inferna over the other branch leaders, but Gamble also knew that Sketch despised Gamble's hobbies, claiming that the Absol's questionable activities were unacceptable and sociopathic.

"Are the other Guardians coming, too?" Nonsense inquired, twirling his leek in his wing.

"Elma's over there," Gamble nodded over to the table, smirking as he watched the Beautifly finish another glass of Oran juice. That was her third one since her arrival, which was less than an hour ago. He currently had a casual bet going with Emerald that she'd pass out before Sketch arrived.

"And the others?" Nonsense prompted. Gamble rolled his eyes.

"Do you ever shut up, Farfetch'd?"

"Do you have eyes? Ceal's right next to you," Diamond growled. Gamble smirked at Nonsense's surprised expression as he turned towards the Seviper member of the Guardians. Accompanying the serpent was another Seviper, which Gamble knew was Vipera, one of the Pokémon that had been accompanying his serpentine adversary. The horn of his head twitched angrily at the memory of his first loss to the Dratini, but the Absol settled down just as quickly, a smirk spreading across his face. He had yet to reap the benefits of his victory and he was confident that the prize would make up for the humiliation Dragonair had dealt upon him years ago.

"What about the others?" Nonsense persisted. Gamble silenced him with a paw swipe to the face.

"That was unnecessary, Gamble," Ceal hissed, slithering over to inspect the fallen Farfetch'd. Gamble shrugged and returned to pacing. Several other Pokémon began trickling into the chamber. Some of them, Gamble noted, were former members of the Dark Organization. Lava himself arrived a minute later, escorted by the intimidating figure of Dreadscythe. Several Cave Army Pokémon flinched at the sight of the brown-colored skeletal biped. Dreadscythe ignored the stares he was receiving, his two scythe arms at the ready. Gamble smirked to himself. The Kabutops was the most formidable of the Guardians, but was almost never seen in public. He suspected that few of the regular members even knew the Kabutops existed.

Of course, the Cave Army caverns stretched across three regions and travel could be hazardous. Only by utilizing psychic or ghost teleportation were most important members able to get through a majority of the caverns. Rooming was never a problem, what with the miles and miles of empty space, and several efforts were put into improving the practicality of some of this space, such as the installation of bathing locations and dining locations. Many Onix, Steelix, and Dugtrio were employed to maintain the tunnels. Electric Pokémon tended to the power generator. That was one of the advantages the Cave Army had over the outside world: they had their own source of power.

A common question from newer recruits was how the massive underground network had survived for so long without humans finding it. Gamble never pretended to know the answer to this inquiry. The Cave Army wasn't a recent group, and he hadn't been part of it until a few years ago. Sketch had been the leader before Gamble had arrived, but he had no doubt inherited from the creator of the network. It was popular theory that the caverns had started from a human mining expedition or similar venture that had been abandoned when they discovered a great deal of chasms, thus rendering the operations too dangerous to continue. Then Pokémon began moving in and expanding the caverns themselves until it eventually connected the regions, barring Sinnoh.

Gamble, of course, knew the fates of some of the humans that stumbled upon the secret of the caverns. He had dealt with a few of them personally, after all. The solution to the concern of a lot of humans discovering the network was to alter some of the entrances and exits so that it'd be much harder to find simple entrances in. Mining or construction that was being done too close to a sensitive location would be disrupted. This problem was rare, considering the amount of rock between the caverns and the surface. The shallowest caverns usually led to the strange 'shrines' scattered throughout the world, and most of those were so remote or protected that few ever stumbled upon them.

Another thing Gamble found frustrating about Sketch's leadership was that, despite the organization's name, the group was really just an enormous hotel for Pokémon that didn't want to interact with the human world. Some wanted to be involved with the Pokémon underworld, but those numbers were a minority. Others were Pokémon that were deemed as having potential in battle, connections, or other tasks. Whatever use Sketch had for assembling such a large group of such Pokémon remained a mystery. Gamble was willing to bet that his predecessor knew the secret, but he had died shortly after losing the position to him, although Gamble had not been to blame for this death.

"Stop pacing, damn it!" Inferna snapped. Gamble raised an eyebrow.

"Shove it, Inferna," he sneered, rolling a dice across the cavern to the Charmeleon. She glanced at the die indifferently.

"Four," she said, kicking the die back to the Absol. The red cube stopped rolling and Gamble frowned.

"Five," he muttered, replacing the die in the pouch around his neck and promptly stopped pacing. The Charmeleon smiled smugly, but Gamble ignored her.

"Hey Scythe," Elma said, making a weak hiccough. The Kabutops stared at the Beautifly dully.

"How many has she had?" the scythed Pokémon asked the hovering Vibrava, gesturing a scythe towards the glasses of Oran juice that remained on the table. Other Pokémon were sipping from their glasses, making it impossible to determine which empty glasses reached that state on account of the Beautifly.

"Four now," Emerald replied, with a hint of a giggle.

"She's still having her little depression," Ceal hissed.

"I feel for her there," Emerald murmured. "Breakups can be hard."

"And what would you know?" Diamond demanded.

"Just because you've never seen me with anyone doesn't mean it never happened, Diamond," Emerald pointed out. "I haven't seen you with anyone, but I doubt you've never had a mate."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the Salamence asked, narrowing her eyes. Several nearby Pokémon, sensing possible danger, hastily backed away from the two dragonesses.

"A catfight?" Lexa giggled. Gamble gave the female Leafeon an odd look, but didn't comment. Why the female Leafeon would use the term 'catfight' was beyond him, but Luthor didn't find his mate's comment strange.

"You're a fully evolved dragon," Emerald answered calmly. Diamond glared at the Vibrava, but seemed to be satisfied with that response. Several more minutes passed without genuine incident.

"Where the hell is he?!" Inferna raged. Gamble chuckled at the Charmeleon's loss of temper. She was so impatient sometimes. No wonder half the Johto branch members wanted to be transferred. Ironically, most of them wanted to be placed in the Kanto branch. Gamble didn't really care that the desired transfers were for Kanto rather than his own branch, but it was just more emphasis on the indignation of Eons leading that particular branch. The Eons were more popular leaders than Pokémon that actually deserved the position.

"Forgive my tardiness," Sketch said quietly. Those within earshot turned towards the beige biped. Sketch held his long tail lazily in his left paw, twirling the paintbrush end, which was oozing the green paint-like fluid that was a Smeargle's distinctive trait. Tryce, the Scyther member of the Guardians, entered the chamber behind Sketch, his bladed arms positioned in an offensive stance; one blade was positioned vertically over his chest and the other was pointing horizontally like a saber.

"Oh good, you're finally here," Gamble grumbled. Sketch nodded seriously and walked past the snow-white quadruped towards a raised area near the rear of the chamber. The stares of many Pokémon followed his solemn steps until he stepped onto the raised area and gazed over the moderately sized crowd.

"I believe that is everyone of consequence," the Smeargle began, a flicker of a smile tugging at his lips. A quiet ripple of laughter expanded from the assembly. The branch leaders did not crack a smile, however, and Luthor scowled. The Guardians exchanged exasperated looks, except for Elma, who hiccoughed. Gamble took note of this and frowned, tossing a silver coin on the table in front of Emerald. The Vibrava seized it triumphantly and stared at the coin's reflective surface with interest.

Sketch cleared his throat, drawing the attentions that had wavered in the short pause following his first sentence. "Go on," a male Charmeleon prompted.

"Thank you, Singe," Sketch answered, addressing the crowd as a whole once again. "It has come to my attention that certain...events have transpired in our caverns over the past few weeks and I feel it is necessary to address the concerns associated with these events."

"You're damn right! Volt was murdered by that psychotic Umbreon!" a short green-furred canine snarled, its fur bristling with electricity.

"What?" Sketch asked, fixing the Electrike with a startled look. "I knew Volt died, but..."

"Your fault for allowing an Eon in our group!" Gamble shouted. He didn't care about the Electabuzz's fate, but he did want the chance to chew out Sketch for the judgment error. "Eons are nothing but trouble!"

"We're right here," Lexa complained.

"He stands by his comment," Diamond jeered. Sketch raised a paw to stop the argument before it got out of hand.

"Let's review, shall we?" he spoke calmly, but a jaw muscle quivered. "Everything was going as normal, correct? It has come to light that Diablos has been breaking his boundaries and has gone beyond being a nuisance."

"We told you not to deal with the phantom," Dreadscythe murmured. Sketch ignored him.

"What do you mean, 'beyond being a nuisance'?" a mushroom Pokémon asked.

"In the earlier days, Diablos would only contact us sparingly. In the last month alone, he orchestrated a scheme. His exact purpose is still foggy, but it required the kidnapping and later death of an innocent Eevee, the latter portion of the scheme I was ignorant of," Sketch explained. "Furthermore, he began using some of our members as cannon fodder and allegedly had the Raichu captives killed as well."

A wave of muttered curses broke free from several of the Pokémon at this revelation. The most interesting vocabulary seemed to be emitted from Tryce, Nonsense, and Vipera. Gamble hid his grin with a paw, passing the movement off as checking his claws. Inferna was the only one at the proper angle and distance to see what he was really doing, but she only smirked knowingly and remained silent.

Sketch waited for the muttering to subside before continuing, "The most recent incidents are even greater causes for concern. I gather not all the leaders and Guardians are fond of the policy of allowing certain captives of walking freely, albeit with an escort."

"It's a stupid idea," Nonsense agreed, but was ignored.

"According to the most recent report, all the captives have left our caverns, save for Ceal's Seviper friend," Sketch said, nodding to Vipera. The two Seviper nodded curtly. "I have spoken to some of the ones able to give accounts of the whereabouts of said captives and determined that Diablos is again to blame for some of the chaotic occurrences, most notably, a direct threat on my life."

Inferna and most of the occupants gasped and began muttering amongst themselves worriedly. Gamble frowned when the scarred Charmeleon decided to include him in the muttering. "If Sketch was killed, what would become of the Army?"

"One of the branch leaders or Guardians would take over," Gamble answered, flipping a coin in his paw. Inferna frowned, but once again Sketch regained their attention with a wave of his tail, launching a crackle of flames into the air, briefly illuminating the shadows of the cave chamber with a flare of red light.

"Lava has already told me that the phantom has made him a target," Sketch continued solemnly, gesturing to the bulky body of the Magmortar. "For what exact purpose, I cannot be positive. It seems that our allies are not truly allies, but foes and must be treated as such. Any sighting of Diablos or his underlings must be recognized as a threat. I do not recommend casual members approaching Diablos, but Guardians are warned of the threat and should attack on sight."

"Are you joking?" Tryce asked, brandishing his blades. "How can any of us be expected to take on Diablos without being torn apart?"

"I agree," the Kabutops hissed, mimicking the Scyther's motion with his sickles. "Even the best of us can't match the phantom's power, if even a tenth of the information is accurate!"

"I do not believe he will return here," another voice rasped and a familiar Sableye materialized into the chamber, standing beside Sketch, its back hunched. Gamble raised an eyebrow towards Gem. From his sources of information, Gem had contacts with virtually every underworld organization and several of the legal ones. He had heard that the overrated Glaceon, Frost, was somewhat of a friend to the ghost type and used him as a primary source of information. Gamble had always suspected that Gem was part of the problem with security breaches, especially ones involving the well-meaning, but foolish, Eon group.

"What makes you so confident?" Gamble spoke up, stepping forward to watch the Sableye's reaction. "Got some hidden knowledge you're sitting on?" the Absol demanded, releasing a threatening growl through his teeth.

"Watch it, Gamble," Lava threatened, raising a cannon arm.

"I dare you to try," Diamond growled, taking a step towards the Magmortar.

"Settle down!" Sketch ordered. The Salamence hesitated, but Gamble nodded subtly, prompting the dragon quadruped to back away from the fire type. Lava slowly lowered his arm and fell silent. Gem cackled quietly.

"Of course I have hidden knowledge, Gamble," the humanoid ghost rasped. "Hard to have multiple occupations without knowing a few things, eh?"

"I have to agree with Gamble's question. What makes you so sure Diablos won't return yet?" the Smeargle asked. Gem grinned widely and held out a paw, flexing the fingers towards himself, the nearly universal signal of requesting payment. Sketch's expression soured, but he dropped two small gems into the Sableye's paw. Gem examined them for several seconds.

"Such low quality luster," the ghost complained, crunching one of them between his teeth, but he grinned upon inspection of the second one. "That's better," he breathed, the gem disappearing.

"So what do you know?" Sketch pressed.

"The phantom wanted to kill you subtly," Gem explained, his rasping tone taking on a darker, more haunting sound to it. "Another attempt so soon would attract a certain ghostly dragon's notice. And he can't send an underling to do the task and be done with it. Last time, you tried to interfere and thus your death could be explained away with a simple 'he got in my way'. Not that you're comforted, eh?"

"I'm not sure I follow," Sketch mused.

"I didn't follow either," Gem admitted, shrugging. "That's why I shouldn't get the details from Ganger."

"Whatever," Sketch sighed.

"How did you survive an attack by Diablos?" Lava asked. Sketch hesitated.

"Frost intercepted the attack," he said finally. Gamble snorted with laughter, drawing everyone's attention.

"You needed help with an Eon?" the Absol snickered, the horn of his head shaking in amusement.

"Didn't that Umbreon nearly kill you, Gamble?" Ceal hissed. That shut the Hoenn leader up in an instant. Lava blinked and opened his mouth, but then closed it again without a word.

"There's no need to argue amongst ourselves," Sketch reminded them quickly. He paused for a few seconds and raised an eyebrow towards the Leafeon couple. "You two feeling all right?"

"What do you mean?" Luthor asked, a faint sneer added to his words.

"You two have been unusually silent this whole time," Sketch said, casually waving his tail for emphasis.

"And you're sitting like three feet away from each other. Have an argument recently?" Tryce asked, pointing to their feet with a bladed arm.

"Are we being interrogated now?" Luthor growled. Lexa frowned.

"They're right. You didn't kiss me at all today..." she complained. Luthor's eyes widened in surprise, replaced almost immediately by a forced smile.

"No?" he asked, leaning over and touching his mouth to hers. A few Pokémon behind Gamble made whistling sounds.

"Has the romance left our relationship?" Lexa asked, her ears drooping. "That was the least heartfelt kiss I ever..."

"Okay, screw you," Luthor growled. Gamble was altogether unsurprised when the male Leafeon's body glowed green and a swirl of white light surrounded the grass quadruped. Several seconds later, the light faded to reveal a brown, humanoid-shaped Pokémon with powerful legs, in sharp contrast to the frailer arms. There was no visible mouth, only a set of eyes on the upper half of its torso. The Hitmonlee crossed its arms over its chest and leaned against the wall.

"Doppel," Inferna sneered. The Hitmonlee grunted in reply. Lexa grinned and her body also glowed, but without the swirl of light, emerging as a green fairy-like Pokémon.

"Ganger, someday some Celebi cult is going to murder you for imitating their legendary of worship," Dreadscythe snickered.

"And while they plot that, I'll just time travel and be spared," the Celebi answered.

"Don't you ever worry the real Celebi is going to find you and kick your gelatinous blob?" Emerald asked. Ganger chuckled.

"I'm the only Ditto in existence that can replicate a legend's powers in addition to their form. Being a messenger for the legends just created a shortcut to getting their forms. If Celebi wants to kill me for using his form, maybe he shouldn't be sending love letters. Oh crap, I meant...ahem, 'documents of a sensitive nature'. Which may or may not be love letters to Cresselia."

"I'm not sure how to respond to that," Sketch muttered. Gamble had to agree the imagery involved with Ganger's comment was...unusual.

"It's a good bet he's just saying that to squick us out," Gamble pointed out. The Hitmonlee glared silently at the Celebi, his crossed arms giving him a pouting look. Gamble assumed that the elder Ditto was jealous of his counterpart. Not that anyone could really blame him for feeling envious. Doppel was the original Ditto and Ganger was technically his 'spawn'. It was assumed that Ditto reproduced asexually, but Gamble was not curious enough to seek confirmation.

"If you two were imitating Luthor and Lexa, where are they?" Sketch asked. Doppel uncrossed his arms, his body glowing and the spiral of white light surrounded him once again. In place of the Hitmonlee was an orange rodent Pokémon with yellow cheeks crackling with electricity. A long tail ending in a lightning bolt trailed out from behind the Raichu and its brown ears twitched.

"They stepped out," the electric type said finally.

"They wanted a rematch with the Flareon team," Diamond added. Gamble blinked; surprised that the Salamence had known this detail, but hadn't realized that Doppel and Ganger were posing as the Leafeon.

"They went with the Furret and his mate," Ganger said.

"The Furret?" Sketch repeated, squinting at the Celebi. Understanding dawned on his face only a moment later. "Right, the one who used Mimic on my Sketch technique and then used that on your Transform?"

"That's the one," Doppel confirmed. "Now my question, Sketch, is what WE are going to do about this threat?"

"What do you mean?" the Smeargle asked, furrowing his brow.

"Are you suggesting a course of action beyond putting our guard up? Are we going to actively resist the threat or are we going to rely on Gem's opinion?" Doppel explained. "See me...I don't like the idea of just sitting around here when we could be doing something. Something that could contain some benefit."

"What did you have in mind?" Sketch asked warily. The Raichu grinned, an expression that filled Gamble with excitement.

"Screw up the phantom's schemes. Don't stay here and wait for him to find you, but resist his operations. Use our expansive information network to learn everything he's up to, and counteract his plans. Each day that passes could be one less day until Diablos is untouchable. You're already a target, aren't you? So what are you afraid of?" Doppel spoke scarcely above a whisper, but no one interrupted.

"I'm not sure what you think that'll do," Sketch answered. Doppel's grin widened.

"We have allied ourselves with experienced criminal operatives. Both our group and the former Dark Organization involve kidnappers and the like. I say, we use our information and crush Diablos' little empire before it grows. If he attacks us first, we'll fall. This way we'll have the first strike advantage."

"That's insane. Not all the members are battle capable," Sketch argued. "Not against those adversaries. Many would drop like flies if the stakes got escalated."

"Compared to what, you fool?" Doppel snapped. "Sit in this cavern and hide until the phantom returns and wipes us all out? The weaklings that live here still have the numbers. What's a few sacrifices when it can do damage to our enemies while sparing us?"

"Doppel, that is a morbid suggestion and I refuse to authorize such an action."

"Refusal to act will just get you killed," Doppel remarked. Sketch's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Get out."

"Excuse me?" the Raichu stared at the Smeargle.

"Get out."

"I heard you the first time, but can't believe you would say something so stupid," Doppel murmured. "I am the only one here with a good idea and you're-"

"I will not listen to another word of this, Doppel. Every life is important. Leave now. Your Guardian status is revoked."

"Is it?" Doppel asked, raising an eyebrow, but then shrugged. "Very well, if that is your wish. Perhaps we'll have another chat when you've had time to realize how futile your humanitarian methods truly are."

A hush fell over the occupants as the Raichu calmly left the chamber. After extensive disquiet, Gamble chuckled, shattering the tense silence. He couldn't stop, even as more eyes stared at him. The more he tried to silence himself, the more amusing he found the situation. It was at least two minutes before he started to quiet down.

"What's funny?" Inferna demanded. Gamble stopped laughing, panting heavily as he fought to regain his breath.

"Didn't you know...how stupid it is to piss off a Ditto?" he asked, and relapsed into a fit of laughter.


	246. Stage One: Infiltration

**I confess I was rather disappointed with the feedback (or lack of) for last chapter. I wasn't sure if there was a problem with the style, the length, the content, or whether people were too busy or something.**

**Ember POV**

"Oh come on! This isn't fair!" Leaf whined. I ordinarily would have gotten annoyed after the fifth time he had complained, but I personally thought the situation was hilarious. We had spent a few hours at the Sprout Tower finalizing the plans that we had for the base. After a few coaxing attempts, and finally the threat of a fireball to the face, we managed to force Leaf into revealing his objective. He was looking for some computer files on the Johto based Rocket operations. He didn't elaborate as to why he wanted the information, and got snappy when we repeated our previous interrogation methods.

Moonlight was leading the two of us towards a small building in the distance, which both Leaf and the Umbreon had identified as the Rocket facility in question. It was located on the outskirts of Violet City, not far from where the Haunter had dropped us off in the first place. The main concern of the plan that we had been formulating was that we would attract suspicion from a few of the other Rocket Pokémon, especially if we immediately went ahead with the goal. Moonlight agreed that Leaf and I, being a small team with no backup, would need time to find our way around before acting.

And so new questions had come to mind. Firstly, how we would get in without arousing suspicion. I supplied the solution for that by suggesting our cover story was that we were recent transfers. Barring the executive's Pokémon, precious few of the Rocket Pokémon would be aware of such a transfer (or lack thereof) because Pokémon and grunts were transferred all the time to suit the organization's needs. If questioned, I knew enough to be able to bluff my way out of most inquiries. Since I was an ex-Rocket, it wouldn't be too difficult to fit right in, even though I was socially awkward. The nice thing about my solution was that being socially awkward would be the expected behavior from recently transferred Pokémon.

Pablo also pointed out that if we were really part of the organization, via our cover story, we would need to act as members for a period of time until it was safe to attempt the mission. That included training with the Rocket grunts and interacting with other Rocket Pokémon. My first suggestion of just lying low had been shot down by the Yanma, who insisted that two unknown Pokémon arriving and then disappearing from sight would spark a security concern among the sharp-eyed Pokémon, and could easily lead to a confrontation. Moonlight agreed with this and reminded me that some of the free-wandering Pokémon were actually around specifically to detect security flaws and alert others to the problem.

She went on to add that she and her trainer had been alerted to intruders before. Barring one instance, she and the other alerted Rocket Pokémon had located and neutralized the problem. "What was the one instance?" I asked curiously.

She glared at me for a moment before answering, "I lost." The tone she used made it clear she didn't want to continue the discussion and so we had continued making plans in case other portions of the plan went wrong or other complications ensued. One more concern the Umbreon brought up was the rarity of Eevee and their evolutionary line as Rocket Pokémon.

"Wait, how are they that rare? I've seen so many of those in the last two months," I had asked seriously. Moonlight giggled.

"They're highly desired for breeding Pokémon, so breeders and trainers collect them. Wild ones are rare because they form clans that can stave off threats or intruders. Rockets probably could buy them from breeders or even steal them, but if they do, they usually just sell them instead of training them," she explained.

And so we had discussed Leaf's cover story. Leafeon were one of the rarer Eevee forms, so he'd stand out both to the humans and the Pokémon. Not to mention he was extremely cute...unfortunately, I had actually said that aloud during the discussion, which led us to the current situation. The Totodile, Bubble, had suggested that less attention would be given to the Leafeon if a hostile Charmander female was around him and labeling him as her mate.

"Wouldn't that make people suspicious? Eons don't usually have non-Eon mates," Moonlight had argued, but it was clear she liked the idea. The point of the discussion was to find answers for as many of the questions that could trip us up.

"Why not?" Leaf asked, confused.

"A lot of Eons are purists, man," Pablo had answered, his tone indicating that the answer was obvious.

"Especially clans," Moonlight added. Leaf nodded awkwardly. Apparently he hadn't made the connection between the knowledge he already knew and the potential complication we were discussing. "Although, males don't seem as limited to that as females, and since Eons are rare to Rockets, not too many are likely to know the exclusiveness."

"But I'm not a clan Eon," Leaf pointed out. "I don't think it matters what specie your mate is, so long as the couple is happy." This statement dispelled Moonlight and Pablo's' disagreement. That meant Leaf wouldn't be acting especially hard if questioned why he was with a Charmander, because that's what he believed: specie wasn't important.

I still had some doubts about how convincing the plan was. "I think it's too obvious that two potentially suspicious people have the convenient cover story of being mates. It sounds like something Dragonair would make fun of..."

"Then I have a solution, man," Pablo had said and had left for a few moments, returning with something that, he claimed, would add a convincing twist to the story. "The trick is to do something so bizarre that no one would ever expect you to use it as a cover story."

To Leaf's horror, said object was a long black nylon strap with a loop handle and ending in a collar-like loop. His expression when told what it was for was priceless.

"Why am I the one wearing a leash?" Leaf had managed to blurt out just before we had left the tower.

"Because a quadruped can't hold a leash, a biped can. Also, she'd look just silly on a leash and leashed canines won't look as odd," Pablo had explained.

And that was how we emerged in our current situation. Moonlight and the timid Espeon had agreed to escort us to the Rocket base and then we'd be on our own. Leaf had reluctantly agreed to Pablo's idea, but he had complained several times on the descent from the tower and the walk so far. I understood his discomfort with wearing a leash, but I found it extremely amusing.

I tugged on the handle randomly, prompting the Leafeon to cry 'Ack!' as the leash halted his progress. Bubble had arranged the leash, with help from Moonlight, so that it wouldn't constrict around the grass Eon's throat if I tugged, and I, of course, had tested this factor every so often without warning. I grinned widely as the Leafeon stared at me in bewilderment. Moonlight snickered.

"Are you just tugging on that randomly?" she asked. I nodded, still grinning, and demonstrated by tugging again. Leaf made a quiet whining sound as he was pulled backwards a pace. A quiet purr of amusement escaped my throat and the female Umbreon snorted. "I pity whatever poor male ends up with you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I growled, baring the claws of my free paw. Leaf whimpered again when I stopped short to glare at the dark type, resulting in the leash reaching its maximum length and tugging on his neck when the Leafeon didn't stop walking.

"You're getting a thrill out of having him leashed," Moonlight explained with a grin, gesturing a paw to the leash. She chuckled and kept walking, oblivious to the glare I was fixing her back.

"We've arrived, Mistress Moonlight," the Espeon murmured several minutes later, bowing his head. I tugged the leash to halt Leaf, to the grass Eon's chagrin. I wasn't entirely sure why the psychic type had bothered stating this fact, since it was actually obvious that we had reached the base, what with the building right in front of us. It was pretty hard to miss. Moonlight nodded absently and turned back towards Leaf and me.

"Good to know, Toady," the Umbreon muttered, no doubt thinking the same thing I was. "This is where we'll leave you two. Remember to be careful and stick to your story," she warned. Leaf nodded and tilted his head towards me. I nodded, feeling cheerier than I normally do. This was one of the only times I'd ever be on my own, without Dragonair to support me, and yet I was so excited to do something along the lines of a mission. Even though it was just a cover, the thought of a male willing to act as my mate was surprisingly...soothing.

"The most available entrance is on the northeastern side, mistress Ember; master Leaf. Do not use the front entrance; only humans are permitted in that way," the timid Espeon said, bowing his head submissively to each of us in turn, his tone soft. Leaf and I developed identical blushes at the over-formality the psychic male was showing. Moonlight smirked at our reactions.

"Don't mind Toady. He's always like that. No idea why. Anyway, any last minute questions or advice?" she asked. Leaf shook his head and Moonlight smiled. I tugged the leash irritably, prompting a quiet grunt from the grass type.

"I do. Any ideas where we would look for this...whatever he's looking for?" I asked.

"Not really. Each base is different, keeps it from becoming uniform and easy to distinguish, in case of police raids or other serial intruders," Moonlight explained, her yellow rings glowing faintly in the blood-red light of the setting sun. I hadn't noticed how late it had been getting until now, so I was glad we had reached the destination now. I still hadn't warmed up to the idea of nocturnal travel.

"I guess that's it," I said with a shrug. "We discussed almost everything else, didn't we?"

"A lot of the big ones. Just be careful. Some of the smaller details can still slip you up," Moonlight reminded us. Leaf and I both nodded. "Well, better get going. Bye," the Umbreon said, nodding to the Espeon.

"Of course, mistress Moonlight," the psychic Pokémon murmured and the two Eons disappeared in a flash of light, leaving the two of us alone. Leaf looked towards me, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.

"He said the...northwest?"

"No, northeast," I corrected, gently pulling on the leash and walking towards the designated side of the building. Leaf fell into step with me, his leaf tail flicking with clear excitement. "Try to follow my lead, okay?"

"Okay," the grass type responded. I smiled to myself, pleased that he didn't have any real objections to my being in charge. A little ironic, since the entire operation was his idea. It wasn't a long distance to the northern end of the building, but it was getting darker by the time we found the designated door. Leaf had created a miniature sun over us to light our path, seeing as my tail flame didn't light very far ahead of us in the reddened sunlight. "Here it is," Leaf announced, changing course and walking towards the building. He gasped when the leash tugged on his neck, forcing him to halt.

"Oops," I said cheerfully, following the Leafeon. There was something very entertaining about limiting the distance he could move away from me, not to mention how amusing his reactions tended to be. I hope I'm not turning into a sadist. Leaf approached the small door and nudged it tentatively with his head. To our momentary surprise, the door opened easily at his touch and after a moment of hesitation, Leaf stepped inside.

"It's not locked or anything?" he whispered. I shrugged, thinking that if we weren't supposed to go in the front, this door may almost be exclusively for Pokémon and therefore wouldn't be locked. I suspected that there would be some form of security or guard not far inside, however. My suspicion rapidly turned out to be true as we almost immediately encountered a large blue furred canine with a yellow mane. The same yellow fur was also present around its legs and hindquarters.

The new Pokémon looked us over with blatant suspicion and growled. Leaf twitched subtly, but I stood my ground. "Excuse us," I said, moving to walk past the canine. I assumed she was female, based on the tone of the growl. The Pokémon's yellow fur crackled with electricity, but she looked a little taken aback by my actions.

"Who are you?" she asked, regaining her composure.

"Who's asking?" I replied, fighting the urge to smirk. My behavior was having a very noticeable effect on the demeanor of the electric type. I could almost guess the conflict going on in her mind. Leaf and I had walked into the base (and she was obviously unfamiliar to us), but my attitude was causing her to question her own uncertainty.

"I'm not answering until I know who you are," she answered, growling threateningly. Leaf looked towards me a little uneasily, but he hid this nervousness surprisingly well, although I could see it in his eyes. I sighed with exaggerated irritation.

"My name's Ember," I relented. The electric type paused, but her growl and threatening posture diminished marginally.

"I don't know you," she said finally, studying me suspiciously.

"We just got transferred here," I supplied dully. Her eyes widened in sudden understanding and she took a pace backwards.

"Oh...I'm sorry. I wasn't told. So...who's your trainer?" she asked. Her tone immediately struck me as suspicious. It was too honeyed, too sweet and kind, like a predator luring its prey close and preparing to pounce it. Something nagged the back of my mind, warning me that she knew more than she was letting on.

"We don't have one," I said honestly. "I used to, but apparently I'm too rebellious to bother training. So they shipped me here."

"Oh, I see," the canine guard murmured, looking me over thoughtfully. Her suspicions seemed to have all but faded, but I didn't plan on letting my guard down. "And you were outside...why?"

"Taking a walk," I replied.

"How long ago were you transferred?"

"A few hours, I think," I said, studying my claws idly.

"Who was the Pokémon executive at your last location?" the canine asked suddenly, her eyes gleaming with triumph. Her jaw parted enough to give us a good look at her sharp teeth.

"The Pokémon executive? Dragonair," I said. The triumphant gleam disappeared and she nodded curtly. "Are you done playing Twenty Questions?"

"For now," she replied coolly.

"My turn. We weren't given a room," I said, scratching the back of my head. The canine guard blinked and turned down the other corridor and made a loud barking sound. Leaf tensed, so I nudged him in the side with my leg. He twitched, but surprisingly remained silent, getting the message to settle down. Less than five minutes later, an orange crab creature with powerful-looking pincers scuttled into the area, noticeably walking sideways.

"Seaweed Brain, take these two down to Amethyst," the electric type ordered. The Krabby clicked its pinchers and wordlessly scuttled down the hall. "Follow Seaweed Brain," the canine snapped to us, jerking her head in the direction of the departing water type. I promptly followed after the crab, Leaf picking up the pace to keep the leash from dragging him.

The Krabby didn't speak for the entire walk down a small maze of corridors, each composed of pure white tiling on the floor and plain, plaster white walls. The ceiling was also white, which made this base the most boring one I'd ever seen thus far. We passed a few other Pokémon and humans, some of which gave us curious glances and I heard two of the humans make a comment about Leaf's leash, prompting a deep blush from the grass type. Such a cute blush it was, but I digress.

Eventually, we were led to an enormous room, the size of which prompted a gasp from me and a low whistle from the Leafeon. Spread throughout the room, I noticed a large swimming pool, similar to the one that was back at the base I had trained in, as well as several sparring arenas. Some Machop and Machoke were lifting weights in the corner and some Pokémon were utilizing Pokémon-sized treadmills at various speeds. Leaf was eyeing these machines with interest, but my focus was on the pool, where a large serpentine Pokémon was coiled. The scales of this Pokémon were a light tan color; the scales glistening from the lighting overhead, in combination with the water trickling down its body. Dangling from its eyebrows were long red fins and I could just make out the tail under the water, which had blue and red scales, but further details were too difficult to discern.

The Krabby scurried over to this Pokémon and they began to converse in low tones as Leaf and I came closer. They broke off a moment later and the Krabby hurried away. The serpentine Pokémon smiled towards us.

"Hello," her voice was gentle and soothing and I began to feel at ease, much how I felt around Sapphire, but much more potent. "Oh, I know you, don't I?" she stared directly at me.

"Uh..."

"I'm Amethyst. You knew Dragonair, didn't you?" she asked. I nodded slowly.

"You're not ringing a bell," I admitted finally. She rolled her eyes.

"Right, you're the anti-social Charmander no one liked. Er...I mean that..." she faltered, clearly at a loss for words to take back the insult.

"Yeah, that's me," I growled. "Who the hell are you?"

"Amethyst. I knew Dragonair. He let me share his room," she repeated. When my expression didn't change, she sighed. "I was the only Rocket Milotic, it shouldn't be that hard."

"Still nothing," I said, frowning.

"Whatever. So you need a room? You're in luck. I don't use the room they gave me when I got promoted, since I like this pool more and traveling between them is...really sort of pointless. You can take that. Probably an improvement over the room you probably had at your last base, no?"

"Undoubtedly," I muttered. It was only because of Dragonair's friendship that my bed hadn't been a hard cot. In retrospect, I really appreciated the things Dragonair did for me over the years. I never really thanked him for any of it. I had been too busy feeling sorry for myself to really see how the Dratini, and later Dragonair, had helped me as a Rocket. "So...where is the room?"

"It's room 86-R. Down the hall, keep going...left. Ask for the room number if you get lost, and mention me if they hesitate," the Milotic replied. Her gaze abruptly fell on Leaf and a momentary flush appeared through her scales. "Oh, so sorry. I overlooked you. Did you also need a room?"

"You're an executive, right? So your room is large enough to share," I said quickly. Leaf shifted uncomfortably.

"We normally don't allow co-ed bunking," the Milotic said slowly.

"Didn't you bunk with Dragonair? I thought you mentioned that," I said. The flush returned to the Milotic's face.

"Yes, but we weren't...mates," Amethyst argued.

"So?" I growled, flexing my claws. "And because we are, it's a good idea to separate us?" The look on the Milotic's face was priceless, with Leaf's puzzled look adding to the amusement of the entire situation. Truthfully, I wasn't nearly as irritable as I was acting, but she didn't have to know that. If she knew Dragonair and somehow knew me, it was likely she knew how I'd get around this month without me bringing it up.

"You...are mates?" she asked, looking between us in alarm and embarrassment. Leaf and I nodded, the Leafeon with only a moment of hesitation, but the Milotic hadn't noticed. "Explains the leash..." she muttered. "How'd you let her get you into that?" she whispered loudly to Leaf.

"I'm not sure," Leaf muttered.

"Well..." Amethyst hesitated, but finally nodded. "All right. I'll make an exception, on the condition you're stocked with Wepear berries."

"Huh?" Leaf and I said simultaneously. What a strange condition. The Milotic merely nodded firmly, in such a manner that we didn't ask for clarification or argue.

Twenty minutes of confused searching later, we found ourselves walking through the door of room 86-R. An energetic Meowth had pointed us in the right direction when we had somehow taken a wrong turn. I gaped in disbelief upon entering the large room. It was similar to Dragonair's, and by that I mean almost unnecessarily large and having more comforts than one might find in a human hotel. There was a bath and shower in a room off to the side, and a deep pool of water, no doubt designed for water Pokémon, in one corner of the room. The floor was covered in a delightfully soft, green carpet, and in the rear center of the room was a large, plushy bed, easily large enough for two or three large Pokémon to lie down comfortably upon. The bed was covered by a green blanket, practically the same shade, if not identical, to the carpet.

Leaf took notice of a refrigerator beside the bed and opened it curiously, yelping in surprise and calling me over to examine the contents. When I came closer, I discovered that the refrigerator could be opened either by pulling the handle, like any door, or with a foot lever that opened the door when stepped upon. Inside the cooling box were several packages of berries, each box labeled by name and a description of the flavoring. Positioned in the door were several pre-mixed bottles of juice blends, again labeled by name and with a description of the flavors. Near the bottom of the food storage was a pair of drawers, containing meat and vegetables. Lastly, one drawer contained small packaged cakes and other desserts. The mere sight of so much luxurious food was enough to make my mouth water and I quickly decided to indulge on a cake or two.

Once I had satisfied this craving for sweets, I felt myself becoming drowsy, so I wiped my mouth of any chocolate and drank a glass of juice to quench my thirst, replacing the bottle back where I had gotten it. Leaf chuckled quietly from his perch on the bed, stopping when I tugged on the leash (which I had released to eat), the sudden jerk causing him to fall off the bed to the floor.

"Ow..." he complained, grunting when I used his body as a boost to get on the bed. Shortly afterwards, he leapt back up. I smirked a little smugly and burrowed under the blankets, purring as the incredible softness of the mattress and pillow cushioned my body, the blankets cocooning me in its protective warmth. Leaf looked at me warily. "Won't that start a fire?"

"Fire-proofed," I mumbled, closing my eyes. I quickly realized that the Leafeon was lying on the foot of the bed and I opened my eyes to glare at him. "Get your tail over here and sleep normally."

"What?"

"Why in Mew's name are you over there?" I demanded.

"No reason. More comfortable?" Leaf said awkwardly.

"It is not, now get over here," I demanded. Leaf stared at me inquisitively. "Did I stutter?" I growled. "It's so awkward with you over there and me having the perks."

"But...I'm comfortable," Leaf protested.

"Either you're here, or I'm coming over there!"

"No need for that," Leaf insisted.

"If you're that disgusted by me..."

"I didn't say that," the Leafeon complained, walking over to the head of the bed. Reluctantly, he burrowed under the blankets and rested his head on the second pillow. I smirked when I heard him purr contentedly.

"Better?" I asked, chuckling.

"Maybe," he admitted, snuggling with the pillow. A brief flicker of irritation passed through me and I inched closer to the Leafeon's side of the bed. He didn't notice, so I moved closer still. It wasn't until I was practically lying on top of him that he noticed my proximity. "What are you doing?" he asked, turning over on his side so his back was to me.

"I just feel a little alone," I whispered, rolling onto my side in the same position as him and placing my arms around his middle. The Leafeon twitched, but adjusted his position a little, allowing the close embrace. I relaxed, holding the grass type's soft form close to me; his back snuggled to my stomach, my tail flame positioned safely away from his body. He smelled kind of sweet, like flowers, and with the combination of his scent and his warmth, plus the comfort of the bed, I quickly fell into a sound sleep, my first in a long, long time.


	247. Quills of Lightning and Ice

**I want to clear up a thing or two, because this seems to come up now and then and I don't like explaining my rules over and over ad nauseum. I do NOT follow game mechanics as law. Some game mechanic elements are obviously in place to keep the game from being "broken". The entire Egg Group concept in the games is flawed and in some cases, illogical. (Skitty x Wailord, anyone?) My policy with breeding is that: Pokemon are obviously limited to only 2 egg groups in-game to limit breeding pairs. I try to follow a more personal logic system, using game mechanics as a guide.**

**With the idea of "only 2 egg groups to limit game-breaking" (especially with the game mechanics of technique inheritance), I conclude that there is no real reason why the Eevee line cannot breed with Charmander. They do not share in-game Egg groups, but... Charmander and Ekans can breed. This is logical because they're reptilian. But Eevee can also breed with Ekans, which throws out any argument of "mammalian Pokemon cannot breed with reptilian Pokemon". Kudos to the reviewer almost a year ago who actually asked me whether Ekans and Eevee can actually breed. Sadly, they can. Rosa became more disturbing to me as a result. But since it was brought to my attention, the Charmander/Eevee thing bugged me, although it's probably going to be irrelevent in the end.**

**I do maintain that Gloom and Charmander cannot breed, because...Gloom are PLANTS. Plant reproduction is not the same. Whether a male Charmander and a female Gloom can breed (if you try really hard to find a way) is debatable, but I'm not going there. Ever.**

**On a side note, Ember's specie is the only one to date that seems to draw this controversy. That and whether Chaos is technically male (Rotom don't have in-game genders). Without further ado...enjoy the chap.**

* * *

**Frost POV**

"So then," I announced loudly, "the teams are here, so why don't we get on with this? You two against me and Dark, right?" I continued, gesturing to the Furret and Zapda. I had a nagging feeling that I had a profile on the shape shifter, but I couldn't recall the information at the moment.

"That was the plan," the male Leafeon, Luthor, answered. "Then Lexa and I wipe the floor with Blazey and the Flareon with bad taste," he added smugly, smirking at the twin growls from the Flareon couple. "And when we defeat them, we'll demonstrate that we're better than you, Frost."

"Run that logic by me again," I sneered. "Beating someone who beat me by a fluke doesn't make you better than me. No one's better than me." Least of all those two Leafeon. They were definitely skilled battlers, if my information was accurate. My sources ranked them as skill level 7, which put them on a respectable level although beneath me. I was ranked as skill rank 9, the second highest possible on the scale. I hadn't completed the ranking criteria, so it was subject to change.

"I am!" Blaze piped up. Dark growled, but I calmed her by placing a gentle paw on her neck. No need for her to lose her temper because of a cocky fool that wanted to think he was important.

"Shut up, Blazey," Luthor sneered, turning towards me and Dark, a small smirk on his face. "Then we'll have a tournament style exhibition. Lexa and I will crush these two, and face the winner of your match. Therefore, we'll see which of our tag teams is the best. You may be a skilled solo battler, but Lexa and I," the Leafeon paused to affectionately nip his mate's neck. She smiled at him, her tail swishing. "...We're the undisputed masters of tag team battling. How else do you think we became the Kanto branch leaders?"

"I know your credentials, Leafeon," I retorted coolly, subtly examining the female Leafeon's body. I had to admit that Lexa was quite the catch as far as Leafeon go. No wonder she was the 'most eligible female' of the clan in her Eevee days. As a Leafeon, her leaves were glossy green, far healthier than I'd ever seen on most Leafeon, and her tan fur was well groomed and painstakingly well maintained. There was no doubt in my mind that her fur was as soft as a Flareon's tail. Her eyes were a soft amber color and acted as a window to her inner beauty...so soft and gentle, yet there was a trace of coldness behind them.

Zapda growled, drawing my attention to the female Jolteon. I assumed she had noticed my gaze. She was frustratingly over attentive, wasn't she? From the corner of my eye, I took notice of the male Flareon staring towards Lexa, but he rapidly looked away every few moments. I smirked to myself. He clearly did not understand subtlety when it came to inspecting potential mates. It made little difference to me; Lexa was off-limits, but since she clearly put a lot of effort into looking appealing, it would almost be insulting not to pay attention to her, so long as the attention was within reason.

"You must be getting impatient, Zapda," I sneered. "So eager to lose."

"I won't lose and neither will Silver!" she snapped. The Furret smirked and curled his soft tail around the Jolteon's body, the fur cushioning him from her quills. I chuckled softly, turning towards the female Umbreon flanking me.

"Ready, Dark?" I whispered in her ear. She nodded, her midnight blue rings lighting up for a moment. I smirked and faced forward. "Let's get on with this, then," I said, speaking at my regular volume.

"Give us some room!" Zapda ordered the other Eons. Luthor and Lexa promptly turned and walked towards the side of the collosseum. The Flareon pair and Aura followed suit, although they walked to the opposite side, with Blaze in the lead. Judging by his hurried pace, I was willing to bet he didn't want to be anywhere near the two Leafeon. Zapda and the Furret took a few paces backwards. Dark and I did likewise, leaving about fifteen feet of empty space between our opponents. Zapda muttered something to the Furret and they altered their positions so that Zapda was standing across from me and the ferret Pokémon was across from Dark.

I smirked at the female Jolteon, which she returned with a glare of hatred. One of the Leafeon signaled the start of the match by launching a large green beam into the sky. Zapda ran forward, to which I responded with a flurry of ice shards from my fur. The Jolteon vanished from her location, reappearing two feet to the left and continued charging. Less than two second later, she vanished and reappeared two feet to the right of her original position. Her speed began to increase exponentially. I hastily rolled to the side, but the Jolteon's quilled fur clipped me in the side, knocking me off balance.

"Error: slow in responding to Agility," I muttered. Zapda pounced onto my back, her weight forcing me to the ground. I smirked and tensed my back muscles, releasing some of the ice quills into her stomach. She made an amusing yelping sound and recoiled from me. I rolled from my stomach onto my back, predicting the Jolteon would quickly recover and try the same technique. I was quite pleased when my prediction turned out to be accurate. She tried to jerk away the instant she realized the danger, but it was too late. I lashed a back leg towards her, striking her squarely in the face. She yelped and recoiled, pressing one paw to her muzzle. The yelp quickly changed to a loud growl and her fur bristled, the quills stiffened into needles as electricity passed through her fur.

I rolled to my feet, just in time to catch a wave of electricity in the chest. I grunted, wincing as the muscles in my chest locked up. The sensation suddenly spread to my limbs and tail, leaving me almost painfully immobile. Zapda lunged forward and head butted me in the chest. With my muscles locked, I couldn't backpedal to brace myself, resulting in the force of the Jolteon's attack throwing me onto my back. Zapda grinned in triumph and the white spiked fur of her collar crackled, charging electricity. What started as sparks quickly gathered together into a condensed orb, which hovered in front of her maw, despite the electricity being formed from her fur. The fur collar continued to fire electricity towards the orb in thin strands, connecting the hovering ball to her body. The strands extended abruptly, pushing the attack towards my paralyzed body. I focused, smirking as my fur shimmered with a reflective sheen.

The strands of electricity thickened as the concentrated bundle of energy headed in my direction, rapidly becoming more of a beam. The bolt hit my Mirror Coat and bounced off at an angle. I followed the path of the blast with my eyes, struggling to turn my head. The beam, to my disappointment, narrowly missed the Furret, who had ducked when Dark spat a Shadow Ball towards him. I watched as the Furret's body glowed white and a moment later the white silhouette shifted its shape and size.

When the white light faded, an exact replica of Darkness stood where the Furret had been. Even from my distance, I could see that the only difference between the two blue ringed Umbreon was that one of them was male, but nevertheless very attractive. Dark blinked, a subtle flush appearing on her face. An Umbreon's blush is much harder to notice than other Eons', but I've spent enough time around Dark to recognize the subtle changes, especially the look in her eyes. The male shiny smirked and wagged his tail in a flirtatious gesture. Dark's blush intensified for a moment, but she recovered her composure quickly. I frowned to myself. I was relieved that it wasn't the full moon; otherwise Dark would undoubtedly be too distracted to fight back against the shape shifting Furret.

I grunted when I felt a paw connect with my face, but I remained standing. Zapda bit my ear, her sharp teeth sinking into my skin. I tried to hit her with my paw, but my legs didn't want to work. She slammed her weight into me, the needle quills digging into me painfully. I smirked and leaned forward to kiss her on the chin. She recoiled in angry disgust, giving me time to call upon the energy required to blow a close range Icy Wind in her face. She closed her eyes and took the brunt of the ice gust. I grunted and forced my legs to move and for reach the pouch containing my berry supply. Zapda recovered quickly and bit my paw, her teeth clenching my leg 'wrist'. It took me a moment of confusion before I realized what she was up to. That moment cost me as electricity soon flowed from the Jolteon's fur into my body.

"Error...delayed reflexes," I grunted, keeping my jaw clenched to keep from crying out. I wouldn't give the insane Jolteon the satisfaction, but it was a bit late for that; Zapda purred. I growled, shaking off the shock. Much of my focus was on overcoming the paralysis. I couldn't afford to wait for it to wear off, and I hoped that Dark would see my problem and back me up. I had all but trained the Umbreon personally, so she and I had a few combination techniques so that we'd be able to fight more productively together. I was already an excellent solo battler, but it occurred to me that as a team, our group was...subpar. Since we tried to travel in pairs, I had arranged for our group to form tag teams with one another, but we never got far into the development of synchronized battling.

Dark and I had more experience training with each other and had the least tension, so we became the main team. I was mildly impressed when I faced Leaf and Shadow, back at the incident with the Dark Organization. Despite having little tag-team experience, they had put on an impressive display, although it really had been no match for me. I was more impressed by the tag team of the Flareon and Vaporeon, however. While Shadow and Leaf were really just two separate strategists fighting together, Blaze and Aura had unified their battle styles, an impressive feat. My sources suggested that they were actually amateur battlers, yet they gave me a more satisfying battle than Shadow and Leaf had. I could easily accredit that to me knowing Shadow and Leaf's strategies nearly by heart, but I nevertheless concluded that they had a special affinity with one another. Further information, including the Flareon's memories, confirmed that they had known each other for about a year and were rather close. They were only about three years old and spending so much time in close proximity was likely to create a close bond.

I focused my energy quickly, rapidly chilling the moisture in the air. Zapda was clueless to my intention, but she paused when her fur began giving off some static in response to the chilling air. The pause was just long enough for the moisture to become solid, and the vortex of hail seemed to appear suddenly, the ice chunks surrounding me completely, forming a sturdy barrier between me and the Jolteon. If Dark had been paying attention, she'd notice the hail vortex and soon after notice my affliction and provide with me with a Lum berry to fix the problem.

Zapda took a few paces away from the vortex and regarded it thoughtfully. I took the breather to glance over at Dark. There was no way she didn't notice my hail, all that remained was to send the signal that I needed her help. I focused on the energy buried within me, calling upon one of my rarer techniques. I could feel the tingle of energy inside my body rising up and flowing through me, finally leaving through my mouth and taking on the form of a rainbow colored beam, the colors swirling around as it soared through the air. I then allowed my Hail shield to fade away, leaving me exposed, but Zapda didn't seem inclined to rush forward towards me. Now I just had to stall until Dark could pass me the berry; I knew she had gotten the hint, but the shape shifting Furret had distracted her with the form of a...wait, what was that?

I squinted at the unknown Pokémon, taking in all the details as I could without becoming so absorbed that Zapda would be able to get the jump on me. The shape shifter had adopted some sort of plant creature that hovered in mid-air. It was green in color, and its limbs were leaves with bladed edges. Its head was an oval with two white eyes where eyes normally were positioned, and a large mouth took up most of the space of the lower half of its face, the mouth containing a row of sharp teeth; each tooth was several inches long and disappeared from view when the mouth was closed, the teeth interlocking like a zipper. Where legs would normally be, the Pokémon instead had a number of tentacle-vines. I scowled briefly, still unsure what specie of Pokémon it was, but it was clearly a grass type.

The plant grinned widely and lashed one of its tentacles towards Dark. She sidestepped the attack quickly and focused, forming a circle of glowing orbs around her. Once enough had gathered, the spheres expanded outwards, drawn towards her opponent. The grass type chuckled and slapped the Hidden Power orbs aside casually.

"Error: Your Hidden Power Element is Ground," I chided. Dark glared at me, but blinked and fumbled in the concealed pouch around her neck, drawing out a hard green berry. She placed it in her mouth and cracked it with a quick bite, spitting it out towards me. Zapda's eyes widened and she lunged forward to intercept the berry, her body a yellow blur. I urged my body into motion, forming a Shadow Ball in my mouth and spitting it towards the Jolteon. She jumped into the air before the projectile and her path intersected, but I had accomplished my goal: she had jumped too early and was not in a position to prevent the berry from passing her.

What I hadn't expected was for her to release a wave of electricity towards the berry, the sudden charge flowing quickly through the fruit. By the time the berry hit the ground near me, it was dried to a husk. I growled as Zapda landed gracefully, smirking widely. I glanced over at Dark, my growl becoming more pronounced when I saw that she was too occupied with her opponent to take the time to try again. I'd need another plan to fix this paralysis. I could always wait for it to wear off, but I didn't want to have to wait. Zapda's battle strategy was to strike hard and fast and confound her opponent with her speed. I learned this when we first met, but I had easily bested her back then. And here we were, over two years later, engaged in another battle and I was being bested...

No. I would not give her the satisfaction of beating me. If I lost because of a single blast of Thunder Wave, then I wasn't nearly as good as the years of experience had proven otherwise. Only an amateur lost because of such a basic tactic. I had beaten a Lucario while enduring the pain of broken bones. No way in hell would I lose because of something so minor and easily remedied! I growled and reached for the berry pouch I carried, ignoring the muscles aching in protest, and I withdrew a random berry. I looked at it briefly and grinned at Zapda, who narrowed her eyes at it.

"Come on, Zap...stop me," I sneered, flicking the red berry upwards and catching it with my mouth, crushing the soft fruit easily with my teeth. A burst of a spicy flavor exploded on my tongue as the juice burst from the fruit and slid down my throat. I immediately began to feel the paralysis leaving me and I stretched smugly. "Come on, Zap...bring it on," I mocked. I would need to keep in mind that willpower alone could sometimes sway battles in another's favor, assuming that the opponent made the error of lowering their guard in their overconfidence.

Zapda growled and launched a large bolt of electricity in my direction. I rolled my eyes and deflected it with my Mirror Coat. The Thunderbolt rebounded and became absorbed into her fur. Ah...that was going to give her body an extra charge as well as heal some of her minor injuries, thanks to a Jolteon's biological functions. Electricity that came in contact with a Jolteon would be absorbed and the excess energy would be used to aid the body's natural processes, such as wound healing. I had researched this phenomenon and concluded that this was done so that a Jolteon's body wouldn't become overcharged. Some other Pokémon, such a Chinchou, had the same general defense mechanism, which seemed to be to keep electrical currents in water from killing them when other nearby Chinchou and Lanturn experimented with their electrical charges. Unfortunately for that specie, not all of them had this feature and so Chinchou schools often consisted only of the ones that adapted to frequent electrical charges, or the ones with that defense. Vaporeon had the similar function, Water Absorb, but since Vaporeon's cells were so similar to water, this was less a defense mechanism and more a natural trait.

The problem with Zapda was that she could use the extra charge offensively and would not hesitate to do so. She had been my mate for a short time, my second mate ever, for that matter, but I found her lightning-happy tendencies to be off-putting. I understood accidental discharges of electricity, which could actually be appealing in some cases, but Zapda liked to shock me on purpose and with what I considered 'affectionate intention to harm'. There were other indications that she was cracked, but that one stood out the most. She was also violently jealous and clingy, and expressed both of these emotions by injecting 'healthy' doses of electricity into her mate. I am unconvinced that any male that wasn't a Jolteon or a ground type could manage as her mate long term. The shape shifter was potentially an exception, but he could probably morph into a Jolteon to reverse the damage if needed, but I was inclined to think of him as masochistic.

"Out of tricks, Frost?" Zapda sneered when I used another Mirror Coat to deflect another bolt of electricity at the ground harmlessly. "You must have lost your touch over the years. Too busy being a lecherous jerk?" she growled. That was definitely a sore topic with her.

"You broke up with me, Zapda. Let it go already," I replied, rolling my eyes. "And you get so defensive when your pet copied my form, so clearly you're still infatuated."

"I am not! I hate your cheating tail!" Zapda snarled, sparks flying dangerously from her fur.

"I don't cheat," I repeated, scowling.

"And the Eevee?" Zapda spat. I rolled my eyes again.

"Zapda, darling," I cooed sarcastically, "You broke up with me. It's not cheating if the relationship is already over!"

"You're a jerk, Frost," she spat, curling her lip contemptuously. "You were looking her over and went after her the moment your stupid loophole would pass."

"Looking is not a crime, Zap," I sneered, spitting a Shadow Ball towards her. She countered with an electrical charge, negating my attack. "Besides, it didn't work out, did it?"

"I hope she broke your heart," Zapda snickered. I flinched, but didn't answer. The female Jolteon's grin widened. "Oh...she did, didn't she?"

"No."

"Liar," Zapda purred. "Do you stay awake at night, thinking of her?" See how cracked she is?

"I don't even know her name," I answered, waving a paw dismissively. "A shadow of a memory and nothing more."

"And that's how you like it? No names to create a real bond. Just a quick lay and then you disappear, right?" Zapda challenged. Yeah, she knows absolutely nothing about me. "I wonder how many hearts you've broken, Frost. I wonder how many females curse you...wish they never met you."

"Just you," I said dully.

"I'm so special," Zapda sneered.

"Is this what this entire fight is about, 'darling'?" I sneered. "You hate me because you're an unstable and violent bitch. You broke it off with me and shocked me until my nerves nearly shut down. Oh no, I must have broken your heart. Clearly you overreacting to an innocent action only enlarged your mind's crack."

"I'm not crazy, Frost," Zapda breathed, her tone dangerous.

"I beg to differ, Zap. You take pleasure from causing pain and solve everything with gratuitous doses of electricity," I argued. "And, of course, you want revenge for something that happened almost three years ago."

"I'm NOT crazy, Frost!" Zapda repeated, sparks flying more dangerously from her fur.

"And really...you weren't a match for me in battle back then. What makes you think that years later, when I have a reputation as the most skilled Glaceon in the entire world, that you'd even last a minute?" I continued, smirking widely. "Not crazy? The evidence says otherwise...darling."

"You're not that hot," Zapda seethed. "And Silver and I will-"

"Silver?" I repeated, something finally clicking in my mind. "Male Furret. Ah, of course...also known as 'Morph' following the acquisition of Transform. Known to be affiliated with Diablos, but not as active for assignments..." I smirked at Zapda's irritated expression. "He's not a skilled battler either, Zapda."

"Oh yeah?" she snapped, turning towards the plant Pokémon. "Oi! Silver, swap opponents!"

"Realized you didn't have a chance against me?" I sneered. "You won't do better against Dark."

"We'll see," Zapda gloated, walking towards a confused Darkness; the female Umbreon's rings pulsed momentarily. The plant floated past the Jolteon and hovered before me, a grin spreading across its face.

"You have quite the reputation, Frost," Silver said, waving a leaf arm at me. I said nothing in reply. "I'm the one who called you, you know."

"Diablos send you?" I asked casually. Silver chuckled, the tentacles at the bottom of his body flicked.

"No. This was my idea. So come on...I want to see just how good you are," he said, smirking with clear enthusiasm.

"As you wish," I said lightly. "I hope you're actually a worthwhile opponent."

"I think I can give you the challenge you want...and more," Silver said.


	248. No More Playing Around

**Dragonair POV**

I awoke abruptly, instantly alert. It took me several seconds to realize where I was and I had to quickly look at myself to confirm that I was definitely a Dratini. Okay, so the de-evolution had not been a dream. I'm undecided whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. I frowned, puzzling over what had awakened me. Looking around the darkened room of the shrine, I saw that the psychotic Umbreon was lying down comfortably with the white furred Eevee lying on his back. I paused to study this sight, smiling to myself. The term 'disturbingly cute' had never had more impact than it did now. Icicle's head rested on the male's shoulder and her forepaws were positioned in a gentle embrace along his sides. She was smaller than he was, so her paws only reached down to the side of his stomach.

Another few moments of silent inspection determined that she was sleeping, albeit a light sleep, and that he was in a much deeper state of sleep than the aforementioned Eevee. His tail was wagging a little in his sleep and his yellow rings glowed gently. He seemed less frightening while asleep, and his face, normally contorted into a sadistic or angry expression, was calm and peaceful. Icicle's tail swished slowly in her sleep, occasionally touching the tail of the Umbreon, the contact having little to no effect on either sleeping quadruped, yet at the same time it enhanced the cuteness of the scene. Even I had to admit they seemed sort of sweet together and I liked how yesterday she would bite or scratch him whenever he started acting like a psycho.

I suddenly remembered that I had been awakened abruptly and so I returned my attention to determining the cause behind it. As far as I could tell, the shrine was empty except for the two sleeping quadrupeds and me. Of course, since ghosts have recently been commonplace, I would not be surprised if there were some spectral Pokémon hanging around. I sighed and stretched my coils, my eyes scanning the graveyard of mechanical parts and other miscellaneous objects.

"Morning," a gentle voice spoke, startling me. I turned my head and saw a purple specter with a triangular shaped body and a pair of disembodied paws floating to the side. A large grin covered about half of the Haunter's face. I blinked at her blankly for several seconds. The voice had sounded like a female's, but I honestly couldn't be sure. I did not recall ever seeing this ghost before.

"That tends to be the time of day when the sun is rising," I replied, pointing my tail outside. The Haunter opened her mouth to reply, but closed it and stared at the empty air to her left. I raised an eye scale. "Something fascinating occupying that spot?"

"I'd say so," she answered, swiping one of her hands and pulling it towards her.

_"How can you tell I'm there?"_ an uncomfortably familiar, echoing voice asked and a ball of gases materialized in the Haunter's grasp, its form surrounded by the purple mist that accompanied the ghost.

"I know your ectoplasm, Nightmare," the Haunter replied, patting the Gastly with her free hand. I stared at them blankly. I did not recall ever, ever hearing of ghosts flirting, nor did I expect such an action from Nightmare. "Do you have off now?" the female ghost asked.

_"No. Tarot told me to come here. He didn't say why,"_ Nightmare answered.

"Then why'd you come?" I asked.

"Tarot is essentially the second-in-command," the Haunter told me, without taking her attention from the Gastly. "He is the eldest and the most powerful."

"Is that so? Who's the youngest?" I asked.

"Hiya!"

_"Him,"_ Nightmare sighed, looking over at the Rotom.

"I said, ahem, Hiya!" Chaos chirped. No one paid him any attention. "I'll send ya viruses!" Chaos complained loudly.

_"We're not machines, Chaos,"_ Nightmare reminded him. _"You're the only one who even knows how to use a computer."_

"Yeah, viruses aren't exactly intimidating," I chuckled.

"What 'bout flu viruses?" Chaos asked. "Like Spoink flu?"

_"We're so terrified. We're ghosts, Chaos,"_ Nightmare snorted.

"I'm a dragon. Illnesses don't last long," I agreed. "And that's an example of disproportionate retaliation if I ever saw it. We didn't say hello so you threaten to infect us with potentially fatal illnesses."

"Fear tried ta kill me cuz of fun viruses," Chaos complained.

"Yeah, that was screwed up, too," I relented. I flinched at the sound of a low chuckle and slowly turned towards the entrance, where the Lucario from the other day was standing, his crazed eyes glinting with amusement.

"You're screwed, Lera," the tall biped rasped. The Haunter blinked and the Lucario chuckled again, rubbing his paws together. "You're so screwed that Nightmare's going to be a father," he added. Everyone stared at him, all with matching stunned expressions.

"Well, that was quite possibly the most disturbing metaphor I've ever heard," I remarked.

_"That IS the most disturbing metaphor I've ever heard,"_ Nightmare muttered. Both Chaos and Lera bobbed in agreement, the Haunter looking both alarmed and disturbed. I know nothing about ghost anatomy, and I'd like to keep it that way, especially since the ghosts seemed truly uncomfortable with Force's comment.

"What'd she do?" Chaos asked cheerfully, earning a glare from both members of the Gastly line.

"Ask him yourself," Force cackled, stepping to the side and leaning against the wall.

_"Lera's a female..."_ Nightmare said slowly.

"Not me. Haou," Lera explained quietly, her paws twitching. I could just make out the sound of someone ascending the stairs outside and I felt a sudden twinge of dread. Nightmare's eyes widened and he positioned himself between the female ghost and the entranceway. The steps continued and I slowly slithered further to the side, away from the entrance. Damn the shrine and being so cramped. Even though I knew it was coming, I still felt a jolt of pain when the familiar Pichu stepped into the shrine. It only took a moment to see Spark's eyes gleaming with a golden glint, prompting an even stronger twitch of discomfort. There was no doubt who was lurking behind those eyes...no question that the Pichu I had grown to care for...was no longer at the surface.

"Lera," Spark spoke coldly. I twitched again. Hearing Spark's voice...talking like that...it was upsetting to me. Where was the cute innocence that made the Pichu so enjoyable to be around? It was gone. The monster had taken over Spark and had destroyed everything that made the kit fun to know.

"Haou?" Lera answered, wringing her paws.

"Well? Where are they?" Spark hissed, his yellow eyes glaring into the Haunter's face, ignoring the Gastly in front of her.

"I..." Lera stumbled, but was cut off by the wave of a paw.

"So...I released you and within a week you've done it again. I did not tell you they were free to go, Lera. You made that decision yourself. I needed them, you fool," Spark growled. I winced, my stomach feeling sick at the words and tone the Pichu employed.

"I did not know..." the Haunter began again, but another wave of the Pichu's paw silenced her.

"That is not a valid excuse, Lera. It never was. I spared you last time, but you won't find the same leniency this time," Spark mused, raising a paw. A small orb of black energy appeared, drawing in the ectoplasmic energy from the surroundings, gradually growing large. Nightmare's eyes widened in terror and Lera closed her eyes calmly.

_"Master..."_ Nightmare begged. _"Please don't."_

"Your pleas are pointless, Nightmare," Spark sneered, the ever expanding ball of energy now crackling with what could have been blue lightning. "Just because you're off-duty does not give any of you the right to go against my wishes. Now move aside or you too shall perish."

_"Master...wait," _the Gastly pleaded.

"Move, Nightmare," the Haunter spoke quietly.

_"But...Lera..."_ Nightmare said, practically whimpering. The Haunter held a finger to the Gastly's mouth. _"No. I won't let you!"_ Nightmare burst out.

"It doesn't matter," the Haunter told him gently, pushing him forcefully to the side with a ghostly hand. Spark smirked and launched the pulsing Shadow Ball towards Lera. A powerful explosion occurred, with enough time to hear the Haunter cry out. I flinched, my mouth dropping open. Spark's body had conjured a Shadow Ball with that much power?

The smoke from the explosion faded, revealing a cringing, but unharmed, Haunter. She slowly opened an eye and looked at herself blankly. Spark's expression would have been funny if it wasn't for the fact that the kit being possessed had removed all potential humor from the situation. Nightmare was just staring in disbelief and the entire room had gone very quiet, no doubt wondering, like I was, how Diablos was going to respond. The Pichu's expression soured and he turned his yellow eyes towards the side of the room, looking past me at Volt. The dark type was sitting up, a cold look of fury on his face. I realized that he had been the one who countered the Shadow Ball, possibly with one of his own.

"Haou," Volt growled. Diablos said nothing. "Why do you insist on ignoring my requests? Now, if I recall...and I do, I specifically said that I was not to be disturbed by you or your underlings until after my birthday. My birthday is April 4 and I'm confident that it's still March." The Umbreon paused to study the Pichu's reaction, but Spark's expression was neutral. "This is not even the first time you ignored this request," he continued with a snarl.

"You're in luck, Lera," Spark said, turning from the Umbreon and fixing the Haunter with a stern glare. "Get out of my sight or I'll change my mind. But next time...I swear to Giratina you will be destroyed."

"Yes, Haou," Lera murmured and promptly disappeared, triggering a sigh of relief from the male Gastly. I chanced a look at Volt and saw the stunned look on the Umbreon's face. I was willing to bet (but not with Gamble) that it had something to do with how his complaint had been shrugged off by the phantom.

"No fatherhood for you this time, Nightmare," Force cackled. Spark clenched his fists for a moment, his eyes narrowed in anger.

"That idiot Haunter," he growled. "Messing with my plan."

_"Master...may I have a word?"_ the Gastly muttered, avoiding eye contact. Spark blinked and turned to the Gastly. Everyone else in the room shifted their positions to watch them, except for Volt, who was grooming himself irritably. Icicle had also awakened and had followed the male's lead in grooming herself.

"Yes, Nightmare?" Spark sneered.

_"I...don't think Lera's the one who screwed up the plan, master."_

"Oh, you don't?" Spark whispered. "And then who did?"

_"...you did."_

"And so ends Nightmare's career," Force snickered. He scowled a moment later when no one reacted. "Why so serious?"

"I did? Interesting remark, Nightmare," Spark murmured, watching the Gastly thoughtfully. "Rather gutsy for you to say."

_"You told me to get a spine,"_ Nightmare countered. _"Master, you used to be so much more efficient before you became fixated on Dragonair. You could have been so much more efficient with that job two years ago. Your plans are doomed to fail."_

"And your evidence for this claim is what, Nightmare?" Spark demanded, his eyes narrowing to slits.

_"Master, if you continue the way you have been, you will keep failing until you are no longer a threat,"_ the Gastly pleaded.

"You have not clarified a thing. What is your suggestion?" the Pichu demanded in a clipped, impatient tone.

_"My suggestions? STOP LETTING PEOPLE GO!"_ Nightmare shouted, triggering a wince from Chaos. _"Stop kidnapping people. Do the damn job you're trying to do and stop trying to screw with everyone! They're not going to join you, so stop wasting your time trying to get them to!"_

"Is that so?" Spark jeered.

_"At first your plans worked, but you just won't stop! The Charmander's not going to join you. You've tried at least three times and the answer hasn't changed! Leaf's not going to join you! And what were you thinking, with your last scheme?!"_ Nightmare snapped. Spark's expression was borderline humorous again, but the reminder of the demon behind the eyes prevented so much as a chuckle from escaping me.

"What do you mean?" Spark spat finally.

_"I mean, what the hell was with you bringing Leaf to witness your encounter with Psycho?"_ Nightmare demanded. _"Leaf was the reason Psycho didn't give in, wasn't he? If Leaf hadn't been there, you'd have undone the damage Lera did two years ago and gotten your wish."_

Spark's expression soured. "And you conclude that all my schemes are doomed to fail because of a single oversight?"

_"You let Leaf go when he obviously wasn't going to join! You LET HIM GO!"_ Nightmare shouted.

"I was not releasing him. That was Lera's mistake," Spark snapped in reply.

_"You should have killed him,"_ Nightmare retorted. I flinched. I had recently gotten the impression that not all of Diablos' associates were as evil as he was, but now here was evidence to the contrary. _"But no, you like screwing with people. If you had killed Leaf, you'd have screwed with Psycho and gotten your wish there. If you killed the Charmander, she wouldn't get in your way anymore. When you have someone opposing you at your mercy, you don't let them go!"_

"Nope! Rule 11!" Chaos chirped, drawing everyone's bewildered attention.

"Rule 11?" Spark repeated blankly, then shook his head and focused on Nightmare. "And tell me, Nightmare...what prompts you to make the foolish assessment that my plans are flawed?"

_"What makes you think they're not?"_ Nightmare retorted. _"Ever since the Flareon, your plans have gotten so complicated the fact it even partly worked is a miracle! Your ego is getting in the way, Master. You have made almost no progress in the past month. You said it yourself: EVERYONE has a darkness within. Stop focusing on the ones who won't give in! We had a prime opportunity at the Eon HQ, but we settled for an emotional victory and nothing else, because you insisted on a futile goal."_

I twitched again. Now my anxiety had increased about ten-fold. I wasn't sure what was more alarming: that the timid Gastly was lecturing the phantom, or that the lecture's material was undoubtedly going to put lives at risk.

"Hm..." Spark murmured, frowning to himself. "I'll have to do something about that, won't I?" he whispered, the yellow eyes gleaming maliciously. "That spine could do you some good, Nightmare. A pity your battle skills have not improved similarly."

_"Master,"_ Nightmare replied reverently.

"So where did Lera TAKE them?" the Pichu demanded. "I should correct this error of hers."

"We don't know," Volt snapped irritably. "Go the hell away."

"Ooh! I know!" Chaos chirped happily, but the possessed Pichu ignored him. "Fine, I don't know," Chaos said, his lightning bolt appendages drooping a little.

"It's nigh-impossible," a voice spoke quietly and Spark whirled to face the direction the voice originated from, his eyes narrowed in fury. "You can't just kill a catalyst. They are protected by destiny. And destiny is a fickle being."

"Destiny is naught but a Butterfree," Spark sneered. "Now show yourself."

"As you wish," the voice replied and a humanoid shape appeared. It was about the size of a human, but had a body composed of what seemed to be ectoplasm and poison gases. The body itself had arms and legs, but the most noticeable feature was its red colored eyes and an enormous grin across its face.

"Ganger," Spark sneered.

"Gengar," I corrected, but quickly slapped my tail over my mouth. The possessed Pichu either didn't notice I had spoken, or didn't care.

"Dare I ask why you're here, Ganger? You've got guts, that's for sure," he snapped.

"Actually, ghosts don't have organs," I corrected, slapping my tail over my mouth again. Wow, I suddenly couldn't shut up.

"Simply warning you that the Charmander is a catalyst. As is the Leafeon, really," the evolved ghost answered sagely.

"That doesn't make sense," Spark growled, his pink cheeks sparking with electricity.

"Then perhaps I need to change form," the Gengar chuckled and its form glowed white. After several seconds, the silhouette changed to an image I recognized and the light faded, revealing a small green creature with tiny wings on its back and a large head with large eyes outlined in black.

"Wait, wait...if a Ditto imitates a Celebi, am I supposed to worship it or beat it senseless with my tail?" I demanded, feeling a surge of anger towards the imposter.

"On second thought, I'm out of here," the Celebi said quickly, disappearing in a flash of light. Spark turned to me and a cruel smirk formed upon his face.

"Dragonair," he whispered. I winced. The Pichu's smirk widened. "You mean, dragon!" the Pichu shouted, the trace of malice in the voice gone. The yellow eyes faded until only pinpricks of yellow remained in the eyes. Spark whimpered. "You let mean ghost thing be mean! You no like me Dragon! You want me to die!" With that, the Pichu burst into angry tears. I flinched, my own eyes narrowing to angry slits.

"Let him go, you bastard!" I snarled.

"Me no bas-terd, mean Dragon!" Spark wailed. "You hate me and me hate you! You lie! You say we get Mommy and Daddy back and we don't! You no like Mommy and Daddy! You want me to be sad!"

"Shut up!" I shouted, seething with anger. How dare that phantom force such cruel words from the kit? How dare he imitate Spark?

"No, you shut up mean, mean dragon!" Spark wailed, tears streaming steadily down his face and sparks of electricity flying from his cheeks. "It you fault Mommy and Daddy no here! It you fault cuz you no save them! You say you do, but you no do!"

"That's enough!" I shouted, taking deep breaths, trying to keep my temper. I couldn't let Diablos get to me. I had to fight his words, fight the negative emotions he wanted to awaken. This was his plan...to mess with me. To make me angry and do something idiotic.

"Me say yes! That nuff! You mean dragon and me no want see you again!" Spark cried, burying his face in his paws and crying freely. I stared at the Pichu uncertainly, wishing that I could meditate my stress away, but as a Dratini, I wasn't going to be able to meditate nearly as effectively as I could in my evolved form.

"Diablos, you bastard," I snarled, unable to control my temper. "LET. HIM. GO."

"And why should I?" Diablos sneered, the Pichu's eyes again taking on the full yellow gleam. Tears continued to stream down the electric kit's face, which only fueled my anger. "You'll never set him free, Dragonair. I'll never leave this body until it's been dealt a fatal blow. And even if I chose to release him, the strain it's taken will be too much for the poor weakling. You do not understand yet, do you?"

"Understand what? No more games!" I snapped.

_"The master can push a host past its natural limits. As you might expect, this takes its toll and can leave the host in a state of exhaustion,"_ Nightmare explained quietly.

"And if enough time and energy has been consumed, the host will have a long recovery ahead, assuming the body wasn't too severely damaged," Diablos mocked. "But the body of a kit? So much more fragile..."

"You-"

"Me kit! No swear!" Spark whined, covering his ears. Probably for the best. I didn't have just one word to express my hate for the phantom's game.

"And you all work for this sick freak?" I demanded, glaring at all the ghosts and living creatures in the room. I held the glare the longest on the white furred Eevee, who twitched and cowered behind Volt.

"She's not involved in this, Dratini," Volt snarled.

"Oh, you are out of it, aren't you, Dragonair?" Spark sneered. "Force was one of my first ever hosts. I used that body to kill Psycho's parents...and Force loved it."

"Sicko," I spat.

_"Force is an example of what can happen to a mind if possessed too long,"_ Nightmare murmured.

"It is the fate that will await the kit, considering the age and fragility of his mind. Young minds are so easy to mold, aren't they?" Spark whispered. I twitched, but stayed calm. "Your struggles to resist the darkness are futile, Dragonair. But you know what? I don't care anymore. I don't need you to be alive. If you won't give in to the darkness within, then you will be removed from the equation."

Before I could reply, Spark lunged at me, his body glowing with a blue lightning aura. The speed he traveled at was beyond Spark's regular speed, even when he's hyperactive. I cried out as the Pichu collided with me, sending a powerful charge through my body. The force of the impact tossed my lighter body aside easily and I crashed into the wall with great force. The electricity flowed through me easily, sending waves of pain through my nerves. I cursed under my breath. Spark's shocks always did hurt way more than an electric type his age should be able to inflict to a dragon, but such a powerful attack such as Volt Tackle, in combination with Diablos' power and my weaker body...it was pure agony. I slumped to the ground, closing my eyes against the pain.

"How does it feel to be so weak, Dragonair? Your struggles against me are futile. I don't need your body...your life force will be a valid substitute," Diablos whispered. I lifted my head and flinched when I realized the Pichu was right next to me, a cruel grin masking his face.

"Spark..." I whispered.

"The Pichu's gone, Dragonair. If you think 'love' will save you this time, you're going to be very disappointed," Diablos whispered.

_"Don't gloat, master,"_ Nightmare reminded him.

"Rule 6!" Chaos chirped, but was ignored.

"You'll never win, Diablos," I breathed. The possessed Pichu chuckled.

"You won't be around to find out," he replied and unleashed a massive charge of electricity into my body. My nerves screamed in protest and my muscles slackened. Blackness began to overcome me, no matter how hard I tried to fight it. I hastily charged up as much energy as possible, willing to take one chance to save my life. I squinted at the kit, ignoring the cruel smirk on his face. The electricity flowing through my body was causing tears to leak from my eyes...or was it genuine sorrow? I couldn't be sure. I had to remember Spark as the innocent kit he was...else I'd never be able to take this shot.

"I'm sorry, Spark," I whispered and opened my mouth. The enormous charge of energy flowed to my mouth and I unleashed the Hyper Beam at point blank range into the tiny Pichu. As I fired, I kept repeating my apology over and over in my head. My energy rapidly began to leave me to fuel my ultimate attack, but I refused to let up the Hyper Beam. Only once I was finally drained did I stop the attack and my body immediately went limp.

I was unconscious before I even hit the ground.


	249. Stage Two: Improvised Counseling?

**Ember POV**

I slowly awoke, but kept my eyes closed. I wanted to savor the feeling of contentment and comfort that the sleep had given me. The warm blankets and soft pillow were so much more comfortable than anything I'd ever slept on before. My sleeping arrangements had never been luxurious, so this was quite the treat. I turned over to get a more comfortable position, but abruptly realized that Leaf was missing. I opened my eyes and looked around, but didn't see the Leafeon anywhere. That's odd. Where would he have gone? I didn't think he'd deviate from the plan of lying low for a while, and he didn't seem comfortable enough to venture out of the room. I glanced at the head of the bed where a small clock sat, the numbers on its face reading 6:42 with a happy green glow. Was everything in this room going to be green? It was like they used all the color to decorate this room and left the rest of the base white.

I paused when my stomach growled noisily, distracting me from my line of thought. I slid myself off the bed and wandered over to the refrigerator. I glanced behind me when I heard something and spotted Leaf stepping out of the side room. "Oh, there you are," I said, smiling a little.

"Good morning," he answered cheerfully, walking over. I noticed that his tan fur was a little damp, but tidy, and that the sprouts and leaves were glossy green and fresh-looking. I stared at him, my mouth open a little. He looked himself over a bit self-consciously, but nodded in satisfaction. I regained my composure before he looked up, so I don't think he saw my expression. "There's a nice shower in there," Leaf said, nodding towards the side room. "Looking clean doesn't make me look suspicious, does it?" he asked, suddenly looking unsure.

"No...not really," I said slowly. "Rocket Pokémon aren't dirty creatures, no matter what stereotypes may have formed over the years. Dragonair used to mock those who allowed their appearances to slip, quoting that following a stereotype only made the rest of us look bad. He'd say something similar in relation to humans acting like undereducated punks." I shrugged. I didn't know what stereotypes Dragonair had referenced in either instances, but never really counted it important.

"Oh...I know," Leaf said quickly.

"Want anything to eat?" I asked, gesturing to the refrigerator, but he shook his head.

"I'm fine for now. Leafeon and all," he replied. I raised an eye scale inquisitively. "Oh, um...Leafeon gain energy through photosynthesis. They don't have to eat as much as other Pokémon would. It's still worth doing, but it's not as urgent or frequent," he explained, correctly interpreting my confusion.

"That's interesting," I said honestly. "So do you get hungry and can satisfy it by lying in the sun?"

"Not really. If I get hungry, which I do, eating is the quickest way to end the hunger. Photosynthesis takes longer and usually needs me to be relaxed, which is really hard to do when you're hungry," he said, laughing during the last words. I smiled and sat down, watching him interestedly.

"If you can use photosynthesis, why do you even get hungry?" I asked. If I remembered correctly, photosynthesis was a plant process, which made sense for a Leafeon, but still seemed strange when I considered that he could get hungry or use sunlight.

"Well, because a Leafeon is more of an animal," Leaf suggested after taking a moment to consider it. "Animal bodies get their energy from their food and food has the nutrients we need. Like meat and fruit and that sort of thing."

"I guess so," I said, scratching the back of my head. "But then what's the point of photosynthesis if you still need to eat?"

Leaf paused and thought about it. He finally smiled and looked up again. "Sunlight sort of recharges me when I'm tired. If I battled a lot and then take a nap in the sun for an hour or two, I'm more refreshed than I'd be if I took a nap in a less-lighted area for the same amount of time. Also it cleans the air around me. Didn't you notice how clean and fresh the air is?"

"Explains why you smelled so nice," I muttered, prompting a slight blush from the grass type.

"Um...something like that," he said awkwardly, watching me nervously. I moved a little closer to him and breathed in. He was right; the air around him was much cleaner than I was used to and it smelled wonderful. That may have just been him, but that didn't change my opinion at all. The Leafeon fidgeted, but didn't say anything.

"By the way," I began, but faltered and didn't finish the sentence, my face burning a little. Leaf looked at me blankly.

"Yes?" he prompted.

"I just...um...I just wanted to, um, say um..." I trailed off again, my blush intensifying. This shouldn't be so hard to say, but I just couldn't find the words I wanted.

"Say what?" Leaf prompted again, tilting his head at me. I fidgeted with my paws and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. This wasn't going to be hard to say. I repeated this thought in my head at least three times before continuing.

"I wanted to say...thank you," I mumbled, my blush flaring up again.

"Er...you're welcome. Um...thank you for what?" he asked. I took another deep breath, hastening to form the words I wanted in my head before speaking.

"Thank you for...for staying near me," I managed finally. Leaf blinked. "I just think...it was really nice of you," I mumbled. "Everything you're doing, really."

"What do you mean?" he asked me, sitting down on his haunches and looking at me uncertainly.

"It's hard to explain. I don't really want to get into it," I replied automatically. The Leafeon raised an eyebrow. "It's sort of personal, anyway, and I don't want to irritate you."

"You wouldn't irritate me," Leaf countered. "I asked."

"This would," I muttered. The amount of griping I might unleash would send Dragonair into a fit of frustration and he was a friend of mine. Leaf was still a bit of a stranger.

"Try me," Leaf insisted. I smiled briefly. Maybe I should talk about things that were bothering me. I doubted the Leafeon could help with anything, but it might feel better to talk to someone who wouldn't brush me off. I could have tried talking to Dragonair, but I guess a part of me always expected him to mock the hell out of me. And I couldn't bear the thought of opening up, only to get stabbed by the dragon's sarcastic wit. Another part of me just wanted to keep my problems secret and it was this part that caused me to hesitate.

"Well...maybe," I said tentatively.

"Before you decide, maybe you should eat something," Leaf said, hiding a grin. I looked at him blankly. "Your stomach just growled," he explained. I felt my blush return to my cheeks and promptly turned back to the refrigerator, which I had completely forgotten about once Leaf and I had started talking.

Upon opening it, I quickly selected a package of berries and poured myself another glass of the same juice I had drank the previous night. Leaf waited patiently while I ate, and smiled gently when I had finished. The corners of my mouth twitched, but I said nothing. The Leafeon looked towards me inquisitively and spoke up when I remained silent.

"Look, I'm not trying to pry," Leaf said, choosing his words carefully. "I just don't like seeing people unhappy. Maybe I can't help you at all, but I just think that maybe...if you want to talk...I'll listen. Sometimes people just need to talk."

I sighed and took another deep breath to summon my nerve. I fidgeted with my paws for a few seconds, silently taking note that the Leafeon was waiting patiently for me to speak. "I've never had anyone...act so nice to me before," I said awkwardly.

"Could you be a little more specific?" Leaf asked gently. I sighed and mulled the question over in my mind.

"I've never had any friends, really," I blurted. Leaf blinked. "Even though it's for the mission or whatever you call it...the fact you're willing to act as my mate...it means a lot to me."

"Oh?" Leaf blushed. "Um...why's that?"

"Males never paid much attention to me," I admitted, staring down at my paws. "I always feel left out, so...it's nice that you're playing the role. And last night...I'm glad you slept near me. I felt more comfortable and not so alone. It made me feel..." I blushed and trailed off.

"Yes?" Leaf prompted.

"It made me feel that you weren't just playing a role in public and ignoring me in private. That maybe...I don't know," I mumbled, falling silent. Leaf twitched.

"Erm...you hugging me before going to sleep...why did you do that?" he asked. I shrugged a little.

"I wanted to feel close to someone. I feel lonely otherwise. I'm glad you let me. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable," I said.

"Only a little," he admitted. "I'm...not used to that. The only female that ever hugged me was Kira, Jolt's mate," he supplied quickly. He winced suddenly and his ears drooped.

"What?" I asked, a little alarmed by the sudden change in his mood.

"I almost forgot that Kira's dead," he whispered, looking downcast. I stared at him. "Diablos killed her," he muttered, his tail twitching, "Jolt's not taking it well."

"I expect he wouldn't," I muttered awkwardly. Leaf sighed, but looked up again.

"Sorry, I got off topic. Um...so you feel sort of lonely and uncared for?" he asked. I nodded. "Er...if you don't mind me asking, can you think of a reason why you, um...I'm quoting you, 'never had any friends'? I mean, the Pokémon that you travel with seem to like you, so..." he trailed off awkwardly.

"I don't know," I replied waspishly. "No one liked me. No one wanted to be seen dead with me. I don't know why!" I winced at my tone, but Leaf just nodded attentively.

"But the ones that travel with you?" Leaf pressed. I sighed.

"Okay, Dragonair was...kind of a friend. I guess he was my only friend," I said grudgingly. Dragonair also had the habit of mocking me with little warning. Some friend he was.

"And the others aren't?" Leaf asked skeptically. I sighed.

"Sure, they're friends. But for most of my life I didn't have anyone other than Dragonair, and he was a jerk more often than not. Happy?" I growled the last word.

"Oh, I see," Leaf murmured, unfazed by my growl. This alone helped me to settle down again, although I couldn't explain to myself why that was. I looked down at my paws. "You don't like being alone?" Leaf asked quietly.

"You think?" I muttered. Leaf nodded slowly.

"May I ask you a personal question?" he asked. I shrugged. What did he think these questions were in the first place, if not personal? "Um...you mentioned before how, um, males don't pay attention to you. Um...why does that bother you so much?"

I blinked and then frowned. "I don't understand what you mean by that," I said, doing my best to hide my irritation. The way he asked the question was frustratingly vague on what answer he expected from me.

"I'm asking why you specifically said that males don't pay attention to you. Bear with me for a bit, please. Why specifically males?" Leaf answered. I glared at him.

"Because I'm attracted to males," I growled. Duh.

Leaf was again unfazed by my growl. "Bear with me," he insisted.

"I'm trying," I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

"So a few years ago, you became a Rocket, right?" he continued, looking towards me for confirmation. I nodded. "And were you basically left out from the start or did, um...did you know a few Pokémon or people at first and something changed that?" he asked, twitching a little. I considered this question seriously for a few minutes, frowning to myself.

"Sort of a cross between the two, actually," I answered finally. Leaf raised an eyebrow curiously, looking really cute while doing so. He looked sort of like a kit being given a hint, but not knowing what it was hinting towards. Oddly enough, I haven't had much contact with kits in my life, so I didn't know how I had come up with that comparison. Maybe Spark had worn that expression before...yeah, that must be it. I hoped the Pichu was okay...

"Could you explain that a little more?" Leaf asked. I sighed and fiddled with the handle of the leash Leaf had apparently discarded prior to his shower. He watched me with an odd expression on his face, but I chose not to acknowledge it. Finally I spoke up.

"When I was first caught, everything was new to me. Everything about humans and technology and...everything. I was uncomfortable around people and Pokémon alike. I didn't understand orders. I wasn't good at battling at all. I always lost."

"You got better," Leaf said quickly, noticing my mood had started to sour. I nodded slowly.

"Eventually, but I got a horrible reputation. Maybe that was part of it. I was known as rebellious and not even that good of a fighter and it just stuck with me," I sighed bitterly. "But I was always so damn lonely. It was like everyone hated me, even if I didn't know them."

"But Dragonair?" Leaf asked quietly.

"Just a sign of how much my life sucked," I growled. "He was a major improvement and he ridiculed me regularly!" My tone softened a little and a fragment of a smile formed. "But not all the time. He was...much nicer than everyone else, once we got to know each other more. He didn't exclude me like everyone else did...he invited me to almost anything he did. I was still in the background but...he was with me almost all the time."

"I don't mean to offend you, but you really focus on the dark side of things," Leaf pointed out. I shrugged.

"When most of my life is dark, there's not much else to focus on," I muttered.

"Yeah, like that. You just finished talking about how things weren't purely bad," Leaf said, shaking his head. "But then you next say that most of your life is terrible. I know I don't know everything about you, but I think you're too hard on yourself."

"No, you're right. You don't know everything about me," I said coolly. "You're what, two, two and a half?"

"Around there," Leaf responded slowly.

"Right. I'm eight. I'm about four times older than you. I was with Team Rocket for maybe five years, give or take a few months," I continued, scowling. "My Rocket years were lonely and I was excluded almost constantly. Dragonair was the only one who ever treated me remotely kindly. So for twice your entire life, I was unhappy. Can you imagine living your entire life twice with almost every day involving the ache of loneliness and constant frustration and anger? Can you?!" I snapped.

"No," Leaf mumbled, looking embarrassed.

"And your first year or so was probably not even remembered, since you'd have been a kit. My time didn't start until I was past the kit stage," I added angrily. Leaf twitched, but nodded quickly.

"I...didn't mean that...you, um..." the Leafeon faltered and sighed. "Never mind. But may I ask why males not paying attention was such a huge deal, aside from you being attracted to males, which I, um...sort of knew that already?"

"I wanted a mate and none wanted anything to do with me. What don't you get?" I demanded. Leaf sighed.

"I was trying to figure out why you were in such a rush to find a mate," he told me. I blinked. "I really don't understand that part. You keep bringing it up. You're glad I'm willing to play the role, but I don't get why it's such a huge deal to find one."

"I don't know," I admitted. "Instinct?"

"See, I guess I'm nearing the age where I'm supposed to be interested in a mate, but I don't see a rush," Leaf said, blushing a little. "No offense, but...I'm not interested in you."

"Of course not," I muttered.

Leaf sighed and shook his head. "That doesn't mean I don't like you, Ember. It just means...I'm not interested...romantically."

"And yet I'm not surprised. No one's ever interested," I deadpanned.

"No one? Ever?" Leaf asked, sounding skeptical. He was smirking a little, which confused me. It was almost as if he knew more than he was letting on. I hesitated at his expression.

"What?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Mhm, just thinking of when you got captured by the Dark Organization," he said, a teasing smile appearing on his face. I stared at him, but then his words clicked. He grinned. "Remember now?"

"Nightslash was the first," I muttered.

"First is better than none," Leaf chuckled. I said nothing in reply. "Although...how did you feel about him?"

"What?"

"How did you feel about him?" Leaf repeated. I shot him an annoyed glare, more to cover up my embarrassed blush than from actual anger. The Sneasel had certainly been interested and creepy stalkerish tendencies aside, he might actually have been somewhat desirable. He was a claw battler, which could have been useful, having another claw battler to practice on and learn from. He was certainly easy enough on the eyes...no, why was I even trying to think of reasons that he could have been a valid mate choice? He had helped kidnap Spark, capturing me in the process and he was so annoying. Those facts alone should disqualify him.

"I don't know," I said finally, still mulling it over in my head. Leaf was looking even more curious now, which was the opposite effect I wanted. "Ugh, what does it matter? He's dead." Leaf twitched and nodded. I raised an eye scale. "Wait, how did you know that?"

"I was there," he answered simply. "If my question was too hard, I'll change it a bit. If you didn't like him, what was wrong with him?"

"Want the list?" I grumbled. "He was so annoying."

"So is Shadow, but he still has females lining up to flirt with him," Leaf said, grinning. I rolled my eyes. Although now that he mentioned it, I never really noticed his brother, but I couldn't place a claw on why that was. I know when we first met I was feeling really down and moody. I remember seeing him briefly when I was exhausted from battling Diablos...then there was the time when I was fighting that Breeder's Charmeleon. Then he took us to Johto and left shortly afterwards. I remember thinking Leaf was cute, but I had never seen a Leafeon before that time and only knew about them because of that book.

I searched my memories quickly; trying to remember other times I had encountered the Espeon. When I got rescued, I only saw him right before he and Leaf fought that Glaceon, and later when we were talking about our pasts near Spark and his parents...but I had been distracted then. Blaze running after his sister had created a distraction and then it was a while before I actually saw the Espeon, outside of very brief appearances, often while I was tired. The incident at Blackthorn had been chaotic and after that I hadn't seen any of the Eons again until now.

"Hello?" Leaf's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up, confused and a little embarrassed. "I asked you a question."

"Did you? What?" I asked quickly, blushing a little.

"I asked if there was anyone other than Nightslash that ever showed interest," Leaf said patiently. "Come on, there's got to have been more than one. You've been traveling a lot and had to have seen many Pokémon."

"Ugh, why are you asking this?" I grumbled.

"Because you're unhappy and talking helps. I think that it'll help if we understand each other more," Leaf answered, giving me a serious look.

"Fine, there was one more. Uh, Singe was his name," I said, emphasizing my reluctant tone.

"I don't know him," Leaf said, looking curious.

"He was a Charmander in the Cave Army," I explained.

"What was he like?" Leaf asked, his look of interest more obvious.

"I don't know. He was...polite, but not obnoxious. Sort of gentle and he looked out for me a bit," I said, scratching my chin. "He fought back against the ghosts that tried to capture me for Diablos, but..." I trailed off and scowled. Leaf blinked.

"Was there something wrong with him? You act almost as if you forgot about him, but that sounds like it was only a few days ago or less."

I shrugged. "He evolved."

"What?"

"He evolved," I repeated.

"So?" Leaf asked, looking at me oddly.

"So he's a Charmeleon now," I told him, waving a paw impatiently.

"So?"

The Leafeon clearly wasn't catching on and it was really getting on my nerves. "I don't like Charmeleon."

"Why?" Leaf asked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"YES IT DOES!" I shouted. The grass type stared at me. I took a deep breath. "I don't like Charmeleon."

"But why not?" Leaf pressed. I scowled.

"They're ugly."

"...that doesn't sound honest," Leaf said, tilting his head at me.

"They are. I'd never want to evolve, that's how ugly they are, with their stupid horn and...stupid ugliness."

"So you turned this Singe guy down because you think he's ugly...because he's a Charmeleon?" Leaf asked, his voice dripping with skepticism.

"Yes," I mumbled, looking away. "What the hell would you know about it? You never had any interests, so how can you say my preferences are invalid?" I demanded.

Leaf flinched. "I've talked to the members of my training group, and especially Kira. She and Jolt would argue a lot, usually about some sort of misunderstanding or something stupid. Jolt once said he didn't find Vaporeon attractive and she threw a fit."

"Yeah, that's another case of not liking someone because of their evolution. Just like this," I countered.

"That doesn't make sense, though. How could you ever like someone before evolution, but find them detestable afterwards?" Leaf said. "If you feel that way, your interest is shallow. In looks alone. That's partly why I'm not in a rush to find a mate. I want to like someone because of their personality, and not just because she looks cute."

"Did you tell Jolt that?" I asked sarcastically.

"Remember what I said about misunderstandings? Jolt isn't disgusted by Vaporeon. He said he'd like Kira regardless of her evolution, if she evolves at all. She didn't want to. The discussion makes more sense in context, but Jolt never said that he couldn't like Vaporeon or that he hated Vaporeon." The Leafeon paused in thought.

"Well, I DO hate Charmeleon, so drop it," I growled.

"Why do you hate Charmeleon?" Leaf asked. "They're not much different than Charmander."

"I don't want to talk about it," I snapped. Leaf's ears perked up and I winced.

"So...the ugly thing's not true?" he asked, flashing me a grin.

"Why is someone so cute so Mew-damned annoying?" I growled, but sighed. "If you MUST know-"

"I do."

"Great. When I was a kit, my mother was a Charmeleon. She abused my dad, a Charmander, and abandoned us one day. My dad eventually died in battle and I got caught by Rockets. The end."

"That's it?" Leaf asked, raising an eyebrow. I glared at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? 'That's it?', like that's not a good enough explanation for the great Leafeon that is you?"

"I dunno. With all the buildup, I sort of expected a better reason for despising an entire specie than because your nasty mom was a member of that specie," Leaf admitted, scratching his neck. "I can almost understand hating all female Charmeleon, but the males, too?"

"Hmph. Oh, and I found out that my mother hated me because I exist. Happy yet?"

"Um...no? That's horrible, but..." Leaf hesitated, clearly unsure how to word what he wanted to say.

"What? Hm?" I demanded aggressively.

"Well...about Singe, um...it sounds like you liked him. At least a little. And he's not your mom, you know. You shouldn't dismiss him just because of that..."

"Oh, he thinks I'm shallow now. I don't care," I growled.

"You complained that no one pays attention to you," Leaf reminded me quietly. "But you keep pushing away those who try. You pushed Nightslash away, maybe for good reason. It...it's not my place to judge. You pushed this guy away for a reason that made you look shallow. If you like him...maybe you should try again? Maybe if you told him what you told me...I know it's not really my business, but...it's not fair."

"I don't want a Charmeleon," I growled. Leaf sighed.

"I was just suggesting. At least think about it, okay?" he urged. I grunted and he sighed again. "I'm trying to help. But you're pushing me away, too. Let people help you, Ember. That's all I'm going to say about it."

"Good. Let's just talk about something else now," I grumbled, absently putting the leash loop around his neck again. He frowned, but didn't object.

"Um...can we keep this between the two of us?" he asked, gesturing to the leash. "Um...it's kind of embarrassing," he said, shifting awkwardly. "I'm a bit worried about how the others will tease me about it."

"I will if you will. Dragonair would do the same thing to us both," I replied. "This and everything else I told you. I don't want people to know. Blaze knows about my mom. He was there when I saw her again."

"Okay," Leaf agreed. We both froze at the sound of knocking at the door. We exchanged looks for a moment before I shrugged and walked over to the door. Leaf stayed where he was. I opened the door and found myself looking at a fat pink Pokémon with an egg pouch. She smiled at me.

"Good morning," the Chansey sang. "Amethyst asked me to tell you that you are expected in the training room. And..." the egg Pokémon paused and blushed. I noticed that she was looking past me at Leaf, her attention on the leash around his neck. There was an awkward pause before she continued in the same cheery tone, "Since you do not have an assigned trainer, you may be assigned one in the upcoming days. Um...your friend is included in this message. Thank you and have a good morning."

"That was weird," I muttered, closing the door after the Chansey hobbled off at a fast pace.

"Why are we expected in the training room?" Leaf asked.

"Pokémon without trainers or those who stay out of their Pokeball are still required to train, so that they can be transferred between Rockets as needed without losing efficiency. Otherwise a ten-year old trainer could beat them," I explained. Leaf nodded thoughtfully.

"How do you train?" he asked.

"Sparring matches, exercise, and so on. The Pokémon executive usually monitors training. I trained a lot in my free time, so Dragonair was more lenient on my training schedule than others," I answered. "Well, better not keep them waiting," I said, picking up the leash handle and giving it a gentle jerk. Leaf nodded and allowed me to lead him from the room.

**Hm, this ended up being the longest chap in the fic, being over 5K words AND crossing me into the 500K territory. So...yay! This makes up for the week I've been fruitlessly trying to write this chap. Maybe next chap will be special.**


	250. Out of the Frying Pan Into a Larger One

**Dragonair POV**

"Morning good, Dragon!" Spark's cute voice jerked me from my sleepy daze and I looked up at the small electric rodent. The Pichu darted to the side and tried to hide behind my coils. I turned my head to follow his movement and with a giggle he darted behind me, trying to stay ahead of my sight. I chuckled and moved my tail, startling the Pichu into motion again. He continued running around me, even once I had stopped trying to follow him. At some point, I think he just decided to keep running in a circle and had completely forgotten that he had been hiding from me.

"Hey Spark," I said finally, once the Pichu had finished his nineteenth lap around me. He stopped running and smiled up at me.

"Hi Dragon!" he chirped. "We get Mommy and Daddy?" he asked, looking up at me with his eyes shining with happiness. I blinked at the kit in confusion, but an unpleasant realization was making its way into my mind. Spark...had he forgotten what had happened to his parents? How was I supposed to respond to this question? I looked around nervously, hoping that Sapphire or even Blaze was around to help me cover the question, but I was alone.

"Um..." I said slowly, still looking around frantically. Spark began to imitate me, his gaze hopeful.

"They here, Dragon?" he squealed. I shook my head and the Pichu's face fell. "Why they no here?" he whined loudly, and his eyes started to shimmer with tears. "Me miss Mommy and Daddy!"

"I...Spark..." I faltered, struggling to find the words I needed to use, but it was to no avail. I just couldn't tell him again. Part of my mind was nagging at me, telling me something was off, but I couldn't place my tail on what was wrong. Spark whimpered.

"Why Dragon no happy?" he asked, one of his ears twitched and sparks of electricity flew from his pink cheeks. Despite these signs of tension and unhappiness, his eyes still looked up at me with a trace of hope. I wondered for a moment what the small electric type was thinking.

"I don't know," I muttered, trying to focus on what the nagging feeling was about. What had happened recently? What was unsettling me? Spark looked just fine, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. I patted the Pichu's head with my tail gently and he smiled up at me.

"Dragon nice!" Spark chirped. "Cuz he know secret word!"

"Sour," I muttered absently. Spark's eyes lit up and he hugged my coils tightly, sparks flying from his cheeks. I winced and glanced down at the kit with a smirk. My expression steadily sobered when I saw a serpentine shadow form around him. The shadow rose from the ground into a three-dimensional shadow snake. The snake then lengthened and expanded into the shape of an Arbok. The black coloration of the shadow Arbok brightened into the normal purple color and the markings on its chest appeared. The last change was the eyes, which narrowed at the unsuspecting Pichu.

"Dragonair," the Arbok hissed. I glared at the cobra, recognizing the voice and appearance as belonging to the snake that Ember had supposedly killed way back when...what felt like years ago.

"Fang," I whispered.

"In the flesh," the Arbok snickered. "I have returned from the bowels of hell...and once I'm done with the Pichu, the Charmander that killed me will die..."

"What?" I gasped. The large snake's eyes glowed brightly and I felt my muscles tighten and lock up. I grunted and Fang smirked cruelly.

"I'll deal with you next," he told me and curled his tail around Spark, trapping him. Spark wailed in terror and Fang exposed his poison-filled teeth, each one about as long as Spark's entire head. "Remember me, Pichu?" the Arbok sneered.

"Mean snake!" Spark whimpered, but his eyes were defiant. Fang grinned.

"Welcome to hell, you little bastard," he whispered. Then he struck, sinking his fangs into Spark's arm. Spark let out a mortifying cry and blood flowed from the injury, a trickle of a venomous green fluid mixed within the crimson stain. A drop of the same green fluid dripped from the Arbok's tooth. Fang laughed sadistically. "This time...I'll make sure he dies," Fang told me and bit the Pichu's ear, no doubt injecting the poor kit's body with venom.

_Why you no save me, Dragon?_ Spark's body went limp, tears and blood staining his short yellow fur. _Why you no save Mommy and Daddy? You fail Dragon!_

I closed my eyes in pain, fighting the surge of anger rising within me...the anger that struggled to overwhelm the wave of despair welling up inside. Even with my eyes closed, I could sense the Arbok near me. I failed...no matter how hard I tried, Spark and his family were always beyond saving. I never could keep him safe from danger. He was supposed to be my responsibility, but I failed. Maybe it was better if I had never met him...

"Welcome to hell, Dragonair," Fang's voice breathed and intense pain entered my body. I cringed as the Arbok's fangs sank into my neck, but failed to break my scales. I lashed my tail, yelling in pain as I felt an intense burning sensation where the fangs had contacted, accompanied by a sizzling sound as a severe acid burned through my scales' defense. Fang's teeth dug deeper into my neck as his Acid burned, his venom coated fangs carving their way into my softening scales. The pain was unbearable, yet I could not resist. Everything was going black...everything was consumed by pain and the warmth of fresh blood...

* * *

"ARGH!" I screamed and my eyes shot open, my body shaking like mad. I looked around in frantic horror. I heard laughter. Cold, amused laughter and my mind returned to the present. I was a Dratini in the strange shrine. I remembered what was happening...and the demon I was fighting. I glared in the direction of the laughter and received a jolt of horror. My Hyper Beam onslaught had been intercepted by a single film of yellow light. Spark stood before me, unharmed, his cruel yellow eyes fixed upon me. "Celebi...damn you!" I panted.

"Nice touch, Nightmare," Spark sneered. I twitched. Damn it! I had meant to kill Spark...the only way to save his soul from the fate he was being condemned to. It was my responsibility to do it. The decision was mine, but I had failed to do even that. The Pichu didn't deserve what was happening to him. He didn't deserve being controlled by the one who murdered his parents. He should be living a normal life...free from the hell that Diablos had put him through. He was just a kit...just a kit.

"You're just as much a snake as Fang, Diablos," I spat.

"As a Dratini, your best shot isn't enough," Spark taunted. "Hyper Beam is your signature move, yet it pales in comparison to your Dragonair-leveled attack. You're a fool, Dragonair. You've hindered your power with an Everstone and leapt at the chance to reverse the increase I so generously bestowed upon you," the Pichu sneered maliciously.

"Shut up and die," I snapped, spitting a stream of flames from my mouth, but the yellow film of light reappeared and absorbed the brunt of the attack effortlessly.

"Your Dragonair-strength Hyper Beam could barely break my Screen. Nothing at your disposal can break it now that you're so weak!" Spark told me and grinned wickedly. He raised a paw and formed an orb of black energy in his palm. He extended the paw towards me and flicked each finger in my direction. With each flick, a smaller Shadow Ball launched forward. I ducked the first, but the second one hit my neck, followed by another and another. The ghostly orbs exploded on contact and seared my scales painfully. The Pichu let out a gleeful cackle and I shuddered at such a sound escaping Spark's body. The last Shadow Ball had enough force to hurl me backwards and I collided with the back wall and slumped to the ground.

I panted, struggling to raise my head above the ground, but to no avail. I heard the Umbreon chuckle and just barely managed to turn my gaze towards the shrine's occupants. Spark stood where he was, looking at me with a superior smirk upon his face. Beside him hovered the Gastly. The Umbreon and Eevee sat off to the side, the former looking amused and the latter looking very uncomfortable. I turned my head to the left and saw the Lucario near the entrance. I cursed under my breath. Even if I somehow managed to flee, the jackal was preventing me from leaving.

Spark's cold chuckle unnerved me the most. It had the same sound as the Pichu's normal happy giggles, but the tone was anything but innocent. This chuckle spoke of sadistic amusement and was the sound of evil. Why must the innocent kit be forced into such a situation? Why did the phantom prey on the ones who did nothing to deserve such a fate? What did he want? Why must he torment me like this?

"You disgust me," I spat. The Pichu's body shook with restrained amusement, until at last he could no longer hold it in and burst out with cold laughter. The sound of his laugh reverberated in the shrine's single room. The laugh was soft, but gleeful and sinister. "Stop it!" I snapped, anger rising within me. Spark stopped laughing, but his body continued shaking with silent amusement.

"As you wish," Spark sneered and formed yet another Shadow Ball in his paw. I quickly countered with a Thunderbolt, but the ghostly orb sliced through my attack with ease and hit me, throwing me against the back wall again. "How does it feel to fail again and again, Dragonair?" Spark whispered softly. "How does it feel to know that behind that bravado you're little more than a weakling cowering behind a mask? Your sarcastic attitude is naught but a shield, defending you from the cruel reality of the world."

Spark stepped nearer and I glared into the Pichu's cold yellow eyes. The cruelty of his expression only heightened my feelings of hatred for the demon possessing the kit. I was barely paying attention to his words. I knew he was just going to taunt me before trying to kill me and ultimately failing because his psychological monologue was going to buy me enough time to either strike back or for help to arrive. Not that I expected any form of help in this one, but it seemed like something likely to happen anyway. My experiences in the last two months demonstrated that my obscene amount of luck at a timely moment was starting to become predictable, sort of like the outcome in anime shows about card games. On the bright side, that just gave me an angle to mock the phantom from.

"You know it's true...don't you, Dragonair?" the Pichu continued. "All your life all you've ever done is create scenarios from which to insert a half-tailed comment or veiled insult, and expect it to create the perfect shield. Such a cynical attitude would almost make it look like you don't care what others think and that your morals are as questionable as a good Rocket's should be. Oh, but you were wrong and your charade fooled no one."

"If that was the case and you're only just noticing it now, doesn't that mean it fooled you?" I asked. Spark smirked.

"Such insolence. Yes, I see it now...your insolence is another part of the shield. It hides your fear...it conceals your weaknesses. Namely your heart. Doesn't it, Dragonair? You conceal your fear that your limited attachments are flaws. A strong member of a criminal organization has no emotional attachments. They have no morals to hold them back. That's why you're not a strong Rocket," Spark snickered.

"I'm not a Rocket at all, strong or otherwise," I noted.

"Your morals drove you to this situation, Dragonair. Your morals drove you from your esteemed position. Your morals led you into so many dangers. Your decisions cost you and your friends more than they could afford to lose," Diablos continued, his voice nothing more than a whisper, but I could hear every word. The rest of the world was silent, as if the phantom's words passed easily from his mouth to my auditory system with nothing in between. "Wouldn't it be better, easier, if you didn't allow those pesky thoughts to interfere? You could have accomplished so much more without them."

"Nothing of real value," I contradicted.

"And you're accomplishing things of value now? Look around you!" Spark gestured at our surroundings and laughed. "What do you have to show for anything? Every one of your ventures has backfired and everyone you come into contact with suffers as a result!"

"What?" I was stunned. What did he mean by that?

"It was so...noble of you to let your foe go to try saving the Pichu, but the snake survived and returned to plague you again and again. Your refusal to finish the job...he returned and nearly ended the life of your Charmander friend before she took the necessary step and removed him from this world. So noble of you to instill morals into her, but she nearly ended her own life to rid herself of the guilt," Diablos whispered.

"He deserved it," I muttered. I was guessing he was trying to get a rise out of me by bringing up Ember, but I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction. I was starting to recharge my energy slowly and depending on how long the phantom chose to continue taunting me, I may have a chance at fighting back.

"But you wouldn't finish it yourself," Diablos replied smoothly. "You would rather allow your friends to stay in harm's way to avoid a black stain on your record. Your feelings on the matter are clouded by the storm of sarcasm and indifference. And so the Flareon doesn't trust you. He doesn't believe you care for his life. Your pathetic morals allow you to crush another's will to live, but you won't kill them. And you call me cruel..."

"You are cruel!" I shouted, glaring at the possessed Pichu. He chuckled, which fueled my anger.

"A fool like you has no future, so I'll wipe your future clean," he said. Before I could respond, the Pichu's body plowed into me and a large shock of electricity flowed through my body. I flailed, throwing him off me. Diablos grinned, but the smile disappeared when a powerful pump of water struck him in the back with enough force to slam him into the wall beside me. The Pichu groaned as he pushed himself up, one paw rubbing his injured face. I slapped him with my tail and he staggered back another pace, giving me enough time to look towards the shrine entrance. To my surprise, I saw Venom smirking from the entranceway, his large serpent-like body was framed in the entranceway and his size blocked out a majority of the sunlight, but I didn't know other Gyarados that could move on land and was in the area, so it must have been him.

"Backstabbing is fun," Venom remarked with a grin. Diablos glared at the Gyarados, his yellow eyes narrowed with anger.

"You traitor," he hissed.

"What goes around comes around," Venom retorted, gnashing his teeth.

"You fool. Traitors never last long," Diablos sneered, gesturing with a paw. Nightmare and Chaos moved forward and the Lucario cackled insanely.

"Actually, hasn't almost every traitor survived?" Chaos asked curiously. The Pichu's expression darkened ominously. "Wasn't it partly because of Icicle?"

"Damn Eevee," Diablos growled.

_"Uh...Volt's in the room, Master,"_ Nightmare said nervously. I looked over at the dark type and was surprised to see that he showed no reaction to the phantom's curse towards his mate.

"I will not tolerate another traitor," the Pichu snarled, making some sort of commanding gesture with his paw. Force grinned and stepped nearer to Venom while an orb of smoking blue energy formed in his paw.

"Ooh, I'm so scared," Venom sneered. He launched a powerful stream of fire from his gaping mouth, which hit the Lucario at point blank range. Force cackled as the fire engulfed his body. The sphere of energy in his paw expanded the longer the fire was around him. Once the flames died down, the Lucario emerged from the inferno, his blue fur singed black and his bloodshot eyes wild with insane glee.

"Die and go to hell!" the Lucario rasped and cackled gleefully, throwing the pulsing blue sphere at the Gyarados. What I didn't expect was for Venom to spin and slap his finned tail at the massive projectile, knocking it back into the room. The reflected Aura Sphere hit the back wall and exploded, sending chunks of stone onto the ground. Force turned to stare at the damage and Venom slammed his head forward. The Lucario sidestepped with insane speed and the Gyarados plowed into a table with various packrat articles upon it, sending them scattering across the floor. I winced as the reverberations echoed in the chamber and both quadrupeds on the other side of the room winced.

"Giratina damn it. If you want something done right, you do it yourself," Diablos spat. Spark's eyes gleamed with malice and I shivered as an intense feeling of dread welled up inside me. As I watched, the Pichu's yellow eyes went blank and the golden gleam disappeared. Venom lifted his head and thrashed his tail, forcing the Lucario to leap back. Venom bit at Nightmare, forcing the Gastly to fade out and the Gyarados' fangs easily crushed through one of the electronic devices in that corner.

"My stuff!" Chaos complained, hurrying forward and clinging to the de-evolution device protectively. Venom's tail thrashed again and sent a large boulder from the damaged wall flying into the cannon-like device in the corner. "My other stuff!" Chaos wailed. A sizzling sound erupted from the device and sparks flew from damaged cables located on the interior, visible from the hole in the exterior created by the boulder's impact.

"It's not important, fool!" Diablos' malicious tone hissed, but it didn't come from Spark. I gasped as the Pichu collapsed, but I hastily propped him up with my tail and drew him close to me. The Pichu's eyes were closed, but he was definitely breathing, although weakly. The presence of Diablos no longer seemed to be within the kit, yet the solace granted was minimal. If the ghosts spoke the truth, his condition was serious and possibly life-threatening, but there was almost nothing I could do.

"Spark," I muttered, using my tail to prod the kit. His ear twitched, but that was the only reaction I received.

"You fools are more trouble than you're worth," Diablos' voice sneered and I lifted my head. Venom froze and turned in the direction of the voice. I followed the Gyarados' gaze and saw a familiar shadow. It was a shapeless mass of darkness, the only notable feature being a pair of yellow orbs that reminded me of eyes. The shadow's very presence sent a chill down my spine. The shape seemed to alter its form every few moments, without assuming any definite shape or form but as a single mass.

"What are you?" Venom growled, narrowing his eyes at the shadow. A cold chuckle emitted from the shadow and although it had no mouth, I could see the amusement in the yellow orbs. It's no joke when people say the eyes are the most expressive part of the face.

Diablos chuckled and the yellow eyes gleamed, the shadow turning its 'gaze' towards me. I shivered again. "Remember this, Dragonair?" he breathed. I said nothing in reply, but the phantom didn't seem to expect one. "This is your end. This form was created in the bowels of hell itself. Its power is immeasurable."

The phantom chuckled maliciously and the yellow eyes flicked towards Venom. The Gyarados scowled, his eyes narrowed at the shapeless shadow before us. "I'll avenge Master Ed, you bastard," Venom hissed. "Him and Machamp!"

"How short-sighted of you," Diablos mocked. "Yet another fool turning on me for revenge he can never claim. So be it. I'll make an example of you two, and never again will any of you dream of turning your back on me..."


	251. Draconic Stand

Facing danger when no true hope exists. Some might call it bravery. Some might call it courage. But the fact remains that fear is a fickle emotion. One might seem confident while staring down death itself...but inside they quiver. The fear is buried within. There is a very fine line between bravery and foolishness. Few see the distinction before it's too late. One might call it brave to stand up to a stronger foe, but more often than not, one is only fooling himself. Brave, perhaps, to take defeat and death with dignity. Bold to fight, knowing that pain is inevitable, but foolish to consider that victory was ever a possibility.

I chuckled and looked at the fool before me. The Gyarados gnashed his teeth with barely restrained rage, but I was unintimidated. Even his anger would not aid him against an opponent of my ability. It was a vain struggle for him. Tsk, he had so much potential, yet chose to throw it away for a shot at me. I offered him so much; power, revenge, respect...but he turned his back on me. Well...he'd pay for that. Good help was so difficult to find these days. I suppose I'll have to accept that such things are not fail-safe motives. Some things are stronger motivations, but not as simple to provide.

Of course, I knew all about this. I never did like to admit mistakes, but it was true. I had made mistakes in my tactics. I had fallen into a pattern that was inefficient and foolish at worst. But all was not lost. I had not studied Venom carefully enough. Vengeance and anger were easy to use, but they did not create loyal servants. Their loyalty would last only as long as they believed I could help them, and barring a few, many would no longer need to remain once their vengeance was exacted. Of course, I expected such a time and allowed those to part ways without consequence, provided they remained out of my affairs. Others still grew frustrated with being used for tasks unrelated to their own agendas. Nightmare had been correct: I tried too hard to change a person's allegiance. Such changes took time and the ones that were rapid were suspect. The first step to rectify this was to stop attempting to make an associate from such a person. I needed reliable, loyal help in my efforts.

Venom counted as neither and I had been mistaken in thinking he could serve as such. The Gyarados' anger and animosity towards Dragonair was ideal, but I took it too slowly, went with the wrong strategy. He was not a follower, but a leader; I saw that now. He was not content with following my instructions and what I had to offer him was too little. Weak fool. I couldn't help but wonder...what had changed his mind? What had turned him from my side to assist Dragonair? His timing was far too convenient to be a coincidence. No, he had come to the Dratini's aid at the cost of his own safety. So be it.

"Venom," I breathed, my eyes gleaming. "Look at me..." I would have smiled if I had a mouth, for the predictable command was just as effective on the water serpent as it was on everyone else. The expression upon the Gyarados' face was one of hateful loathing, but it hardly mattered. The window to his soul was in the eyes? Then a gaze into the eyes would suffice to open his mind.

"Venom!" Dragonair shouted. "Look away, damn you!"

"What changed your mind, Venom?" I whispered, focusing my words to the Gyarados alone. No one else would pick up the message, some psychics excluded. "What drives you to fight? Show me...show me..." Almost immediately, I invaded the Gyarados' memories and gazed through the images quickly. I could not afford to rely on the inability of most minds to repel me, even from a distance. Every time I did, another would appear that could. Psycho and Frost both were able to resist my advances in this manner, as I once discovered to my cost. This made them serious foes, for I could not simply possess them to end their resistance by default, nor could I access the thoughts and memories that would enable me to weaken their mental defenses.

Ah, here it was. I pushed further through the Gyarados' defenses, which fell apart from the sheer force of my will. In a fraction of the time, I absorbed the knowledge of the memory and withdrew to analyze it. I could not afford to be distracted during extraction. Even in this form, a mistake could enable them to flee and affect my plans in the future and I just couldn't allow that again. These pests had meddled with my schemes for too long and I could not tolerate a traitor again. But I wanted my moment. I'd make an example from Venom, in case Volt or Bane or anyone else ever thought their allegiance was free to change. Bane had been assigned the role of a double agent, but he played it too well, helping the Eons and our side almost equally. Volt had threatened to turn rogue if I pushed him too far, and I didn't doubt this threat for a moment.

I turned my attention to the memory and couldn't help but laugh. So, the entire reason that Venom hated the dragon was not merely a misguided rivalry or genuine distaste for him...but a mixture of a misunderstanding and inconvenient events? A mere misunderstanding...fueled the flames burning within the larger serpent, driving him to make genuine attempts on Dragonair's life. How foolish of me to overlook this detail in the Gyarados' mind, but I expected that my efforts were focused elsewhere. It was so amusing, knowing that such hostility could be created from a misunderstanding. Of course, that wasn't the only time it had happened. Resentment could be formed and blame could be applied to improper targets, leading to hate and anger until at the last the darkness within would be free. What troubled me was how easily such hate was set aside. Venom...he accepted Dragonair's story.

"So...this is how it'll be, Venom?" I whispered. The Gyarados growled, but didn't answer. I moved forward and struck the Gyarados with my phantasmal form, creating a burst of energy upon impact. Venom gasped and was hurled backwards into the wall of the shrine with enough force to crack the rock. The entire shrine shook from the impact and Chaos whined when something fell off the table in the rear of the room. The Dratini flinched and coiled his tail around the Pichu kit, as if defending him. It hardly mattered; the Pichu's energy level was dangerously low. I had not eaten while possessing him and had not rested. The Vaporeon host had been subjected to similar conditions, but she was a healthy, evolved Pokémon at a reasonable age and this was just a young kit, not even three months old. The techniques I used with his body had taken a great toll on the untrained body.

"I'll kill you, bastard!" Venom snarled, rising up and spitting a pressurized burst of water from his mouth. I ignored the shot, which hit me harmlessly. The Gyarados recoiled in shock and his tail flailed, nearly knocking Force over. The Lucario was grinning eagerly at the sight of the battle and knew better than to interfere. To the side, Volt was sitting beside the female Eevee, also staying out of the line of fire. That's how I wanted it.

"Pathetic," I sneered. "Don't you get it? You can't kill me. You can't even touch me. You're helpless, both of you." I turned towards the Dratini, who made a small growling sound. I chuckled, amused by the bold sound. The Dratini...I could practically feel his hate, his anger. He had so much potential, but refused to use it. But now it was clear to me. He was not one to reason with. He was one to force into action. His weakness was so appalling clear.

"What are you?!" Venom snarled. I chuckled, which slowly escalated into full-out laughter.

"What's funny?" Dragonair demanded.

"If you could only understand me," I sneered.

"Yeah, that made sense. Being vague makes for great explanations and they let you act superior. But you're not superior. You're a damned coward," Dragonair spat. I studied him silently, my amused laughter cutting off abruptly. So...the dragon dared insult me? He dared to call me a coward? He didn't have a clue what he was dealing with!

"Heh, he can't even come up with a response, the bastard son of a bitch," Venom jeered. Still I was silent, but I glanced at the Gyarados. For those words, he'd pay dearly.

_"Look at me, Venom...show me your fears...no, a step further. Show me the desires of your heart. SHOW ME!" _I urged his mind and instantly images appeared before me. I scanned them each hungrily, feeling a brief thrill of excitement. Emotions are so peculiar. I could feel them all. Anger and hate and joy and sorrow and more. I could feel the emotions the Gyarados felt in these images. I savored them, if only for the amusement bonus.

"Wow, I DID shut him up," Dragonair noted, smirking. I resisted the thrill of anger. He'd get his soon enough. I directed the same mental command to the Dratini and delved into the dragon's mind the same way I did the Gyarados'. A strange curiosity tugged at me at that moment. Interesting...alongside an image of the female Dragonair that I expected, another image showed a female Milotic. The intriguing aspect was that this was the same Milotic in Venom's mind. In a fraction of a moment, I analyzed the emotions present when Dragonair's mind scanned the images. It was amusingly peculiar how little the emotions differed.

My interest briefly piqued, I refocused on Venom and analyzed the emotions he experienced when scanning an image of the Milotic and of the female Dragonair. The emotions of the Gyarados differed greatly compared to Dragonair's, but I was not sure what to make of this. Was love a true emotion? If so, why did Dragonair show such little emotional change when viewing a female that wasn't his primary desire? Was there a distinction between love and lust? A horribly inappropriate time for these thoughts to surface; Giratina damn it.

"Coward, am I?" I said finally, breaking my silence.

"Delayed reaction. Happens when you get old," Dragonair remarked, shaking his head pityingly.

"You're twice as old as I am," I replied coldly. Dragonair did an exaggerated spit-take gesture. Venom just blinked.

"You're about 3 years old?" they both asked at the same time, which would have been amusing had I not been cursing myself for letting that detail slip.

"Wait...what the hell?" Dragonair demanded.

"Yes, why don't I explain my origins before killing you?" I sneered sarcastically.

"It'd fit with the other incredibly nonsensical things you do," Dragonair answered. "While you do that, could you also explain your motives, your current plans, and your weakness?"

I replied by morphing a portion of my form into an arm-like appendage, which I thrust forward into the Dratini's face, the energy jolt powerful enough to hurl Dragonair into the wall with enough force to ricochet him into the TM Ray, which groaned under the impact. The small serpentine dragon slid down the damaged metal and landed with a splat sound. I extended the shadow arm and lifted the Dratini by the tail, drawing him towards the rest of my form.

"Insolent fool," I sneered and slapped him against the TM Ray, not even bothering to release him. Chaos wailed in protest when the device buckled, but I ignored him. Dragonair's face was scrunched in pain, but he opened an eye at me.

"Can I have some last words?"

"No," I answered and enveloped the Dratini's body with ghostly fire. He winced, but looked over his burning body with strange calmness.

"That tickles," he remarked and began giggling happily. My eyes flashed with anger, but before I could do anything in retaliation, Venom head butted me, which was amusingly ineffective, since he passed right through me. Instead, his head collided with the floor, but neither his head nor the stone floor seemed damaged. "Do you always try to solve problems that way, Venom?" Dragonair asked, his tail twitching happily. Irritated, I threw the Dratini at the Gyarados, the impact of the collision dazing the former serpent.

_"Master? What the hell?" _Nightmare demanded telepathically, staring at me. I scowled internally.

_"Using...a kit's form...is a rather poor idea. A kit cannot supply enough energy for long term use," _I told the Gastly, opting for telepathy rather than verbal communication. _"I've used up so much of the kit's energy...the surplus I use is taken from this form."_

_"Master, perhaps you should let us finish this,"_ the Gastly suggested. I glared at him.

_"Do not underestimate me, Nightmare. Even uncharged, this form possesses more than enough power to end their miserable lives!"_ I snapped turned my gaze back to the two serpents. Perhaps parting with that Eevee's soul had affected my performance, but it was only one and I doubted it had that much effect on me. No, it was definitely because of the exertion I had forced upon my previous host. I waved the arm-like shadow and conjured a large Shadow Ball in the palm. I'd take them both out at once. Venom glared at me defiantly. "So much for your vengeance, Gyarados," I mocked and launched the Shadow Ball forward. Venom responded with an enormous orange beam of condensed energy. The Hyper Beam blasted my Shadow Ball apart and continued towards me. I made no attempts to dodge and allowed the beam to hit.

"Ha!" Venom sneered, but his triumph was short-lived. I laughed, the light of the Hyper Beam fading away and revealing that I had been unharmed. My eyes gleamed and I stared into the Gyarados' eyes, easily reading his current thoughts. His mind was working frantically, trying to figure out how I had taken no damage.

"So disappointing," I murmured, forming another Shadow Ball. "Counter this all you want. You'll never scratch me and-" I was cut off by waves of electricity striking me and a stray wave caused the Shadow Ball to detonate in my 'hand'. I felt no pain from the explosion, nor did the waves affect me at all. My eyes narrowed towards the Dratini. "That won't work, Dragonair."

"Oh come on!" he complained. "His own attacks don't hurt him, our attacks don't hurt him, and Thunder Wave doesn't work?"

"I am far beyond your typical opponent, fool," I sneered, forming another Shadow Ball.

"Do you ever use anything else that isn't Shadow Ball or fire clearly MADE from the same energy as Shadow Ball?" Dragonair growled. "I'd expect a powerful foe to change it up a LITTLE!"

I didn't answer. He didn't need a response. I flicked a shadowy finger and a fraction of the larger Shadow Ball molded itself into a smaller projectile and launched itself forward. Dragonair twisted his body to avoid it, but the Shadow Ball exploded on contact with the ground, the shockwave shoving the Dratini to the side. Fortunately for him, I had miscalculated the shockwave's effect and had launched a second one towards him, which missed entirely, but exploded with great strength, far stronger than the average Shadow Ball. Volt purred quietly and Icicle whimpered. Force snickered from the entranceway. Venom growled and spat a stream of fire, which I ignored. Their attacks were futile struggles. I launched the larger Shadow Ball at the Gyarados, but was surprised when he pivoted and batted it to the side with his tail. The deflected projectile narrowly missed Nightmare and blasted a large hole in the shrine wall.

"Is this blasphemy?" Dragonair asked, gesturing to the hole with his tail. No one answered, but he smirked nevertheless.

"You want it changed up, Dragonair?" I whispered, morphing my shadow form into the shapeless mass I was normally contained in. Before he could answer, I flitted forward and collided with him. His eyes widened in pain as the jolt of energy discharged into his body. I collided with him again, angled from above, the force driving him into the ground.

"Take this, bastard!" Venom snarled and something hit me. Judging by the crackling sound, he had hit me with a Thunderbolt. I showed no reaction to the attack, but a momentary feeling of discomfort had touched me. Giratina damn it...this form was even less charged than I expected. Using the Pichu as a host had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but clearly I had made an error. Most hosts were ill-suited for prolonged use without some sort of consequence, and the kit's naturally low energy, in combination with the young age and basic evolution status, made for a poor option. Pushing such a weak candidate as far as I had had taken its toll from my true form, instead of vice versa. No matter, the kit's death would serve my purposes just as well.

"Pathetic efforts," I mocked.

"And yet you haven't killed us," Dragonair commented. "So if you're so strong and invincible, isn't it even MORE pathetic that your efforts yield nothing?"

Once again, I said nothing in reply. Venom snickered, and I glared at him. The Gyarados smirked and his eyes glowed, his body briefly glowing with a blue fire while his tail gestured subtly. I scowled internally and conjured a Shadow Ball. Dragonair countered my efforts with a charge of electricity, prematurely detonating my projectile. Venom's eyes glowed again and the tail gestures became faster. Interesting...Venom was gathering power through Dragon Dance and Dragonair was fighting to keep me distracted.

_"Haze him, Nightmare,"_ I directed the Gastly and turned to Dragonair. He tensed, but stared back at me boldly. "Welcome to hell, Dragonair," I whispered and struck him. He grunted, wincing in pain as his scales took the brunt of the strike, but some of them tore open, leaving a weak point behind. I struck again, directing my aim at this small weak point, but he twisted at the last moment. "You're just delaying the inevitable," I sneered.

"No, you've got it backwards. The fact I CAN delay means that, by definition, it's not inevitable," Dragonair replied snidely. "Inevitable means impossible to avoid or prevent. Oh look, I'm avoiding or preventing the event."

"Insolent to your last," I murmured.

"Still alive," Dragonair pointed out. I chuckled.

"For only a moment more. Same as the Pichu, really," I added, glancing towards the weakened Pichu, who had barely managed to open his eyes.

"Dr-dragon..." Spark whimpered. Dragonair winced. "Me...help."

"Spark," the Dratini whispered.

"Why you small?" Spark asked, looking confused for a moment, but then shivered and closed his eyes in pain. "Me...me no feel good. Dragon...me want...me want Dragon!"

"I'm here, Spark," Dragonair whispered, slithering to where the Pichu lay. I darted forward and struck Dragonair, hurling him from the Pichu's location. Dragonair grunted, but began slithering back towards the fallen Pichu. I chuckled and fired a barrage of Shadow Balls towards the Dratini, blocking his path. Dragonair flicked his tail against the ground, propelling his body from the ground and over the explosions from the Shadow Balls, landing with surprising grace next to the kit.

"So determined to offer comfort," I mocked. "No comfort exists before death. The Flareon thought otherwise. And Jolt can only wish he could comfort his mate before her demise."

"What?" Dragonair demanded, glaring at me. "What did you do?!"

"That's enough, Haou," Volt growled, his fur bristling. I paused for a moment. No doubt the Umbreon was still agitated that I had backed out of my agreement.

"Strange world when the one you lust for is the one that ends your life, isn't it, Dragonair?" I murmured. "A certain Eevee experienced that firsthand. It had to be done."

"Sick bastard," Dragonair snapped. I heard a growl behind me, but paid it no attention. Nightmare would keep the Gyarados busy long enough and it wasn't as if the larger snake could do anything to me to help the Dratini.

"Look at me," I ordered. The Dratini turned away immediately and I smirked internally, taking the moment of distraction to overwhelm the Pichu's consciousness, easily invading the kit's mind again. Once in control, I forced the Pichu's body to sit up. Dragonair turned towards what was now me.

"Spark?" he asked, sounding confused. I chuckled, not even bothering to hide my presence. "Damn you, Diablos. Leave the kit alone!" I could feel the intensity of his anger. It reminded me of our first encounter, where he risked his own safety to keep the Charmander and Pichu safe.

"I don't need you, Dragonair, nor do I need this kit," I said quietly, so only he could hear me. "But it still has a use. Hi pretty dragon!" I added, adopting the kit's typical voice and speech pattern. "Me cute. Me want hug." I pantomimed hugging a Dragonair around the neck and allowed sparks to fly from the Pichu's cheeks. "And then ZAP!"

Dragonair was silent for a moment. The silence was finally broken by a quiet chuckle, but the sound alarmed me. It wasn't a normal chuckle. There was no amusement in the sound, yet the Dratini's body shook with quiet laughter. "Oh, you have such a sense of humor," Dragonair said calmly. I blinked, taken aback. "Oh, you'll kill Sapphire?" the Dratini said. Then everything changed. His expression darkened considerably and a slight smirk flickered across his face.

_"Master..."_ Nightmare began, his telepathic tone sounding peculiarly nervous.

"You think you're so tough, don't you, you damned phantom?" Dragonair hissed, his tone dripping with venom. "You think everyone is just a little toy to be played with and discarded at will." The Dratini spat a beam of ice at point blank range and I countered quickly with a Light Screen, negating the attack. Dragonair chuckled. "You're mine, phantom," he whispered darkly.

I smirked, but the smirk faded as Dragonair's body glowed pure white. The serpentine body expanded in length and width, the white silhouette filling up much of the small space that we inhabited. Before I could move, the silhouette's tail curled around me, trapping the Pichu's arms to my sides. I heard Venom gasp in surprise. The white light faded to reveal the evolved Dragonair, who glared at me, his eyes filled with anger. I was stunned. Somehow...Dragonair's mind was locked. I couldn't read his thoughts.

"You put me through hell, Diablos," he snarled. "My friends have suffered because of you. The only one who hasn't is my mate and I'll make sure you never touch her."

"You can't stop-" I began.

"SHUT UP!" Dragonair raged, his coils constricting around the Pichu's waist, squeezing the air from my lungs. To my alarm, he spat an intense Flamethrower directly into my face. I shut my eyes against the intense heat of the fire and clenched my jaw. With a flick of my paw, I deflected the second half of the attack with a film of yellow light. Dragonair chuckled. "Burn in the flames of hell."

_"Master?"_ Nightmare gasped. _"Are you all right?"_

"Not for long," Dragonair said darkly. "And you're next, Nightmare. You'll all pay for my hell," he breathed. I could sense his energy gathering, but for what technique, I could not discern. The Pichu's nerves were burning with agony. That Flamethrower had been much stronger than any previous use of the technique the dragon had used in the past, but the pain was only a minor irritation. Pain mattered little to me.

"What'd I do?" Icicle whimpered. Dragonair smirked.

"You don't care for my life, Eevee. Why should I care for yours?" he asked. Volt stiffened.

"You wouldn't dare!" he snarled, his rings pulsing dangerously. Force cackled at the Umbreon's anger and Nightmare flinched. I was silent. The energy the dragon was gathering was reaching its peak and a strange feeling of anticipation and triumph was flowing through me.

"Let's find out," Dragonair replied coldly. The blue orb on his neck glowed and a wind stirred within the shrine, growing in intensity. Chaos whined in protest as several objects were blown from their resting places, including a small box containing Pokeballs and computer disks. They crashed to the ground and scattered. The aura orb's glow grew to a dangerous intensity and unleashed a wave of a pale blue energy. The pulse rippled and expanded, ripping easily through anything in its path. Rock pillars shattered apart, sending debris down upon the floor. Force grunted as a stone struck his head, but he didn't fall. The horn on Dragonair's forehead summoned an expanding sphere of energy, which rapidly expanded. Stray beams of light erupted from the sphere, striking various areas of the shrine and blasting holes through the structure.

So much power...and yet I knew this wasn't the worst of it. In the brief instant between the stray beams' firing and the corresponding event, I had realized just how much power and energy the dragon had managed to summon. Even my phantom form would not go unharmed in the blast; not in its current state. Giratina damn it all.

_"What is this?"_ Nightmare gasped as the blue beams erupting from Dragonair's horn seemed to form a web of destruction around the shrine. Everyone had realized at the same moment that we were trapped, ghost and living alike. Before Nightmare had even finished the sentence, a dome of the same blue energy was released from the dragon's core and expanded, engulfing the entire room.

More pain than I've ever felt in one host burned through me, not in the least aided by the Pichu's weakened form. I conjured every last ounce of energy I could from my phantom core to create a barrier between me and the draconic energy. The dragon's coils released me, but I was powerless to act upon the release. All my energy and focus was on defending me, so that even exiting the host was out of the question. The strain on my barrier was immense, demonstrating the absolute power the Dragonair had called forth. So great, but so uncontrolled and unfocused. I heard the sounds of the various devices in the room taking immense damage and blowing apart. I heard Nightmare's curse of pain, and the wail from the female Eevee. My barrier soon could no longer take the strain and it shattered apart, leaving the body exposed to the attack. The pain became too much for even me to endure and blackness soon followed, but not before I enjoyed a moment of triumph:

Finally...Dragonair's darkness had been released.


	252. Mood Clash

**Fast update.**

**Frost POV**

"Your record indicates that you will pose only a small challenge," I noted, watching the hovering grass type. Carnivine were known to be very dangerous foes, so I could not afford to let my guard down, grass type or not. If power or ability was judged by type advantage alone, I should be entirely ineffective against fire types. However, I had an impressive track record against various types with one fluke defeat. The mere thought that someone could count that loss against me was simply unfair. I had never been the type to want to create a professional career from my abilities, but I had attended one or two competitions in the past. A skilled battler that could make a name for him or herself was high in demand in some areas.

But...it was an empty lifestyle that was more showmanship than actual skill. It was debated whether battles were actually scripted to get the best reactions from the audience. The human entertainment industry was filled with such claims. Some species cared more about material wealth than honor or reputation. Such creatures disgusted me. Those who pretended to be skilled deserved to be crushed by someone who actually had abilities. Predators of the weak needed to be extinguished.

"This stadium brings so many delusions of grandeur, doesn't it, Frost?" Silver asked, his Carnivine mouth curled into a large grin. I scowled.

"Error: Daydreaming around an opponent enables sneak attacks," I muttered.

"Are you ready now, Frost? I want this match to be legit," Morph whispered. "I want to crush you when you're at the top of your game. For Zap."

"Oh, with motivation like that, you'll beat me for sure," I sneered. "At the height of my game, no one can beat me. Diablos himself doesn't mess with me under normal circumstances. So if your master can't do it, what makes you think you will?"

"The master does not understand what one can do with the proper motivation," Morph argued. "More specifically, he does not see love-"

"I don't particularly care, Morph. I know Diablos," I interrupted. "Now let's get on with this so I can take down the Flareon and wipe my loss off the record."

"As you wish," Morph responded. We eyes met for a split second and on that signal, the Carnivine extended a vine tendril towards me. Unrattled, I countered with a gust of air from my mouth. The chill of the Icy Wind froze several water molecules in the air and the fresh snow was carried along with the air and struck the vine with enough force to serve as a sudden barrier. Undeterred for long, the Carnivine spun rapidly and the vines coiled at the lower half of his body extended into long spears. I ducked under one, only to be slapped aside by another. I grunted and tumbled across the colosseum floor. Morph grinned and slapped another thorned vine towards me.

I rolled to my feet and hopped over the low vine and was rewarded with a slap to my spine by yet another vine. I grunted, my eyes widening in agony as my stomach was slammed into the thorns of the vine beneath me. Morph's vines entwined around me, driving the thorns in deeper and constricted. A second vine twisted around my throat but mercifully did not constrict. The Carnivine grinned widely.

"Looks like I win," Morph said gleefully.

"Error: Looks can be deceiving," I said, returning his grin. The Carnivine's expression changed to confusion. The vine around my throat constricted briefly. I kept my composure, even when the thorns digging into my pelt drove deeper. "Looks like Zapda's getting her lack-of-tail handed to her," I remarked, my eyes flicking towards the Jolteon and Umbreon. Morph's smile vanished and he turned towards the battling female Eons. To his puzzled surprise, neither female had an advantage.

"What do you-" he demanded, turning back towards me in time to get an Ice Beam to his face. He recoiled, and the vine around my body constricted tighter. I winced and jerked my head forward and bit at hard as I could at the vine connected to my neck. Morph instinctively jerked his vine away from my teeth, drawing the vine tighter around my throat. I gagged and the Carnivine smirked.

"Error: ..." I couldn't finish stating my error, due to the tightness of the vine, so I settled for freezing the air around me so that the moisture nearby chilled into shards of whirling ice. The vine around my neck was easily cut in two and I dropped to the ground, tugging the torn vine away as the vortex settled down. "Ahem. Error: Unreliable strategy. Perhaps you are better than I gave you credit for. Another error on my part."

"I could have killed you," Morph sneered.

"Unlikely," I answered smugly. "Error: Overconfident. A momentary advantage without any weight ceases to serve as one when it's lost."

"Hmm, perhaps not," the Carnivine relented, hovering overhead. "I hope you get back on your game."

"Don't worry about me," I answered, my tail flicking. "Now give me all you've got."

"As you wish," Morph said, his body glowing white. Moments later, a Flareon hovered where the Carnivine had, but the fire type promptly dropped to the ground, since it lacked the ability to levitate. "Now let's go."

"Error: Just because a Flareon bested me once doesn't mean another one can," I sneered. I'd show this cocky shape shifter how a real fight was done.

"I can!" the annoying Flareon called from the other side of the colosseum. I rolled my eyes and focused on Morph. This might be a good opportunity to show that idiot fire type just how good of a battler I really was. I'd hold nothing back. There was a reason my reputation preceded me.

I studied my opponent carefully, taking note of his stance...her stance, and also the eyes. Many battlers neglected to take note of such crucial details. The stance was often a good indicator of the next move and the eyes told even more information. Morph's mistake was that he had chosen an Eon, a specie I knew intimately well. No pun intended, of course. If he thought a type advantage was all that he needed to win, he was very mistaken. Oddly, he had chosen a female form, but unless he was concerned I'd fight dirty, I saw little logic to that choice. A female was not necessarily more powerful, although in some circumstances they were more aggressive. However, that factor was negligible in battle. So what was this shape shifter up to?

I blinked, part of my mind unlocking and recognizing the Flareon as a disturbingly beautiful specimen. The fur was fluffy, as was typical, and appeared painstakingly well-groomed. What most intrigued me was the style of grooming. It took me a moment to recognize, but I finally concluded that it had been slicked in the front. For this reason, I was momentarily perplexed. Most wild Pokémon were completely unable to reproduce such an effect without the aid of some sort of oil or, at the very least, an obsessive amount of attention and patience. My gaze flicked over the fire type with fascination. The Flareon had a near-flawless figure that surpassed even my pickiest standards and while I never applied such standards to the common Eon, holding even the dimmest candle to such a standard was an amazing accomplishment, but surpassing it without looking fake? The tail was additionally fluffy looking in part to the style of the rest of the grooming and it took several long moments to tear my gaze from it.

I quickly shook myself from my thoughts and subtly formed the beginning of a Water Pulse in my mouth. I kept my jaw mostly closed to conceal this detail and waited. I had a battle to focus on, and while I doubted Morph was impulsive, he had already demonstrated himself to be impatient in battle. I guessed it was because of Zapda's influence. Delaying too long around her would get you shocked. Sure enough, the Flareon opened her mouth and spat a very simple Flamethrower in my direction. I sidestepped the attack without effort and fired Ice Shards from my fur, maintaining the Water Pulse in my mouth for later. Morph ducked to the side to avoid the shards, which enabled me to rush towards her. Morph realized the danger just in time and spun on the spot, the Flareon's tail taking on a metallic sheen as it spun towards me.

I spun as well, my own tail glowing, although I chose to use Aqua Tail instead. Our tails collided, the impact cancelling out our respective energies and resulted in our tails coiled together. I shivered involuntarily at the warmth of the fire type's tail as the soft tendril embraced my own tail. Morph purred at the contact and I noticed her eyes glazed over, but they cleared up just as quickly. Oddly, the Flareon made no movement to break the contact between our tails and instead twitched the fluffy tail so that the tip lightly tickled mine. I raised an eyebrow, fighting to resist the impulse to shiver again. What the hell was Morph doing? I easily had come to the conclusion that the immensely attractive Flareon form was to distract me, something that I was used to opponents attempting, but was this behavior remotely necessary?

"Rumor has it you have a tail fetish," Morph murmured casually. I didn't bother responding to that comment. She giggled and stroked her tail across my side, the warmth of the tail sending a pleasant tingle down my spine. No, I couldn't afford to get distracted. I had a battle to win!

I clamped my mouth over the concealed Water Pulse orb and water rose up from the ground as a tidal wave, pulsing outwards from my body. With no room to dodge, the Flareon was pushed away from me by the water, soaking her fur. I smirked at her expression, only for the smirk to freeze as the Flareon's form glowed white. In a matter of moments, the Flareon had been replaced with a male Jolteon. This form was not particularly noteworthy, which ensured minimal distractions.

"Nice shot," Morph praised with a chuckle. He darted forward speedily and I watched him dismissively. He disappeared and reappeared a few feet to the left and continued charging me. I sat down calmly and licked a paw indifferently. From the corner of my eye, I saw the Jolteon disappear again. My ears twitched and I chuckled. With barely a moment of focus I released ice shards from my fur, firing them backwards. Morph yelped as he reappeared immediately behind me directly into the path of the shards. I spun around and spat a close range Ice Beam. To my disappointment, a yellow barrier appeared in front of the beam, negating the attack. I narrowed my eyes when I noticed Morph's confused expression. If he hadn't used Light Screen, then who...?

"Pay attention, Silver!" Zapda snapped, slamming her weight into me. Although I had been surprised by her sudden intervention, I shifted my weight to my side and rammed my shoulder towards her, right before the impact. The shift in balance turned my body into a momentary wall, catching the Jolteon completely by surprise. She grunted as my shoulder counteracted her tackle and threw her to the ground. I took a moment to pluck the Jolteon quill from my shoulder and tossed it aside.

Darkness hurried over and bit at Morph. He countered by releasing several quills from his fur, very similar to how I used Ice Shard. The Pin Missile struck the Umbreon in the chest and she recoiled with a snarl, her blue rings glowing dangerously. Zapda hissed at me and pushed herself back up. I smirked at her.

"You're way out of your league, Zapda darling," I cooed. She glared at me coldly. I shot a glance towards Dark when she brushed the quills from her fur with a swipe of her paw and I chuckled. "Why don't we settle this the intended way? Rather than a pair of simultaneous solo battles, we'll tag team."

"I'm up for that," Morph answered, walking over to Zapda and nuzzling her neck. She glared at him, but made no objection. I took a pace backwards and Dark walked over to my side, so that the respective teams were watching one another.

"Watch yourself, Dark," I murmured to my partner. She nodded irritably and assumed her regular battle stance. Zapda and Morph watched us carefully, the latter changing form again to a male Umbreon. Zapda hissed something in his ear and he twitched, but didn't answer. I smiled confidently. I had enough faith in my own and Dark's battle abilities so that this tag team match should go smoothly. There was simply no room for error. Now it was time to test our affinity once again.

Dark made the first move of releasing a ring of black energy from her body. Morph reacted by leaping in front of the wave, protecting Zapda from the Dark Pulse while taking the hit without great consequence. Dark growled quietly and I took note of the gentle pulsing of her rings. I responded to Morph's movement by launching a tri-colored beam of energy from my mouth. Zapda countered the attack with a Thunderbolt and Morph took the momentary distraction to lunge at me. Darkness snarled and tackled him half-way, but he shrugged her off easily and swiped a paw at my neck. I jerked backwards, but his swipe caught the pouch around my neck holding my supply of recovery berries. I mentally cursed the loss, but didn't linger on it for long.

"Knock Off is fun," Morph said gloatingly. I chuckled.

"Error, overconfident. For now that you're in range..." I completed my sentence by blowing a powerful wind from my mouth, the chill of the air creating snow and ice from the moisture so that the wind could propel the ice into the transformed Umbreon's face, no doubt numbing him in the process. "My Blizzard can deal impressive damage."

"For a short time only," Morph sputtered, shivering heavily. His body glowed white again and when it faded, the gorgeous Flareon was back, her fur no longer wet and the grooming back to its original state. "Much better," she purred.

I pivoted my body quickly and my tail glowed white before impacting with Zapda's face. The electric type recoiled and held a paw to her muzzle. Her fur bristled angrily and I smirked. "Error, sneak attacks are not to be relied upon."

"They work," Morph corrected, her voice immediately drawing my attention which gave me enough time to conjure my Hail vortex. Morph yelped and recoiled from the spiral, clutching a paw in pain. Zapda growled when the expanding storm pushed her aside roughly, creating several cuts along her side where the ice hit.

"Error, speaking before completing the attack enables a rapid counterattack," I chided. "This is especially true when attempting a sneak attack." As I spoke, several shard of ice rained down from the swirling storm and hit each Eon, including Darkness. She glared at me, but said nothing. I reluctantly allowed the storm to subside.

Morph took this opportunity to launch an enormous wave of fire in my direction, but I casually deflected it with my Mirror Coat. Had I managed to use this against that pesky Flareon, I'd still be undefeated, but no matter. Darkness muttered something and pointed to something off to the left. Zapda glanced over and looked back at Dark blankly, just in time to receive a quick blow to the face with a paw and then a head butt to the chest. I chuckled.

"Wow, Zapda is getting her lack of tail handed to her," I remarked, knowing full well that Morph would assume it was a trick.

"You didn't really think that'd work, did you, Frost?" Morph asked, rolling her eyes and biting fiercely at my neck. I jerked my paw up quickly and caught the fire type in the neck, knocking the wind from her. I spun quickly and struck her with my Aqua Tail technique. This attack was based on drawing the moisture from the air into the tail so that on impact the energy would be released as a burst of water. It was a simple technique to use, since my ice techniques already focused on manipulating air moisture. Morph gasped and recoiled, so I followed up with a series of star-shaped projectiles which the Flareon was slow in dodging. The force of said projectiles shoved the fire type off balance, giving me the time to dart forward and collide with her chest, hurling her to the ground.

Morph grunted as she tumbled across the ground. Her body glowed white once more and was replaced with a Leafeon form. The grass Eon extended two vines from the sprouts on her legs and used the ground as leverage to push herself up. Once again the shape shifter changed forms, this time to a male Vaporeon. I silently took note of his apparent preference for Eon shapes.

"You know, this battle is growing rather dull," I said, circling a paw on the ground idly. "You said you'd give me a challenge and I'm still waiting for one. Such a waste of my time. If you knew a thing about me, you'd know not to waste time with Eon forms. No Eon exceeds me, and certainly not that second-rate Flareon."

"Oh really?" Morph asked slyly and his form changed once again, this time into the shape of a female replica of me. I raised my eyebrow at him...her. Everything about the appearance was identical to me, save for being anatomically female and having a faintly more effeminate face, although it has been argued that Glaceon are absurdly effeminate looking. I personally don't know; I do not believe I look particularly effeminate and since Glaceon are peculiarly rare compared to the other six evolutions, I don't have much to judge by.

"I trust there is a reason you're imitating my body and gender bending it?" I asked.

"Seemed like fun," Morph answered with a sweet giggle. Her tail flicked alluringly, but I shook myself and smirked.

"Just because you're imitating me doesn't mean you have a chance to defeat me," I reminded her. I completed my sentence by lunging forward with the speed of Quick Attack. Before she could react, I plowed into the female doppelganger, tackling her to the ground. She rolled backwards, flinging me off, but I flipped in mid-air and landed gracefully. "Do your worst," I sneered.

"How's this?" Morph cooed and her eyes glowed a brilliant red, but I shook off the effects almost instantly.

"You're copying his form, Silver. He's so egotistical Attract probably LESSENS his attraction," Zapda snorted. Darkness growled and slashed the Jolteon with her claws, leaving long red marks down the electric type's side. Zapda's expression darkened.

"Ah crap," Morph sighed. I winced and nodded in agreement. Zapda slowly turned towards Darkness, who glared back, unintimidated.

"Bitch," Zapda hissed. The clouds above the colosseum darkened and ran began to fall down upon us. Morph winced and his shape transformed from a Glaceon to a Geodude, just as lightning flashed above us. The rain quickly evolved from a drizzle to practically a torrent, drenching my fur in moments. Darkness and Zapda ignored the rain, even as their fur became soaked, but Morph's form changed again, this time to a Golem, but he changed forms immediately afterwards into a Jolteon. The lightning overhead flickered brightly, lighting up the darkened stadium. The clouds had completely obscured the sunlight.

"I pity you," I told the male Jolteon beside me. Morph looked at me inquiringly. "You deal with this all the time, I bet."

"Pretty much, but look at the bright side," he answered with a grin. It was my turn to look at him inquiringly. "There are two females, soaking wet, and about to beat the hell out of each other during a rainstorm. And one of them's my mate and the other seems to be yours. Truce until it's over?" he asked, offering a paw.

"Fair enough," I agreed, clasping his paw for an instant before turning my attention to the agitated females. Darkness was growling furiously, her blue rings flashing as she glared at the sparking Jolteon. Both of them seemed to have forgotten that anyone else was around. In my eyes, this was an even situation. The darkness cast by the clouds gave Dark superior vision, but the storm itself would cause Dark hell with Zapda's lightning obsession.

Zapda snarled and a large bolt of lightning came down from above. Darkness dove forward to avoid, only to get struck by a massive bolt that fired from the Jolteon's fur. She cried out and tumbled across the ground, twitching in pain. Zapda purred and her fur crackled loudly, sending sparks from the quills. Despite the nasty shock, Dark pushed herself up, her eyes narrowed in anger. She quickly spat a rapid succession of Shadow Balls, but Zapda negated them all with a single Thunder Wave. Aided by the rain, Zapda's electric attacks were stronger and more wide spreading than ever.

Darkness snarled and swiped a paw at the Jolteon, but Zapda responded by tackling the Umbreon in the chest, knocking her over onto her back. Morph's fur crackled with electricity, which I doubted had anything to do with the rain. Darkness jerked her head forward to ram the Jolteon, but Zapda smacked her forcefully with a paw. Darkness whimpered, but she was powerless to do anything else. Zapda smirked and the clouds over head flashed brightly.

"That's enough! Stop!" another voice suddenly shouted and almost instantly the clouds parted, blinding us all with intense sunlight. Zapda recoiled, one paw shielding her eyes as she stumbled away from the fallen Umbreon. The four of us turned around to face the owner of the voice. Lexa was glaring at the four of us, Luthor looking on calmly.

"What?" Zapda spat.

"If you use a Thunder in those conditions, you could hurt or kill anyone here. These matches are NOT death matches!" the female Leafeon snapped.

"Now finish your match," Luthor agreed. Zapda seethed, which drew a concerned look from Morph.

"Very well," the shape shifter said and the Jolteon glowed white yet again, emerging moments later as the same Flareon he had used twice already. She promptly rubbed against my side, startling me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I demanded, the effect of the commanding tone unfortunately diminished by the fact that I was openly gawking at the shape shifter's form. Morph laughed, the sound gentle and almost musical; very pleasing to the ear. Damn, he's good.

"Like it?" she taunted. "I picked this up in Hoenn a while back." I was about to reply when a loud snarl rose up from the right side of the colosseum.

"STOP DROOLING!" the female Flareon practically shrieked, sinking her teeth into the male Flareon's ear. He snarled just as loudly and gave her a forceful shove away from him.

"STOP BITING ME!" He growled. Morph and I exchanged bemused glances and turned to watch. Zapda and Darkness showed no reaction to the shouts; they were glaring at each other, but keeping their distance.

"Whoa, calm down," the Vaporeon, Aura, said quickly, placing a paw on Blaze's shoulder, but he brushed it off irritably. Aura frowned and was about to speak again, but was cut off by the angered Flareon female.

"You shut up and stay out of this!" she spat at Aura, who flinched.

"Leave Aura out of this," Blaze growled quietly. The Vaporeon blinked and looked conflicted. Crystal narrowed her eyes.

"Then she should STAY out of this, the stupid..." Crystal's eye twitched, clearly unable to find the right word to call the water Eon. She snarled and glared at Blaze. "You're MY mate, damn it! Stop staring at other females!"

"Maybe if you didn't bite me so often, I wouldn't WANT to!" Blaze retorted. Morph choked back a laugh while I smirked. Crystal's eyes narrowed with rage. "Go ahead, hit me again," Blaze growled, his fur bristling.

"Calm down," Aura pleaded again, but Blaze shook his head. Crystal glared at Aura.

"Shut up!" she yelled, spitting a burst of fire at the Vaporeon, but Blaze intercepted it. His eyes narrowed at Crystal.

"Do you even listen to me?!" he shouted at her. "I told you to leave her alone!"

"She should mind her own business!" Crystal growled.

"Ahem. As much as I'd like to stay," Morph said, shape shifting into his Furret shape and slinking over to the agitated Jolteon female. "Zapda's not doing very well, so she needs to rest," he said, rubbing his paws over her shoulders. Zapda shivered, but didn't protest.

"This isn't over, Frost," she hissed at me. I shrugged indifferently. Lexa raised an eyebrow.

"You're forfeiting?" she asked. The Furret nodded and changed form again, this time into an Espeon. Lexa tilted her head, but nodded. I can only assume the remainder of the conversation had been telepathic, since she whispered something to Luthor immediately after Morph teleported with Zapda.

"What's your problem?!" Crystal snapped at Blaze. I exchanged a puzzled look with Dark, but she shrugged.

"I'm sick of it!" Blaze snapped. Crystal blinked. Blaze's expression became colder and his tone was harsh, but quiet. "I'm so sick of it. When we first met, I thought you were nice. I thought you liked me. But you don't."

"What? I do too!" Crystal protested, looking a little hurt.

"No. To you, I'm just a toy. Disposable. You don't want me for who I am. You're a shallow female whose primary interest is a kit," Blaze said with a faint scowl.

"But Blaze..." Crystal began. Blaze stopped and looked at her. She twitched a little under his gaze. "I do like you."

"No, you don't!" Blaze contradicted, sounding frustrated. "If you liked me, you wouldn't hurt me the way you do. If you liked me, you wouldn't push me around! You don't listen to me, you don't know what I want and I don't think you care how I feel at all!"

"What do you want?" Crystal asked pleadingly. Blaze looked at her a bit coldly.

"I wish you'd have listened to me before. Go away," he said and turned his back to her. She blinked at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Why are you with me in the first place, Crystal?" he asked quietly, not looking at her.

"Blaze," she pleaded. Aura looked between the two Flareon uncomfortably.

"What do you want from me, Crystal? I have never gotten the feeling you actually like me for who I am. Never got the feeling you care for my feelings. You're always trying to make me do what you want and if I mess up even a little, you hurt me," Blaze said. He suddenly choked back a sob. "Mates shouldn't hurt each other like that!" he suddenly whirled around and pointed a paw towards the Leafeon couple and shouted in a slightly cracked tone, "Luthor! Do you or Lexa hurt each other? Do you?!"

"No," Luthor answered, looking thrown by the question. Lexa stared.

"No," she agreed. Blaze glared at Crystal.

"You hurt me. You hurt me all the time. Even a jerk like Luthor doesn't hurt his mate. Go away. I don't want you near me anymore. You're not fit to be my mate."

"But..."

"NOW!" Blaze snarled. Crystal recoiled several paces.

"I...I..." she stammered, and then turned and ran outside, her expression devastated. Blaze closed his eyes and put his face in his paw.

"...does that mean your team forfeits, too?" Luthor asked the Flareon. I scowled.

"Give him some time, Leafeon," I sneered. "And the Vaporeon can take her place if needed. I've faced them as a tag team before." Luthor shrugged, but relented when Lexa placed a paw on his neck. I turned around and began walking towards the entrance of the colosseum.

"Where are you going, Frost?" Dark asked, looking puzzled.

"I have something to take care of," I said, scooping up the dropped pouch that Morph had knocked off me. "I shouldn't be too long. Remain here. I'll be back."

"But..."

"I don't feel like leaving the Flareon all distressed. I'm sure you can relate," I said firmly. She sighed quietly, but nodded. I licked her cheek and continued past her, letting my tail touch her neck as I passed. She was my closest friend, so I doubted she interpreted my mild flirting with her to be overly significant. Then again, I knew she was interested now that she was done with Shadow. Such pointless conflict. She knew more about me than anyone, so she should know how I felt about her. I brushed these thoughts aside once I outside to focus on my course of action. It took me no time at all to deduce the Flareon's path and I followed the trail at a leisurely pace. While Leaf was supposedly very skilled at talking to people, he was useless for romance and breakups. That talent belonged to me.


	253. Stage Three: Fitting In

**Ember POV**

I took my time finding our way back to the training room. Leaf likewise didn't seem in any hurry, but he did take the time to study the hallways carefully. I remembered that part of our plan of staying here was to find the area where Leaf could get whatever information he wanted, but I insisted that we don't wander from the obvious path too soon, else we'd look out of place, new or otherwise.

"But once we get adjusted, wouldn't it just look worse if we get seen in a restricted area?" Leaf asked, which I had to admit was a good point, but the Leafeon didn't press the subject further.

"Why do you want to find this information anyway?" I asked, but he shook his head quickly and nodded towards a Pokémon walking towards us from the other side of the hallway. I dropped the subject. We were getting close to the room we had gone to shortly after arriving and I doubted we'd have any time to discuss the reasons behind this venture. I wasn't going to let him get away without ever answering, especially since he practically forced me to talk about my personal life, including my mom. I...didn't like talking about that.

"Here we are," Leaf whispered and I nodded, fully aware of our location. The Leafeon blushed when several Pokémon glanced towards us, many of them doing double takes at the sight of the leash around his neck. I could see some humans standing or sitting off to the sides of the room, some of them sipping from white cups while watching some of the battles that were going on. I frowned, starting to feel a little self-conscious. I don't recall training sessions being watched by Rockets back at the bases I've been in, but then again I trained more in my room or outdoors than in those rooms, where it'd be more isolated, except in cases where I wanted a sparring partner.

My gaze soon fell on the large water pool where Amethyst was positioned. Unlike the previous evening, the pool was also occupied by several species of water Pokémon. Leaf suddenly stopped walking, which I didn't notice until the leash reached its maximum length, jolting me from my thoughts. I turned back and stared at the grass Eon. "What?" I asked him.

"I want to use this," he answered, moving towards a treadmill. I sighed, but walked nearer to the treadmill to keep from tugging him constantly. "I might need you to take that off," he told me, nodding towards the leash handle. With a growl of annoyance, I stepped over to him and undid the loop, removing it from his neck. He either chose to ignore my irritation or was unbothered by it.

"Do you even know how...never mind," I grumbled, trailing off when he started the machine. I never really cared for using the conveyer belt method for exercising. It seemed really inefficient to me and I much preferred walking outdoors or around the building to get a better taste for different terrain and scenarios.

"I think Shadow uses one at a slow speed," Leaf said. It took me a few seconds to realize who he was talking about, but I nodded to show I understood. Leaf adjusted something with his paw and picked up his pace a little bit. I silently admired how controlled his breathing was, even while walking at such a brisk speed.

"Why do you think that?" I asked, studying my claws and flexing them.

"Because he's got to have some way to keep his legs in shape and we had a treadmill back at our old living area," the Leafeon responded cheerily.

"Where did you used to live?" I asked, feeling confused at the mental images I had conjured at his words. I didn't see how a treadmill, which required electricity, would work in the wild.

"An old building," he answered, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was close enough to be listening in on our conversation. "I...think it got destroyed though. Nice place...I pretty much grew up there for half my life."

"Oh," I said awkwardly. We fell silent, except for the whine of the treadmill. After several minutes, I grew bored and began looking around, sizing up a few of the Pokémon nearby. Most of them were sparring amongst themselves, but I was looking more for another claw battler. I can handle myself just fine against distance or close combat opponents, but I suppose other claw battlers are just more challenging. It's more of a battle of wits than speed or strength alone. Claw combat isn't just blocking or dodging and then striking; it also requires the fighter to keep focused and to know when taking a hit is better than blocking or dodging.

A sudden loud splash in the pool caught my attention and I hastily moved just in time to avoid a splash of water that almost doused my tail flame. With a slight growl, I glared towards the pool, intent on chewing out the offending Machoke that seemed to be struggling out of the water. Leaf hopped off the treadmill, disconnecting a small cord that was attached to him, which I knew was a safety feature to deactivate the treadmill belt in case the runner slipped (having seen it in action several times). He stepped up beside me and spoke to me soothingly, calming my immediate temper.

"Who's next?" a voice called, followed by a cracking sound as the speaker slammed its four rocky arms together challengingly. I flinched upon seeing the Graveler. It seemed so familiar...but I couldn't be sure. Most rock types were difficult to distinguish from others, more so when I barely ever saw other Pokémon during my earlier years. I looked over at the side of the room and cursed under my breath when I spotted the vaguely familiar scientist we had seen back in the labs where Spark's parents had been. If it weren't for the memory jog from seeing the Graveler, I probably never would have recognized him.

"What's this?" Leaf asked, his voice carrying over the din of the other Pokémon in the room. The four-armed boulder turned towards us and grinned at Leaf.

"New guy?" it asked, chuckling in a raspy tone. The lower arms pounded their fists together while the upper two beckoned Leaf closer tauntingly. The Leafeon hesitated and the Graveler chuckled. "Can't blame you if you're scared. I beat all them," it said, gesturing to the unconscious forms of several Pokémon of varying species, including the Machoke near the pool. Even at a glance I could see many injuries upon the defeated Pokémon's bodies.

"I'm not scared," Leaf answered. The Graveler smirked.

"Then step right up, new guy," it taunted. Leaf shrugged and stepped forward, looking oddly eager for someone who had been challenged by someone who had beaten some tough looking Pokémon earlier.

"All right. I wanted to play with this new strategy anyway," he muttered. The rock type chuckled as Leaf stepped into the space marking the miniature sparring zone. I walked over to the side so that I could watch without being in much danger of getting hit.

"Ready, new guy?" the Graveler called loudly, attracting the attention of several other Rocket Pokémon. From the corner of my eye, I saw that Dr. Gravel, the Graveler's owner, had a pencil in his hand and was jotting down notes while keeping his gaze trained on his Pokémon. The Graveler wasted no time and launched itself towards Leaf. At the last moment, Leaf darted to the side and the leaf end of his tail glowed blue as he flicked it excitedly. For a moment I thought he was going to attack with the tail, like Leaf Blade, but was surprised when he did not.

The Graveler turned and leapt towards the Leafeon, two fists pulled back to punch. Leaf's tail never ceased its dance-like twitch, even as he rolled underneath the rock Pokémon's fists. The Graveler spun around immediately after landing and curled into a ball to charge at the grass type. Leaf grunted as the living boulder collided with him and he tumbled limply across the ground. The blue glow had spread from his tail and his entire body shown with an electric blue aura. The glow grew in intensity as the Leafeon resumed the twitching of his tail. Graveler had only just now noticed the change and looked momentarily perplexed.

"Take this!" Leaf said, unleashing several sharp leaves from his body. To my alarm, the leaves were surrounded by the same blue glow the rest of his body was. The Graveler only had enough time to raise his bulky arms to defend his eyes before the leaves struck. I heard several gasps of shock as the leaves cut easily into the rock and stuck. The rock type recoiled and looked surprisingly pained for a Pokémon made of stone.

"How?!" the rock type demanded.

"Swords Dance," Leaf answered, disappearing in a blur of motion. The Graveler only had time to realize his opponent had vanished before the Leafeon landed behind him, spinning around and slashing the rock type across the back with his tail, leaving a brief gash of green energy across the boulder. The Graveler gasped and crashed to the ground. There was a collective gasp of awe from those watching the battle.

"Graveler is unable to continue," a stunned Houndour breathed. "The Leafeon wins."

This announcement was followed by several murmurs of disbelief. Leaf blushed a little and walked back towards me, looking embarrassed. I smirked and rubbed his ears. He jumped slightly at the contact and gave me a strange look. I continued rubbing him gently behind the ears until he relaxed, purring quietly. I smirked behind his back. Reading up on the Eon line with that breeder's book had been an interesting investment. He had mentioned he wasn't interested in me romantically, so I wasn't going to press that issue, but while here and using the cover of us being mates, a little flirting and affection was a good idea.

"Nice one, handsome," the Houndour said, walking nearer to Leaf. I growled at her and she frowned at me. Leaf glanced between me and her nervously. "Yes, Charmander?" the Houndour asked politely.

"Don't call him handsome," I growled quietly.

"Y-yeah, I'm taken already," Leaf said and then added in a low whisper, "Jealous clingy type."

"You don't seem singed," the Houndour remarked, looking him over critically. "She must not cuddle much." The dark type raised her eyes to mine, a hint of a smirk on her face. "I thought Charmander liked wrapping their tail around their mates. Especially if he or she is supposedly the jealous clingy type."

"I'll show you a jealous clingy type!" I snapped, baring my claws.

"Calm down," Leaf urged, plucking something from his fur and blowing into it. A soothing tune sounded and I paused, listening to the faint melody for a few seconds. It was very pleasant to listen to and I felt a little drowsy, as if the music was drawing me in. It wasn't until Leaf stopped that I realized how my breathing had slowed to match the speed of the tune. A similar effect seemed to have come over the Houndour, but I didn't have much time to reflect on this before Leaf gently nudged me in the small of my back.

"Hm?" I grunted.

"Come on," he said, walking forward a few paces and looking back at me to be sure I was following. I blinked, but followed him out of the room. On the way, I glanced at the scientist who was inspecting his fallen Graveler. Fortunately, he didn't seem to have noticed or recognized me.

"I don't think we're supposed to leave yet," I hissed to the Leafeon, but he shrugged.

"If we're allowed to wander the building freely, it shouldn't really matter much. Besides, I don't like the staring," Leaf responded. I sighed, but didn't bother objecting further. I didn't really want to train with others watching, anyway.

"So where are we going?" I asked him, gazing around the boring white corridor. Leaf shrugged and continued walking. I picked up my pace when I noticed I was lagging behind him. This was why he should be wearing the leash; so he couldn't get away from me. Unfortunately, I immediately realized that I had dropped the leash back in the training room and I doubted the Leafeon was willing to go back to get it, so I'd have to just make do.

"Maybe we could explore a little," Leaf suggested, nodding politely to a passing Persian, who looked rather surprised by the acknowledgement, but hurried on without a word.

"Anywhere in particular to look first?" I pressed, wishing for a more extensive response. I expected these sort of vague statements from Dragonair, but found them irritating from the otherwise talkative Leafeon.

"What's here?" Leaf asked distractedly, peering through an open doorway, but he continued onwards without much more than a moment's pause. I scowled, but walked after him. He stopped at a few other doorways, but pressed on. Along the way we passed several uniformed humans, many of which only gave us a passing glance, but others watched us until we turned a corner, which meant we turned a corner at the first possible moment.

"All these Mew damned corridors look the same!" I growled after what felt like an hour of walking aimlessly. Leaf suddenly halted and I bumped into him. "What is it?" I demanded.

"This looks different," he answered, nudging a door with his head and it opened, leading into a brightly-lit room, in sharp contrast to the other rooms he had peered into. I walked into the room and looked around.

"This looks like a..." I trailed off and shivered slightly. Leaf noticed the reaction and gave me an inquisitive look. "It's nothing," I said quickly.

"No really, what?" he asked. "It might be important."

"It's not," I assured him, but he growled. No, he actually _growled_ at me.

"Stop being difficult," he said seriously. I stared at him.

"It's...just where Rockets test their Pokémon against others. It's...like a simulation," I answered awkwardly. I didn't see a need to explain that some of the worst times of my Rocket career involved being beaten again and again in this type of room.

"That it?" Leaf asked, frowning slightly. "Doesn't seem that hard to explain."

"I know," I grumbled, turning towards the door again. "Can we just go?"

"No, don't go yet," a voice called from the rear of the room and I froze, my tail flame flaring up to counteract the chill that ran down my spine. That voice...Mew damn it...

"Hello," Leaf said pleasantly and I whirled on the Leafeon.

"Don't talk to him!" I snapped. Leaf gave me an alarmed look, which only intensified when I bared my claws, which instantly took on the purple flame aura, but that dissipated after a few moments.

"Why not?" Leaf whispered.

"Hello Charmander," the voice said and I glared at the speaker as it oozed into view. Very little had changed from the last time I had seen the Slugma, but the mere sight of him filled with a surge of hatred. The fire slug was roughly the same size as me, with its entire body composed of a fiery semi-liquid. Its yellow eyes were alight with amusement as it stared at the two of us and it had two flames on the top of its head that were ear-like in shape.

"Flare," I growled, flexing my claws. Leaf looked confused.

"I'm going to get caught between a lot of fights between fire types, aren't I?" he muttered to himself, but neither the Slugma nor I paid him any attention.

"Do I know you?" the Slugma asked, a smirk tugging at his face. My eye twitched as the fire slug looked me over. "Nope, definitely don't know you."

"You know me!" I spat.

"Do I? You think I'd remember," Flare continued nonchalantly.

"You're not funny!" I growled, flexing my claws.

"Was I making a joke?" Flare asked. "I have an excellent memory for others, especially those who've been to my parties."

My eyes narrowed angrily and I struggled to contain my boiling temper. "You never invited me," I seethed. "Even when Dragonair TOLD you to."

"I invited everyone who mattered," Flare contradicted.

"I hate you, Flare," I whispered coldly.

"Oh wait, you're the Charmander who LOVED me," Flare snickered.

"Why?" I asked weakly.

"I wondered the same thing. Why did she think I'd want to be anywhere near her?" Flare agreed. I growled at his casual tone.

"Why did you exclude me the way you did, Flare? I never did anything to you," I demanded. Flare scowled

"Because...you were Dragonair's little pet!" he said, his eyes suddenly filled with anger. "You were his favorite! You think he showed that degree of favoritism to anyone else?! Do you think a useless Charmander like you deserved that?! Do you think that dragon was just like everyone else?"

"What?"

"Dragonair was favored! He had more weight with the higher ups than you ever knew, you undeserving lizard!" Flare spat. "He overlooked almost all the more deserving Pokémon in favor of you, a weak little Charmander. That Dratini showered perks and privileges upon you and never gave us a second glance!"

"Then you should have taken it up with him, rather than take it out on me, you jealous bastard!" I snarled.

"No one would have liked you much, anyway," Flare jeered. "First rule of being a Rocket. Gain favor by stabbing others in the back. So I brought you down and look where I am now. I'm Amethyst's favored and you're where you belong: at the bottom of the chain."

"You ruined my life!" I raged. "You gutless little slug, you...you..."

"I don't care," Flare answered. I snarled and readied my claws, admiring the purple fire that engulfed them.

"I'll make you care," I growled. "After what you did to me, it's the least I can do to repay you for ruining my life!"

"You think a battler of your caliber stands a chance against Amethyst's favored? So be it. Let's see which serpentine executive selected the strongest favorite," Flare taunted.


	254. Flaring Embers

"Is this necessary?" Leaf asked doubtfully. "I mean, what will it prove?"

"Really don't need your input, Leaf," I growled, flexing my claws. Flare smirked, but didn't say anything. "This is my fight," I added, narrowing my eyes at the Slugma.

"Then step right up, Charmander," Flare taunted, sliding towards the designated location on that side of the training field. I stepped over to the appropriate position, the claws on my feet clicking lightly against the reflective blue tiles that made this room stand out from the white that was present throughout the entire rest of the base. I took note that the walls and ceiling matched this color, making for a well needed change.

I seethed quietly, preparing to begin the battle as soon as possible. It was difficult to decide which emotions I felt or why, but the reunion with the Slugma had brought up some of the most unpleasant feelings that had been buried for months. Now I remembered how large of an impact the damn fire slug had had on my life! Now I realized that almost everything that could have made my life tolerable in my earlier Rocket days didn't happen because of him. If it weren't for Dragonair, I'd have been all alone all my life. He helped me get by in the tougher days until this Slugma conspired to ruin me. And now I learn he did it because of Dragonair treating me better than others? Flare had maliciously excluded me out of spite and jealousy? Because Dragonair didn't treat me like everyone else did?

My tail flame flared up in anger. As if that was the signal for me to begin, I clenched my fists and then darted forward, baring my claws and driving them into the Slugma's stupid face. I grunted as my claws impacted with something sooner than I expected and I recoiled, staring at the blue barrier that had formed.

"Reflect?" I growled, spitting a small fireball towards the screen. A yellow film of light appeared in front of the blue barrier, likewise negating my fire attack. After a moment's hesitation, I thrust my paw towards the barriers. Flare didn't flinch until my paw glowed, but even then he only had time to blink before my Brick Break shattered the barriers effortlessly and slammed into his face. His head jerked back with a satisfying splat, but he recovered quickly.

"Nice trick, Charmander," Flare grunted, but then chuckled. "Let me show you mine."

Was it my imagination, or was the air around the Slugma's body getting warmer? At first, it was almost unnoticeable because I was an agitated fire type, but soon the change in heat seemed surprisingly drastic. I could actually see and feel the heat waves rising from the magma body. The temperature continued to rise, which began giving me a light-headed feeling. Leaf whined in protest, but I was focused more on dispelling the dizziness that threatened to overcome me. I shook my head and blinked several times. Flare smirked and belched a small, dense cloud of gray smoke from his mouth. I recoiled when the smoke hit my face and gagged, abruptly feeling sick to my stomach. My eyes watered and I had to blink several times to clear the irritation from them. The heat in the air was becoming increasingly uncomfortable, even for me, and I was feeling more lightheaded than ever.

Flare lifted a portion of his lower half off the ground and then dropped down again, his body taking on a yellow glow. The ground beneath him glowed and a golden crack in the tiles appeared, extending from the Slugma's location towards me. It took me too long to realize what was happening and soon the crack was at my feet. I looked down and cried out when yellow light erupted from the ground, throwing me backwards. I winced as I landed on my back and I cushioned my head with one paw. Leaf hurried over.

"Are you all right?" he asked me worriedly, but I didn't answer. The room seemed to be spinning and I just couldn't think straight. "Can you get up?" Leaf asked. I grumbled and slowly sat up and crawled to my feet. "You don't have to continue this fight, Ember," Leaf pleaded, but I brushed him aside.

"Won't even stay down, you second-rate lizard?" Flare taunted. I growled and narrowed my eyes when Flare began doing something that strongly resembled a victory dance (it's really hard to tell with a magma slug). "Can't touch this," he jeered in an arrogant tone and then hummed an obnoxious tune. "Can't touch this," he said again.

My eye twitched and I lunged at the slug, my claws taking on the blue fire aura of Dragon Claw. Flare's body shimmered with a metallic gleam just as I drove my claws as forcefully as I could into what made up the Slugma's throat. It felt like punching my claws into a steel door. My eyes widened and I shouted in pain, clutching my injured paw with my left paw. Flare snickered.

"Couldn't touch this," he gloated again, jerking his head forward tauntingly. His swagger fueled my borderline rage and I drove my left paw into his face, only to once again meet the sensation of punching metal. "Ooh, couldn't touch this," the Slugma repeated his taunt, followed by humming the tune again.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed and shoved the pain aside and punched my claws furiously into the Slugma as hard and often as I could, but the metallic gleam to his body reappeared, adding to the overall shininess of his body. After four blows, I heard a cracking sound in my left paw and I yelled in agony. It was nightmarish pain like nothing I had ever felt before. I grasped at my paw, my teeth clenched to keep myself from screaming. "You...cheap bastard!" I hissed, seething with rage.

"Cheap?" Flare repeated, sounding smugly incredulous. "I battle to win, Charmander."

"Oh come on, it's crossing the line when someone gets hurt," Leaf complained, peering at my injured paw. I flinched, unaware that he was that close to me. The Leafeon gently lifted my paw and studied it, and I took note of the fact he didn't apply any pressure to the injured paw.

"I disagree," Flare replied. "Holding back doesn't benefit you one farthing."

"That's why Dragonair doesn't like you," I spat. The Slugma's eyes narrowed.

"Why would he have chosen a pathetic lizard over someone with actual potential that doesn't hold back?" he challenged.

"Because you have no honor, you spiteful slug," I seethed.

"Honor?" Flare laughed. "We're Rocket Pokémon, Charmander. What good is honor when cops invade a base with a warrant to use force, or even without one? What good is honor in a fight where the only outcome to failure is death or imprisonment? View all fights under this light and there's the motivation to hold nothing back!"

"And when others get hurt?" Leaf demanded. Flare's eyes flicked over to the Leafeon.

"That's when they surrender or risk further injury to continue. If one dies because of pushing themselves too far, it doesn't matter," he answered simply. Leaf stared at him, which seemed to amuse the fire slug.

"Is that…likely?" Leaf asked tentatively. I noticed that he was shifting his weight uncomfortably, likely due to the heat waves radiating from Flare's body.

"No, usually just severe hospitalization, like the Charmander will need," Flare answered. I snarled and slashed my uninjured paw across his face. The Slugma was slow in responding and he winced as brief gashes appeared across his face. "Recover," he muttered and his body glowed briefly. As I watched, the gashes were filled in by fresh molten fire and he smirked at my expression.

"Damn it," I hissed, slamming a glowing fist at his face. I yelped as the blue barrier reformed in front of him, blocking my Mega Punch.

"Ember, don't hurt yourself more," Leaf pleaded. From the corner of my eye I saw that his tail was flicking the same way it had been while he had been fighting the Graveler, but I dismissed this as irrelevant.

"She's just mad because she...can't touch this," Flare jeered, resuming his victory squirm and humming. Leaf's ear twitched irritably, but he didn't otherwise react. "She's so weak that she...nuh nuh, nuh nuh nuh, can't touch-" he was cut off by me stabbing at him with a Shadow Claw, but the Reflect barrier again stopped me from connecting with his annoying face.

"Knock it off," Leaf growled.

"Who?" Flare asked politely, but the glint in his eye was plainly from malicious amusement, the jerk.

"Both of you!" Leaf insisted. "This isn't so big of a deal that fighting like this is required, is it?"

"Tail out, Weed-boy," Flare snapped, his eyes filling with anger once again. "I've been overlooked for years because of this pampered reptile!" His yellow eyes glared at me. "That time has passed, Charmander, and damned if I let you push your way into favor when you don't deserve it, you pathetic little..." Flare's eye twitched and he exhaled. A burst of fire exploded from his mouth and expanded into a stick-figure human shape. I only had time for my eyes to widen before I was encompassed by the massive inferno. The heat was beyond any fire I had ever experienced before and even with my fireproof scales I felt the burning sensation of the flames licking at me.

Then as quickly as it had come, it was gone and I fell to one knee, gasping for air. The fire had consumed almost all the oxygen around me and the attack had forced most of my air from my lungs as it was. My scales tingled painfully, but I ignored it in favor of trying to breathe. My right paw clutched my stomach as I fought the wave of nausea. My lightheaded feeling had returned and I closed my eyes to re-orient myself.

"Hey!" Leaf shouted, prompting me to open one eye. The Leafeon was glaring fiercely at the Slugma. "That was low!"

"Rocket," Flare replied. Leaf's eyes narrowed and he flicked his tail, his expression focused. As I watched the blue glow around his body faded and gathered into one single, pulsing sphere of blue light.

"Ember, take this," the Leafeon said, flicking his tail and propelling the sphere towards me. I blinked uncertainly as the blue orb touched me and I flinched, expecting pain, but instead felt a sudden surge in power and warmth. The orb expanded to encompass my body and my tail flame flared up. Flare looked puzzled, but I knew what to do. Without a second thought, I lunged at Flare and punched, my paw glowing in time to shatter the Reflect effortlessly. Once that was accomplished, I opened my paw and unsheathed my claws, focusing on the draconic energy inside me. I purred briefly as my claws took on the blue fire of Dragon Claw. I was briefly surprised, but not displeased when my claws cut through the Slugma's metallic sheen without any effort and continued into his magma body.

Flare yelled and recoiled from my claws, his eyes wide with shock. "How?!" he demanded, looking panicked.

"Triple Swords Dance," Leaf answered with a growl. "And Baton Pass."

"You're not even in this fight!" Flare snapped. "Don't interfere!"

"Rocket," I replied with a smirk, taking a moment to savor the irony before pulling my paw back for a second strike.

"We'll see about that," Flare hissed, belching a cloud of black smoke into my face. I coughed and my stomach heaved, dropping me to my knee again. "Game over, Charmander," Flare sneered from behind the veil of black smoke. I was too busy fighting the urge to vomit to even try to react as a crack extended from the smokescreen until it reached me. I closed my eyes and felt the sting of the energy eruption and the dull pain as I hit the ground, but afterwards I felt nothing at all.


	255. Frosted Intermission

**Frost POV**

Once it became clear that I was not about to lose the trail of the Flareon, I paused to take inventory of the berries I carried in the berry pouch. I kept my cell phone in a side pocket of the pouch, so as not to be grabbed in place of a berry at a critical moment. Following the destruction of our old headquarters, I had neglected to replenish my supply. From the outside, this pouch seemed too small to carry too many berries, but it operated with the same basic technology of a Pokeball, where the contents were miniaturized for easier storage. Nevertheless, the pouch held at least one Cheri, Pecha, and Lum berry, as well as a bunch of small Oran and Sitrus berries. Despite the mildly intoxicating qualities of the latter berries, they were excellent for medicinal use if I couldn't afford to wait for Wish. The others were to relieve troublesome status conditions that might thwart me.

I re-tied the pouch around my neck and continued, increasing my pace marginally. Surely by now the Flareon had found somewhere to stop and either regain her composure or become emotional in private. Some might say it was best to let one be alone during that time, but I disagreed, at least in this case. From experience, I determined that in circumstances such as these, being alone was one of the worst ways to handle distress. Exceptions existed, as is natural; exceptions always exist.

The path I walked upon soon ended, expanding outwards to a dense clearing of trees surrounding a gentle stream. I had seen this place before, but dismissed the brief memory. Nothing of consequence had occurred here then and I saw no reason to waste energy reminiscing. It took me no time at all to spot the female Flareon by the stream. She was lying down with her tail wrapped around tightly herself. I slowly stepped nearer, clearing my throat softly to announce my presence. The Flareon flinched and turned towards me, scowling when she saw me. I was unfazed by this reaction and continued my approach, veering to the left to create a comfortable distance between us. Without a word I took a drink from the stream. Once my thirst had been satisfied, I lifted my head and gazed around our surroundings.

"Lovely place, isn't it?" I remarked casually, gesturing broadly. The Flareon silently followed my gaze and shrugged irritably. "Even nicer after a rainfall...the trees glisten in the sunlight and the air is so fragrant and fresh."

"Well it's not after a rainfall," the Flareon replied snippily. I chuckled.

"Touché," I answered and tapped into a familiar source of power within, but took care to keep the surrounding temperature warmer than normal. The clouds overhead darkened a fraction and gentle drops of rain fell from them. Crystal blinked when a drop landed on her nose. "But perhaps you'd be inclined to witness this beauty if it can be called upon at will."

"How are you doing that?" she demanded, glaring at the sky.

"Rain Dance, naturally," I answered. "Not as powerful as Zap's and so rarely called upon, but nevertheless mastered. A skilled battler can make use of all conditions."

"Make it stop," Crystal growled, swatting at her ear when another drop hit her. I nodded and focused on manipulating the air temperature, balancing out the temperature change I had utilized to trigger Rain Dance. Few Pokémon without natural weather control actually know how to cancel out their own weather effects. Rain can be triggered by cooling the air so that water vapor condenses and falls as rain, so cancelling the drop in temperature can reverse it to some degree. Only my mastery of manipulating air temperature allowed me such control. It was the same reason I could control my hail abilities to the extent that I did.

"Notice the effect the rain had?" I asked, gesturing towards the glistening leaves in the trees and the damp grass. Already a fresh scent was rising from the watered plants. So pure and vaguely redolent; it enhanced the appeal of the surrounding area. Crystal, however, was clearly uninterested. "Berry for your thoughts?" I asked, offering the Flareon one of my smaller Oran berries. Fire types were supposed to be somewhat resistant to the side effects of the berry and I anticipated the flavor would be sufficient for boosting the low mood of the Flareon.

"What do you care?" Crystal growled, swiping the berry from me and biting into aggressively. Her tail flicked subtly as she ate.

"You looked like you took the breakup rather hard," I remarked once she had finished. She scowled.

"So what?" she muttered, wrapping her tail around herself again. I frowned at this reaction.

"Forgive me, that was insensitive," I said. "I merely wished to know why-"

"Where does that jerk get the idea I don't like him?!" Crystal interrupted, splashing her paw into the water. I fell silent and looked towards her calmly, sitting down comfortably. "I gave up my whole life to try to be with him!"

"How so?" I asked. Crystal scowled.

"I was raised by a breeder, you know that! We met in Kanto and I left Eric to be with Blaze!"

"Eric is the breeder's name, I presume?" I asked quickly. She nodded and sat up, growling irritably.

"I gave up my shelter to be with him in the wild and how does he repay me? He ditches me! I put everything on the line and now what am I supposed to do? Huh? I have nowhere to go. I can't get back to my old trainer, and even if I could, I can't!"

"Explain that last bit, please," I asked gently, pleased that she was venting. It was evidence that leaving her alone would have been a bad choice, what with so much emotion present.

"How can I go back to him...like this? I spent so much time away and if I return, without a mate or a kit...it's horrible. How can I ever look them in the face again, knowing I am disgraced like this?" She sniffled. "No mate, no kit...but I was set up with one. How could I fail to that degree? How can I ever expect to be seen the same way I once was? It's like being used property."

"In the sense that your value is diminished?" I asked. "Like a collectible removed from the packaging, but never handled?" Crystal looked surprised.

"Yes, exactly...that was...rather clever, actually," she said, smiling a little.

"I have those moments," I said, smirking. Quite frequently for that matter, but no need to boast now.

"But...I feel like don't have a purpose now," Crystal continued, her smile fading. "I...don't have anything. I don't have a mate, I don't have a kit, I can't go back to Eric, I don't have a place to live, and I don't have a place to go. I...don't have a purpose. I put everything on the line for nothing," she said, her expression becoming more and more devastated with each sentence.

"Now, now...take it easy," I said, stepping nearer to the agitated fire Eon. "Don't descend into depression just yet."

"Well what am I supposed to do?" Crystal whined. I was about to give her a cool retort about how whining was not a valid method of averting depression, but after considering the circumstances, I chose to take it easy on her.

"Settle down and just breathe," I said, sitting down beside her. The Flareon rolled her eyes irritably. "Here," I said, lifting her chin with one paw and peering at her face. One of my claws gently stroked under her chin. The corners of her mouth twitched, but the rest of her body tensed. "There, there...relax," I said, adding a bit of force to my words. If she refused to relax, soothing her agitation would be much more difficult.

"I'm trying," Crystal grumbled. After taking a moment to weigh my options, I licked her lightly on the cheek. She blinked and blushed briefly, a shy smile flicking across her face. "What was that for?" she asked, wiping her eyes with a paw.

"You are quite a lovely Flareon in need of a morale boost," I answered simply, smirking at her expression. She smiled, but then frowned a little.

"Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden? Is it because I'm single now?" she demanded. I chuckled, unbothered by her question. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"You remind me of someone I once knew a year or two back," I said slowly. "We met not long after she and her mate had broken up."

"Oh?" Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow. If anything, her suspicion had only intensified, but I was unfazed.

"She was somewhat underappreciated by him, to his eventual cost," I continued thoughtfully. "She was attractive and single, but that's not why I spoke to her. I can see value in traits beyond those, even when others are too blind to see past the most basic features of a potential mate."

"Like what do you consider being basic? Strength and attractiveness?" Crystal asked curiously.

"Such things are the basic features, but so shallow. Not negligible factors, but dictating solely by these details is distastefully primeval," I answered. I assumed her interest in the subject was to compare what I said to how she was raised. "I suppose having that attitude made me an improvement over her former mate," I added, a bitter smile clinging to my lips.

"What happened?" Crystal asked, taking note of my expression.

"It didn't last. She returned to her former mate and now they're clan alphas," I answered dully. Crystal stared at me.

"Can't...say I expected that," she muttered. I shrugged.

"Time heals most wounds. That was ages ago; far in the past."

"Mhm...I still feel bad for you," she said, resting her head on my shoulder. I was not in the least bit surprised by the shift in her mood. Breeder Pokémon are raised to be very affectionate to potential mates. The problem being, of course, that to most potential mates, the abrupt shift in behavior was jarring. It would be so easy to take advantage of this tendency, but it would take the fun out of the entire scenario. No doubt she wasn't even remotely over the breakup, but instead was focusing her feelings towards the nearest distraction, namely me. That was fine with me for now; I'd play the game.

"I don't require sympathy. It is you who is upset," I reminded her.

"That's sweet," she said, a vaguely sly smile twitching at her mouth.

"I know something sweeter," I replied, smirking.

"If you say 'me', I'm going to hit you," she warned, but her tail flicked hopefully.

"Then I won't speak," I said, leaning over and kissing her mouth lightly. She purred softly and broke apart a few seconds later, a deep blush forming over her face. "I trust you're feeling better now?" I asked. She nodded and cuddled against my leg. I hope she's not getting clingy already because that would get annoying very quickly. I already have a shiny Umbreon going through that stage following her own breakup. After a moment's consideration, I nuzzled her neck, enjoying the warmth of her fur as she nuzzled against my chest in return.

"I have the most amusingly awkward timing, don't I?" a cloyingly sweet voice asked and Crystal yelped and growled, her fur bristling. I sighed irritably and glanced upwards at the floating ice ghost with the kimono body. The Froslass giggled sweetly, one of her fin-like arms touching the red bow around the equivalent of her waist.

"What do you want, Froslass?" I demanded.

"To retain my title of the Best Moment Killer ever," Gelid replied in her honeyed tone. "Glacia gave me the title after...never mind, I'm rambling."

"Hm?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have important news," the Froslass said quickly. One problem with Gelid was that I could never tell if she said things just to screw with me. I was presently under the impression she did that to everyone.

"And that would be?" I asked.

"Blizzard is a female Glaceon. That is all."

"...what?"

"I said Diablos is dead," Gelid answered sweetly.

"WHAT?!"

"Maybe," Gelid finished. "Bane is telling Jolt as we speak."

"Maybe?" I repeated skeptically. Gelid giggled.

"Well...Chaos told Lera, who told Tarot, who told Doom, who told Bane who told me, who told you while he went to tell Jolt, but on second thought, I probably should have told Jolt, since Jolt is with Bliz and Bliz is with Glacia and Glacia's near Vice, who-"

"You are ending this sentence sometime soon, right?" I asked.

"I think so," Gelid replied, looking thoughtful. "Now where was I?"


	256. Bonus Stage: Hospitalization

**Ember POV**

When I awoke, I discovered that I was being held in the strong grip of a human Rocket. I immediately panicked and lashed out my claws, scratching the human's arms. He gasped as my claws dug into his exposed skin, but he managed to wrap his arms around me before I could fall to the ground. I yelped in agony when the shift in grip applied pressure to my left paw. The Rocket hastily changed his grip again, but at this point my mood had taken a drastic turn for the worse. I swiped at him desperately with my uninjured paw, but his grip prevented me from getting a good hit on him.

"Easy, girl," the human told me firmly, but without any real anger behind the forceful command. I growled, but really couldn't do anything unless I resorted to biting. As if the man could read my mind, he altered his grip once again, facing my jaws away from him while maintaining the pin on my arms. "Take it easy," the man told me.

"Let go!" I growled, knowing he couldn't understand me, but hoping my tone would get the message across. He either didn't catch the tone or he chose to ignore it, because he didn't let go nor loosen his grip on me at all. I squirmed, too discomforted by being carried to really care that I was being held a few feet above the ground. Unfortunately, the man had a very solid grip around me and all I managed to do was bump my injured paw against his leg, resulting in a tremendous throb of agony. The pain was intense enough to convince me to stop struggling, but I continued to growl softly as the man carried me down another corridor.

"Easy, almost there," the man told me. Where the hell were we even going? Why was this human carrying me there? And where the hell was Leaf or even that jerk Slugma? Was this a dream? Ugh, the pain in my paw was too intense to be part of a dream. I hate this.

I allowed my thoughts to drift aimlessly; anything to distract me from my discomfort or the pain in my paw. I wasn't used to being held or carried, least of all by a human. After what felt like an eternity, the man holding me pushed through a swinging door and I found that he had taken me to some sort of Pokémon hospital wing inside the base, judging from the unconscious Pokémon being tended to by Chansey or Blissey. I noticed a few human nurses around as well, including a pair that looked like the type to tend Pokémon Centers. I wasn't that surprised; Team Rocket members were everywhere.

"What's this?" one of the human nurses asked, walking over to the man holding me.

"Injured Charmander," he answered.

"Yours?" the nurse asked, making a mark on a clipboard.

"No. I don't think she's assigned to anyone," came the reply. The nurse shrugged and made another mark.

"Your name and rank?" she inquired. There was a puzzled pause. "Record purposes only," she explained, rolling her eyes. Before he could answer, she gestured to the closest nurse Pokémon, which waddled over. She instructed the egg Pokémon in a whispered tone and the Blissey hastened to get a wheeled cart of some sort, which the male human placed me on, at the human nurse instruction. The Blissey smiled and pushed the cart, moving me down the empty aisle between the rows of hospital beds. I scowled.

"I can walk perfectly fine," I muttered. The Blissey chose not to respond and I noticed that she was pushing me towards a door at the end of the aisle, most likely leading to some sort of examination room. This is what I get for listening to Dragonair's gripes about the hospital wing; an in-depth description of the procedure and just about everything else involved.

Once we had passed through the door, I was hastily steered towards a cubicle that contained a machine of some sort. According to what Dragonair had once told me, this was probably a device that allowed internal examination. He never explained what it did, exactly, but I think he called it a Z-ray or something like that, I don't really remember. The Blissey busied herself with the machine while I gazed around absently. I still couldn't perfectly remember what had happened, but I did remember battling that stupid Slugma.

Wait...that meant I lost. Mew damn it. Now I was probably going to have to put up with Flare boasting about how Dragonair had made a bad choice or whatever stupid thing the fire slug had against me. What an idiot. I growled and flexed the claws of my uninjured right paw.

"Don't move. Just relax," the Blissey told me gently. I glared at her, but obediently sat still. The Blissey smiled and continued fiddling with the machine. I frowned to myself, trying to figure out how and when I lost. My memory was a bit fuzzy, but I remembered that Flare had raised the heat to an almost unbearable level and also that he had been taunting me. I winced as my left paw throbbed in pain, reminding me of how I had gotten the injury. What had Flare done to create such a powerful defense? It had been as if he had turned his body into a durable, nearly unbreakable metal. Only Leaf somehow transferring his Swords Dance glow had enabled me to score a hit through that defense, but even then I still lost. Flare's strategy was just so...strange.

The Blissey waddled over to me and rotated the wheeled cart and returned to the Z-ray machine or whatever it was. A few moments later, she rotated me again, so that my back was to the machine. Once more my position was adjusted, but I wasn't paying attention, my thoughts on the battle with Flare. Not only did the Slugma use something to make himself nearly impossible to harm through force, he also used that taunting dance to work me into a reckless rage. Mew damn him. I can't believe I fell for that. It reminded me of that bastard phantom's strategy when he used the Sneasel form. A temptation and desire to attack, except Flare penalized me for going through with it. And what had been with that use of those poison gas techniques, aside from making me feel sick? Ugh...that probably was the point! Countering my claw attacks, making me feel sick and distracted with the heat and smoke, and working me up emotionally. What a Mew damned bastard!

Yet my anger was subsiding, even as I cursed the Slugma's existence. Maybe Leaf had been right and that fighting Flare was unnecessary. The fire slug was a jerk, no doubt about it, but staying angry at him was a waste of my time and energy. His actions were quite minor compared to how my mother had ruined my life. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how stupid it was to hold a grudge against Flare. True, the fire slug had been partially responsible for ruining my life; it was through him that I underwent my worst experiences of loneliness and rejection, but my life always sucked. It wasn't only bad because of a jerky Slugma.

What was the point to creating conflict with Flare? It wouldn't change a thing. Now that I thought of it that way, I felt a little embarrassed about the whole thing, but also ashamed of being defeated the way I had. Now Flare was probably going to use that against me and open the way to more mistreatment and mockery about how I was 'pathetic' without Dragonair.

"All done," the Blissey said, startling me from my thoughts. The egg Pokémon smiled at me gently. "You should heal just fine. We can get that minor break taken care of now."

"Why didn't you just do that in the first place?" I grumbled. The Blissey smiled and began pushing the wheeled cart again, this time outside of the cubicle we were in. The wheels clicked over the tiles in the silent hallway.

"We need to make sure we don't overlook more serious injuries that the trainer or patient don't know about," the egg Pokémon replied. "Some things cannot be treated only with Pokémon Center healing devices or healing techniques such as Wish."

"Oh," I muttered, looking down at my paws. Neither of us spoke for a few minutes as the Blissey maneuvered the wheeled table through the aisle and turned to head down another corridor. She apologized when the cart went over a crack in the tiles, the impact jarring the cart uncomfortably. I nodded, appreciating the show of politeness.

"Right here," the Blissey announced, turning into a side room, which was much larger than the cubicle where we were before. We were not alone; there was a Chansey tending to another Pokémon, but I didn't recognize the specie. It looked sort of like a small humanoid with clown makeup and it seemed really young and undeveloped. I didn't spend much time thinking about it, instead focused on what the Blissey was doing.

"Hey, need a Wish use for this young miss," the Blissey told her unevolved counterpart. "Paw injury."

"Of course," the Chansey responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm. The body of this Chansey glowed white for a moment. The Blissey chirped a word of thanks, but the Chansey shrugged and returned her focus to her own patient. The Blissey immediately wheeled me from the room again, earning a puzzled look from me.

"The Wish will be coming in a few moments," the egg Pokémon chirped. "We're lucky to have a Chansey on hand that knows the technique. It's very rare. Only a handful have it, and almost all of them were descendants of a Chansey or Blissey and a Smeargle that happened to find a way to imitate that technique."

"Oh?"

"Wish is one of the most elusive techniques and is seen by many to be a sign of a strong gene pool. If you can find a good mate with Wish, I say keep him," the Blissey said brightly.

"I'm not picking a mate for his move pool, thanks," I said dryly.

"Oh, that's not what I meant. I was just saying..." the Blissey shrugged and trailed off. An awkward silence fell between us, ending once a golden streak of light descended upon my damaged paw. I watched with fascination as the golden light broke apart into fragments of light and each fragment moved to a different area of my paw. I winced for a moment, but relaxed once a warm, soothing sensation spread throughout my body. When the light faded, I flexed my claws, relieved to find that the pain had faded and I could once again move the digits of my paw.

"Better," I mused to myself. The Blissey smiled, the friendly gesture pressuring me to ask a question I had been wondering for a while. "I didn't know so many Chansey and Blissey were with Team Rocket."

"Yeah, why not?" the Blissey replied.

"Well...I guess I always thought of Chansey and Blissey as being...I don't know, more opposed to certain things."

"It doesn't matter to me. Healing is healing. The difference is who owns the injured Pokémon, and that's no reason not to do what you've been trained to do. Doesn't matter what your affiliation; injuries should be tended to," the nurse Pokémon answered.

"I suppose so," I agreed thoughtfully.

"The true crime is injuring others. Not in self-defense or in sport, but for the purpose of hurting," the Blissey continued and I was taken aback by the odd sadness in her tone. I glanced at her and saw that her brow was furrowed in unhappy thought. "My sister never cared much for my profession."

"Oh?" I inquired quietly. The Blissey smiled weakly.

"She says I'm a hypocrite for helping the Pokémon of human criminals. But it is she who engages in the true crime. There are two types of dark paths. The dark path where the support of loved ones enable you to be brave. And the dark path where the fear of others enables you to be brave. The second path is the darker one, for those who prey on fear are strong. Such an emotion is difficult to overcome on your own," the Blissey said sadly.

"Um...okay," I mumbled awkwardly. It's not easy trying to think of something to say in response to a comment like that.

"Pain is both a friend and a foe, Charmander. The right pain can motivate you to rise above a challenge. Other pain can only hinder," the egg Pokémon told me seriously.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Anger and hate are powerful emotions that are fueled by pain. On the surface, they are the former type of pain. These motivate you to take on a challenge. But once the task is completed, they are revealed as the latter. I cannot hate my sister, no matter her views. I can only struggle to help those that her actions betray," the Blissey answered, her tone heavy with emotion.

"Sorry that I somehow brought this up," I muttered, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly.

"I'm sorry to bore you with my little tirade," the Blissey said, recovering her composure, just as we returned to the exit to the hospital wing. I was a little surprised to see Leaf sitting near the door, casting anxious looks around. He brightened when he saw me, but didn't move until I had gotten down from the wheeled cart. The Blissey cheerily wished me well, with a warning about resting for a while.

"You doing okay?" the Leafeon asked me tentatively when I approached him. I scowled briefly at him.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded. Leaf looked confused.

"With...what?" he asked.

"With the battle? I get that I lost," I said with a growl. "But why the hell did I wake up to a human carrying me and you being nowhere in sight?"

"He was watching the end of your fight. He saw you get hurt and scooped you up," Leaf answered nervously. "I was-"

"Beating Flare to a sloppy pulp?" I asked hopefully. The Leafeon stared at me and I sighed in disappointment. "Whatever, who cares? Let's just forget the damn Slugma ever existed."

"Coming through!" a human voice shouted and Leaf and I jerked to the side just as a Rocket dressed in a torn black uniform shot past us. One of the human nurses promptly took a twitching Ivysaur from the agitated Rocket's arms and placed it on the Blissey's cart. Leaf and I exchanged looks. Even from our position, we could clearly see the injured grass Pokémon's condition.

The Ivysaur's normally blue-green skin was a sickly purple and its entire body was shaking feverishly. The flower on its back, normally a bright pink and lively, was instead a pale gray color. Droplets of sweat seemed to ooze from the plant Pokémon's pores and its breathing was weak and desperate. The eyes were rolled back, showing only whiteness. All the while, the Ivysaur was twitching uncontrollably.

"What in heaven's name?" demanded the human who had carried me here.

"What happened to her?" the Blissey wondered aloud, starting to push the cart towards the back. As if on cue, the Ivysaur thrashed wildly and a vine extended, slapping the Blissey's paws and forcing her to recoil. The flowered quadruped began muttering in a quiet, panicky tone.

"No...no, leave me...help...ji...ji!"

The humans and Pokémon alike stared at the flailing Ivysaur. The Blissey again hastened to push the cart, but was repelled, this time by a spray of purple powder from the flower of the Ivysaur.

"G-get away!" the grass Pokémon muttered, her thrashing becoming wilder.

The Blissey gestured with a paw and two nurses rushed forward, each with a syringe in their paws. The first was disarmed by a vine, but the second managed to inject the sedative or whatever into the Ivysaur's neck. The twitching subsided a little, but the muttering became more and more frantic and panicky, but also more incoherent and impossible to decipher.

"Ari...jibak...p-poison...shin...web..." the Ivysaur proceeded to rattle off nonsensical syllables that I could not understand. Then at last it went limp, allowing the Blissey to wheel it from the room without resistance. Leaf and I exchanged looks again. The man who had brought the Ivysaur in slumped down in a chair, looking horror-struck. One of the nurses was talking to him in an anxious tone.

"What's going on?" Leaf asked me. I shrugged helplessly and hastily gestured for him to follow me from the hospital wing.

"I don't know. But something must be wrong," I said, once we were far enough from the hospital wing so that I felt that no one was eavesdropping on us. "But whatever it was can't be good."

"But what can we..." Leaf trailed off and froze. I looked at him oddly before following his gaze and I reacted similarly. A little down the hallway, the long beautiful form of the Milotic floated a few inches above the ground. She was watching us with an odd expression, her tail beckoning us towards her. Unable to refuse, we came forward and stopped a few feet away from her. It was then that I saw the familiar Slugma, semi-concealed in the doorway the Milotic was hovering beside.

"Yes?" I prompted, ignoring Flare.

"I'd like a word with you. Both of you," Amethyst said, her tone calm, but cool. She beckoned with her tail again and entered the doorway. Leaf and I exchanged nervous looks. What was this about?


	257. Secret Stage: Reinstatement

**Ember POV**

Leaf hesitantly stepped into the room, with me walking a pace behind him. Flare smirked at me as I passed his location, but I ignored him. The room we entered had a musty smell about it and the desk in the corner looked dusty and unused. The rest of the room was bare, except for two wooden chairs in front of the desk. Amethyst had positioned herself in the back of the room, where there was nothing in the way of her long body. I glanced back at the door and saw that Flare had positioned himself in front of the doorway.

Leaf sat down on the floor, glancing around nervously. I stood next to him, watching the Milotic silently. Amethyst settled herself down on the floor, her tail coiling around herself. "What do you need to talk to us about?" I asked, once the Milotic was fully settled.

"Something has been brought to my attention," Amethyst answered, still using the calm tone frosted with coolness. "I would like you to answer a few questions I have, regarding your status and the circumstances surrounding your placement here."

"Yeah?" I asked, betraying a growl of irritation. "And how has this unknown something been brought to your attention? Scratch that, how about letting us know what this something is?"

"Yes, we'll get to that in due time," Amethyst said firmly. I scowled at her. Unfazed, she continued, "First off, my understanding is that you have been transferred here as recently as yesterday. Am I correct?"

"Yeah, what of it?" I asked.

"When you first arrived, it did not immediately occur to me how odd it was to receive new transfers without me being properly informed before. It slipped my mind because I recognized you, Ember."

"I don't have anything to say to that. It's not my fault you weren't informed," I pointed out. My attitude seemed to be having the desired effect on the Milotic. Her vaguely accusing tone faltered at my words and she studied Leaf and me thoughtfully. Leaf squirmed a little under her gaze, but stayed silent. I stroked his back soothingly, prompting a quiet purr from the grass type. Amethyst watched us for a few moments, looking rather amused. I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable being observed like this, but I was starting to get the impression that Amethyst didn't really trust any part of our story. I assumed that Flare was the one who drew suspicion to us, but I didn't really care. The Slugma was a jerk.

"Now here's a question that Amethyst didn't ask," Flare said, smirking while moving further into the room. I glanced back at the Slugma. "If you don't mind, of course," he added politely, nodding towards the Milotic.

"Go for it," the serpentine Pokémon responded. Flare chuckled.

"Very well. Tell me, Charmander...what is your present relationship with Dragonair?" the Slugma asked. Leaf shifted his weight uncomfortably. I couldn't blame him for being uncomfortable, since he was technically under suspicion, but wasn't really being acknowledged. To buy time to think of how to respond to this new question, I began scratching Leaf gently behind the ears. That breeder's book had mentioned that most, if not all, found this to be enjoyable. Leaf was no exception to this rule. After a few seconds of this scratching, his tail twitched contentedly and he began purring softly. I smirked, but quickly refocused on the question. As amusing as I found the Leafeon's reaction, I knew that nothing permanent would come from it. Oh well.

"What does it matter to you, Flare?" I asked finally, glaring at the Slugma.

"You remember Graveler, right?" Flare continued. I looked at him blankly. "No? The four-armed boulder belonging to Dr. Gravel. You know, the scientist that worked on the ability-enhancers in a few select Kanto and Johto bases. You do know that? You were situated in Kanto, if I recall."

"Oh, of course," I said, rolling my eyes. "The thing Leaf crushed in less than a minute."

"Say what?" Flare turned to stare at the Leafeon, who grinned awkwardly.

"You were talking about Graveler," I prompted.

"Well, Graveler mentioned Dragonair has a girlfriend," Flare said, still staring towards Leaf.

"He does?" Amethyst interrupted, looking surprised. I blinked at her.

"He never mentioned it to you? He used to bring it up all the time, didn't he? I guess not, if your surprise is anything to go by," I said. Then again, I don't remember Amethyst, so I'm not sure when Dragonair knew her, so maybe it was before he had started talking about Sapphire. Dragonair was surprisingly Clamperl-ish when it came to information about Sapphire. The most information about his mate that I had gotten for the longest time was that he had one.

"Getting off topic," Flare said, drawing our attention back to him. I rubbed Leaf's neck with one when I heard him sigh quietly. "Graveler mentioned you, Charmander."

"Did he now?" I asked sarcastically.

"Oh yes. Mentioned seeing you and Dragonair at the base near Cerulean and mentioned seeing you and Dragonair's little girlfriend at the base near Celadon. Interestingly, from the reports I've gathered...ahem, the reports that Graveler passed me, that is..." Flare trailed off meaningfully, his eyes studying my expression. I don't think my expression was notable, since the Slugma cleared his throat and continued without further hesitation. "These reports indicated you being involved in the freeing of several captives."

"Hm, I do remembering hearing of those incidents," Amethyst agreed, her tone much cooler than previously and she had dropped the friendly expression. "Also notable are the incidents in Johto, where one of the humans...Ed, if I'm not mistaken, was killed by claws."

"I didn't do that," I protested promptly.

"You were there?" Flare jeered.

"Maybe," I growled, narrowing my eyes at the fire slug, Leaf made a quiet whining sound, causing me to realize I had clenched the Leafeon's neck, digging my claws into him. I released my grip quickly, muttering an apology.

"And the other Johto incident that Ed filled out a report for, involving the release of two test subjects," Amethyst added.

"I wasn't there," I argued. If memory served, that was when I separated from the group and ended up getting my new techniques. The aftermath of that was definitely not on my list of fond memories, but that was nothing new.

"Dragonair was," Flare sneered.

"So what?" I demanded.

"Well, these incidents confirm that Dragonair deserted Team Rocket, don't they?" Flare asked.

"Maybe he did, maybe he didn't," I shot back.

"You were with him," Flare said smugly.

"So I was. What's your point?" I growled.

"If Dragonair is a traitor and you're supporting him...what does that make you?" Flare sneered. I was silent, my heart pounding in my chest. Mew damn it all. That Slugma had screwed up the plan. He had revealed the weak link in our story and it was all going to come crashing down. Unless...

"Are you calling me a traitor?" I demanded, flaring my tail flame up to match my mood.

"If the shell fits," Flare answered. "Let's review, Amethyst. This Charmander has been confirmed to be associating with Dragonair and is known to be his little pet. They go on an unauthorized trip and attack a lab. A bounty is placed on them, but all results have been negative. Mr. Green has filed evidence that repeatedly confirms her and Dragonair to be engaging in anti-Rocket activities and suddenly she and this Leafeon appear here and act as if they were transferred?"

"Suspicious," Amethyst agreed.

"What anti-Rocket activities?" I demanded, flexing my claws in rage.

"Were you not listening to the reports we just mentioned?" Flare asked incredulously.

"Is there any freaking evidence that confirms I went after Rockets?" I challenged.

"Yes, that's what..." Flare stopped when Amethyst flicked her tail sharply in his direction.

"Do you have an explanation, Ember?" she asked quietly.

"Hell, yes!" I snapped.

"Begin," Amethyst said, watching me carefully. "From the start. This unauthorized traveling, early February, if the documentation is accurate."

"Fine. You want to know? Here it is. Dragonair found a Pichu and wanted to reunite him with his parents, who were captured," I growled. Leaf was about to speak, but I poked him sharply with a claw to silence him. "So we went to the labs near Cerulean, okay?"

"Why?" Flare interrupted, but Amethyst sent a withering glare in his direction.

"Continue," she told me.

"So we did. And while there, Dragonair noticed things he didn't like and decided he didn't want to be involved anymore, so he resigned."

"And blew up the labs?" Amethyst asked. I nodded curtly. "But you were involved."

"Technically," I said irritably. "I was there, but he did most of it."

"Continue," the Milotic said again.

"Okay, so then...uh...I don't remember the next part. I think he was looking for information, but we found another base."

"Why were you still with him? Traitor?" Flare jeered.

"Screw you, Slugma," I spat, making a gesture that Leaf pointedly looked away from. Amethyst was trying not to laugh at Flare's expression.

"Flare has a decent point. Why did you stay with Dragonair if he had turned on our organization?" the Milotic asked.

"Because," I said, gritting my teeth, "I didn't have much choice. I wasn't supposed to leave the first base with him. Returning would only get me in trouble and he wouldn't be able to bail me out of it because he had left!"

"Likely story," the Slugma scoffed. I glared at him, but he was unintimidated.

"Mr. Green had a report on the events at that base, as did Ed. Am I correct in saying that you attacked multiple Rocket-aligned Pokémon and humans?" Amethyst asked.

"Yes."

"Traitor," Flare coughed.

"Dragonair was my only friend, thanks to this son of a bitch," I said, jabbing a claw forcefully in Flare's direction. "He was also the Pokémon executive I served under. He got captured and I tried to save him."

"What did Flare do?" Amethyst asked, looking confused. My eye twitched. "Never mind, continue. So...you traveled to Celadon, correct?"

"Around there," I muttered, trying to remember. A lot of my memory was foggy from that time area. "Got Dragonair out. And that was it that I was involved in. Just about everything else wasn't me."

"The Johto incident where Ed was clawed to death?" Amethyst prompted.

"I...didn't do anything there," I said distractedly.

"So tell me, Ember. If you admit that you left Team Rocket with Dragonair...is it correct that you weren't transferred here?" Amethyst asked, her tone noticeably less cool now.

"Fine, we weren't transferred. Not officially."

"Then why are you here?" Flare asked tauntingly. "Is Dragonair going to show up and blow us to hell?"

"If so, I hope he gets you," I spat.

"Enough," Amethyst ordered. She was studying me with a serious expression on her face. "If what you say is true, Ember...and I'm inclined to believe you...then your record is, to say the least, portraying you unfairly."

"I doubt it," Flare scoffed.

"Shut up, Flare," Amethyst said sharply. "Ember, could you explain to me, firstly, why you and Flare have this tension? Because frankly, it's pissing me off."

"He's a jerk who deliberately excluded me from everything he could," I grumbled.

"Why?" Amethyst asked.

"I don't know. He's a jerk," I said, shrugging irritably. "I don't care, it's the past now. But he's pissing me off by acting all 'ooh, Ember's a stupid Charmander who's a traitor and should die!', Mew damn it."

"She is a traitor," Flare argued.

"Actually, Flare...I'm going to go out on a limb, no pun intended, and suggest that just maybe...she's a very loyal Charmander who was caught in bad circumstances," the Milotic said.

"What?" Flare gasped.

"Hm?" I grunted, raising an eye scale at the beautiful serpentine creature. Leaf's expression brightened. Wait, was she saying what I think she was saying?

"Many are told and trained to follow orders, are they not? Dragonair, in this scenario, is both a friend and a superior. Her following along with his actions would be suitable. Furthermore, there is no evidence suggesting she actively did any harm to the organization when not acting on Dragonair's behalf," Amethyst continued.

"I don't trust her and neither should you," Flare argued.

"You don't like her, so I think you're biased," Amethyst countered. Flare was silent and the Milotic rolled her eyes, refocusing her attention on me and Leaf. "There is little doubt that Dragonair no longer works for us. This same confidence does not extend to you, Ember. I can assume you returned under the flimsy guise of transfer to avoid your suspicious record being examined, but after your explanation, I have no further reason to suspect you. If it is your wish, I will have your name and record cleared and also reinstate your membership. Probationary, of course."

"Of course," I replied dully. "Yeah, that'll be great."

"On a hunch, your mate is..." Amethyst glanced at me inquiringly, but the question she was going to ask was clear, at least to me.

"Wild," I said quickly. Flare looked over at Leaf and let out a choked sound of amusement that prompted everyone present to stare at him.

"You somehow convinced a wild Eon to be your mate?" he laughed. "No Eevee or Eon would ever take a Charmander mate, much less you."

"Eons being exclusive is a stereotype," Leaf argued, speaking for the first time since we had been called into the room. "Specie doesn't matter to me."

"You're telling me you're actually attracted to her?" Flare asked, his tone serious.

"Why can't I be attracted to her?" Leaf argued. "She's kind of cute and really nice." I think he was just going along with our cover story, but I was pleased to hear it anyway.

"Flare...let it go," Amethyst sighed. The Slugma opened his mouth, but stopped suddenly. Leaf's ears twitched and he looked towards the doorway as a Meowth raced into the room, panting heavily.

"Amethyst!" the cat Pokémon gasped.

"Yes?" the Milotic asked.

"There's been another attack," the Meowth panted. Leaf and I exchanged confused looks. Both Flare and Amethyst exchanged agitated looks.

"Another one?" Flare muttered.

"That's what he said," I pointed out, emulating Dragonair's sarcastic tone.

"Shut up, Charmander," Flare hissed.

"Not the time, Flare," Amethyst said, frowning. "What happened?" she asked the Meowth.

"It's Ivysaur," the Meowth panted. "Her trainer just brought her in to the hospital wing not ten minutes ago. Blissey confirms the condition."

"Damn it," Amethyst swore under her breath. "That's the sixth this month."

"Poisoning?" Flare asked. The Meowth nodded. "Ivysaur are poison types, they should have a natural defense against poison, shouldn't they?"

"Not against this stuff, Flare," Amethyst said solemnly. "Has there been any breakthrough on the examination of the toxin?"

"It's...unique," the Meowth said, his breathing starting to ease up a little.

"What have the human executives said on the matter?" Amethyst asked.

"They insist the creature causing it is either captured or killed," the Meowth said in a rehearsed tone.

"Does anyone know what it is?" Flare asked. The Meowth shook its head.

"All the victims either die or are too traumatized to tell us anything beyond hysterical syllables that add up to nothing."

"Any clues at all?" the Slugma insisted.

"Clues that don't answer shit!" the Meowth snapped.

"Hey!" Amethyst interjected.

"Sorry," the feline muttered.

"Can someone fill us in, since we're still here?" I asked irritably.

"Not the worst idea," Flare said, a strange smirk crossing his face. Leaf blinked.

"There have been...a series of attacks recently," Amethyst said quietly. "At least six. All to members of our organization, all of them proving to be fatal or...worse."

"Worse?" Leaf repeated.

"In at least one instance, the victim did not die, but was rendered incomprehensible, hysterical, ill, and with severely damaged mentality," Flare answered. "We had to kill him ourselves."

"We have sent a few grunts to seek out the creature causing it. All we've been able to extract is that some creature is causing it. We have ordered examination of the victims and have managed to extract a sample of some sort of toxin," Amethyst sighed.

"A toxin?" Leaf repeated. "Toxic, maybe?"

"Ho-oh, no," Flare chuckled. "Something much worse, more devious. This toxin's qualities have been examined by Dr. Gravel. The Meowth just said there's been no progress or breakthrough. We've got nothing on this stuff except that nothing seems to resist it."

"And all the attacks...in this area?" I asked.

"Yes. This attack was very recent. The humans will send another group out in a few minutes," the Meowth said. "Dr. Gravel recommended Adrian."

"Adrian?" Amethyst repeated.

"He's the one with the Ralts kit, isn't he?" Flare asked. Amethyst nodded.

"Very skilled trainer," she said. "Very adaptable. The Rockets recruited him not long after he started his training career."

"But that Ralts isn't enough for this sort of task," Flare insisted.

"Gravel must have a reason," Amethyst said logically. She paused and gave an inquisitive glance towards the hallway. Leaf and I turned to see what she was looking at. Three humans entered the room, two of which I recognized as Dr. Gravel and Robin Green, the higher ranked, green-clad Rocket that I hadn't seen since he caught Dragonair. With them stood the same human that had carried me to the hospital wing.

"That's Adrian," Flare muttered.

"Ah, there she is," Green said, pointing towards me. I blinked, confused.

"And there's the Leafeon that beat Graveler," the scientist added, gesturing towards Leaf. The young man in the center of the trio tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"He beat your Graveler?" the young man asked. Gravel nodded irritably. "Nice," he chuckled.

"It was impressive," Green said, chuckling. The scientist was silent. "So, are you interested, Adrian?"

"She'll do. Might get rid of the shadows in the forest," Adrian responded. "Plus she's very strong."

"Really? From what I gathered, she was transferred constantly for being uncooperative," Green said skeptically.

"I saw her fight the Slugma. She's easily one of the best of all the ones here, okay?" the young man insisted.

"Of course," Dr. Gravel replied with a hint of sarcasm. Adrian ignored him and walked closer to me. I tensed, not sure what to expect from the human.

"Hey, girl. You doing okay now?" Adrian asked, kneeling in front of me. I blinked, perplexed by his behavior. He reached into his uniform and withdrew a miniaturized Pokeball and a red device, which he clicked open.

_"Charmander data analyzed. Registered name: Ember. Not registered to a Pokeball. Analysis indicates low proficiency with breath techniques. Techniques currently in move pool include Shadow Claw, Dragon Claw, Brick Break, Mega Punch, and Flamethrower. Further information pending. Hidden Power Element: Pending,"_ a mechanical voice spoke from the device.

"Interesting," Adrian murmured. "Yeah, I'll take her with me, if possible."

"Good luck," Green snorted. Leaf suddenly got a panicked look on his face.

"Wait, I don't want to be separated!" he protested, moving closer and rubbing against my side briefly. I blinked at his behavior but I can't say I minded. The three humans blinked. Leaf whined quietly.

"Well, more Pokémon can be useful and I may as well before someone else claims him," Adrian chuckled. The older humans shrugged.

"You may as well," Dr. Gravel echoed. Leaf was visibly relieved.

"You have a few more minutes to get ready, Adrian," Robin Green said. The scientist followed the green suited man from the room, leaving the young man alone with the four Pokémon.

"Looks like you both got assigned to a trainer," Amethyst said.

"And your first job with him is to help find the mysterious attacker," Flare said, chuckling. "Don't die in the attempt."

"You're so pleasant to interact with," I growled.


	258. Web of Deception part 1

**Ember POV**

It was oddly comforting to be inside a Pokeball again. Dragonair couldn't stand these things, but I didn't have as many problems with it. In here, everything was far more relaxed and stress free, and the simulated environment was almost therapeutic. I had taken time to explore my environment and had been surprised to find that I liked it. There was a sprawling, large green meadow where maybe a hundred flowers and plants grew all over the place. My favorite spot was on the edge of this meadow, under the shade of an enormously large tree that offered me cool comfort from the bright sun's rays if I got too warm. The grass of the meadow was soft and comfortable, with no stones or roots to pester my spine when I sunbathed or hurt my feet when I walked.

Underneath the shade of the tree, a clear stream bubbled and several apples grew in the tree, within easy access if the mood struck me. Dragonair had once told me that a technological advancement had enabled Pokeballs to provide their inhabitants with food, to increase the comfort level of the Pokémon, and almost all Pokeballs contained a water source for various purposes. I hadn't been in a Pokeball for an extremely long time, so I wasn't sure how my current situation fared against others. It was comfortable and that was all that mattered.

The sun moved in the simulated sky, which interestingly coincided with my sleep schedule. When I felt tired, the sun was usually setting. Admittedly, I wasn't in here so long as to learn everything about the cycles, but I assumed that the simulated environment was somehow synchronized with the outside world. How else did it adapt to my sleep schedule? I was quite thankful for the time to relax; it was so peaceful to have the chance to rest and eat whenever I wanted with no real danger or source of agitation. I also had some time to practice my claw techniques. Was there anything here that I didn't like?

On second thought, there was. Being released from a Pokeball is immensely discomforting, especially since I happened to be asleep at the time. The release was accompanied by a tingling sensation and a sudden jerk, and then everything went dark before the surroundings of the outside world materialized. I groaned and shook my head, blinking away the remaining sleepiness that the jerking sensation had left behind. The first thing I noticed was that Adrian, the human I had been assigned to was leaning against a tree next to a dirt path crossing through the surrounding forest. He wasn't wearing the Rocket uniform, but instead had on jeans and a plain black shirt.

"What's going on?" I asked, looking around blankly. My tail flame cast an eerie orange glow around, but the light was comforting. The air was comfortably cool and the moon offered some additional light. Adrian stretched his arms, placing his hands behind his head and looking at something just past me. I turned around just in time to have something pounce into my stomach, bowling me over. The human laughed as I shoved the Leafeon off me. "What the hell?" I complained.

"Hey Ember," Leaf said cheerfully, sitting down next to me. I sat up, brushing some dirt from my scales. "How are you?"

"Good enough," I answered.

"You seem cheerful," the Leafeon noted. I chuckled.

"Maybe a little. I like that Pokeball, really."

"That was my first time in one," Leaf said. He shrugged and added, in response to my curious look, "I don't like it, but I don't hate it."

"What was wrong with it?" I asked, genuinely curious how the Leafeon had found the experience. I didn't really appreciate being caught in a Pokeball, but that was about five years ago. I spent the majority of my Rocket life, at least three years, outside of the confines of the Pokeball, but I had enjoyed my experience this time.

"I don't know. It's just not very free. There's not much to explore and it's kind of lonely," Leaf answered, licking his paw and rubbing his ears. "Not horrible, but I prefer not to be in there."

"Makes sense, I guess," I shrugged, flexing my claws absently. "So what's going on, any idea?"

"He lets his Pokémon out sometimes," another voice spoke, drawing Leaf and my attention. A tan star-shaped Pokémon stood, balanced on two of the star points. It had no face, but the center of the Pokémon's body was a red jewel surrounded by a golden circle.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Staryu. My trainer's over there by yours," the star Pokémon answered, although I wasn't sure how it could speak without a mouth. Leaf and I promptly turned back towards Adrian and saw a uniformed human also sitting by the tree and speaking to the casually-clothed one.

"I suppose yours lets you out, too?" I asked.

"Not as often," the Staryu answered, sounding like it didn't care either way.

"So do you know what's going on right now?" Leaf asked, tilting his head at the star-shape Pokémon. "Aside from the obvious?"

"I'm guessing they're taking a break from the search and giving us Pokémon the chance to move about freely," the Staryu responded. Leaf's ear twitched and he turned towards the conversing humans.

"What is it?" I asked, giving the Leafeon a puzzled look.

"Shh, listen," Leaf said. I sighed and stopped speaking in order to hear what the two humans were talking about.

"Come on, Mike," Adrian was saying, shaking his head and laughing. "Are you pulling my leg?"

"No, I'm serious," the uniformed human said, fighting to keep a straight face.

"That was informative," I said dully. Leaf shushed me and I prodded him sharply with my claw. "Don't shush me," I growled.

"Then shush!" Leaf complained.

"That counts as shushing me," I said, poking him again. The grass Eon sighed and turned his attention back to the humans, who had stopped talking to watch us. They soon returned to their conversation, but I think they changed the subject.

"So you got those new Pokémon?" Mike asked, jerking his thumb towards Leaf and me.

"Yeah. Gravel wanted me to help look for the Pokémon attacking our guards, but the only Pokémon I have is the Ralts they passed to me."

"Why'd they give it to you?" Mike asked. Adrian shrugged.

"They say Ralts only obey trainers that have certain empathy or something," Adrian said, "They want me to train it to use its Aura Sphere."

"True, you do have a talent for raising Pokémon. I remember what they said about you a few years back, right before you started training," the uniformed man murmured, rubbing his chin absently. "The Ralts is doing fine?"

"Well enough. I should probably let him out. I let the other two out," Adrian said, withdrawing a Pokeball from his jeans pocket and clicking it open. A burst of white light exploded from inside the Pokeball and formed a humanoid silhouette that stood at about half my height. The light faded to reveal a Pokémon with a white body and a green shell on its head. There was some sort of pink horn in the front and back of the green shell and the white body looked somewhat like a dress. The creature, which I assume is a Ralts, turned up at me.

"Hello," it spoke using a distinctly higher pitched voice than what I would have expected. The pitch, combined with its appearance, made discerning its gender difficult. Had Adrian not said 'him', I'd have had no idea whatsoever.

"Hi," Leaf said. "How are you?"

"Fine," the Ralts answered shyly. Uninterested in joining their conversation, I looked over at the humans again and was a little pleased to discover that their conversation had drifted to the mission assignment.

"So what do you think it is?" Mike asked. Adrian shrugged.

"I couldn't tell you, Mike. We don't have much to go by, other than the conditions of those who encountered it and the symptoms are insane," he said.

"Unfortunately," Mike agreed, flicking something from the sleeve of his uniform shirt. "But we've been told to travel in pairs or groups so that we can have a better chance of seeing whatever it is and pass the revelation."

"That's what these are for," Adrian said, gesturing to a black phone-like object at his waist. "Not to mention the raise as a reward for succeeding. I'm hoping to capture it."

"Even if you do," Mike chuckled, "they'll just take it for study. I mean come on, Adrian, you know whatever is causing this much damage could be valuable to the organization."

"We could always just say we killed it," Adrian said thoughtfully.

"They'll want a body to study," Mike argued.

"Hmm, good point," Adrian said, frowning. "Unless we killed it in a way where we couldn't retrieve the body, like...off a cliff."

"What cliff?" Mike asked, laughing.

"I don't know," Adrian said, grinning and chuckling, "It was just a thought."

"Should we set up camp somewhere? The edge of the path isn't the best plan, since I'm in uniform," Mike said abruptly. Adrian laughed.

"Why'd you wear the uniform? We're supposed to be subtle," he said, getting to his feet, using the tree for support. "Ember, Leafeon, Ralts, come on, we need to move."

"You do, we'll stay here," I said, getting to my feet and nevertheless allowing the young men to lead us further into the woods away from the path. Both of them were carrying flashlights and my tail was supplying the light for the small group of Pokémon. I was surprised that the Rockets let us walk a little behind them without constantly checking to make sure we were following. Maybe they could just tell we were following, but it felt nice to not be monitored constantly. Leaf and the Ralts walked behind me in silence and the Staryu had gone ahead to be with its trainer.

"There isn't much room to set up anything," Adrian noted several minutes later. "So many trees."

"Well here'll work. There's enough space for both of us to lie down without hitting our heads or legs on trees," Mike said, gesturing to a small gap between two trees. True, it was wider than most of the other gaps between trees, but Adrian shook his head.

"No good, Mike. This forest is dense, but I think we can do better," he insisted and the group pressed on. I yawned, but the loss of awareness cost me when I walked directly into the trunk of a tree. I grunted and rubbed my injured muzzle. Leaf was trying not to laugh and the Ralts made a giggling sound.

"Shut up," I grumbled, then froze as my foot stepped into something sticky and slimy. "What...did I just step in?" I asked.

"What?" Leaf asked as I lifted my foot slowly, taking note of some sort of thick white goo stuck to my foot. "I...have no clue," the Leafeon said, taking a pace away from me. The Ralts giggled again.

"Hey, keep up, you guys!" Adrian called, walking back towards us. He blinked when he saw the goo on my foot. "Hey Mike! What is this stuff?"

"What stuff?" Mike asked, backtracking to the rest of the group. His eyes widened when he saw what was on my foot and he knelt near me to get a better look. I tried to wipe the goo on the ground, but it stuck like glue. "I think that's some sort of...I don't know, insect slime?"

"Like a Yanma or something?" Adrian asked, looking upwards. At that moment, the Ralts whined and pointed a small paw towards the branch of a tree. I looked up at where he pointed, but didn't see anything.

"What?" Leaf asked, scanning the tree branches, "I don't see anything."

"Does anyone see anything?" I asked, my eyes flicked over the branches. I was starting to feel paranoid, as if something was watching from the shadows.

"Nope," the Staryu replied. The Ralts was whimpering and clinging to Adrian's leg. The young man was staring at the trees, a concerned frown crossing his face.

"I can't shake the feeling that something's watching us," Leaf muttered. "Anyone else get that feeling?"

"I am," I said, shivering and looking around the dark woods.

"Why are you all so worried? The Charmander stepped in a goo and we're all freaking out?" the Staryu chortled.

"You don't get that feeling?" Leaf asked the star-shape Pokémon.

"No, I don't. You're all para-" the Staryu stopped suddenly and the gem at the center of its body started flashing.

"Staryu?" Mike blinked at his Pokémon, staring at the pulsing gemstone. The gem began flickering wildly and the Staryu began convulsing. The uniformed Rocket's face slowly paled and the Staryu collapsed, stiff as a board. Adrian knelt by the fallen Pokémon, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he reached over and pulled something from the Staryu. He gestured to Mike and they pointed their flashlights at the object.

"What is this?" Adrian murmured. The Ralts whined again and this time drew Adrian's notice to the branch above them. I spat a fireball in that direction, the light of the flames briefly illuminating a shadowy creature, which disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Paranoid?" Leaf muttered, staring at the branch the creature had been on, "Not likely."

"What was that?" I muttered to the Leafeon, "I saw red."

"Th-there," the Ralts stammered, pointing a paw to a branch in a neighboring tree. A sudden burst of white fired from the tree. Adrian stood up suddenly, inadvertently knocking the Ralts to the side. The white stream hit Adrian's leg and I gasped as I saw it was the same white goo-like substance from my foot. As I watched, the stream solidified into some sort of web line, sticking Adrian's foot to the ground. Adrian stared down at his foot, then at the fallen Staryu, and then at the shadows of the tree.

"Who's there?" I demanded to the darkness. I couldn't see what was hiding there, but I knew there was something. My demand was answered by a strange sound; some sort of amused hiss. "Show yourself!" I snarled.

"Of course," a voice spoke from the shadows and a large red spider descended from a line of the same white web-like material. The spider had black stripes on its red body and its legs were red with purple bands. It had four legs where normal insect creatures might, in addition to two such legs positioned on its back. Two impressive fangs were beneath the spider's black eyes and a wicked white horn jutted from its forehead. The fangs clicked once on the descent down.

"Who are you?" Leaf asked warily. The spider made another hissing sound and clicked the fangs in a gesture of amusement.

"What's funny?" I demanded, flexing my claws.

"Many things strike one's fancy for humor," the crimson spider answered with a chuckle.

"Mike, there!" Adrian called, pointing up at the spider Pokémon.

"Ariados," Mike growled, unhooking the phone device from his belt. Before he could do anything else, the Ariados spat a thick strand of the webbing material that stuck to the device. The Ariados chuckled and the line began receding rapidly, tearing the device from Mike's hand and slamming it into the side of a tree. Mike cursed when the black device shattered apart on impact.

"This has to be the thing," Adrian said, watching the Ariados warily. "Your Staryu..."

"What do you want?" I demanded of the Ariados, blocking out the humans for the time being. The spider once again made the same amused hiss.

"Must I want something?" it asked. The response confused me. What kind of answer was that?

"Who the hell are you?" I growled, shaking off my puzzlement.

"I am who I am, Ember," the spider Pokémon answered. My mouth fell open, as did Leaf's. "Hello, Leaf. And little Thorn, a pleasure."

"What?" the Leafeon and Ralts gasped simultaneously.

"How do you know our names?" Leaf asked, betraying his anxiety.

"Were your identities a secret?" the Ariados asked and I finally labeled the tone as that of a female.

"Well, no," I admitted, "but...we don't know you."

"Of course not," the Ariados agreed. "But because you don't know me, it should be shocking not to know you?"

"How do you know us?" I insisted.

"Because I do," the Ariados responded simply.

"Who are you?" Leaf asked, shaking his head in frustration.

"Leafeon, use..." Adrian called, but paused and checked the same red device he had used before we had left. "Use Razor Leaf!"

"Uh...can you give me a second?" Leaf asked the human, who probably didn't understand the grass Eon's words, but judging by his expression, he got the gist.

"Talking back already?" I teased, "Even I'm not that bad."

"Must our relationship start off so hostile?" the Ariados asked, chuckling.

"You're the one who attacked the other Rocket Pokémon, aren't you?" I challenged.

"An odd conclusion," the Ariados remarked. Leaf and I exchanged looks.

"Does that count as answering?" I asked. Leaf shook his head. "That didn't answer my question," I told the Ariados.

"Ember, use Flamethrower at the web," Adrian instructed me. I held up a claw in a 'hold on' gesture, my eyes not straying from the dangling Ariados.

"Give me a second here!" I growled. I wish I had turned to see Adrian's reaction to my response. The Ariados made another amused hissing sound. "Answer the question, Ariados!" I insisted. The spider was completely silent.

"I don't think this is getting us anywhere," Leaf whispered loudly.

"Of course not," the spider agreed.

"Well, we can assume it's the one attacking the other Rocket Pokémon because it attacked that Staryu," I reasoned, "So it's an enemy."

"An unfortunate conclusion, but one you are free to arrive at," the Ariados said casually.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded, getting annoyed.

"You may call me Uru," the spider replied with a chuckle.

"Never heard of you," Leaf muttered.

"Of course not, Leaf," Uru replied. Leaf growled, prompting the spider to chuckle again. Adrian cleared his throat loudly.

"Leafeon, use Razor Leaf on that web!" he ordered. Leaf glared briefly at Adrian.

"I was going to," he muttered, launching a pair of sharp-edged leaves towards the web line connected to the rear of the Ariados. Uru jerked her body to the side, stretching the web line towards a tree. Leaf's leaves cut through the web, causing the momentum of Uru's swing to propel her nearer to the tree trunk during the descent. She never hit the ground, but instead her legs gripped the bark, stopping her fall.

"Ready, Ember?" Adrian asked me. I nodded irritably.

"They don't seem to like you much," Mike commented. There was the sound of a Pokémon being withdrawn into a Pokeball, which I assume was the defeated Staryu.

"They just need to get adjusted," Adrian insisted. "Ember, use Dragon Claw!" I blinked at the command. He didn't tell me to use a breath attack, like almost every other Rocket that had ever been my temporary trainer did. He told me to use a claw attack. I smiled a little bit and allowed my claws to take on the fiery blue aura. "Leafeon, use Aerial Ace!" Adrian ordered. Leaf nodded and took on a battle pose, his eyes watching the Ariados that clung to the side of the tree. I assumed he was readying himself to charge forward.

Uru made an amused hissing sound, her eyes glancing between each of us, the two humans, and the Ralts that clung to Adrian's unstuck leg. She said nothing, but her fangs clicked menacingly.


	259. Web of Deception part 2

**Ember POV**

The inactivity didn't last long. Leaf took off in a burst of speed and his body began giving off a white trail of light or energy. The Ariados watched his approach impassively, her eyes flicking to Leaf's location, even when he began darting to the left or right as he ran. Uru hissed softly and spat a glob of webbing into the Leafeon's path, and Leaf jumped at the last moment, soaring over the sticky spot. Uru spat a line of webbing and I watched the line fix itself to the branch of a neighboring tree. Uru ascended the line hastily, moving out of range of Leaf's attack. Leaf was undaunted and hit the trunk of the Ariados' first tree, kicking off it like a springboard and changing direction in mid-air, bringing his tail down upon the spider.

Uru seemed to see the threat just in time and released her grip on the web line, dropping to the ground, her landing graceful. Leaf's white aura exploded outwards, firing down upon the spider like a missile, striking her just before she touched the ground. Uru hissed and staggered, but recovered just in time to dodge Leaf's landing tackle. Leaf growled, his eyes eager to continue battling. With the Ariados' attention diverted, I moved as stealthily as I could and then lunged, attempting to jab my glowing claws into the spider Pokémon. Uru sidestepped quickly and my claws missed by a hair. I pivoted and jabbed my other paw at her. Most opponents didn't expect me to be ambidextrous, so I usually caught them off guard by using my left and right paw equally. Uru countered by ensnaring my paw in webbing and jerking the line to the side, throwing my aim off. She jabbed her head towards me, but I blocked her horn with my right paw and kicked her in the face.

"How'd you like that?" I taunted. A little uncalled for, I know, but we had countered each other's moves so well that having the upper paw at the end gave me a feeling of pride. Uru chuckled, but didn't say anything. I have to confess I found it very odd that my opponent was so silent. I was far too used to foes exchanging comments or insults during battles to expect an opponent that was so quiet and unresponsive.

"Leafeon, use your Razor Leaf!" Adrian commanded. Leaf shot Adrian an irritated look, but obeyed, launching a flurry of bladed leaves towards the spider Pokémon. He is definitely not used to being commanded by a human trainer. I wasn't used to it, either, but I had more experience ignoring humans telling me what to do than he did. Adrian did seem to be a lot smarter and patient than any other Rockets I'd ever been under the control of, but that didn't mean I enjoyed listening to him. Leaf just really seemed to hate it. Uru suddenly seemed to fade into the shadows, disappearing from our sight. The fired Razor Leaves impaled themselves into the ground harmlessly, leaving the two of us alone and confused.

"What just happened?" Leaf asked, looking around frantically. I looked around, narrowing my eyes at the various shadowy spots. I flared my tail flame up a bit, trying to shed some more light around us. I spared a glance towards Adrian, just in case he knew something we didn't. The young man ran a hand through his brown hair for a moment, and I noticed his other hand was slowly inching towards the radio device at his hip. Mike was looking around with a set jaw, but none of us seemed to know Uru's location. Had she run away or was she just hiding? Leaf suddenly yelped, prompting me to turn towards him, my claws poised to strike if the Ariados was nearby. Uru made an amused hiss from her position in the shadows of another tree. Leaf growled and I stepped up beside him.

"Leafeon, ensnare it using your Grass Knot!" Adrian called. Leaf scowled.

"I know how to fight without help," he grumbled. I smirked.

"Take it easy, Leaf," I said. The grass Eon sighed and extended a vine from his leg. Uru spat a glob of white goo, but I noticed the projectile was heading towards me. I jumped backwards to avoid the attack and Uru seized that moment to dart forward, into the space my earlier position had been guarding. Leaf pivoted his body to face her, but the Ariados was quick enough to get under his vine's reach. I tensed as the spider scurried towards me, but she darted around me. Leaf and I made eye contact for the briefest of instants and he stopped suddenly. Perplexed, I stared at him for a second. Almost immediately, the Leafeon bristled and a low, threatening growl rose up in the back of his throat, startling me.

"Behind you, Ember!" Adrian warned me. I stepped to the side, glancing over at what used to be 'behind' me. There wasn't anything there. I glanced over at Adrian doubtfully, but my attention was forcibly drawn to Leaf when the grass quadruped tackled me in the stomach, knocking me to the ground. He growled threateningly and I flailed my paws, knocking his forelegs out from under him. He fell over onto my chest and I shoved him off, growling irritably.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I demanded. Leaf was on his feet in a flash and bit at my leg. I blocked his jaws with my paws and jerked my knee forward into his face. The Leafeon yelped and recoiled, his growl much louder and more agitated.

Despite the volume of the growl, I heard a cracking sound over from where Adrian and Mike were standing and turned my head. Adrian cursed loudly and I saw Uru scurrying away from the humans, passing the cracked remains of our trainer's communication radio. I was about to jab my claws towards the spider, but Leaf tackled me from behind, sending me sprawling face first into the dirt. I twitched my tail, touching the flame to his flank. It took him less than three seconds to realize what was happening and he jolted away, a strange look of panic on his face.

I got back to my feet, scowling when I heard the Ariados hiss in amusement. Leaf was anxiously checking his singed fur and from my angle, I could see a small barb of some kind stuck in his thigh. Curious, I moved nearer, ignoring the Leafeon's aggressive growl. Before Leaf could attack, I reached over and pulled the thing out, prompting a tiny yelp from the grass type. I brought it closer to my face to study. It definitely looked like something that a bug type of some sort would have, and the only nearby bug was Uru.

"What is this?" I demanded of the nearby Ariados. The only response was a chuckle, which irritated me. Why couldn't I get a straight answer? "What did you do to him?"

"What makes you think I did anything?" Uru asked. I held up the barb I had removed and Uru chuckled. "Do you even know what that is?"

"No, tell me," I growled.

"Ember, use your Dragon Claw!" Adrian ordered. I sighed. He picked the worst timings to give orders. Uru hissed quietly.

"You should pay more attention," she said. Her horn took on an ominous purple gleam and she jabbed her head forward. I hastily blocked the strike with my claws, only to receive a glob of webbing to my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. Leaf darted at Uru, his body taking on the same white trail as earlier. Uru turned her head and fired a large strand of webbing, which expanded outwards into a large web net. Leaf hesitated when he saw it approaching and the white around his body changed to green. He pivoted on his heel and swiped his tail across the web wall. Unfortunately, it had no effect and he was sent tumbling across the ground, his body entangled by the sticky threads.

"Leafeon!" Adrian shouted, hurrying over to the fallen grass type, with Mike at his heels, and they both scrambled to help Leaf get out of the net. The two Rockets withdrew a small knife from their clothes and began hacking away at the webs, careful not to cut Leaf in the process. I focused on Uru.

"I ask that you back off, Ember," Uru said quietly.

"Tell me about this!" I insisted, brandishing the barb.

"Certainly. It's a barb dipped with a toxin that triggers aggressive instincts," Uru said, somewhat dismissively.

"What?" I blinked.

"You don't have the time nor do I have the interest to explain it," Uru replied. I slashed my claws at her, but she scurried away. I only had enough time to growl before being struck forcefully in the gut with a glob of webbing that was launched from the other end of the Ariados. I fell to one knee, but slowly rose to my feet again. The thick webbing had, to my horror, gotten tied around my middle, but was also still connected to the Ariados. My eyes followed the trail of the web just long enough to realize the spider had climbed a tree before the line tugged me forward.

I stumbled along with the line at first, but then caught side of Uru creating a web line to a neighboring tree. Without hesitation, she launched herself from the branch. I cursed when the line tugged forcefully, causing me to lose my balance entirely and drag across the ground, no doubt gaining several bruises and scratches in the process. Uru hissed with amusement and looked down at me, just in time to watch me stop suddenly and jerk backwards like I had hit an invisible wall. My head hit the ground and I blinked at the sky, my vision blurring. From this view, I could see that the web line connected to me had gotten snagged in another branch while dragging me, severing the line prematurely.

"Ember, use a Flamethrower to flush it out of the tree!" Adrian called. The command clicked in my mind and I inhaled. Before I could release the fire burst, something sticky struck me in the mouth, banging my head against the ground again. I coughed, but my mouth couldn't open. It was almost like it was glued shut. I glared down the end of my muzzle and saw that there was a disgustingly gooey glob of white stuck to my mouth, only leaving my nostrils uncovered. I lifted my paws to my face and tugged at the webbing, to no avail. I was stuck with my mouth closed.

"Hey!" Leaf growled, rushing forward. I guess they managed to free him from the web net.

"Don't let it get away, Leafeon! Use your Razor Leaves to chase it from the trees!" Adrian ordered. Leaf obeyed immediately, sending a storm of the sharp leaves into the branches of the tree with surprising speed. Uru dropped from the branches, a second branch falling and smashing through the branch the Ariados had been occupying the short moment ago. Uru landed in front of the two of us and I flexed my claws, breathing through my nose.

"Trust me, it would be best to cease this battle," Uru said, her tone serious. I growled through my webbed up mouth and Leaf gave me a concerned look. After a moment's thought, he trailed a glowing tail across my mouth, cutting enough of the threads to free my jaw. Mew, that would have been so flirty if I wasn't under the impression Leaf didn't know it was a flirty gesture. Uru chuckled at my expression.

"Stupid spider," I growled and stabbed my claws at the Ariados. To my shock, Uru lunged forward and sank her sharp fangs into Leaf's left foreleg. He yowled and stumbled back, making several pained whining and whimpering sounds. The wound was rapidly changing to a sickly purple color. I stared at Leaf's wound in alarm and noticed Uru clicking her fangs together gleefully. "What did you DO?!" I practically screeched.

"What do you think?" Uru responded. Leaf whined, licking the injury desperately, possibly to try and stop the bleeding.

"Tell me what you did, you bitch," I spat, my claws glowing with the fiendish purple fire. Uru snickered.

"If you must know, I applied one of my favorite toxins," she answered. "You wouldn't back off, so I've forced your paws."

"Leafeon's poisoned!" Adrian hissed to Mike. Our trainer hurried over, but I growled threateningly, stopping him in his tracks.

"Wise move," Uru hissed, watching Leaf's behavior with what could only be described as fascinated amusement. Adrian withdrew a pink berry from a bag and tossed it towards Leaf. I caught it and hastily urged Leaf to eat it. "It won't work," Uru warned.

"What?" I demanded, glaring at the Ariados.

"You heard me," Uru said simply.

"Why won't it work?" I snarled, the intensity of the shadow fire around my claws rising rapidly. Leaf swallowed the berry, but his anguished whimpering didn't subside or change at all.

"Pecha berries do heal poison," Uru admitted. "They can heal even a severe poison. But there is no antidote that one can formulate for this toxin. My body created it...and its effects are rather disastrous."

"H-how did you create it?" Leaf whimpered, gnawing at his bitten leg anxiously.

"Are you comfortable openly discussing your anatomy and body features?" Uru countered. "Because I'm not up to such a discussion, thank you." I growled at the spider Pokemon.

"What does this toxin do? What are its effects?" I demanded, taking an aggressive step towards the Ariados. She chuckled, but didn't move away.

"Firstly, it interferes with the natural healing process. That's why the toxin is easily spreading through the rest of your body. Next, it shuts down your immune system. The toxin itself is not fatal," Uru whispered.

"That's good, right?" Leaf asked. Uru chuckled.

"Of course not. Any other toxins or infections quickly overpower your body and reduce you to the brink of death, where the victims desperately pray that they catch something that is fatal," Uru whispered.

"You...you're evil," I breathed.

Uru seemed to smirk. "Evil is a matter of perspective, Ember."

"So Leaf's doomed?" I spat. Uru chuckled.

"No, of course not," she said. "But the toxin is a finicky thing. It must be neutralized and no human or natural antidote has a chance against such a powerful synthesized toxin. The longer it takes, the more likely the damage will be...irreversible. A loss of an immune system...is hell. Your body puts out a welcome mat for any virus, poison, parasite and disease."

"How can it be neutralized?" I demanded.

"I'll make you a deal, Ember," Uru said softly. "In exchange for me neutralizing the toxin...you let me go."

"The hell I will!" I shouted.

"Then kill me and offer him comfort as he slowly perishes," Uru hissed. My eyes narrowed to slits.

"How can YOU neutralize the toxin?" I spat. Uru chuckled, but didn't answer. Instead, she scurried over to Leaf and touched her jaws to his wound. Leaf squirmed, but the Ariados didn't take long until she withdrew silently. There was a slight smacking sound, like someone licking their lips after tasting something sweet and tangy. Uru was silent for several seconds, but then chuckled.

"Do we have a bargain, Ember?" she whispered. I didn't hesitate to nod. Uru immediately bit into Leaf's leg again and he gasped in pain. The Ariados hissed and withdrew once more and began creeping backwards, towards the shadows of a tree. I lunged forward and held my claws to the Ariados' head. She was unfazed by the threat.

"Prove he's cured!" I hissed.

Uru made a quiet hiss of amusement. "Just watch as he recovers," she told me. I looked over at Leaf and saw that his panicked whining was indeed beginning to level out. I flinched as I felt a pinprick of pain in my leg. I looked down and saw a small barb impaled into my foot. "I don't trust you, Ember. Time to sleep..." the Ariados whispered. My vision began to darken and the spider chuckled. Moments before I lost consciousness, I saw the spider fade into the shadows completely.


	260. Rising to the Challenge

**Aura POV**

"Blaze?" I called tentatively, a pang of concern spurring me into speaking. The Flareon sighed and looked towards me. Ever since Crystal had left, Blaze hadn't said a word. "Are...are you all right?" I asked, feeling awkward under his gaze. After telling Sapphire about what had been troubling me, I wasn't sure how I wanted to act now. I took a deep breath to maintain my focus. I should continue acting as I have been. If Blaze knew that I had been hiding my true feelings towards him for so long...I was afraid of how he'd respond. If I blew it now, I might never get another chance. Even if Blaze was happy to no longer be tied to Crystal for whatever reason, there was no question that he was going to be upset. After spending so much time getting rejected, it must be hard for him to have to reject someone who hadn't done it to him.

Blaze was silent for a long time, which started to make me nervous. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. I sighed and walked a little nearer to him. The Flareon looked at me with an odd expression in his eyes. Finally, he said, "Do you think I made the right choice?"

"Uh...right choice about what?" I asked weakly, knowing full well what he was asking about. I don't think it's possible to answer this in an unbiased fashion.

"With Crystal," Blaze said, seemingly unaware of my discomfort. He sighed bitterly. "Do you think I was too harsh?"

"I don't know. Do you think you didn't make the right choice?" I asked tentatively. Blaze hesitated and sighed again.

"No, I think I did," he said finally.

"Why?" I pressed, sitting down next to him. It wasn't that I wanted to hear him criticize Crystal, but more that I wanted him to stop having doubts if he was sure he made the right choice. If he was satisfied with his reasoning, then he could stop worrying about it. I only wished the same could be true for me. I was positive my reasoning for concealing my feelings was good, but it still bothered me that I had led Blaze on the way I had. I pushed these thoughts away quickly. Now was not the time to reflect on my problems.

"Why?" Blaze repeated, tilting his head at me with a blank expression on his face.

"Why do you think you made the right choice? Be specific," I explained. "You don't have to tell me. Just think about it," I said quickly. If I got him around to criticizing Crystal out loud or prodding him to tell me what he didn't like, he might not be very comfortable. I just wanted him to calm down and relax.

"You about ready now, Blazey?" the male Leafeon jeered. Blaze growled. "Frost recommended the Vaporeon take the place of the female Flareon. I wonder whether he realizes that if we beat two Pokémon with a type advantage, removing one and adding one with a type DISadvantage is not exactly difficult."

"Shut up, Luthor!" Blaze shouted.

"Sure thing, Blazey. If you can beat us," Luthor taunted. He and the female Leafeon walked confidently to the center of the battlefield. Blaze stepped forward quickly and I followed with a moment's hesitation. It was true that Blaze and I acted as a tag team on occasion, but I wasn't the most active battler. The Rockets had taken me out of the cage on occasion so that I could get exercise, since they wanted me to be in peak condition, and it usually coincided with when they changed the contents of the cage. I also had noted that the Pokémon removed tended to be those with approaching heat seasons. I'm surprised the Rockets in that facility put so much effort into subtly keeping Blaze available, yet neglected to just separate us from everyone else. To the best of my memory, Blaze and I were the only consistent prisoners of that cage, for fairly obvious reasons.

"Ready?" Blaze whispered to me. I nodded half-heartedly. To me, this was a pointless battle. Nothing more than a grudge match between Blaze and this Leafeon. The two males watched each other, the fire type glaring at the grass type, who replied with a smirk. The female Leafeon smiled at me almost kindly, which I mirrored for a fraction of a second. From the corner of my eye, I saw the Umbreon with the dark blue rings move towards the side of the collosseum, out of range of the battle.

The female Leafeon's body glowed brightly, conjuring a bright sphere of light above us. I winced at the intensity of the sun's rays upon my body. Blaze looked up at the sunlight, frowning a little. The sprout on Luthor's head shimmered and a green-white beam of energy launched towards Blaze. The Flareon seemed to have expected this, because he hurled himself down to the ground, the Solar beam shooting over his body. I inhaled and fired a jet of water towards the male Leafeon. To my surprise, roughly half the water evaporated before it even went near the target. The sun's rays were just too intense. Luthor dodged the spray of water effortlessly and I grunted as my muscles suddenly weakened. Seconds later, several green orbs of energy flew from my body and were absorbed by the Leafeon.

"Really, what kind of opponents are you?" Luthor taunted, his leaf tail flicking. "This is even easier than the two Flareon were."

"We're not done," Blaze grumbled, spitting an intense burst of fire towards his opponent, but a green barrier intercepted the attack, protecting the grass type. Luthor nodded gratefully to his mate. With them momentarily distracted, I fired an Aurora Beam, but the female Leafeon dodged gracefully and landed beside me. I pivoted my weight, slapping my tail across her face and knocking her down.

"Lexa?" Luthor gasped, but then his eyes narrowed at me, even as the female grass Eon pushed herself up.

"Ha! We scored a hit!" Blaze boasted. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. The two Leafeon glared at me and before I could react, the male extended a pair of vines from his body, the vines coiling around my legs and tying them together. I yelped and lost my balance, my face hitting the dirt. At the same time, my entire body seemed to lose all feeling and strength. Even with my face planted down, I could almost see the orbs of energy leaving my body. "Hey!" Blaze protested.

"When she's unable to continue, your team's finished," Luthor taunted. The grass Eon's voice was cut off abruptly, ending in a grunt. I struggled to lift my head, but to no avail. I heard Blaze growl and what sounded like flames crackling, but couldn't tell what was going on. Thinking quickly, I tucked my head and rolled forward. Unfortunately, with my forelegs tied so tightly, all this did was trap me on my back in an extremely uncomfortable position, but I knew it was a small price to pay for the chance to get out of my bind. I jerked my head forward and bit the vines around my legs. It took me several attempts, but I finally managed to weaken them to the extent of being able to break out.

I got to my feet, glancing around a bit self-consciously. Fortunately, I don't think anyone other than the female Umbreon had noticed my tactic, since the two grass types were preoccupied with Blaze. I quickly fired an Ice Beam towards the Leafeon pair, narrowly missing the male, but hitting the female. She whined and began shivering violently. Luthor blinked and glared at me. Blaze looked over in surprise and then grinned. "Got you again!" he crowed.

"Shut up, Blazey," Luthor growled. The Leafeon's shivering didn't last long thanks to the warm heat of the personal sun. The sprouts upon their heads glowed simultaneously and large green beams erupted forth, one hitting Blaze and sending him sprawling back, the other narrowly missing my tail. Lexa dashed towards me and leapt into the air. I spat Ice and Aurora beams at her descending figure as rapidly as possible, but she formed a green barrier around herself, becoming completely invincible during the descent. I jumped to the side and she slammed the Protect barrier against the ground when she landed. Just as I inhaled, my legs went weak and I fell forward, grunting as she once again drained my energy.

"Oh come on, stop ganging up on her!" Blaze complained. I wasn't sure what he meant until I realized how incredibly exhausted I was. I lifted my head the best I could and realized that both Leafeon had been draining my energy.

"As you wish," Luthor said. One of the enormous green-white beams flashed in front of my vision and I yelped as the beam threw me backwards forcefully, scraping my drying body against the dirt and dust of the collosseum ground. Pain took hold of almost every inch of me and the sunlight beat agony against my normally damp body.

"You jerk," Blaze growled. As he spoke, his voice took on a similar harshness that it had when he yelled at Crystal, only stronger and more forceful. "You two are both jerks."

"Why, because we battle to win, Blazey?" Luthor taunted.

"No, because you're bullying Aura, just because you have a type advantage," Blaze replied coldly.

"And because she's weak and because she hit Lexa," the Leafeon corrected. "Don't call us jerks because you can't keep track of those you're looking out for, like Sissy."

A deadly silence followed this taunt and I opened my eyes to see what was going on. Blaze's body had stiffened and his eyes had narrowed to slits. "We'll see," the Flareon said seriously. In a flash, the Flareon lunged forward, his body engulfed in fire. Luthor leapt to the side, but Blaze pivoted and kicked off the ground, changing direction sharply and plowing into the Leafeon. At the last moment, a green barrier came up between the two male Eons and Luthor let out a sigh of relief as he backed away from the angered Flareon. Blaze disappeared in a flash and reappeared beside the male Leafeon. Luthor hastily looped a vine around Blaze's leg, but it ignited when Blaze lunged forward, this time the flaming tackle impacted with the grass type. Luthor yelled in pain and recoiled, a brief look of panic on his face.

"Not bad," the male grass Eon admitted, scowling angrily. "Maybe you really did beat Frost. But you're no match for our tag team! Lexa, take point!" he ordered. The female nodded and stepped forward. Her body glowed with a faint pink aura. I focused and after a few moments, a gentle ring of water formed around me, soothing the dryness the overhead sunlight orb had caused me. At the same time, the Aqua Ring was washing the dirt from me. I studied Blaze's reaction, but was as surprised as the Leafeon to see that Blaze was unfazed.

"Nice try," Blaze said and spat a small fireball. As I watched, the projectile expanded into the well-known and often feared stick figure shape of Fire Blast. Lexa's eyes widened and a green barrier formed at the last second. Blaze disappeared in a blur and reappeared a second later, standing just beside the female Leafeon. Her eyes widened in terror as he opened his mouth. I winced, expecting to hear the sizzling sound of fire, but it never came. I opened my eyes again and saw Lexa cowering in a ball at Blaze's feet, covering her eyes with her paws. Blaze himself had an odd expression on his face as he looked down at her. Luthor looked frozen, unsure how to react.

"I'm s-sorry, d-don't..." the female Leafeon whimpered. Blaze blinked and his expression softened for the briefest of instants. Finally, he closed his mouth and stepped away from the cowering grass type. Luthor was at his mate's side in an instant, nuzzling her comfortingly.

"It's okay, it's not your fault," he murmured to her. Blaze eyed them warily. Luthor shot the Flareon a cool look. "This match isn't over, Blazey," he warned.

"Don't call me that," Blaze growled. "I could have roasted her."

"Damn it, I missed it," Frost grumbled and I looked up in surprise as he and Crystal entered. The female Flareon looked calmer than she had when she left, but she was pointedly looking away from Blaze.

"We're not finished, Frost," Luthor said.

"It hardly matters. I have some news, questionable as it is," Frost said. Luthor narrowed his eyes.

"News?" he scoffed.

"It is presently believed that Diablos..." the Glaceon paused to judge everyone's reactions. "...is dead."

"What?" Luthor's eyes bulged out for a moment. Frost nodded seriously.

"I have my doubts. In any case, we'll have to postpone the completion of these matches in favor of receiving confirmation or anything to refute the claim," the ice Eon admitted. The Leafeon exchanged looks.

"Very well," Luthor grumbled. He suddenly cursed under his breath. "Morph left. That's our transportation!"

"Error: No backup," Frost remarked, withdrawing a small phone from a concealed pouch around his neck and dialing a number. Blaze walked over to me, breathing heavily. He too was pointedly avoiding eye contact with Crystal, who was sitting peculiarly close to Frost.

"You okay, Aura?" he asked. I nodded, gesturing to my Aqua Ring. The water was becoming absorbed by my body and replenishing my fluids and attending to my injuries. "Good," he muttered.

"Gem? It's me. Look, we need transportation from the Arcana Collosseum. Some friends of the Cave Army need to return, and a friend and I need to make arrangements there as well. Yes, bye," Frost clicked off his phone and promptly dialed again. Everyone else was silent, looking rather confused. "Hey, I need you to come down to the Arcana Collosseum to transport a trio of Eons to whatever destination they're looking for..." the Glaceon paused and rolled his eyes. "Sure, bring a friend," he said and hung up.

"What's going on?" Blaze asked.

"Luthor and his mate are returning to the Cave Army, and I need to meet with some contacts there. This lovely Flareon will be joining me," Frost replied, touching his tail to Crystal's leg. Blaze stared at them.

"Wow, that was fast," he remarked. Crystal didn't answer.

"As for you two, I've made arrangements to transport you and Dark to wherever you plan on going, I don't particularly care where," Frost continued, nodding towards Blaze and me.

"They could stay at our new location for a while," the Umbreon suggested, her rings glowing briefly. Frost shrugged.

"You deal with Shadow's protests. Then again, she's technically in our group anyway. But if Diablos truly is dead...no word on what will become of the group," he mused, jerking his head towards me.

"You called?" a voice rasped and a Sableye materialized beside the Leafeon pair. The ghost chuckled. "Of course...you two."

"Is this the correct place?" a timid voice inquired and the group turned to see an Espeon and an Umbreon near the entrance to the collosseum.

"That was prompt," Frost chuckled. The two newcomer Pokémon stepped forward. On closer inspection, I determined the Espeon to be a timid-looking male and the Umbreon to be female, although with regularly colored rings. Almost immediately upon catching sight of the Glaceon, the Umbreon lowered her head submissively.

"Who are you?" Crystal asked blankly.

"My name is Toady, mistress...Crystal," the Espeon answered, bowing his head. He repeated the bow towards Frost. "Master Frost."

Wait, I know you," Darkness said, staring at the Umbreon. Blaze took a closer look as well and his jaw dropped, followed by a flinch when she turned her attention towards him, alerted to his presence by the flinch.

"Oh damn," she muttered.

"Hi Angel," Blaze said nervously. She glared at him, prompting a growl from me. She raised her head to look at me and stared.

"Wait...you're the breeding couple, aren't you?" she asked.

"Hello, Moonlight," I muttered. What was she doing here? Frost was looking incredibly amused.

"So...you've met almost everyone here?" he asked, chuckling. He glanced at the Espeon. "All is well, I presume?"

"Of course, Master Frost," the Espeon said, bowing his head again.

"Good," Frost murmured, licking the Espeon's forehead in what seemed to be a gesture of approval before turning to the Sableye, so he missed the Espeon's blush. "Shall we?"

"Of course," the Sableye rasped and the two Leafeon, Frost, and Crystal disappeared, leaving the five of us alone.

"Wow, this is awkward," Darkness muttered.

"You have no idea," I sighed.


	261. Challenge Aftermath

**Aura POV**

There was a minute of awkward silence before anyone managed to say something else. Unsurprisingly, Blaze was the one who seemed least uncomfortable, so he spoke first. "So where we going?"

"To our new location," Darkness answered vaguely. I blinked, feeling like I was missing something.

"Why? What happened to the old one?" I asked tentatively. Darkness blinked at me strangely, but nodded as if she understood.

"Destroyed," she said and left it at that. I frowned a little, but then looked towards Moonlight, who was watching Blaze with an annoyed expression. It wasn't hard to see why; Blaze was staring at her.

"Stop it!" Moonlight finally snapped, growling at Blaze. The Flareon cringed at her growl and his ears drooped.

"Sorry, Angel," he mumbled. Moonlight bristled.

"Stop calling me that!" she ordered coldly. "My name is Moonlight, and you still have no chance at me unless you can beat me. And only one male has ever beaten me!"

"Really? Who?" Blaze asked curiously. Darkness twitched at the question. Moonlight scowled.

"As if it's any of your business," she scoffed. "If you must know, it was Frost." Oh, that explained her oddly submissive behavior around the Glaceon when she showed up. I remembered her from the Rocket facility. Whenever I was taken out for exercise or similar reason, I often came across the female Umbreon. She was the only other Eon of either gender in the entire facility, so she stood out a fair amount. She on occasion taunted me about being Blaze's arranged mate, but I usually ignored her. Moonlight was frequently battling males and then dismissing them as worthless fighters. Rumors suggested, and Blaze's memories confirmed, that Moonlight was frequently approached by or set up with males, but she was violently opposed to a mate that couldn't exceed her in battle. The Rockets had all but given up on coaxing her.

"Frost beat you?" Blaze repeated. Moonlight nodded curtly and the Flareon grinned widely. "Ha! I beat Frost!"

"What'd you say?!" Moonlight snarled, her rings lighting up. The Espeon's eyes also narrowed with clear anger. Darkness groaned and put her face in her paws. I shifted awkwardly. Blaze smirked.

"I beat Frost, so I must be better than you, too!" he said, in a slight sing-song voice. The newcomer Eons exchanged looks.

"You're not better than Frost, you idiot!" Darkness growled.

"Only one way to know," Toady said with subtle iciness, nodding to Moonlight. I felt a sudden twinge of dread and concern. Blaze yelled in surprise as his body was engulfed in a light blue psychic aura. Moonlight lunged forward and slammed her head into Blaze's gut. Blaze gasped and coughed from the impact, but he seemed unable to move, locked in the Espeon's psychic grip. Moonlight followed up by viciously biting Blaze's shoulder and slashing him across the face. Blaze whimpered, blood trickling from the scratches on his cheek.

"Hey! Stop it!" I protested, hurrying forward, leaving my Aqua Ring to dissolve away uselessly when I left its confines. Moonlight glanced towards me with a sneer.

"Aw, rushing to protect your partner," she said, and then bit Blaze's ear roughly. Blaze whined, still unable to budge from his position. I growled angrily.

"Let him go!" I growled, building up my water pressure. The Eons exchanged looks, but Toady shook his head and growled quietly. I narrowed my eyes. "Why not?" I demanded.

"If Master Blaze believes himself superior to Master Frost, then he should have bested us both with ease," Toady replied, his forked tail flicking. "There will be no mistake that he is not. Mistress Aqua would never forgive us if a conclusion of this battle is not reached."

"This isn't a fair fight!" I insisted.

"Tell it to Master Frost," Toady countered.

"What does that even mean?" I growled.

"If he was better than Frost, he would have beaten this obvious strategy," Moonlight replied, slamming her paw against Blaze's face. Toady released the psychic hold and Blaze tumbled backwards, whimpering in pain. Moonlight stalked over to the fallen Flareon and lowered her face to his. "Let that be a lesson to you, Flareon. You're nowhere near Frost's level. You will never tell people otherwise, ever again. Got me?" she snarled.

"Y-yes," Blaze whined. Moonlight straightened up, apparently satisfied. I moved over to the fallen Flareon and nudged him comfortingly. Blaze whined a little, but stopped when I licked his scratches, clearing the small traces of blood from his face.

"Are you ready to go, Mistress Darkness?" Toady asked, nodding submissively to the blue-ringed Umbreon. Darkness nodded and giggled quietly. "May I have the destination, Mistress Darkness?" the Espeon prompted. Darkness muttered something I didn't catch. The Espeon nodded. The forehead gem of the psychic feline flashed and I winced at the brightness. When I opened my eyes, I found that we were standing outside what looked like a human warehouse, which reminded me of a Rocket base in the fact that it was unremarkable.

"This is your new place?" I asked, looking the exterior up and down. Darkness nodded and circled around the side of the building. After a moment's hesitation, I nudged Blaze until he stood up and followed after the blue ringed Umbreon. I glanced back before turning the corner and saw that the other two Eons had disappeared.

Darkness was waiting impatiently for us at a metal door located on the far side of the building. Without a word, she nudged the door open with her head and jerked her head impatiently towards the open doorway. Blaze stepped inside and I hastened to follow, making our collision in the doorway look as accidental as possible. Blaze blinked, but smiled a little and I blushed, more because of his reaction than out of innocent embarrassment, which I hoped he interpreted the blush as.

The inside of the building was mostly occupied by old boxes and crates, but there was plenty of space for us all to move about comfortably. Blaze looked around with mild interest and I kept my eyes on him to make sure the fight with the two Eons had not injured him too badly. So far he was walking just fine and the scratches on his face were already sealed over and should be healing fine. Darkness followed us inside and allowed the door to slam shut behind us. The warehouse or whatever it was lit by several dim light bulbs, casting a gloomy atmosphere around, but I didn't let that dampen my mood.

"There's another room over there," Darkness said lazily, gesturing a blue-banded leg towards the far end of the building. Blaze nodded, curiously examining some of the boxes nearest the door. "I'm guessing Shadow's not here," the Umbreon muttered, looking around. The mention of the Espeon reminded me of a question I wanted to ask Darkness.

"You said before you knew that Umbreon, Moonlight. How?" I asked. Darkness blinked and looked towards me suspiciously.

"How do YOU know her?" she retorted.

"She was a Rocket at the facility Blaze and I were at," I answered promptly. Darkness hesitated and then sighed.

"Our group went to a Johto base some time back, one of our usual missions, but one of the rare ones where most of the group was together instead of spread out throughout regions. Frost encountered her and defeated her. He...took a liking to her," the Umbreon trailed off and shrugged. "He arranged for her to be accepted into a local clan."

"That's it?" I asked skeptically. Darkness' eyes narrowed, so I quickly smiled and backed away. "Good to know, thank you," I said, walking back over to Blaze. Based on how the other Eons in the group acted, Darkness was not one to get on the wrong side of. Darkness grunted and walked away.

I watched Blaze prodding at the cardboard of a box, his tail swishing a little as he did so. I didn't know what he was actually trying to do, but the sight of him playfully poking a box struck me as amusing. It's a good sign of how hard of a time I had back at the cells if I find something so basic to be worth paying attention to. Then again, Blaze was funny sometime. He was one of the only prisoners in the cells with a sense of humor, however debatable as that was; at least he tried to lighten the moods of those around him. I was starting to regret losing my temper with him so often once we had gotten out of the cages, because that may have attributed to his moodiness at later dates.

"You okay, Blaze?" I asked him suddenly. The Flareon blinked and turned towards me. "You looked like you took a beating," I explained. Blaze looked down at himself and shrugged.

"I'll be fine," he said, yawning, suddenly looking exhausted. I resisted my own urge to yawn, even as the Flareon began wandering aimlessly between the rows of boxes and crates. I stayed where I was, not really interested in following the precise same path the fire Eon was going to take before settling down. Knowing Blaze, it would involve a lot of backtracking and indecisiveness. The worst part was I couldn't even be positive that he was looking for somewhere to settle down. He did the same thing back in the Rocket cages even though everyone knew full well that he was going to select a spot near any female that would let him cuddle with her. Which in most cases was me.

It wasn't until Blaze entered the second 'room' that I decided to follow him, my curiosity piqued at last. What was he looking for? I voiced this question aloud when I caught up to him and Blaze jumped, startled by my voice.

"The floor's too hard!" he complained, his voice taking on his whinier traits. I often wondered why he acted so whiny all the time. Truthfully, I had gotten used to it to the point where it didn't bother me anymore, but the quality definitely got on the nerves of practically everyone else he ever associated with. The depraved Ekans was possibly the only other one back in the cells that wasn't turned away from the Flareon because of his whininess or overactive interest in flirting. I should probably be ashamed that I'm in the same category as Rosa. I wonder what happened with her, but in no way am I disappointed that I haven't seen or heard of her since the battle between me, her, and Crystal.

"Well...is there anything to lie on?" I suggested to Blaze, looking around the confines of the present room. Blaze shook his head. "Can't you use your tail as a pillow? It's definitely soft enough," I said, sounding as casual as I could. Blaze grinned and looked back at his tail, which swished in response to his glance, as if the tail itself was proud of its fluffiness. I probably shouldn't encourage Blaze to compliment his own body, but it was one way to cheer him up after what he had been through today, between Crystal, those Leafeon, and then the other Eons. Why is it that Blaze always has trouble with other Eons?

"No, the rest of me would still be on the hard ground," Blaze sighed, his tail flicking dejectedly, again making me think the tail itself was disappointed that it couldn't be useful enough to the Flareon. I'm having some weird thoughts today. I walked further into the room and looked around.

"It's not that bad," I said, lying down a short distance from where he stood. I wasn't lying either. Vaporeon hides are supposedly tough enough for them to be comfortable lying on rocks. I'm not sure if that's true, because after all the time I spent in the Rocket cages, I had gotten used to uncushioned sleeping locations. All the prisoners in the cages did eventually, usually after complaining for weeks. Oddly, Blaze didn't complain much about the cage when we were there.

"I don't like it," Blaze grumbled. Dang it, he wasn't getting the hint. Maybe I was trying too hard. Yeah, that was probably it. I was trying to draw Blaze to me, rather than what I normally did.

"Suit yourself," I said, yawning and curling up comfortably. I was just about to drift off to sleep when Blaze nudged me lightly. I gave an annoyed grunt and the Flareon muttered an apology.

"Um...I don't want to be alone," he said awkwardly. I opened one eye to look at him.

"Why?" I blurted. Blaze shifted his weight uncomfortably, but didn't answer. I shrugged, but uncurled my tail a little to give him some room to lie down beside me. Blaze hesitated, but then lay down and snuggled against my side. This was enough like how he normally acted back at the Rockets that I didn't feel it necessary to act annoyed about it. The fire Eon yawned and rested his head against my side. He twitched when I replaced my tail in its former position, now partially wrapped around him, but soon relaxed. The warmth of his fur and the gentle sound of his breathing quickly returned me to the brink of sleep until I drifted off at last

* * *

When I awoke, I was surprised that Blaze was also waking up. "Morning," I said to him and he nodded. He slid out from his position, stretched, and then sat down on my tail. I raised an eyebrow. "Uh...Blaze? You're on my tail."

"I know," he said seriously. My eyebrow rose further.

"Why?"

"Because I can feel your tail under me," Blaze answered. I choked to fight back a giggle at his answer. He looked confused for a moment. "Oh, you meant why am I on your tail?"

"Kind of, yeah," I said, still resisting the urge to laugh.

"I wanted to ask you something and I don't want you to walk away without answering," Blaze said.

"Isn't there an easier way to do that?" I asked, twitching my tail fin to keep from losing all feeling in it. Blaze shrugged. "Sure, what did you want?" I asked, trying to appear calm and not anxious. What could he be about to ask me?

"Why did Moonlight call me your partner?" he asked. I stared at him, somehow prompting him to place more weight on my tail. I winced.

"That's really uncomfortable, you know that right?" I asked, looking at my tail.

"Ahem," Blaze cleared his throat and stared at me. "She can't be calling us tag team partners because she didn't know about that. And she knows who we are and we know her. So what was she talking about?"

"Well, um...you see, um..." I faltered, my mind failing to produce an answer. The Flareon frowned.

"Don't lie, Aura. That'll hurt and we're supposed to be friends," he complained. Well, if I didn't feel awkward enough before, I did now. I looked around, disappointed in finding nothing remarkable to comment on in the immediate vicinity. No wonder Blaze had chosen to sit on my tail to avoid me dodging the question.

"Um...it's hard to explain," I said weakly. Both of us froze when a strange hiss sounded through the room. Blaze got off my tail and looked around, a quiet growl leaving his throat. The hiss was soon followed by a clear sound of chuckling.

"Who's there?" Blaze demanded to the air.

"Above you," a voice answered. I looked up and watched as a large red spider Pokémon descended from the ceiling upon a sticky-looking thread of white silk or something.

"Who are you?" I asked the Ariados blankly. The spider chuckled.

"How rude of me for dropping in on you like this. You may call me Uru," the Ariados replied, the tone sounding like it belonged to a female.

"What are you doing here?" Blaze asked suspiciously.

"This place has been abandoned for some time, Blaze," Uru answered, clicking her fangs once. "I may have made a temporary nest."

"Why temporary?" I asked, for no real reason. Blaze didn't seem surprised at being addressed by name, so likely he realized, like I had, that if the spider had a nest, she had probably overheard us using each other's names. The Ariados was silent.

"Aura asked you a question," Blaze reminded Uru.

"Indeed she did," the spider agreed. Blaze and I exchanged puzzled looks.

"Aren't you going to answer her?" Blaze pressed.

"I do not have to answer," Uru replied simply.

"Why not?" Blaze insisted. Uru was silent. "Stop ignoring me!" Blaze whined.

"Take it easy, Blaze," I told him. "Is there something you wanted from us?" I asked, directing my question towards the poisonous spider.

"Quiet would be nice," Uru said with a chuckle, "I like to sleep in." She made an amused hiss sound. "It was a pleasure meeting you two. Are you two a couple?"

"Uh..." I faltered. Blaze just stared, his mouth moving soundlessly.

"I was joking," Uru said quickly, clicking her fangs with apparent amusement. "It's personal, I don't need an answer. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to return to my slumber." Without another word, the Ariados ascended the silk line and disappeared among the shadows of the overhead rafters.

"She seems nice," I muttered. Blaze nodded in agreement.


	262. Getting Back Into Things

**Ember POV**

I awoke as abruptly as if my sleep had been disturbed by being doused in a bucket of cold water, but found myself in complete blackness. I searched around frantically in a blind panic, my paws feeling the ground around me. When my paw touched the bark of a tree, I pulled myself nearer to it and propped my back against the trunk, inhaling deeply to soothe my agitation. A sudden curiosity struck me and I glanced at my tail flame. No wonder it was so dark...my flame had dwindled down to mere embers. "Shut up Dragonair," I said aloud, and then blinked. Oh right, he's not here. I'm not even traveling with him right now. It had been so long since I've last seen him, I was starting to miss him, even if he could be an insensitive jerk sometimes.

I sighed and shook my head, trying to clear away the lightheadedness that clung to me. First things first, I should shed some light on my location and figure out what the hell is going on. A small fireball directed at my tail flame settled the issue with the dwindling fire, and I finally recognized my surrounding as the Pokeball environment. It must be the night cycle or maybe this place just switches to night if I'm placed inside one while already asleep. I'm not sure; I'm not an expert on Pokeballs. Damn it, now my sleep schedule was going to be all screwed up, thanks to that stupid Ariados.

Speaking of that Ariados...what happened with her? I made a mental note to ask Leaf the next time I saw him, which could be any time between a minute to a month, depending on when I was next released from my Pokeball. I sighed and stretched my arms. I frowned when a twinge of soreness took hold of my limbs. That didn't normally happen, no matter how often I battled. Maybe it had something to do with what the spider hit me with that put me to sleep in the first place. Was this soreness a side effect or just a coincidence?

I closed my eyes, half-heartedly hoping that maybe I could get back to sleep until the morning cycle of the Pokeball. Unfortunately, since I only had no idea how long I had been asleep, it was pointless to hope that sleep would come easily. Mew damn my luck. Couldn't I ever go more than a few days without being knocked unconscious or captured or any other stupid things that seemed to target me? It was impossibly annoying. Maybe now I had a chance for a calmer life, depending on the length of my stay with the Rocket trainer before he ditched me like all my previous trainers had. Maybe...if I was lucky...maybe he wouldn't. It'd be so nice to not feel so unwanted. All my life I had endured the endless rejection and contempt from everyone, humans and Pokémon alike. Even my own mom, who I always hated, had never wanted me to exist. There is no relief to such a crippling statement. Before then, I had never realized the possibility that sometimes kits weren't desired. If anything could be learned from this, it was that a mate should be selected with care and not on impulse.

I sighed and stood up, conceding that I wasn't going to be able to return to sleep now. Being still would only let those dark thoughts creep into my mind and I didn't need another descent into a deep depression because of my past. I studied my paws for a few seconds. What did it matter if I was unwanted by that bitch of a Charmeleon? There was nothing that could change the fact, so I could either mope or press on. I would never forgive her for what she had done, for failing to take responsibility for her life, but I wouldn't dwell on it. As for being neglected during my Rocket years...harder to move on from, but I'd try to make the best of my current scenario.

I flexed my claws. Seeing as I was too alert to sleep and since I had nothing else to do, I may as well do some practice to pass the time. Sore as I was, it wasn't so bad that I couldn't train. Experience had taught me that in order to clear my mind of things that were bugging me, the best solution was to focus my effort into practice or other physical activities. Maybe if I was lucky, I could go back to sleep afterwards and get back on track with my sleep schedule. The more effort I put into the training, the more satisfying my progress would feel.

Before I could start, my stomach did a flip flop feeling and a tugging sensation drew me from the dark environment. I growled when a new environment materialized around me. My feet were standing upon a tiled floor and I looked around, taking in the dim lighting of the room I was in. Standing a short distance away was Adrian. He knelt down beside me and looked me over.

"You okay, girl?" he asked me in a low tone. I didn't bother answering, my attention shifting around the room. From the looks of it, we were in one of the training rooms, maybe even the one where I had fought Flare the other day. Mew, I hate that Slugma. I forced myself to stay calm. If Adrian was in touch with signals of aggression, such as my tail flame's intensity, he might think I was behaving hostilely towards him and then I'd get dropped off again. Adrian extended a hand and placed it on my shoulder, exerting just enough pressure to anchor me in place. I have no idea how he did that, removing practically my entire will to move away from him.

Adrian inspected my scales and lifted one of my legs to look at the underside of my foot. I was practically forced into leaning backwards, but the human kept a hand behind me to stop me from falling over. Even if I wasn't going to fall, I didn't appreciate being tipped over or handled because although it probably wouldn't do any harm, it was like being treated like an object instead of a living creature. I growled to express this sentiment. Adrian surprisingly seemed to catch my message and promptly righted me and withdrew his hand.

"Sorry, Ember. Just wanted to make sure that Ariados didn't hurt you much," Adrian assured me, "I have some practice with Pokémon examination." I grunted and crossed my arms over my chest. I don't care whether he had practice; I'd prefer a Chansey or human nurse to do that, not some other human. At least them I had some degree of confidence in.

Adrian sighed quietly and reached for his Pokeballs. It was at this moment that I saw he was dressed in the usual black Rocket uniform. He looks better in casual clothing. It was a lot easier to picture him as the average young adult than it was to see him as a Rocket. His personality and training techniques just didn't seem to match that of a Rocket grunt, or at least not the type I had come to expect after spending so long being passed down like an old coat.

The two Pokeballs burst open, releasing Leaf and the Ralts from the other night. Leaf whined a little when he appeared and I immediately saw that he was curled up sleepily, as if he had been sleeping at the time of release. So I guess not everyone emerges from a Pokeball fully alert. The Ralts giggled and poked Leaf. The Leafeon whined in protest, but opened his eyes. The Ralts giggled again, but didn't prod the grass type further. I hid a smile.

"Come on, Leaf, get up," I said, walking over and lightly kicking his side. Leaf grunted and sat up, giving me a wary look. I grinned, but didn't say anything. He was just too fun. I almost wished he was on the leash again, just so I could mess with him a little more. Hm, probably a good thing I don't have the leash, although I'm sure Adrian's reaction would have been worth it. I hope I'm not becoming too much like Dragonair. Doing things for the reaction was something he seemed to thrive on.

"Okay, you three ready?" Adrian asked, drawing our attention to him.

"Ready for what?" Leaf asked me. I shrugged in reply. I didn't have any more clues than he did. I gazed around the room. Well, we were in one of the training rooms, but what did he expect us to do?

"I want you two to spar," Adrian said, pointing to Leaf and me. The Leafeon blinked and gave me another wary look. "Follow your own strategies." I noticed Leaf's tail flicked happily at this comment. Adrian chuckled and continued, "Ralts will also be involved under my direction. Think you're up for that?"

"Could be worse," I muttered. Adrian stood up and led the three of us to a specific section of the room. The Ralts smiled shyly. I wasn't sure how strong of a fighter this Pokémon was, especially since it looked so young. I hope Adrian knows what he's doing, because sending a relatively inexperienced Pokémon against two more experienced ones, even with guidance, could be too much for the Ralts to handle.

"Ready?" Adrian asked. I nodded, impatiently flexing my claws. Of course we were ready, and even if we weren't, it was a good idea to get ready at a moment's notice. "All right. Ralts, start off with your Aura Sphere!"

"Aura Sphere?" Leaf repeated, staring at the small humanoid Pokémon. He giggled and held his paws in front of him. As we watched, a small blue orb of energy expanded between his paws.

"Now launch it at the Charmander," Adrian commanded. Without hesitation, the Ralts thrust his arms forward, propelling the shimmering sphere towards me. I sidestepped quickly to dodge. Leaf tried to shout a warning, but I never heard it before something collided with my back, pushing me forward to the ground.

"What hit me?!" I demanded, glaring behind me, but I didn't see anything there.

"The Aura Sphere," Leaf said with a wince.

"Ow," I grumbled getting up and flexing my claws.

"Ralts, retreat," Adrian said, the Ralts immediately moving out of the battle range. I guess that means that Leaf is supposed to be my only opponent, but why did I have to be the one attacked by the Ralts without getting a chance to retaliate. That wasn't fair. I was jolted from my silent griping by the Leafeon running towards me, a white streak trailing after his form. I sidestepped and jabbed my claws at his side. At the same moment, the white streak of light pulsed outwards from Leaf, hitting me in the stomach. My claws still jabbed Leaf painfully at the cost of me hunching over in pain. I managed to shake off the pain quickly. Leaf darted forward and spun, his tail slapping me across the face. His hind legs then impacted with my chest and his full weight shoved me to the ground.

Without thinking, I spat a fireball at the offending grass type, seeing as it was pretty much the only thing I could do in this position. Leaf yelped as the tip of his ear ignited and he scrambled off me, yelling in a panic as he desperately tried to snuff the tiny flame with his paw. "Get it off! Get it off!" he practically shrieked. When he passed by me, I seized him by the tail to halt him in place and pinched the tiny flame easily between my claws. Leaf's face flushed deeply, either because of my grip on his tail or because of how quickly and calmly I had ended his plight.

"Ralts, use your Aura Sphere again," Adrian commanded. The Ralts chirped and formed a second of the blue projectiles. Leaf flicked his tail and a single bladed leaf flew towards the small Pokémon, striking the Ralts' wrist.

"OW!" the Ralts wailed, instinctively clutching his injured wrist with his other paw, forgetting entirely about the Aura Sphere he had been holding. Adrian ducked at the last second, the sphere flying past his head and crashing into the wall behind him, blasting a small crater in the tiled walls.

"Oh crap," the trainer muttered, staring at the damaged wall. The Ralts was crying loudly, and Adrian knelt down to study the injury.

"Nice one," I said sarcastically. Leaf flushed.

"I'm having an off-day!" he protested. "Can't I have a day like that once in a while?"

"Sure you can," I said, rolling my eyes. He didn't have to get all defensive, though. At that moment, the Rocket that had accompanied Adrian the other night, Mike or whatever, came in.

"Hey Mike," Adrian said with a sigh. "What happened?" he asked, doing a double take at the other Rocket's expression.

"Staryu died," Mike said solemnly. Leaf and I exchanged uncomfortable looks. I had to admit I had never seen too many Rockets get upset over the condition of their Pokémon. Most never bonded with them and just used them like tools that could be passed over to other Rockets.

"Oh shit, really?" Adrian snapped, slapping his leg. The Ralts whimpered and cringed from Adrian, who hastily patted the small Pokémon soothingly. "And we completely lost the trail of that Ariados!"

"We have to fill out a report," Mike reminded him. He sighed heavily. "Green wants to see you, too. Says it's urgent."

"Oh. Okay, then," Adrian groaned and stood up. "Can you watch them while I'm gone?" he asked, pointing towards Leaf and me and withdrawing the Ralts into the Pokeball. "I don't think they like being cooped up much."

"Sure. Don't be long," Mike said. "The report, remember?"

"Yeah. If you can, take notes on their battle strategy if they spar some more. I want to know what strategies they prefer so directing them is easier," Adrian said, tossing Mike a small notebook and departing at a rapid pace.

"That was thoughtful, leaving us out of the Pokeballs," I said.

"Speak for yourself. I'd have preferred to sleep," Leaf sighed.


	263. Chaotic Meeting

**Tarot POV**

"Surprising turnout," Lera noted quietly. I gazed around the moderate assembly of Pokémon, taking note of the more familiar faces. Several days had passed since Chaos had come to us with the urgent news of Diablos' potential demise. Lera and I had hastened to investigate the rumor and found that the majority of Chaos' story checked out precisely as the Rotom described. This did not bode well. I, with the help of Lera and Doom, had excavated the ruins of the shrine to retrieve the ones who had been in the wake of destruction wreaked upon the building.

My attention paused on Force, who was leaning against a tree positioned several yards off to the side. The psychotic Lucario had been the least injured of the Pokémon present in the shrine and his only injury, a broken arm caused by the collapsing roof, was easily repaired. Overall, he showed no negative signs of emotional damage from the incident. Nothing further than he displayed on a regular basis, that is. It had been a source of puzzlement to many of us what had actually caused the Lucario's insanity. There was no doubt that he was insane, and the current theory was that Diablos' prolonged possession had slowly warped his mind and corrupted his heart permanently. Diablos seemed to support this theory, and I found it difficult to deny the logic behind it. Diablos' method of possession involved weakening the mind's resistance. It was not difficult to assume that, over time, his influence could permanently imprint itself upon the host's mind. There were unfortunately few to compare this result to, as the phantom tended to keep hosts until they served no further use or were killed. Force was the only one who survived such a long possession period.

Even so, I do not believe the Lucario was truly warped until after evolution. I had my suspicions that something had, in accordance to Diablos' words, unlocked the shadows within the Lucario's heart. If Diablos' possession caused permanent corruption, this 'unlocking' may have been too much for the Lucario's to bear, hence the insanity. Even among those who have an inner darkness, few of them are truly insane. Psychotic or extremist, perhaps, but not insane. Volt was a prime example of sane psychosis, oxymoronic as that was.

Speaking of the Umbreon...he was one of the more severely injured ones recovered from the wreckage. My gaze flicked over to the dark type, who was sitting not far from Force, basking in the shade of the tree. His red eyes, normally so bright and energized, were dull and unfocused. Once again, I felt a pang of pity for the Umbreon. He had not even wanted to be involved with the incident in the first place. He had been on his vacation and Diablos had ignored his request to be left alone, so that he and Icicle were both present when the shrine was devastated.

I flicked the top tarot card of my deck to my hand and glanced at it. The Tower, in reverse. Now that was interesting. In my many years of practicing tarot, I rarely ever came across the inverted Tower card. I stared at the card, allowing my mind to search through the possibilities of the card's symbolisms, and how it may correlate to the Umbreon. Normally, the card implied chaos, crisis, downfall, and hard times. Inverted, it tended to mean the same thing, but with a positive implication, rather than severely negative. There was no doubt the Umbreon was going through some difficult times, but in what way might this end well for him? The card itself offered nothing more, so I replaced it in the deck and resumed shuffling. It was something I'd have to reflect on and monitor before deciding on the card's accuracy.

"Are we about ready?" Ninje buzzed impatiently.

"Bane isn't here yet," Lera replied calmly. Ninje buzzed his wings to express his irritation and the Haunter rolled her eyes. Ninje had become increasingly reluctant to participate in any meetings held or activities in general. This was nothing new. The Ninjask had long ago lost most, if not all, interest in his original assignment. This unsurprisingly led to his irritation and impatience when forced to oblige to the requests of his superiors.

"He should be here soon!" Chaos chirped. I resisted the urge to chuckle. Despite the solemnity of the occasion, Chaos remained his usual, bouncy self. That is not to say that he did not recognize the seriousness of the situation. Indeed, the Rotom had been less than cheery a few days ago, when he passed the news to Lera. He had also come to help Doom, Lera, and I locate the injured.

"How is Nightmare?" I asked the Haunter. She frowned and lifted a paw to her mouth. I took this as a sign that there had not yet been any improvements in his condition. I was unsurprised. The Gastly had been in truly horrific condition when retrieved. Chaos unhappily informed us that Nightmare had only realized the danger in time to duck behind one of the shrine's stone pillars, which seemed to have shielded him inefficiently. There was no healing method at my disposal to remedy his condition and so Lera had rushed him to Turnback Cave for ectoplasm replenishment, for the gateway to the underworld was saturated in this state of matter. We did not know how long it would take until he recovered. Lera had even gone directly to Giratina, but she has not revealed his response.

"Is Bane the only one not here?" I asked. "Perhaps we should double-check who is present."

"The only ones required to be here are the direct underlings," Lera replied. "I don't know who Haou has recruited in my absence. Who are some of the others?"

"Living associates," I answered, pointing to the pair of female Jolteon pair the front of the group. "Zapda and Morph, respectively."

"Nope," one of the Jolteon said and her form shimmered and became replaced with the vaguely familiar male Furret, revealing that I had indeed mislabeled them.

"My mistake," I said. Zapda glared at her mate.

"Were you copying my form, Silver?" she demanded. We may never know why she's so against him doing that. Probably best to keep it that way, too. Generally we preferred to keep anything relating to our associates' love lives private. That rarely stopped us from asking about Doom's progress in pursuing the Dusknoir he had his sights on.

"Wira," I said, gesturing to a female Swellow perched in the branches of Force's tree. I gave the Swellow a piercing look, which she returned. I honestly never really liked Wira. She carries a very negative vibe, like a Murkrow, and she gets irritable very quickly. The Swellow turned away and began preening her feathers, which was an excellent excuse to turn back towards the rest of the small group that had gathered. Near the rear of the group, I spotted a Metang and also the familiar female Ninjask. I chuckled when I saw that Ninje had also fixed his attention on the fellow insect Pokémon. He was so persistent, I almost hoped that Empress would pay attention to him, however unlikely that was.

"Hiya!" Chaos chirped abruptly. Bane replied with a malicious-sounding chuckle, signalling his arrival.

"Finally," Force hissed from his position at the tree. Volt broke out of his daze and wandered towards the rest of the group, but the Lucario remained where he was. I noticed that Volt was still walking with a slight limp, but I anticipated that it would disappear in time. When Doom pulled the unconscious Umbreon from the ruins, I had hastened to heal the majority of his injuries with Wish prior to waking him. Even with the Wish, some of the injuries could only be fully recovered from with rest and time. As for his mate...that was an entirely different matter.

"I didn't mean to hold you up," Bane whispered, rubbing his paws together, his zippered mouth curved into a wicked grin.

"Has anyone heard from the Master since the incident?" Doom asked, speaking for the first time since the group had begun to assemble. I shook my head silently. If I had, the meeting would not have been held in the first place. One by one, the Pokémon present answered with a negative.

"I asked as many of my contacts as possible," Bane hissed. "No one has heard or seen anything."

"Giratina has attempted to contact him. There was no response," Lera whispered. I blinked. When did she find out that the ghost legend had tried to contact Diablos?

"No response at all?" Bane breathed, looking appropriately shocked. Those who didn't answer the summons of the ghostly overlord faced the wrath of him if they lacked a valid reason. No ghost, or even Diablos, would dare test Giratina's temper like that.

"It just doesn't seem right," I said, thinking carefully. "Let's suppose for a moment that Diablos IS dead or otherwise incapacitated for some time. What happens?"

"What do you mean?" Doom asked.

"We all joined under his leadership. If he's gone, what becomes of us?" I explained. "Lera, did He say?"

"No, I didn't ask," the Haunter admitted.

"Wouldn't the group just disband?" Morph asked, shape shifting into a female Leafeon. "If the leader's gone, we'd just go our separate ways."

"That can apply to many of the living members," I agreed, "It is trickier with us ghosts and the ones that have served long term."

"I did ask," Bane said silkily. "Our ghostly overlord has stated that Diablos' purpose is incomplete," the Banette continued, savoring the detail that everyone's attention was on him. I frowned. Diablos' purpose? The phantom's motives were almost a mystery. It drove Nightmare nuts how complicated Diablos' plans had been at times, especially because the phantom rarely explained his goal until it had succeeded or failed.

"Does...anyone actually know that purpose?" Ninje asked sarcastically. Bane raised his paw promptly and I followed suit. No one else budged, which resulted in a prolonged stare of astonishment from our fellow ghosts. Apparently no one else had any idea what Diablos was meant to accomplish. Bane cackled maliciously.

"Well well, I never thought we'd both know, Tarot," he snickered.

"It makes you wonder why no one else knew," Lera murmured. "Giratina assigned three of us to Haou from the beginning, but only one of us actually knew the plan?"

"I was assigned to monitor his progress," I replied calmly. "He was to remain subtle for at least two years. Unfortunately, it did not happen, because of the events at that Sinnoh forest."

Lera flinched visibly, but I chose not to elaborate further. I was not trying to embarrass or blame her. It was the fact of the matter that Lera had affected a great number of factors that influenced Diablos' plans. I suspected that Giratina did not trust Ninje with the information of his ace card's purpose, and Lera was almost too pacifistic by nature. That left me and my divination skills to keep the phantom's goals reasonable and under control.

"So...how do we go about this?" Chaos asked cheerfully. "Do we vote? Ooh, let's vote!"

"Vote on what?" Zapda growled.

"The one who'll take over the leadership role of the group, I think," Morph said, nibbling the Jolteon's neck, currently assuming the form of a female version of Psycho. Force cackled insanely.

"Why vote? Clearly I'm the best choice," he rasped.

"How do you figure?" Wira scoffed from her tree branch. Force raised his bloodshot yellow eyes to stare up at the Swellow.

"He picked me," Force cackled. "I was him!"

"Being a prolonged host doesn't make you an ideal leader," Doom snorted. "There should only be two candidates, anyway. The two who know the most about the master's leadership."

"That's Tarot," Lera said, "He was with Haou from the beginning."

"But does Tarot think he can follow the original purpose AS leader?" Bane whispered, grinning widely at me. I smiled in reply.

"I do not wish to be the leader," I said. While I carry a good deal of respect among the other ghosts, I did not fancy trying to instruct them to perform tasks that Diablos would be more comfortable ordering them to do. Bane seemed a little surprised at my lack of argument, but certainly not displeased.

"So...Bane's in charge?" Lera asked, looking between him and me with a surprised expression. I did not blame her for the reaction. She barely knew the Banette and now a sudden transition of power had occurred. Bane chuckled and rubbed his paws together. I resumed shuffling my tarot deck calmly. It made no difference to me who was the leader of the group. Bane lacked the intimidation factor that Diablos held, but not for nothing was he a former high-ranking security officer of Turnback Cave. There was little doubt that he had some leadership skills.

"We're not calling you 'master', Bane," Doom said promptly. Bane laughed.

"Perish the thought, Doom," Bane said maliciously. "But let's make this official. All in favor of me taking charge? Raise paws or similar."

"And all opposed?" I asked, after counting the number of responses. "Okay, a third of you didn't vote!"

"We don't care," Volt snapped.

"That's your opinion!" Chaos chirped happily. Volt fixed the Rotom with a brief glare, but didn't say anything else.

"We really don't," Zapda said dully.

"Now then, my first step as leader is to re-evaluate our current agenda, seeing as Diablos has been less then organized and borderline obsessive," Bane announced. "For one, since none of us actually can possess other Pokémon, we have no reason to actually stalk Dragonair any-"

"Speak for yourself!" Volt snarled. The Umbreon stood up abruptly, his yellow rings pulsing brightly. Those nearest him shrunk as far away as possible without drawing his attention. It had once been debated whether our fellow associates were genuinely intimidated by Volt's temper. It would not surprise me if some of us were, especially the non-ghosts. Even I winced a little, but it helped that I was the one to retrieve Icicle from the ruins, so I knew what had Volt all agitated. Icicle had been severely injured, but thankfully not as bad as Volt had been. According to her, Volt had defended her with his body and thereby took the worst of the assault before she took the blast. However, she was an Eevee that was unaccustomed to battle or particularly fierce assaults, so it was not an easy recovery, either physically or mentally. While Volt's body had trained itself to heal quickly from damage, Icicle's had not and Wish could only heal so much. At the time being, she was resting up at Blizzard's cave in Sinnoh, where I decided that she should be near family and comfort during her recovery period. She had spoken to Volt prior to leaving, in private of course. Even when speaking to me, she was extremely emotional and spent most of the time whimpering or crying, without explanation.

"Well, I'm presently speaking for the group as a whole, Volt," Bane sneered. "We have nothing further to gain by stalking the dragon."

"He's right," Lera said. "I say we should let him go. We pushed him too far and this is the price we paid. Haou is gone and don't think you're the only one who feels the loss of the attack. Nightmare was hurt badly and Ice is a close friend of mine. You know that. Now be thankful there wasn't a fatality, Volt, and just move on."

"Whatever," Volt muttered darkly.

"Ahem," Bane interrupted. "I would like to take this moment for those present to renew their membership or go their separate ways. If the phantom recruited you with some form of incentive, please inform me so that we can work out the arrangements."

"We can start with me," I said, stepped forward. Everyone else was looking unsure who should speak first, so I may as well start things off. "I will remain." Giratina had assigned me here, I was damned if I was going to abandon my post.

"I too, shall remain," Lera agreed, hovering at my side. She had the same ties to the ghostly lord, and so I was unsurprised by her answer. I doubt Ninje will have the same loyalty to his former master's assignment. With Diablos' condition and whereabouts thrust into suspicion and jeopardy, and the Ninjask's aversion to continuing with the assignments, all in addition to his nearly perpetual leave of absence, this was a prime opportunity for Ninje to resign. The Shedinja was another matter, being bonded to Giratina's powers and simultaneously bonded to Ninje like a shadow.

"I'm in, too!" Chaos squealed. Bane chuckled.

"Good to have you three aboard," he said, shaking one of Lera's paws with his own. He nodded to Chaos, who waved his lightning bolts cheerily. I merely nodded. "Who's next?"

"Zap? That's us," Morph whispered to the Jolteon. She growled and didn't respond. Morph sighed, shifting back to his Furret form.

"I will also remain," Doom said solemnly.

"I'm w-with Chaos," mumbled the timid voice of the Drifloon hovering beside Chaos. The Rotom smiled cheerily at her.

"Hiya Driffy!" he chirped. Like many other mysteries, we don't know why Chaos calls her "Driffy" at random intervals, as opposed to her actual name, Helium.

"Zap and I are sticking around," Morph said. Zapda nodded half-heartedly. Her reluctance had to be an act. Morph only had the opportunity to acquire new forms because of his traveling. I don't want to know why he shifts forms so often and neither does anyone else. Her animosity towards Frost was one of the key reasons she actively stuck around, rather than doing the same as Icicle and only being in the background because her mate was present.

"Good to have so many of you staying," Bane mused, rubbing his paws together, his red eyes flicking between the ones who had not spoken yet.

"I will...decline," Ninje spoke finally. He must have been making up his mind for the past few minutes, because the 'proper' time for him to respond was after Lera, since the three of us were Diablos' original associates.

"Sorry to lose you," Bane said with false remorse in his wicked-sounding tone. His smirk shared the same sarcastic sentiment. The Shedinja said nothing, but Bane bowed his head respectfully. "It's a shame to lose you as an employee," he told Soul. "Gelid really hopes you'll reconsider."

"Gelid?" I repeated.

"Didn't I tell you? She's a member now that Diablos isn't here to mark her as a traitor when she never was employed with him in the first place," Bane cackled. A fair point, I must admit. Neither of us were overly inclined to follow the command to attack her on sight as it was. Gelid served in Turnback Cave and was an invaluable contact. Her rapport with Giratina had aided us in the past, especially for concealing a few of our...more questionable activities.

"Great," Volt muttered, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Anyone else? Wira?" Bane asked, looking up at the Swellow's perch. She gazed at him with a piercing glare.

"I'll linger for a while," she announced curtly. Bane smirked and nodded.

"Anyone else making a decision?" he asked, focusing on Volt, Empress, and the Metang near the rear.

"I don't know," Volt muttered, frowning to himself.

"I am not a member in the first place," Empress admitted. "My presence is as a witness that you are not dissolving your ties with any of your allies."

"We are not," Bane assured her with a chuckle. His gaze fell upon the Metang. "I have no clue who you are," the zippered mouth of the Banette curled into a frown.

"I am here to speak to Chaos," the Metang replied in a synthesized voice. The Rotom blinked.

"Hiya...um, who are ya?" he asked cheerfully.

"Anti. I used to be a Beldum," the Metang replied in the same synthesized tone. "I gave you the parts for your TM Ray...remember?"

"Oh, hiya!" Chaos chirped. I suppose he does remember this Pokémon. No one else seemed to. "What'cha need, Anti?"

"I have completed the prototype you requested, but need a particular disk that is in your possession," the Metang said.

"Oh?" Chaos asked, looking puzzled, but no less cheerful.

"Yes."

"What disk?"

"It is labeled to be a D-Disk," Anti answered. "It has the files the prototype needs. May I have it?"

"D-Disk?" Chaos repeated, his look of confusion escalating, "I never heard of it."

"A normal computer does not accept the disk," the Metang continued in the same synthesized voice. "Attempts to run it will result in a terminated process."

"Oh...that disk," Chaos muttered. He looked over at the Drifloon beside him. "Dont'cha have it, Driffy?"

"Y-yes," Helium mumbled. "B-but I w-want it," she stammered, patting the small cloud of fluff on the top of her balloon-like head.

"Oh. Sorry, Anti. I don't have it," Chaos told the steel Pokémon. There was a long, awkward silence.

"My prototype will remain incomplete without the D-Disk," the Metang said. Without another word, the Metang's metal body shimmered and a small portal appeared. "Logging out," the synthesized voice announced and the Metang disappeared into the portal.

"Logging out?" Wira repeated from her perch, preening her feathers.

"Anti's weird like that," Chaos explained happily.

"I think that's everyone," Bane said, squinting at the group of Pokémon. "I can catch up with the others later, anyway. On to the next stage of business. You two are free to leave, Ninje," he told the bug Pokémon. Ninje buzzed, not really listening as he hovered around Empress in a desperate attempt to get her attention. I know she knew what he was doing, because she was pointedly watching Soul almost mischievously. I chuckled to myself.

"Go on, Bane," I prompted.

"The Eons," Bane said seriously. "I have not told Psycho the rumors and do not know if it is wise to do so."

"Then don't," Volt scoffed.

"No, DO!" Force rasped and laughed psychotically. "He failed in revenge twice! Diablos saved me from death and now Diablos is dead! You can't fail worse than that!"

"You are utterly deranged," Bane said, nonplussed.

"Thank you!" Force cackled.

"I feel it would be a wiser course to form a truce between our groups. Psycho's grudge dies with Diablos," the Banette said, ignoring the Lucario's outburst.

"It cannot be that simple," Doom objected. "For two years, they've been foes. That cannot be swept under a rug solely because of new leadership. The members remain the same-"

"But the mastermind is dead," Bane finished. "The one they hate is gone. If we do not take a step to end our feud, the feud will never end. We do not have to be friends. But foes we should no longer be," he hissed.

"No. Frost is on their side," Zapda growled.

"Settle your feuds on your own terms, Zapda," Bane said. "But we as a group should cease our hostility. Any further objections?"

"I say we kill them all," Force rasped.

"Of course you do," Bane said, rolling his eyes. "Any serious objections?"

"I think that may be best," Lera agreed. Bane studied me for a moment.

"Something wrong, Tarot? You haven't checked your cards for almost the entire meeting," he said. I shook my head calmly.

"Everything is fine, thank you. I am...merely thinking," I said. I flipped over the top card of the deck for examination, but did not take in anything about the card. It was only for the benefit of the suspicious that I touched the card at all. I was not focusing on a spread, person, or question, so the card would offer nothing. With this thought in mind, I decided to spare the card a glance. The Wheel of Fate. The card symbolized possibilities, representing the changes in circumstances. A perfect card for the scenario. I replaced the card in the deck and resumed shuffling.

"Thinking of anything in particular?" Ninje asked, pausing his frantic orbit of the female Ninjask. "Or anyone?" he added, a faint taunt apparent in his question.

"No," I replied, drawing the next card from the deck. The Moon. The card I used to determine the fate of Ember, but did it still apply to her, even now? I drew a second card and blinked to be sure of the card and position I was seeing. The Lovers...was upright. Never before had it appeared as such regarding the Charmander. I frowned and reshuffled. No, I had done the spread wrong, only making a spread after a new question had come to mind. I would have to start over if I were to investigate the Charmander's current position or relation to a card.

"Planning on giving us an update, Volt?" Bane asked. The Umbreon glared at him, but the Banette was unfazed. "You are free to choose as you please. Last I checked, you were quite agitated about what was being asked of you."

"I don't know," the dark type muttered distractedly.

"Volt, you don't have to stay," Lera whispered to him. "Surely...Haou helped you get what you wanted, didn't he?" she asked tentatively.

"He did," Volt muttered, "But..." he trailed off, frowning. It was this moment of hesitance that seemed to draw the attention of all the other ghosts.

"But what?" Doom asked, using a solemn tone. Volt's red eyes flashed as he looked up at the Dusknoir.

"Several things! He never told me...why he helped that Ekans bitch," he hissed, practically shaking with anger.

"Ekans?" Wira repeated, pausing her preening.

"Rosa," Doom muttered. "Volt, we told you..."

"You didn't tell me anything!" Volt snarled. "You all knew...all of you bastards..."

"It was an oversight," Doom insisted.

"Oversight?!" Volt shrieked.

"Do ya know what that word means?" Chaos chirped, his inappropriate cheerfulness earning him a scowl from the Umbreon. Doom hesitated, then shook his head. "Then don't use it!" Chaos chided happily.

"I believe what Doom meant to say is that it was not a matter we had control of," Bane suggested.

"I'm pretty sure I meant 'oversight'," Doom insisted.

"Ya don't know what the word means!" Chaos argued. Lera buried her face in her paws. I was sorely tempted to follow suit, but decided to hold myself with as much dignity as I could muster. We had known Volt was going to be pissed if he knew that our group had knowingly preserved the life of the marked Ekans. We had just hoped that he wouldn't figure it out, or at least would forgive us since Doom did give Volt the information, albeit later than Volt wanted it, obviously. Diablos had his reasons, not that he shared them with us.

"Volt, take it easy," Bane urged. "Look, take some time, finish enjoying your vacation..."

"Are you MAD?!" Volt demanded.

"No, I'm quite calm," Bane replied, likely without thinking. Force burst into a mad fit of giggles. Volt stared at Bane and then turned his cold, red eyes towards me. Bane noticed the change in Volt's demeanor and seized the opportunity to announce, "Now, I'd like to take this time to verify a few things. Does anyone know what our foes, Eons excluded, are actually up to?"

"Why do you ask?" Doom asked. Bane frowned.

"Doom, if word gets out that Diablos is gone, any faction directly opposing us or even our fabulous ghostly overlord will have an opportunity to attack. Chaos, any word on the Cave Army?" the Banette asked.

"Nuthin'!" the Rotom replied brightly. Bane's frown deepened.

"Has anyone contacted you for information recently?" he asked. Chaos paused.

"Nuthin' odd or anything," he answered. Bane's eyes narrowed.

"Who and what?"

"Frost and um...just profile updates," the electric ghost answered. I nodded; Gem had contacted me with a similar request from Frost.

"Anything specific?" Bane asked.

"Aren't you supposed to be playing their side like a game of chess?" Morph taunted.

"I have not had contact with Frost," the Banette muttered.

"Uh...Eon updates, mostly. A few searches for skilled battlers," Chaos answered.

"Why?" Bane muttered to himself.

"Hoenn updates," Chaos replied cheerfully. Morph grinned.

"Wait...Hoenn Eons?" he asked, looking highly amused.

"Frost doesn't have a Hoenn database," Chaos chirped.

"Speaking of which," Bane mused. "Does anyone actually know why Hoenn was off-limits to our phantasmal master?"

"As a matter of fact...no," Lera said.

"No explanation? Just...no authority?" Bane asked, frowning. "Chaos, keep an eye on Hoenn news. Anything within the last three years. Diablos was created with a purpose, but Giratina saw fit to eliminate Hoenn from his sphere of control, but took no such liberties with Kanto, Johto, or Sinnoh."

"I'll be on it when I find a computer!" Chaos cheered.

"Diablos has never bothered to look into this...Giratina must have known he wouldn't," Bane murmured. Volt cleared his throat impatiently to reclaim my attention.

"Tarot, take me...to Jolt," he said. I stared at him.

"I beg your pardon?" I said. Had I heard that correctly? The way he said it was different from how he normally spoke regarding his Jolteon sibling. It was lacking the usual contempt.

"Take me to Jolt!" he repeated. So I hadn't misheard, always a good sign.

"I don't know where Jolt is," I said as gently as I could, "He was gone when I dropped Icicle off at Blizzard's." A sudden thought came to mind. "Bane?"

"Yes?"

"What was Jolt's reaction to the newsflash?"

"An urgent demand to know what happened to Volt," Bane replied. The Umbreon blinked, but didn't say anything.

"Any idea where he may have gone afterwards?" I pressed.

"He asked about Leaf, and I told him Lera dropped him off at Violet City," Bane shrugged.

"He doesn't have transportation...oh my mistake, yes he does," I muttered.

"He does?" Volt repeated skeptically.

"Mystic," Bane hissed, "Or Gelid if she returned to Blizzard's cave. Wait, Mystic's stalking Psycho..."

"Do you have any idea how weird this conversation sounds?" Lera asked seriously.

"Does the inanity of it drive you to...insanity?" Force cackled.

"Perhaps I should work from there," I said, turning and tapping Volt's shoulder, teleporting us to just within Violet City. A nearby human shrieked at our abrupt appearance and took off. Volt smirked briefly.

"Show stealer," a voice hissed from behind us and a pair of glittering eyes flickered from the shadows cast by a nearby home. "I should eat your eyes for that, Tarot."

"You'll find another unsuspecting human to terrify," I replied serenely to the shadows.

"I hope so, but your eyes look so delicious," came the reply and the eyes faded from view.

"That's creepy," Volt muttered. I'm glad he agrees. "Now how are we supposed to find Jolt?"

"Patience, Volt," I warned. "It's a double hunt. One is to deduce where Leaf may have gone. The other is to deduce whether Jolt knew how to deduce where Leaf may have went and follow-"

"Screw it, I'll look on my own," Volt muttered, limping away. He's so impatient sometimes.

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**Well...I guess it's that time of fic where I request a review from people. Now I could beseech those who have never reviewed or rarely review to work up the courage/motivation to give me some needed feedback but this chapter is long enough without an author note.**


	264. Stage Four: Revealing Motives

**Leaf POV**

I had no interest in resuming the sparring match from before, so Ember began practicing on her own. She would stand off to the side and swipe her claws at an imaginary target. I say that it's imaginary because of the way she moved her arm. I've tried practicing my Leaf Blade without a visible target, but abandoned the idea when I noticed that my style of slashing my tail was different from when there actually was something to hit. Frost took me aside during one of my training sessions about a year back and pointed out that when I just went through the motions, my aim and swipe were over-the-top and clumsy, giving me a really awkward appearance. He then instructed me to envision an imaginary enemy standing in a particular spot so that I would mentally focus on hitting that target. After some practice and variation, Frost confirmed that my technique was back on track and compared favorably with my Leaf Blade slash when a physical target was present.

The same sort of thing was true with Ember now. Her eyes were focused and she didn't ease up on her paw's movements where one might think to stop if hitting a target, which was a mistake I used to make with my Leaf Blade. As Jolt mentioned to me during Frost's explanation, forcing yourself to stop mid-swing without actually hitting anything was more of a strain than following through with the strike and the recovery from the sudden stop was less graceful. Darkness also noted that if an opponent dodged or moved, I had been training myself to stop my slash at a certain point and the result would be worse in case I missed. Following through the slash until the end would allow more graceful combos and recovery, as well as increase my range. The difference between envisioning a target and going through the motions is that an imaginary target lets one focus on a space to hit, while going through the motions may cause one to try to slow down part way, decreasing the efficiency of the stroke. I only remember this because Frost had to explain it several times for me to understand why an imaginary target wouldn't make me try to halt my swipe.

I sighed quietly. Why were my thoughts drifting back towards the rest of the training group so often now? Well, they had been a part of my life for so long and my entire mission here was for their sake. Another sigh escaped my jaws, drawing the Charmander's attention to me for a few seconds.

"Something wrong?" she asked, raising an eye scale.

"Just thinking," I answered. Her inquisitive look didn't change, so I added, "Do you think being assigned to that trainer is going to affect our plan?"

"It might," Ember admitted. I frowned to myself and the Charmander paused her practice. "Are you ever going to tell me your reason for this mission? It's getting really annoying that you haven't told me that."

"Um...it is?" I asked, my voice faltering. From the look in her eyes, she wasn't planning on letting me get away without answering. I closed my eyes and sighed deeply. Ember cleared her throat impatiently. I opened my eyes quickly, hoping that would assure her that although I was tired, I wasn't going to sleep.

"Well?" she pressed. Sheesh, take it easy. I had been silent for only a few seconds and already she was pressuring me. I'm so glad I'm not wearing that leash because I bet she would have tugged on it by now. On the topic of the leash, I'm really hoping Shadow doesn't read my mind anytime soon because that could get awkward very fast. I don't think he'd actually say anything to anyone else, but just the knowledge that he could know about it sent a shiver down my spine.

"You...want the truth?" I asked tentatively. Ember rolled her eyes.

"No, tell me a lie. Of course I want the truth!" she snapped. I winced. She was in a bad mood and I doubt she would be thrilled to hear my reasoning for doing the mission. I'm suddenly wishing that Adrian would come back and put me in the Pokeball so I can sleep. Maybe she'd forget about it then. Sadly, he didn't come back and I couldn't stall for time. Well, I could but it would just piss her off and she's got fire on her tail and sharp claws, so that would be pretty stupid of me to do.

"Are you going to get mad?" I asked tentatively. The Charmander's eyes narrowed.

"I'm not ruling it out," she said suspiciously. "Why?"

I fidgeted under her gaze. She could probably start me on fire with her glare alone. "Well...it's kind of a long story," I muttered.

"We have time," Ember growled, tapping her foot on the floor. From the corner of my eye, I could see the other Rocket, Mitch (or whatever), watching us. I shifted my weight from paw to paw and nodded slowly.

"Okay, well see...a while ago, my group had their base attacked and a bunch of other stuff happened. I think I mentioned it before...but...afterwards, my brother and I got into an argument about how he was treating Jolt," I began. Ember nodded slowly. I took a deep breath and continued, "Shadow has often said he doesn't want me as part of the group, maybe to avoid me being targeted, maybe for a different reason. I don't know. I got mad and quit the group. And Shadow...he left."

"Oh," Ember muttered, but then tilted her head at me blankly. "Wait, you can't be done. That didn't explain anything!"

"I know, I'm not done," I told her quickly. "I...miss them. I miss the group. I don't like not being with the ones I grew up with for most of my life. I want them to come back for me and..." I trailed off awkwardly. The Charmander squinted at me.

"I don't think I follow."

"I don't want to be expendable!" I blurted. Ember stared at me until a crimson flush passed across my face.

"What?" she asked finally.

"I, um...I..." I stammered, trying to find the right words to explain my stupid-sounding comment.

"Are you expendable? What are you talking about?" Ember asked, bewildered. I winced. Now I was going to have to explain that Diablos had been messing with me and that his words had hit home at one point.

"Well, Shadow sometimes makes me think that...I'm not that valuable. And I...maybe...sometimes think that...he'll do anything to kill Diablos," I explained weakly. This was so embarrassing to admit. I know that I had convinced her to talk to me about her personal problems, but it was so hard to do the same thing. Maybe I didn't trust her enough to tell her my feelings and concerns, but it was hypocritical if I refused.

"Why would you think that?" Ember scratched the back of her head and stared at me. "I'm still not sure what this has to do with what we're doing."

"I don't know. Diablos said he might and...it's so easy to believe sometimes," I complained. "Shadow doesn't seem to care about anything except killing that phantom. He almost killed that Pichu kit, I told you that."

"I remember," Ember growled. She obviously wasn't fond of being reminded.

"It wasn't until Diablos tried to recruit me that I realized that...maybe he hadn't been telling the truth. Maybe he was just trying to trick me," I muttered. My insides seemed to squirm as I spoke, and I expected the Charmander to laugh or say something that would make me feel even more like an idiot for even thinking that the evil phantom was telling the truth. Instead, she just nodded understandingly. I watched her warily. Any second now...she was going to make fun of me.

"But why did you want to come here?" Ember asked after a long silence.

"You're...not going to tease me?" I asked. Ember blinked and shook her head. My ears perked up. "Really?"

"Why would I?" she asked. "That bastard messed me up pretty bad too, you know."

"No, I didn't know," I mumbled. How was it that she could make me feel like an idiot by not making me feel like an idiot? Ember nodded uncomfortably.

"So, you came here because...?" Ember prompted, undoubtedly wanting to change the subject from whatever the phantom put her through. I sighed.

"This is where you might get mad. I...just wanted to prove Diablos wrong."

"How?" the Charmander asked.

"If I could get information from the Rockets...on my own...I hoped that would prove to Shadow and the rest that I was useful and maybe give me the chance to go back to the group," I said, my ears drooping. Ugh, it seemed so selfish now. It had seemed selfish when I had the idea, too.

"So...you don't actually care about the information, it's just some way to make yourself look good," Ember stated dully. I winced. I think her glaring at me would have been a better reaction than the hollow tone she was using now.

"Well...um..."

"Well done," she said sarcastically.

"What do you mean?"

"I like how I got dragged into your plan that serves no other purpose than boosting your ego or morale or whatever the hell you want to boost so that you feel important. Funny, and here I was thinking you were one of the few people I know who didn't have that problem," she continued, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Wait, that just makes me look bad," I protested. That was possibly the best thing I could have possibly said while she was commenting on me being full of myself. And by 'best', I mean 'worst'. Ember evidently agreed, because she raised an eye scale. "That came out wrong," I added quickly. Ember sighed.

"Whatever. When do you plan on completing it?"

"What?" I blinked. Ember rolled her eyes.

"The mission you set for yourself. When do you plan on completing it?" she repeated, in a tone that clearly announced that she thought I was being slow.

"Oh, right. I'm tired," I muttered. It was a weak excuse for my poor reaction, but I didn't want to look like an idiot, or at least not more than I probably already did. "Um...maybe as soon as we can. I don't think we'll get too many chances, since we got the whole trainer thing."

"Maybe," the Charmander grunted, sounding bored. She returned her focus to her practice and I returned to my thoughts. The problem was that even if we did get to work on getting the data I wanted...ugh, it doesn't even matter. The data itself is worthless to me. Should I even keep trying with this? Ember obviously didn't like my reasoning for the mission and I'm not even sure it's a good reason.

"Ember?"

"What?" She sounded a bit testy; not a good sign.

"Do you think I'm selfish?"

"I think you're an idiot," Ember said bluntly. "Wouldn't it have been easier to, I don't know, talk to your brother or the others, rather than make a stupid plan like this? You're good at talking."

"Not about my own feelings," I argued. Ember shrugged, but she was looking at me thoughtfully. I sighed. "Maybe we should just stop this plan and go back."

"I don't think that will work," the Charmander said seriously.

"Why not?"

"I got a probationary reinstatement. They'll be watching us carefully for a while," she explained. Oh right, that could be a problem. That also meant we couldn't just rush to finish the original plan because they might catch us and then we'd be in trouble. Maybe I hadn't put as much thought into this idea as I first thought. In the days of the group, we'd do the planning together and we'd communicate and point out the possible flaws with the idea.

The group planning happened less when we started taking on tasks regions apart from each other, but Shadow and I still discussed his plans. I miss those days. What happened between us? Why couldn't Shadow and I be just like the close brothers we used to be? Is this the sort of thing Jolt goes through? Does he have no choice but to hold his feelings close to him and endure the unhappiness? Maybe this had always been the reason he was so unwilling to talk about his past. How could anything in his past look bright when it no doubt held horrible memories of how far apart he and his own brother had drifted apart?

I shook myself free of my musings when I heard footsteps approaching. The other Rocket looked up as Adrian returned. Our 'trainer' grinned at the three of us. "What's up?" the other Rocket asked. Ember paused her training to pay attention.

"They gave me a new assignment," he announced.

"So soon?" his companion's eyes widened. "But what about the Ariados?"

"Well, we still have to fill out the report, but then we can-"

"We?"

"Yeah, I got it all cleared. You're on the same assignment, Mike," Adrian said, clapping a paw on the other human's back.

"But the Ariados, Adrian? We're the only ones who saw it," Mike insisted. "Shouldn't they be focusing on finishing that loose end up?"

"I know," Adrian agreed, kneeling down beside me and rubbing my ears. It was uncomfortable at first, but at the same time it felt so good. I closed my eyes in bliss, deep purrs rising from my throat. Adrian continued talking, but I was too sleepy and happy to focus on his words. He stopped suddenly and the blissful feeling disappeared, leaving me longing for more. Ember apparently found something funny but Adrian withdrew her into a Pokeball before I had time to ask. Next he pointed another ball at me and a beam of red launched forward. I closed my eyes before the beam hit and felt myself drawn into the Pokeball. I didn't mind. The ear rubbing had returned the sleepy feeling I had experienced when first released from the ball.

I was asleep almost immediately after arriving in the simulated environment.


	265. Filler Up!

**One reader left me a rather perplexing review, which I would like to use as an example to make a point. It was along the lines of "Make a chapter with Dragonair in it and please hurry." (Actually, I think that's the review, almost word for word). I don't really mind much if someone makes a suggestion about the next chapter, but some elaboration would always be nice. Like...why should I make a chapter with Dragonair? Why should I hurry? What is the reason for urgency? Why am I being asked to disregard the plot/narrative in favor of giving a particular character attention? (And does Dragonair NEED attention? He's already the biggest spotlight stealer in the fic)**

**On another vein, I dislike the Cave Army arcs too, "Ghost Master". And since I'm already addressing you, Carnivine has the ability Levitate. They can float.**

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Drops of water dripped from the tip of overhanging stalactites, splashing upon the ground with a distinctive plop. The sound echoed in the closed confines of the unnaturally smooth cavern, which looked to have been carefully dug with painstaking attention to detail. Unlike any ordinary cavern, nearly half of the space was occupied by various technological objects, undoubtedly pilfered from human cities or homes. Artificial lights were strewn throughout the chamber, illuminating the pair of beings that sat idle within the chamber, their impatient gaze upon the Pokémon working at the devices. One of the two was a quadruped mammal with snow white fur and a wicked blade extended from his skull. The second was a bipedal lizard with dark red scales and a large fire burning at the end of her tail. Her arms were crossed aloofly over her chest, the claws of her right paw tapping impatiently near the elbow of her left arm.

The Absol and Charmeleon barely spared one another even the slightest of glances and if one didn't know better, he wouldn't have detected more than a vague prickle of hostility between the two. The Charmeleon sighed and leaned her back against the smooth wall of the chamber. Finally she shattered the silence with an irritated outburst, "What the hell are we even waiting for?"

"We don't know how to use this human nonsense," the Absol replied, gesturing contemptuously to the machines. Inferna rolled her eyes and Gamble stretched his legs lazily.

"That doesn't mean we should have to stand here while our subpar technician fiddles with it," Inferna sneered. "I'm sure he's from your branch, Gamble."

"Actually," a meek voice replied from the direction of the machines, but Inferna didn't spare the speaker even a bored glance. "Begging your pardon, miss, but I'm-"

"No one actually cares, termite," Gamble cut the speaker off.

"Just finish the hell up so we can go," Inferna growled. She hated being involved with the Cave Army technology and databases. She had never spent time with human technology and so found the various devices and procedures to be a waste of her time and unnecessarily tedious. Unfortunately, what with the recent pandemonium in the caverns, she found herself here, in the location designated as the Vault, where the Cave Army kept their records and objects of fascination. Only a select few even knew where it was, and fewer still knew how to get there. Inferna often wondered whether the high-tech security the cavern Pokémon employed was even remotely necessary. It was inefficient to keep out the pesky Eon team, and didn't actually prevent ghosts from arriving at the location via normal means.

Inferna sighed and rubbed her forehead with her paw, feeling the beginning of a headache catching up to her. With April fast approaching, this came as no surprise. There was always a crash associated with an energy spike. The Charmeleon's claw absently trailed down her snout, pausing when a momentary sting of pain flared from the spot directly between her eyes. Inferna winced and caressed the scar with her claw, scowling irritably. This mark...was a sign of failure. The scars above and below her eyes were marks of hard-earned victory, but the third represented her failure. She had underestimated her kit; there was no doubt about that. The brat was far more proficient in claw combat than Inferna had expected, but she chose not to dwell on that for now. It was an embarrassment to be bested by a younger and under evolved fighter, despite the blood ties between them. Then again, Inferna mused, her own excellent genetics may have played a part in her kit's development. It was possible that Ember had inherited the stronger factors of the gene pool; the male side of the equation had definitely not had many exceptional qualities.

Inferna scowled, clenching her fists. Gamble's sharp eyes took immediate notice of the behavior and Inferna hastened to relax. The Absol studied his Charmeleon associate with an amused smirk. "Something wrong with that scar, Inferna?" Gamble sneered. Inferna growled, but remained silent. "Or maybe it's not the scar, but the one who left it upon you," the Absol continued, grinning knowingly.

Inferna crossed her arms across her chest again and glared back at the Absol. "And are you saying you don't have a loss or two under your record?" she growled. Gamble flinched, something the Charmeleon noted with delight. She could get under his skin too, after all. The snow-white quadruped slowly settled down, fixing his colleague with a death glare.

"It'll all be worth it when I reap my reward," Gamble hissed. Inferna scoffed.

"You missed your chance. All our prisoners escaped."

"I can collect my debt in due time," the Absol hissed. Inferna rolled her eyes.

"Sketch won't approve," she reminded the dark type.

"Well Sketch is an idiot," Gamble spat. Inferna's eyes narrowed to slits and Gamble smirked. "Oh, forgot you don't like when I speak ill of your _lover_," Gamble crooned. Inferna growled.

"He's not my-"

"Sure he's not," Gamble retorted, rolling his eyes. "You're the only one who thinks Sketch has a clue what the hell he's doing. Face the facts, Inferna, your _darling Sketchy_ doesn't know how to lead worth Tauros shit."

"He's been a strong leader for years," Inferna corrected, flexing her claws and growling at the Absol's sneering taunts. Gamble laughed, the sound prompting the Charmeleon's tail flame to blaze intensely in her anger.

"I'm afraid you've been in these caves a bit too long, Inferna," Gamble said, chuckling at the Charmeleon's indignant anger. "The lack of oxygen must have killed what few brain cells you possessed," he continued, ignoring Inferna's claw gesture in response to his insult. "Just because Sketch made a few wise moves does not make him an infallible leader."

Inferna scowled. She hated when Gamble had a point. The oxygen comment could be disproved by the strength of her burning tail, but that was a stupid argument to get into. "And I suppose you could do better?" she challenged.

"By myself, no," the Absol conceded. Inferna smirked, prompting a scowl from the dark quadruped. The potential argument was fast abandoned when, in Inferna's opinion, an unnecessarily large group arrived. First to enter the chamber were Luthor and his mate, who were expected, but they were immediately followed by the resident Sableye, along with a male Charmeleon that Inferna recognized from Sketch's last meeting and, to her surprise and Gamble's obvious annoyance, Frost accompanied by an unfamiliar female Flareon.

"What the hell?" Inferna demanded of the male Leafeon. Luthor said nothing and the Charmeleon quickly noted that he wore an irritated expression, which was almost unusual.

"You lost?" Gamble sneered to the Leafeon pair. Neither answered the Absol, which seemed to amuse Gamble. "Well well, the only Eons permitted to join got their tails handed to them? Tsk, Sketch is an idiot after all, and don't deny it, Inferna."

"I'll deny it if I damn well please," Inferna growled.

"Shut it, both of you," Luthor snapped.

"I'd be an emotional wreck too if _I_ lost," Gamble jeered.

"I didn't lose," Luthor scoffed. "Really Gamble, who do you think I am? Inferna?"

"Shut up!" Inferna snapped as Gamble chuckled.

"Well, if you and your mate didn't lose, then that means that Inferna still has the worst track record," Gamble said. The female Charmeleon's eye twitched. "Well, it's a fact," the Absol laughed. "I faced Dratini twice. I lost one years ago and won this one."

"I faced Blazey twice and won both," Luthor smirked, but the Glaceon shook his head. "What?"

"You drew the second time," Frost corrected.

"Hmph, whatever. I was going to win," Luthor scowled.

"Actually, if your lovely mate was spared, technically you lost," Frost mused.

"I did not," Luthor bristled. Lexa twitched, her ears drooping. Inferna yawned and leaned lazily against the wall again. She couldn't stand when the two Leafeon got all lovey-dovey over one another, and had an even harder time tolerating when either of them felt obligated to feel bad for the sake of the other. Gamble snickered, earning a glare from the female Kanto branch leader, and Luthor narrowed his eyes at Frost. "Explain your logic, you overrated-"

"Error, calling ME overrated when you can't hold even the slightest flicker of a flame against me," Frost retorted promptly, his tail flicking irritably.

"Well I didn't lose to Blazey and you sure as hell did!" Luthor shot back. "Our fight had no conclusion. Yours ended in defeat."

"Error: Cocky personality," Frost said. "My logic is that your strategy has been analyzed as being combo based and very inefficient without your mate at your side. With her incapacitated, your defeat was likely."

"Blazey wouldn't beat me," Luthor insisted.

"Luthor lost, the stupid Eon," Gamble said. Inferna knew it was only Gamble's hatred of Eons that prompted this remark, something Luthor should also be aware of. "That puts us both at one to one. Inferna, on the other paw..."

"I faced her once," Inferna said coolly.

"And lost, so that's one for one. A perfect losing record," Gamble jeered. Inferna's eye twitched. "I could avenge that little stain on your record, collecting my debt with Dratini in the process and saving you the embarrassment...oh right, the scar is permanent, guess you'll never live it down."

"Hey Gamble?" Inferna said sweetly. The Absol raised an eyebrow inquisitively, rolling his eyes when Inferna made an obscene gesture. "Leave Ember to me," she said coldly, stepping forward and holding her bared claws to the Absol's neck. "Don't touch her and don't send your little cronies to try to spite me, either, Gamble. Because then your luck will run out," she breathed in the quadruped's ear, her eyes narrowing to slits.

Gamble jerked his neck away from the feral Charmeleon, watching her with a wary expression. "So...what the hell is with this...parade?" he demanded of the two Leafeon, gesturing a paw to the other pair of Eons, the Sableye, and the male Charmeleon. Of them, Inferna considered the Charmeleon the most out of place. Gem was frequently used as a transporter of other members, and Frost often had business with various Pokémon. Singe, if her memory of names served, was currently in her branch, but had requested a transfer. This rarely surprised her. She was not oblivious to her lack of popularity; she just didn't care.

"Transportation," Gem rasped promptly.

"She's with me," Frost said, jerking a paw towards the Flareon. Said Flareon rubbed against Frost's side subtly and Gamble snorted and even Luthor rolled his eyes, which Inferna found ironic, considering the Leafeon's penchant for public affection.

"Remember the days when no one had a clue about your romance life, Frost?" Luthor sneered. The Glaceon blinked. "Once there was a time where no one would have a clue about your love life. You were just Frost, no strings attached to you, no females after your blood. And what, have you just dropped subtlety? Don't think I didn't see you checking out Lexa before."

"He was?" the female Leafeon asked, sounding surprised, but not displeased.

"So tell me, Frost," Luthor continued. "You showed up to our arranged duel with two single females. You left said duel with her," he said, gesturing to the Flareon. "Your opponent was an ex-mate. How is it that the Glaceon whose romantic exploits we once knew nothing about...suddenly is known as a bisexual?"

"A...bisexual?" Frost repeated, squinting at the Leafeon. "You mentioned only female examples. Are you aware of male examples?"

"Oh Celebi," Inferna sighed, face palming. Any conversations that ever started this way tended to be the ones she didn't want to remember.

"Excuse me?" Luthor said, looking confused.

"You said I'm known as a bisexual," Frost explained patiently. "Yet you named only female examples. How do you 'know' my orientation without an example to confirm?"

"...what the hell are you talking about?" the male Leafeon demanded.

"Error: Consult a dictionary," Frost said, rolling his eyes.

"Bisexual means going through multiple mates, usually in short succession," Luthor explained. There was a long, awkward silence that seemed to stretch on forever.

"You mean a womanizer?" Frost said finally.

"...then what did I say?" Luthor demanded, abruptly aware of the pained reactions of everyone else present.

"Just change the subject," Inferna ordered sharply. It was bad enough she was even in this chamber without adding a discomforting conversation to the mix. Luthor shrugged and repeated his question in a whisper to his mate. Inferna glared at Lexa, who wisely chose to remain silent and not to test the temper of the Johto branch leader. Pleased with the reaction, Inferna turned her attention to the male Charmeleon. She could already tell that he had evolved within the last week or so, just by the way he stood; experienced Charmeleon had a firmer stance, but Singe was using the stance a Charmander would, in the sense that he shifted his weight frequently, a sure sign of adjusting to the different balance of body and tail. Singe blinked awkwardly under her gaze.

"Can I help you?" he asked, a trace of sarcasm lingering to his voice.

"Recent evolution?" Inferna asked, taking note of how the other fire lizard tensed at the question.

"Yeah, it was recent," he said defensively. Inferna smirked and returned her attention to the other Cave Army region branch leaders.

"Can we wrap this up now?" she demanded, tapping her foot impatiently. Gamble nodded curtly.

"Luthor can handle this technology crap," he agreed. The Leafeon blinked.

"What? Wait, what are you two even trying to do?" Luthor asked, his gaze flicking between his colleagues and the technology.

"Move aside," Frost ordered sharply, pushing past the Pokémon at the computer and studying the device. Gamble glared at Frost.

"And who do you think you are, usurping OUR technology and infor-"

"Be silent, Absol," Frost commanded, cutting off Gamble's protest. The Glaceon took a moment to peruse the screen of the device. "Well well, you're more on top of things than I expected," he mused.

"With a group this large, how could we not be?" Gem rasped. "The data previously owned by Lava's group and this one's widespread data collection..."

"Speaking of which, I expect you to pass my data requests to Tarot and Chaos," Frost said. The Sableye nodded. Inferna frowned and cleared her throat. Frost didn't spare her as much as a glance, which fueled her frustration another notch.

"Hey!" Inferna snapped, grabbing Frost by the back of the neck and turning him around roughly. This turned out to be one of the most reckless motions she had ever made in her life and it cost her dearly, when a well-aimed Water Pulse doused her tail flame, filling her insides with a paralyzing cold. Immediately afterwards, a massive gale of ice and wind exploded forth from the Glaceon's mouth, the Blizzard numbing every inch of her body that it contacted. To add insult to injury, a Shadow Ball detonated upon the arm of the paw holding Frost, forcing her to relinquish him with a cry of pain. Frost dropped to the ground with a smug look.

"Error...don't touch me," he sneered. Inferna glared at him, her tail flame reigniting on its own and rapidly flaring up to its original size. He was largely unfazed by the gesture she gave him, his tail flicking with an air of superiority.

"Oh, you're in for it now," Gamble sneered, stepped forward aggressively. "You attacked a branch leader."

"I'm surprised you care enough to risk your neck and reputation," Frost replied dismissively, returning his focus to the computer. Inferna blinked as Luthor stepped up beside the Absol, his tan fur bristling. The Flareon growled, but hesitated when Frost waved a paw. "I don't need assistance," he told her, without looking back at the two challengers or the female.

"You lost to Blazey and yet you don't think you need help?" Luthor taunted. Frost chuckled and turned from the device, paying the two quadrupeds next to no attention.

"Error: Thinking a fluke defeat-"

"Excuses," Inferna scoffed, mimicking the Glaceon's dismissive gesture. Frost frowned, turning his gaze to the fire lizard.

"Inferna, female Charmeleon. Distinguishing features, a trio of scars, one above the left eye, one beneath the right. Third scar positioned between the eyes, aligned with the aforementioned markings. Straight with no active interests. Birthdate: April seventeenth. Age: Fourteen. Known family: Charizard parents, status unconfirmed. No current mate, one kit, identified as Ember," he recited casually. Inferna blinked, her surprised expression matching that of the other Cave Army branch leaders. "Highly proficient at claw combat and punches, skill level...six," Frost finished.

"What was the point of that?" Inferna demanded, doing her best to hide her shock. She always thought that most of her personal information was buried, and hearing the ice type recite it so casually was highly unnerving.

"No point, but it shut you up," Frost said simply, walking towards the entrance of the cavern, gesturing for the female fire Eon to follow. Gamble darted forward, blocking the Flareon's path with his body and holding the bladed horn on his head at her neck. Said Flareon whimpered, her eyes widening in terror. Frost's ear twitched and he stopped walking, slowly turning back towards the Absol, his expression impassive.

"You're not just walking out of here, Glaceon," Gamble hissed, holding up a red die. "Care to try your luck?"

"I win by skill, Absol, not luck," Frost countered smoothly.

"And I have the higher hand. This Eon's life is my wager," Gamble sneered. "Sketch isn't here to interfere, so come on, play by my stakes."

"You are a sickening creature, Absol," Frost said.

"I think this will be fun," Gamble insisted, "I could use a Flareon pelt for my wall when I win."

"Let her go." The voice was so soft and abrupt that it caught everyone by surprise. Gamble looked up and studied the male Charmeleon.

"What?"

"Let her go," Singe repeated. Gamble laughed, rolling the die around in his paw.

"And why should I?"

"She's not involved in this, Gamble," Singe growled. He stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Lexa's throat, locking her in a headlock. "Luthor, call him off," the Charmeleon ordered the horrified male.

"You son of a bitch," Luthor growled, glaring at Singe in rage. Inferna couldn't resist grinning. Singe knew how to bargain. Gamble had no real weaknesses, but without the support of his colleagues, he was unlikely to make a rash gamble that would turn everyone against him simultaneously.

"I won't hurt her unless he hurts her," Singe said seriously, nodding towards the worried Flareon. The Leafeon narrowed his eyes, his ear twitching when his mate whimpered.

"Knock it off, Gamble," Luthor said. Gamble scowled.

"Why should I? We have Frost right where we want him."

"No you don't," Luthor argued, "Frost just met the bitch a short time ago. If anything, that Umbreon..."

"Leave Dark out of matters concerning me," Frost interrupted coldly. Gamble grinned widely. Frost hesitated. "Error: fell for the bait," he muttered. Gamble chuckled and shoved the Flareon aside, ignoring her pained cry. Singe released his grip on Lexa's neck and the female Leafeon scrambled over to Luthor, whimpering pitifully.

"Gem, you know what to do?" the Absol breathed. The Sableye blinked and shook his head.

"I rather kiss a Muk," he rasped.

"I can provide you with many high quality gemstones," Gamble offered.

"I rather have a Muk as a mate than accept that pitiful attempt at a bribe, Gamble," Gem snapped.

"Error: Believing you're the winning side. Every fool knows that it's better to be on my side than opposing me, Absol," Frost whispered, his icy fur bristling angrily. From the corner of her eye, Inferna saw the surprisingly bold Charmeleon helping the Flareon to her feet.

"Being a 'useful' ally doesn't excuse you harming one of the branch leaders, I don't give a damn if Sketch likes you or not," Gamble growled. Inferna would have been touched by his concern for her wellbeing if she didn't know full well that Gamble just hated Frost with a passion, partly because Frost was an Eon, especially an Eon known to cause trouble with the Army. What other reasons the Absol had, the Charmeleon wasn't positive. Then again, she wasn't fond of Frost either.

"I consider my reaction to have been appropriate for the situation," Frost said dismissively. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"We won't," Gamble said, his red eyes glowing brightly. Frost paused and then chuckled.

"Error: Insisting upon going about this the hard way. Very well. When I win, I shall go."

"When I win, I'll kill you," Gamble responded. Frost smirked.

"Fitting," he sneered. Luthor stared at the Absol.

"Killing him isn't necessary."

"I'll kill him," Gamble repeated with a sadistic smirk. Frost rolled his eyes.

"Come come," he said, gesturing impatiently. "You too, Leafeon. You prattling about my defeat is frankly quite irritating. My victory will demonstrate that my skill is no illusion."

"You're going to beat two of the Cave Army's branch leaders at the same time?" Inferna snorted skeptically.

"Want in?" Frost sneered. "I could beat all three of you without breaking a sweat."

"No way," Lexa said, shaking her head.

"How about four-on-one?" Frost jeered, gesturing for the female Leafeon to join. "All four regional leaders in a single duel."

"I'm recording this," Gem chuckled, fading out. Singe and the Flareon just stared blankly at the scene. Inferna smirked, flexing her claws. A battle would be a good way for her to work off her frustration.

"Come come, I am quite honestly in a rush," Frost said. "The sooner I win, the sooner I can depart."

"Okay, you're an arrogant bastard. Do you have any idea what you're in for?" Luthor snorted. "Most tag teams can't beat me and Lexa, but add two more of the Cave Army's strongest against the one of you?"

"I'm ready," Gem rasped from behind Inferna. "On three, begin. Three!"

Inferna readied her claws, but blinked when Frost disappeared. She sensed him behind her at the last second and jabbed a paw backwards to stab at him. She chuckled when her claws stabbed into the Glaceon, but blinked when the ice Eon shattered into pixilated shards. Substitute so early in the battle? She was only given a moment to register this before her tail flame was extinguished by a wave of water, the force of the tidal wave hurling her to the ground. Sunlight exploded within the chamber, blinding the Charmeleon for several seconds before her eyes could adjust to the Leafeon pair's Sunny Day.

"Damn you, Eons!" Gamble snarled, shielding his eyes from the bright light. "We're in a damned underground cave, you idiots!"

"Error: Conflicting strategies," Frost commented, forming a circle of ice around his body, which expanded outwards, concealing him partially from view as he stood within the vortex. Luthor and Lexa both launched large beams of green-white light from the grass sprouts on their head, but the vortex refracted the light of one of the beams, narrowly missing Inferna's shoulder. Frost's fur shimmered a moment before the second beam would have hit, deflecting it at an angle. Gamble leapt to the side, splitting into three identical Absol. Before he could do anything else, chunks of ice broke off from the vortex, striking the four Pokémon.

"Bastard," Inferna hissed. With that shield of hail around him, she couldn't get close enough to use her claws. Fortunately, her fire wasn't as pitiful as her kit's, so she inhaled and blew out a massive stream of fire towards the hail. Gamble's horn crackled with electricity and he launched the Thunderbolt towards the Glaceon. Frost chuckled.

"Error: Pathetically inefficient strategies," he mused. The hail vortex rapidly solidified as he exhaled forcefully, filling the room with a howling wind that chilled the room by several degrees every second. Every drop of moisture in the cavern, from the stalactites overhead, to the water vapor in the air, became frozen into chunks of snow and ice and was drawn into the hailstorm like water down the drain, the vortex soon resembling a circle of spinning blades of ice, glistening in the light of the sphere of sunlight. Within the vortex, a sphere of white light had formed, like an energy core, drawing in all the ice and snow from the vortex into the condensed mass of energy.

"What...is that?" Lexa demanded, stopping in her tracks of forming a green orb of energy from her mouth. Frost chuckled.

"This? It's a combo attack."

"A combo of what?" Inferna demanded, a feeling of dread passing down her spine. Frost chuckled softly.

"Blizzard, Hail...and five rapidly fired and consecutive uses of Trump Card. That's the end of that chapter," he said smugly. It took maybe five seconds for the realization of what Frost said to sink in.

"Shit," Inferna cursed, followed immediately by as many stronger words to express her emotions as she could mutter. The sphere within the hail vortex glowed, and then the world exploded into a blur of white, blinding her from seeing anything. Every nerve in the Charmeleon's body went numb and only her unceasing barrage of curses was a reminder that she was still conscious.

And then it was gone. Inferna's body felt weightless and as she opened her eyes, she found herself lying on the cavern floor, with the other three Cave Army branch leaders in a similar state, except completely unconscious. Frost himself was gone, but Singe and the Flareon remained, looking around with a look of awe. Every inch of the chamber was covered with a thin blanket of snow.

"Damn it, the tape recorder froze," Gem grumbled. Inferna groaned and struggled to push herself up, but her body refused to move. To add insult to injury, she soon found herself looking up at Sketch, who inspected the chamber with a greatly surprised expression before kneeling down beside her. A sudden sense of warmth expanded through her body and she realized with a jolt that the Smeargle had reignited her tail flame, which she only just realized had gone out again.

"A fine mess you four got into," Sketch sighed, looking around the rest of the chamber.


	266. Snowflake Conflict

**I had about four different chap possibilities I was working on, but each one I lost interest in part way, in favor of trying a different idea first. This irritated me until I wrote this to blow off steam. It really worked for me, so maybe I'll be back on board next chap. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Within the confines of a spacious, circular chamber that lacked any notable point of entry or exit, the winds of conflict were blowing. The air within the chamber was significantly cooler than elsewhere, but the sole inhabitants of the chamber did not mind the cold, or the fact that there was no logical way to enter or leave their habitat. The floor of the chamber was coated in a thin layer of ice and snow, the powdery substance matching the elegant fur of the inhabitants, a pair of fox-like Pokémon with blue white fur that was frozen into needles.

Closer inspection of the two Pokémon would determine that their demeanors were sharp contrasts of one another. The younger one sat stiffly and her eyes were cold and uncaring, as if not even a flicker of compassion had ever been lit behind them. This Pokémon carried herself with immense confidence, her face expressing snobby superiority, even in an impassive expression. Despite this, or maybe because of it, the ice type radiated with subtle beauty that could draw even the most stoic of males into a daze.

The elder counterpart was stretched out lazily upon the chamber floor, the layer of snow clinging to its fur. Unlike the former, whose feminine appearance was undeniable, this Glaceon's gender was not immediately distinguishable. Even with the specie's unfortunate tendency to be classified as effeminate, there were just enough masculine features present to evade being promptly stereotyped. A feminine vibe was still present, but to Glaceon, this was par for the course. The ice type's tail flicked energetically compared to the younger counterpart's stiff twitch, and the eyes were radiant with emotion and energy. Like the former, the second Glaceon could easily have been described as attractive, but to do so would cause many creatures confusion as they struggled to label its gender.

The Glaceon yawned widely and stretched shamelessly, making an unmistakably feminine giggle as it concluded the motions, dispelling any doubts as to her gender. Her companion spared her only the briefest of dismissive glances, but the instant of attention nevertheless amused the elder ice type.

"Hi Flakey," she said, smiling cutely at her uptight companion, who vented an irritable sigh.

"What do you want, Snow?"

"Dangerous question for you to ask me, Flake," Snow giggled, getting to her paws and pattering over to her companion. Flake rolled her eyes, otherwise ignoring the presence of the other Glaceon. Snow grinned and ran a paw along Flake's side.

"Knock it off!" Flake snapped, shoving Snow away from her. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm female?!"

"I know you are. I am too," Snow reminded her. "Doesn't mean I can't flirt a little. Or a lot," she giggled, petting Flake's tail. The snobbish Glaceon recoiled and growled. "It's so cute when you get agitated," Snow giggled.

"Stop talking to me," Flake ordered. Snow grinned.

"Okay, actions speak louder anyway," she murmured. Before Flake could register what was said, the other Glaceon pressed her mouth firmly to the mouth of her fellow ice type and kissed her deeply, securing a grip on Flake's neck to prevent her from pulling away. Flake bit down as hard as she could on Snow's lip, drawing blood and startling her enough to be able to pull away, growling with rage.

"Get off me, you lunatic!" Flake snarled. Snow touched a paw to her bleeding lip and giggled hysterically.

"You drew blood?" she grinned, her eyes glazing over slightly. "That's so sweet; I didn't know you felt that strongly..."

"I hate you!" Flake spat.

Snow giggled, "Hate is just misplaced affection. Think about it. All that tension and hostility, creating bubbling emotions and placing thoughts of your adversary in your mind, where it sears at you, building up those tense emotions whenever the thoughts surface..." Snow's voice had lowered to a whisper and with every word she slid slightly nearer to the agitated ice type, lowering her voice bit by bit so that Flake had to strain to hear her clearly. "And then, the hate boils over and one of you attacks the other. Now you're getting physical, venting your negative emotions and tension, maybe receiving your own share of the blows. Getting so aggressive and hostile, your adrenaline pumping, your heart racing..."

Flake's ear twitched, and she was abruptly aware that Snow was right beside her, whispering in a soft, delicate tone. She backtracked from the lustful ice type, shaking her head to diffuse the momentary haze that had taken hold of her. Snow studied her reaction and giggled.

"The fight might end in victory, or maybe in defeat. You may find yourself admiring the other, your breaths coming out in gasps, your heart pounding in your chest...you might be tired, but yet the taste of triumph feels so good..." Snow purred, inching nearer to Flake again and casually stroked a paw down Flake's chest.

Flake's reaction was predictably hostile as she shoved Snow forcefully to the ground, seething angrily. Snow giggled, seemingly unbothered by being roughly thrown down.

"Search your feelings, Flakey, you know it be true," Snow said, altering her tone to a deeper tone. As soon as she finished her sentence, she hunched over, giggling hysterically. Flake scowled and didn't respond, turning and walking towards the other side of the circular chamber. Still grinning cheerfully, Snow sat up, wiping away the trickle of blood at her lip. "You need to lighten up, Flakey."

"Be silent, Snow," Flake snapped.

Snow smiled, "Aw, you like me."

"No, I don't," Flake deadpanned.

"You almost never insult me," Snow pointed out. "You use my name and everything."

"You're a vile worm whose very existence is-"

"You're not putting any venom into that insult, Flakey. You like me," Snow giggled.

"I do not!"

"Do too."

"No, I don't!" Flake spat.

"Do too."

"No, I don't!"

"I like you too."

"SHUT UP!"

"You like the sound of my voice," Snow giggled. Flake took an aggressive step towards Snow, whose grin widened. "Going to discipline me?" she asked teasingly, flicking her tail tauntingly.

"What are you on?" Flake demanded.

Snow shrugged, "I was hoping an aphrodisiac, but so far I'm disappointed."

"Whatever," Flake grunted.

Snow frowned, disappointed that her game was ended so abruptly. "You were so mean before, Flakey."

"You annoy me," Flake replied, grooming indifferently.

"No, before that. With Frost," Snow explained.

"Those vermin were worthless fools," Flake scoffed. "Their fires of potential are naught but embers before a blizzard."

"Aww...so poetic, even if it is nasty," Snow purred.

"Shut up."

"Aw, I thought you'd say 'screw you' or a variation," Snow sighed.

"Never again. Never," Flake said, twitching.

"And I didn't mean the battle, either," Snow said, giggling. "That was just impressive. You're so strong and powerful."

"Of course I am," Flake snorted arrogantly. She frowned for a moment. "Then what ARE you referring to?"

"Crystal," Snow said promptly. Flake snorted again.

"Should have known that was all you cared about. Worthless Flareon."

"She's not worthless," Snow complained.

"She has next to no battle caliber, minimal potential, no connections, not particularly attractive..." Flake recited.

"I beg to differ. She's so pretty..." Snow murmured. Flake shot her a sideways look.

"Snow, have you EVER rejected someone based on their looks? Or anyone at all?" Flake asked rhetorically.

"Non-Eons," she replied with a shrug.

"I rest my case. Worthless," Flake sneered.

"She's not worthless!" Snow whined.

"Snow, even you know you would only keep her for a fling," Flake scoffed.

"She's still not worthless then," Snow pointed out cheerfully. Flake rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, breeder bitch," she snorted. "Like we really want a clingy Flareon that was raised by a human breeder."

"Why not?" Snow asked, smiling dreamily, her tail swishing.

"Clingy. Raised by breeder," Flake repeated.

"So? I-"

"Don't say you like clingy, because you don't!" Flake growled.

"What if I do?"

"You don't!"

"How do you know?" Snow challenged.

"December twenty-third. Jolteon male. Quote 'I hate clingy males'."

"Yeah, clingy MALES. They're creepy. And you liked him."

"He practically worshipped us," Flake said dreamily. "He knew he was in the presence of someone much greater than himself."

"So he clung and never let go," Snow argued. "Even religions aren't that bad."

"Giratina-ism?" Flake suggested.

"Well yeah, but you can't cling to Giratina literally," Snow said.

"Darkrai-ism?"

"Too many plushies."

"...are we still on the same subject?" Flake asked, suddenly confused.

"Darkrai fangirls and their plushies," Snow explained. She suddenly looked thoughtful. "What would you do if Frost had a fangirl, Flakey?"

"Avoid her like the sensible, intelligent Glaceon I am."

"Fanboy?"

"That's the Jolteon problem again."

"So you'd like that?"

"Shut up, Snow!" Flake snapped.

"Well, it's true. Almost every mate you liked tended to be a male and usually someone submissive or fawning," Snow insisted. "Except Rod, who I never really knew why you liked him."

"He was powerful," Flake smirked.

"Yeah...emotionally and physically abusive to his younger sister. Real powerful, great mate material," Snow said sarcastically. Flake shrugged indifferently; Snow bristled. "He should be glad Frost didn't kick the crap out of him! I would have!"

"Sure you would, Snow; you're really a strong fighter," Flake sneered. "Whatever, Frost dumped his tail and that should have been enough. It doesn't matter."

Snow sighed, finding the argument not worth continuing, "I guess you're right..."

"Of course I am," Flake snorted.

"You're cute, too."

"I know that," Flake said, smirking proudly.

"Your tail is nice."

"Ugh, get lost, Snow!" Flake groaned, any trace of amusement disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

"I've tried. Your beauty draws me back like a magnet," Snow purred, moving nearer to her arrogant counterpart. "It's like a compass, always leading me towards the North Star that is you..." she snuggled against Flake's chest, looking up with an innocent smile. She grunted when Flake shoved her away, but brightened almost immediately, "I like when you play hard-to-get, Flakey."

Flake snorted, "Whatever." She began grooming herself with her usual air of cold indifference. Snow reluctantly postponed her pursuit. They had an eternity together, and Flake wouldn't be able to resist her charms forever. Snow could always satisfy lingering desires through Frost, anyway. The benefit to being a consciousness was the elimination of the middleman. Frost would be attracted if Snow felt particularly lustful towards an Eon (and it had to be an Eon or Eevee. Snow wondered whether this was due to Flake's arrogance towards non-Eons or just her personal preference for the specie. Non-Eons never triggered her desires, and so they never appealed to Frost, either). Frost's personality was a mixture of hers and Flake's, but his courting was often supervised by Snow's active interest, seeing as Flake had the tendency to reveal Frost's "real personality" to potential mates. Disturbingly, not too many cared. Sure, there was the odd female or so that would pass, but Snow was skilled enough to talk her way out of many of the courting fumbles that Flake's influence caused.

Snow couldn't resist a giggle. Maybe she did have a trace of Frost's ego and pride. Then again, she reasoned, Flake was capable of some of the emotions she, Snow, was more renowned for, but those emotions surfacing was very, very rare, and most often were displayed when Frost had eaten one too many Sitrus. Alternatively, the Sitrus berry effect would placate Flake, allowing Snow full control of Frost's emotions. And that usually turned out to be fun.

"So now what are we doing, Flakey?" Snow asked, keeping a fraction of her attention on Frost's thoughts, just in case Flake was sneaking in more hostile emotions than she was supposed to.

Flake finished grooming before answering, "Whatever."

"That wasn't specific, Flakey," Snow whined. "Are we going to go training or maybe court someone? Ooh, let's go find that Flareon you like! The one who beat us."

Flake sputtered indignantly, "What was that?!"

"You think he's cute, don't you?"

"No!" Flake spat. "I hate that..." her paws clenched furiously as she struggled to find an insult powerful enough to describe her contempt for the Flareon in question. Failing to find one, she let out a frustrated growl.

Snow giggled, "So much hate? All that aggression directed at him? His handsome image burned eternally into your mind, the knowledge of how much pain and humiliation you'd like to cause him, how much time and effort you'd devote to ensuring that the rematch ends differently, how you'd like to crush him beneath your feet so that he grovels for mercy?"

Flake smirked, "Yes...I'd like that."

"And then you'd kiss him..."

"What?"

"Kiss him, Flakey. You can humiliate him better by making him yours," Snow giggled. "Make him submissive to your every desire..."

Flake bristled, her mouth twisting into a snarl, "I don't want to kiss him, you crazy idiot! My hatred is hatred, not some stupid affectionate obsession! I hate him! Do you get that?! He disgraced Frost, disgraced us, disgraced ME! I will never be satisfied until he weeps at my feet! And even that won't save his stupid tail from the pulverizing defeat I'll hand his cocky tail!"

"So you do have his tail on your mind?" Snow teased, and Flake's expression darkened, a subtle white aura surrounding her fur. Snow blinked at the intensity of Flake's anger. "Whoa, calm down, Flakey. I was just teasing you a little...calm down." Seeing how her words were having little impact on her counterpart's temper, Snow forced her own anger to the surface and bit down on Flake's ear.

"What the hell?!" Flake demanded, too startled by the sudden attack to be genuinely angry. Snow giggled, what little anger she had simmering down instantaneously.

"You feeling better now?" she asked cutely. Flake gave her a cold glare and didn't answer, which Snow interpreted as an affirmative. "Good, otherwise I'd be happy to give you a belly rub..."

"That won't be necessary," Flake said, sitting stiffly.

"So what are we going to do?" Snow asked, sobering. After a few seconds, her whole face lit up, "Ooh, let's find a cute Vaporeon. Please?"

"Ugh..." Flake face pawed.

"Is that a yes?"

"No!"

"Cute...Glaceon?" Snow asked hopefully.

Flake snorted, "Snow, we know precisely two Glaceon, one of which even you wouldn't touch, unless you're more disgusting than I ever gave you credit for."

"How come we never see male Glaceon?" Snow complained. She pouted a little, "I bet they're cute and we'll just never know."

"A tragedy," Flake sneered.

"I'd gawk at Frost's reflection, but you get all narcissistic," Snow grumbled. Flake smirked. "Come on, let's find a Vaporeon to flirt with," Snow urged. "I have a new bunch of tail compliments to use!"

Flake stared at her lustful counterpart, failing to hide her alarm, "You think of tail compliments?"

"Best part of a Vaporeon, closely followed by the rest of the body, all sleek and elegant and so..." Snow trailed off, drooling.

"No, we're not doing anything that involves pathetic Vaporeon!" Flake snorted.

Snow nodded in agreement, her eyes distant, "We want a Vaporeon that can do stuff only my daydreams include..."

Flake gaped at Snow, her mouth moving wordlessly. After an awkwardly long silence, she regained her composure and pointedly ignored the daydreaming Glaceon. After at least five minutes, Snow abruptly remembered what the discussion had been about.

"So can we?"

"What?"

"Find a Vaporeon to flirt with?"

"No," Flake grunted.

"Please?"

"No!"

"Why not?" Snow whined. "I let us go fight random people, why won't you let me flirt?"

"I let you flirt with that worthless Flareon. Your quota is satisfied."

"I don't have a quota and if I did, it would be a lot bigger! And you dumped her with no fanfare! You didn't even tell her you dumped her, you just left! You were so mean, not even pretending to care that she was being threatened!" Snow complained.

"And you think I should fall victim to blackmailing, like a commoner?" Flake sneered.

Snow pouted, "Fine, we won't look for a Vaporeon, but then I'll start pining and then you'll be sorry."

"I bet I will," Flake retorted sarcastically. "Your blackmail attempt will be no more effective than it was for those C.A. fools." Snow knew the arrogant Glaceon was bluffing. The last time she had pined for a mate, Flake had ignored her for a grand total of twelve seconds. "Frost has more important things to do than such pointless objectives," Flake added, waving a paw dismissively.

Snow frowned, "Should we tell Shadow the rumor, then? He might want to know."

"Probably," Flake agreed, leaping at the chance to change the subject.

Snow smiled, "And then during the euphoric aftermath, we exchange a few Orans..."

"No," Flake stated flatly.

Snow pouted, "You never let us have fun anymore. I'm supposed to be the dominant portion of the mind."

"You would be if you weren't so pathetically submissive and easily bought," Flake sneered. "If you be quiet for five minutes, I'll pet your tail," the arrogant Glaceon offered. Snow sat up, smiling, but not saying a word. Flake rolled her eyes, "Case in point."

"Five minutes are up!" Snow announced happily, precisely five minutes later. Flake sighed, reluctantly running a paw down Snow's tail, then hastily withdrawing. Snow giggled.

"...I'm going to regret coming in here, aren't I?" sighed a vaguely familiar voice, startling the two Glaceon. Snow looked up curiously, whereas Flake's fur bristled defensively.

"Who's there?" she snapped.

"It's a pleasure to see you, too, Flake," the voice sighed. "This is going to be a headache and a half. Why can't I ever deliver messages without going through you two?"

Flake smirked, "Our superior mental barrier, all thanks to my strength of mind, Ditto."

"You could just appear to Frost in person, you know," Snow pointed out.

"Can't. Delivering these messages to legends-"

"Like me," Flake interrupted, puffing her chest out importantly. Snow poked Flake in the stomach, getting shoved forcefully to the ground in retaliation. Flake scowled, "Don't touch a legend, Snow. Even a fool Ditto recognizes my status."

"...I hate this job sometimes. Having access to all these legend forms makes it worth it, but the headaches are worse than hell."

"Just deliver the message and get out," Flake snapped.

"Frost wanted an eye on this, and I'm able to give it without screwing with the time stream."

"Uh...Frost wants to keep an eye on lots of things," Snow pointed out.

"This is related to that Charmander, Ember," the messenger replied. Flake snorted disinterestedly, earning a frown from Snow, which she promptly ignored.

"Frost wanted a little more information about her potential, I think," Snow said, furrowing her brow. "I don't remember. Do you, Flakey?"

"Of course I remember, but I doubt it's crucial," Flake sneered.

"I'm delivering her updated profile. I have confirmed her status as a catalyst," the messenger said pleasantly.

"Shut up, Ditto. We don't care about your fixation with the time streams," Flake replied.

"Note to self: Just talk to Frost in person. Less of a headache and I don't have to talk to an arrogant bitch. Arrogant bastard isn't much better..."

"Hey! Frost's parents were legitimate mates!" Snow protested, her fur bristling.

"So Glacia is a bitch and a bastard?" the messenger inquired. Both Glaceon bristled identically, Snow looking offended, Flake looking pissed off. "Okay...not a good word joke to play. I so picture Dragonair using it, though."

"If he knows what's good for him, he wouldn't," Flake replied icily. "A pity you lack the same intellect, Ditto."

"Speaking of him, I have to deliver a message to his mate again. That'll be fun; travel all the way to Hoenn..."

"Hoenn? Can you gather Eon profiles?" Snow asked hopefully. "Especially cute, single ones?"

"I rather not."

"Do it, you otherwise worthless Ditto," Flake sneered. "And get a record of skilled beings in that cesspool region."

"No problem, Flake. Anything for you," the messenger replied sarcastically, "I'll get right on that when I finish delivering these messages." Snow overheard him mutter a few uncomplimentary words under his breath and fought the urge to giggle at some of the terms used for Flake.

"So the Charmander's profile? How does she stack up?" Flake sneered. "Pathetically, no doubt."

"Is she likely to beat Frost? I...wouldn't count her out. Checked her future and alternate timelines. Has quite a bit of potential and skill, and all the timelines have a common theme: Do not screw with her life or her mate."

"Depends, is he an Eevee?" Snow asked, sounding unnecessarily enthusiastic. There was a moment of stammered confusion.

"Wh-what? Wh-where did you get that question? How does that have ANYTHING to do with this topic?"

"Well, I only like Eons so..."

"I see...do you ONLY interpret things with innuendo?"

"She's the lust center, Ditto. Of course she does!" Flake snapped. Snow giggled innocently.

"Hm. Don't you think it would be a gas if Frost ended up being her mate?" the messenger asked sarcastically.

"Eww," Snow said, scrunching her nose in distaste.

"Eww?" the messenger repeated, sounding incredulous.

"I mean, she's probably appealing, but...not to me," Snow explained, frowning.

"Appealing to someone actually in her league," Flake scoffed. "Wurmple, maybe?"

The messenger chuckled, "What about Tarot?"

"Why Tarot?" Snow asked.

Flake snorted, "The Sableye is in a HIGH league. Why would he choose a lesser?"

"Flakey, the league thing is subjective. Maybe it's sweet love?"

"Eliminates the breeding concerns," Flake shrugged.

"He's got those cards..."

"I'm SO leaving this discussion," Flake said quickly.

"You two drive me nuts, I'm taking off," the messenger grumbled.

"Good riddance, Ditto," Flake sneered. "Don't half-tail the profile collection."

"Oh don't worry, Flake. You'll get the profiles, everything I can get," came the reply before the presence disappeared from the chamber. Flake frowned and turned to her counterpart.

"Do you think he's actually going to give us profiles?"

Snow shrugged, but smiled optimistically, "Probably. He always does, doesn't he?"

Flake rolled her eyes, "It didn't seem ominous how he assured us he would?"

Snow shrugged again, "He said 'you'll get the profiles' not, 'you'll get a knife between your ribs', so no, I don't think it's ominous, Flakey."

"Whatever," Flake grunted. Silence fell over the two of them, each lost in their own thoughts. Snow pattered over to her younger counterpart and licked her cheek affectionately. Flake shoved her away, growling, "Knock it off!"

"But you're so sweet," Snow purred, licking her lips. Ignoring Flake's threatening growl, she snuggled close to the other Glaceon. "I'm going to take a nap, Flakey. Maybe we can find a cute Eon later..." she mumbled. Flake promptly stepped away from Snow, her lip curled in revulsion. Snow stumbled and looked at Flake with a strangely sad expression.

"Don't touch me, Snow," Flake snarled.

"Sorry, Flakey," Snow mumbled, sniffling as she curled up sadly. Flake cast her only a single glance, but then paid her no further attention. Snow's saddened expression brightened, "It's final; we'll go tell Shadow the rumor and then go check up on our kit so she likes us."

"That weak, pathetic Glaceon that is a disgrace to our genes?" Flake snorted.

"Don't pretend you don't like her, Flakey," Snow growled. "You got defensive when she got insulted."

"I do not care for her. Those who cannot utilize their excellent genetics are better to not have existed," Flake sneered. Snow rolled her eyes.

"I like her too."

"Stop contradicting me!" Flake spat.

"I'm so glad you agree, Flakey," Snow giggled, embracing Flake in a hug. "And Blizzard's still cute, too..."

"Oh for the love of..." Flake groaned. "Just get off me!"

"Okay Flakey," Snow chirped, releasing the arrogant ice type. "Power nap time!"

"You're such a child," Flake sneered.

"We're the same age as Frost, Flakey," Snow reminded her. "So that would make YOU a child, too."

"I am a superior and skilled Glaceon, a creature of unsurpassed beauty and esteem," Flake announced, gesturing to herself with a paw. "I am not a mindless child, but a..." Flake paused, noticing that Snow was sleeping against her side. "Ugh, I hate when she does that!" Flake grumbled.

"I love you too," Snow mumbled in her sleep. Flake blinked down at her. Snow giggled in her sleep and murmured, "That's a nice tail you've got there...but is it as soft as it looks? Mhm...it's like velvet..."

"Is it any wonder I hate her?" Flake sighed.


	267. Dragonair's Return

**Dragonair POV**

Cool crisp water surrounded me, refreshing my scales and clearing the haze from my mind. I closed my eyes, savoring the pleasant tickle of the water's current against my body as it flowed around me. I allowed my mind to drift, the water soothing the inner turmoil that bubbled within me. Anger was a dangerous emotion. Hate and anger...such fierce emotions that thrashed deep inside. No matter how much denial I brought forth, I knew they were still there. Such feelings did not just disappear. They could not simply be forced down, repressed, and controlled. No, dark feelings needed to be soothed away and healed.

I opened my eyes when light hit the eyelids, smiling to myself as sparkles of light danced across the bottom of the pool. I gazed upwards, spotting the shining blur above the water's surface. The sun was out, in case that detail hadn't been apparent when light hit my eyes in the first place. I blinked. Was I being sarcastic to myself? How odd. Nevertheless, the relaxing swim time had been just what I had needed. It left the same feeling meditation normally granted, so for now I was content.

I rose to the surface of the water, immediately casting a glance at a pair of minimized red and white spheres left a short distance from the water's edge. I swam nearer to the shore and floated from the water, settling down by the two Pokeballs. I poked one idly with my tail and smirked to myself, poking it again so that it shifted from its position. I entertained myself in this fashion for several minutes, until at last I chuckled. I wrapped the end of my tail around the miniature sphere and flicked it into the air.

"Venom, I choose you!" I called in a needlessly dramatic tone. The Pokeball enlarged in midair and burst open, releasing a long serpentine silhouette of light, which formed in the pool I had just abandoned. The light faded, revealing the familiar Gyarados. He glared at me.

"What the hell was that?" Venom demanded. I smirked at him.

"Just imagine the poor Pokémon who have to hear that from their trainers every time they're released," I pointed out. "Doesn't it make you cringe internally to be called out in such an embarrassing way?"

"Maybe," Venom scowled. I chuckled.

"It saps the dignity of the Pokémon to be thrust into any situation with a horrendously overdramatic summoning cue," I continued. Venom rolled his eyes.

"I think I get it. You find it stupid. Where the hell are we?"

"Ooh, instead of answering your straightforward question, how about we discuss everything we've done recently so no one's confused?" I suggested. Venom gave me an amusingly blank stare.

"Who's around that would be confused? We know what we've been doing," he pointed out.

"Random wild Pokémon?" I said, circling my tail around the other unopened Pokeball.

"Let them be confused," Venom scoffed. "Where the hell are we?"

"We're south of Violet City in Johto, the Rocket base we're going to is not far from here," I answered. Venom nodded in satisfaction. I smirked, "Whether your soul mate is there remains debatable."

Venom's eye twitched, "Shut up."

"Oh come on, we both know that's the only reason we're going to the base near Violet," I taunted. Venom scowled. "Hey now, don't get snippy, Magikarp."

"I'm a Gyarados!" Venom snarled promptly. He gets easier every day.

"My mistake, Magikarp," I responded, grinning as Venom's eye twitched. "You shouldn't eat so much red meat, Venom. It can't possibly be good for your blood pressure."

"You're not good for my blood pressure!" Venom hissed.

"I've heard that before," I agreed. "I advise laying off excess salt, maybe a vacation, and less red meat, not to mention some anger management."

"You could use a session of that crap, too," Venom argued, glaring at me. I scowled, but didn't answer. So maybe I let my temper get the best of me, but it all worked out. I reduced that damned shrine to rubble, crushing those evil Pokémon in the ruins. Maybe the ghosts managed to get out in time, but I know I did damage, nevertheless. I have no regrets for my actions. All of them were guilty of being evil at heart, letting the ruthless phantom torture and kill innocents. All of them deserved whatever pain they felt when the Dragon Pulse obliterated the building.

I sighed and placed the small sphere inside a small, brown leather carrying bag I had swiped from the ruins of the shrine. It was surprisingly resistant to damage and it fit surprisingly well around my serpentine body. The only things I carried in it were the two Pokeballs, which had probably been modified to be additionally durable, seeing as neither of them had picked up even a scratch from my Dragon Pulse. I know regular Pokeballs aren't that strong. Then again, these objects had belonged to Chaos, so I wasn't remotely surprised by the possibility they had been improved or modified.

"Are we leaving now?" Venom asked impatiently. I rolled my eyes.

"Sure. Venom, return!" I said, tapping the center button of the Pokeball. A beam of red light lanced from the Pokeball and Venom disappeared into the light, becoming drawn into the ball, which closed. Another tap of my tail and the container miniaturized, allowing me to place it inside the bag. I charged a small Thunderbolt through my horn, the charge powerful enough to trigger the magnet inside the bag's zipper, sealing it shut. Whoever created this bag was impressively creative. There was almost no doubt it had been modified for a Pokémon that couldn't use or didn't have limbs, but was able to use electricity.

I slid my tail through the bag's loop and floated a few feet into the air. My brief stint as a Dratini reminded me how much I loved my evolved form's ability to hover. Made travel much easier, too. True, it had taken a few days to get from Kanto to Johto, but I hadn't exactly rushed to get here. Venom was in the hurry, not me, and he sure hell wasn't going to get there before me on his own terms. Whether he could travel on land or not, he wasn't going to get very far. I chuckled and rose higher into the air, skimming the tree tops. Too high and I'd attract too much attention. Not that a Dragonair flying around Violet City was commonplace enough that my height from the ground would shield me from attention. At least this way, other cities and distant observers would have a little harder of a time spotting me. Oh, what did it matter? Barring a military force, no one spotting me would be able to do anything about it. Then again, if I was going to a Rocket base, they certainly wouldn't appreciate me spotlighting their location if someone decided to check out where the Dragonair went.

A Fearow's caw drew my attention as my flight path overlapped with Violet City. The regal avian was soaring towards me, its large beak pointing towards me. I narrowed my eyes, gathering a charge of electricity into my horn, but didn't release it just yet. I knew Fearow were territorial and I heard that the trainer gym in Violet City specialized in bird Pokémon, so acting rashly would probably not turn out well. If this Fearow belonged to the gym leader or another skilled trainer from the gym, being a Dragonair would prompt them to send a horde of the damned birds after me. If it attacked me, on the other paw, THAT would make a nice Thunderbolt to its wings perfectly justified.

To my slight disappointment, the Fearow stopped approaching, hovering a few feet away. I stared at it, similarly stopping my flight to hover lazily. The Fearow only flapped its wings occasionally, yet somehow wasn't losing any height. I love not needing wings to fly. "Hello," the bird said pleasantly, its tone suggesting a feminine gender.

"Hey, random Fearow," I responded promptly. "Do you normally talk to random Dragonair?"

"I would if more were around," the avian replied. "But you placed a feather on my reason for approaching. Where are you going?"

"Somewhere," I smirked. "Am I in your territory?"

"No, I don't have a territory. I travel a lot," the Fearow replied.

"What a pity," I said. "Then you're in my territory. Go away."

"Am I?" the Fearow asked skeptically. "I'm pretty the skies of Violet are neutral. Violet's gym enforces this."

"I'm planning on conquering all the sky territories," I said sarcastically. "Then I'll charge hefty taxes on all fliers and become rich."

The Fearow chuckled, "Good luck with that. I don't think fliers can pay your taxes."

"Then I blast them from the sky," I responded. The Fearow blinked. Her expression was so amusing I couldn't keep a straight face any longer.

"Oh, you're kidding," she sighed in relief.

"Well, only the part about me planning on conquering the skies," I said, smirking. "If I did, I would do the 'tax or blast' aspect." Oddly, the Rockets never considered doing that. It sounded like quite the investment, even if we started a war among all the flying Pokémon. Okay, now it sounds like the type of idiotic plan they'd come up with.

"Where did you say you were going?" the Fearow asked.

"I didn't."

"Satisfy my curiosity, then."

"Make me."

"Please?" the Fearow attempted. I stared at her.

"What?"

"Please?" the Fearow repeated.

"Huh, so I did hear you right the first time," I muttered. "Why would that work?"

"Why would a threat work better?" she countered.

I smirked, "Touché."

"Thank you."

"I'm just going over there a ways," I said, nodding in the general direction of the base that served as my destination. "Why in Celebi's name do you care?"

The Fearow shrugged her wings, flapping quickly to prevent herself from losing height. "Conversation value. When one travels, it pays to make friends everywhere. Better one friend in a strange place than a hundred strangers. You never know when it can pay off."

I rolled my eyes, but didn't argue. "So, what's your name? Feathers? Pecker? Some other idiotic bird-related pun?"

The Fearow blinked. "No, it's Rasca."

"Rasca?" I repeated. She nodded. "Why the hell are you named Rasca?"

"You're mocking my name because it's not mockable?" the Fearow guessed.

"Sadly, yeah," I admitted. "It's rather refreshing compared to the crappy pun-like names I seem to see otherwise. I get maybe one or two names every now and then are appropriate for their specie or element, but I'm starting to think most parents in the wild had one too many Orans when they named their kits."

Rasca shrugged again, "You may have to give an example of that."

"Ember for a Charmander. Fang for an Ekans. Nightmare for a Gastly. Poli for a Poli...something. Spark for a Pichu. Let's not even go into Eevee and their evolutions. If those names aren't chosen as puns of their evolution on purpose, someone has amazing luck. Jolt for a Jolteon. Leaf for a Leafeon. Frost for a Glaceon. Darkness for an Umbreon..." I recited. Rasca chuckled.

"I think I got the picture."

"I hope so; I'm not going into puns on personality or quirks. Gamble for an Absol with a dice fetish. Oh Celebi, worst image ever," I slapped my forehead with my tail. Word choice was not something I should neglect to consider before speaking. This wasn't the first time memorizing the dictionary came back to bite me.

Rasca laughed, "Please don't elaborate further."

"Don't worry, I won't," I groaned.

"I've given my name. May I ask yours?"

"You may," I said. Rasca waited in silence for several seconds, her expression slowly changing from expectant to confused. I raised an eye scale. "Something wrong?"

"You...didn't answer," the Fearow said.

"Yeah, I did," I argued, grinning. Rasca looked even more confused.

"Did I miss it?"

"No, you heard me."

"What did you say?"

"You may," I repeated. Rasca's expression became bewildered.

"That's your name?"

"No."

"Then what's your name?" the Fearow asked, alarmed.

"Dragonair," I said, chuckling. Rasca looked puzzled.

"Why didn't you just say that?"

"You didn't ask."

"Yes, I did!" the large bird insisted.

I smirked, "No, you asked whether you had permission to ask my name. I said you did, but you never asked."

The Fearow stared at me for a long time, realization dawning on her face. Finally, she laughed. "Wow, you got me."

"Amazing how many people don't catch on," I smirked. It reminded me of when Ed decided to screw with one of the lesser grunts by responding literally to a request that was asked with the word 'can' rather than the permission-seeking word 'may'. He then reported the grunt. More malicious than my version, but nevertheless funny. I can't recall what the grunt had asked, since I got the story from Venom a year or so back. It was one of the few moments where I didn't consider Ed to be truly detestable. It was still a horrible thing to do, since it crossed the line between prank and nastiness, but it had that trace of humor that I liked.

"Well, I guess you have somewhere to go," Rasca said finally. I nodded, remembering my destination. "Farewell, then," she said.

"I rarely aim for the contrary," I said, resuming my flight towards the Rocket base. My progress suddenly halted. It just stopped. I blinked and looked back. What the hell was holding me up? I was in open air. I wasn't tangled in anything. Yet I couldn't move. Rasca blinked.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"I...can't move," I said, looking around frantically. My head and tail were still mobile, but it was like something was trapping me in that one location, stopping me from ascending, descending, or moving. I even tried to stop floating entirely, but nothing changed. "What the hell is this?" I demanded. At these words, I felt a sudden tugging sensation and my body was pulled downwards at a shocking speed. I hit the ground with a dull thud, the immobilizing sensation disappearing upon impact. I grunted, my scales absorbing the worst of the impact. Nevertheless, I was winded.

The Fearow cawed and dove down to the ground, landing hastily on the ground beside me. "Holy Rayquaza, are you okay?!" she gasped.

"I've had worse," I grunted, lifting my head and shaking it to dispel the pain and haze that had settled in. Suddenly, a powerful shudder of fear spread through me, expanding outwards until every inch of me felt cold with terror. And that's when I heard the soft, terrifying chuckle, coming from the shadows of a tree. Rasca frowned and looked in the direction of the chuckle.

"Who's there?" she demanded.

"How thrilling," a soft voice whispered. "I come looking for Jolt, and look at what I catch instead..." The statement was followed by an insane-sounding cackle. Red eyes gleamed from the shadows and the shape of an Umbreon stepped forward, its yellow rings glowing gently. I frowned, taking note that the canine limped every few steps.

"You...you're Volt, aren't you?" Rasca said quietly, staring at the Umbreon. The Umbreon's eyes shone with glee.

"Fly away, birdie..." the Umbreon whispered softly, "Fly before I twist your skinny neck and watch you choke on your own throat," the Umbreon grinned sadistically and then cackled, his eyes shining brighter than ever. Rasca hesitated and Volt's eyes narrowed. "Then die, Fearow," he breathed. The avian's body was engulfed in a faint blue aura and an invisible force hurled her backwards into a thick tree trunk. She grunted upon impact, taking the impact with her body while moving her wings out of the way. Her eyes were pained as she slid down the bark of the tree, falling to the ground.

"Hey!" I snapped, releasing my already charged Thunderbolt at the dark type. Volt's eyes flashed and the electricity exploded as if colliding with an invisible wall. I glared at the Umbreon, whose attention refocused on me. I scowled. "I see you lived," I said coldly.

"Yes, I did," Volt hissed, his eye twitching in anger.

"The sadistic ones always do," I grumbled. Volt grinned.

"You're going to pay, Dragonair," he whispered, stepping nearer. I struggled to float into the air, but found myself unable to rise more than a foot above the ground. What the hell? Whenever I tried, a powerful, gripping terror took over my mind, banishing the urgency to flee. Mean Look, that had to be it.

"Nice limp," I commented. Volt giggled. No, I'm serious, he giggled. It was actually a terrifying sound because he sounded psychopathic while doing it, but the fact it was a giggle and not a chuckle really threw me off.

"The smallest loss," he sneered.

"What was the biggest?" I asked tauntingly. "Your big bad mentor is gone?" Volt's amused sneer vanished. "Because anything that's a loss for you is a plus for the rest of the world..."

"SHUT UP!" Volt shrieked.

"Aw, the wittle Umb-eon is mad," I taunted. "But the world's a much better place because you've lost something close to you."

"You..." Volt snarled, breathing hard, his rings flashing dangerously.

"You can't even come up with a counterargument because you know it's true," I spat. "It doesn't matter if you kill me or not, it's still gone forever."

"You...!" Volt closed his eyes and his body seemed to quiver uncontrollably. I blinked at him, readying a Hyper Beam. This would set a much better example than my Dragon Pulse had. I would have thought being blasted halfway to hell would have made him hesitate before attacking me again, but apparently I didn't set a good enough example. Sadistic bastards need to be taught their lesson.

"That's what I thought," I said, shaking my head with false pity. He couldn't see my movement with his eyes closed, but that wasn't what mattered.

"And how would you feel?" Volt whispered, his voice cracking. I stared at him. His eyes opened and focused on me. "How would it feel to lose everything you have, Dragonair? How would it feel to have the closest thing to a future torn away from you?"

"Odds are, you deserved it," I snorted. "Sadistic son of a bitch."

"I deserved it?" Volt whispered, his eyes staring into mine. "Do you feel the same way, Dragonair? Those with no involvement feel pain so another is penalized?" He wiped his eyes with a paw, banishing a slight shimmer from them, his gaze triumphant and cold. "So be it. The mate-less Charmander will die. Because you deserve it."

"What?!"

"She's the closest thing you have to a future," Volt snickered. "And once it's torn away from you, you'll feel my pain."

"But she has nothing to do with this!" I snapped, anger boiling within me.

"Exactly," Volt cackled.

My eye twitched. "If you even TRY to hurt Ember...I'll-"

"Do what?" Volt sneered. "And I won't just try, Dragonair. No, no...I'll succeed. You don't know where she is and I do."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Volt grinned widely, his tone unmistakably taunting. "Let's find out."

"I'm game," I spat, and then launched my Hyper Beam. Volt disappeared in a blur of motion, reappearing a short distance away from me, well out of range of the attack. My eyes widened and I struggled to redirect my aim, but Volt repeated his Quick Attack, reappearing on my other side. A sadistic grin crossed his face as my Hyper Beam's power faded away, leaving me winded and all but helpless for a short time.

"Now this is interesting..." he whispered, his eyes staring hungrily at my throat.


	268. Interesting Battle

**Dragonair POV**

"Interesting?" I repeated with a small sneer. Only a psychopath would think threatening people's lives was interesting. Celebi-damned sadist. Volt snickered, his blood-red eyes focused on my throat. Did he actually think he'd be able to do damage? I was a Dragonair and he was an Umbreon. It hardly mattered how strong his jaws were, the odds of successfully striking me where a bite would be fatal were very slim. My body was over ten feet long, admittedly a bit shorter than it had been before my de-evolution, but that length would return in time. Even with me tired out, my neck could be held several feet above his reach. And the rest of my body had my scales protecting it. By the time he managed to do any harm, I'd have recovered enough to hit him with something. Hopefully a Hyper Beam to drill him into the ground.

A loud caw sounded from behind me, startling the hell out of me. Volt cringed from the sound, holding one paw to his ear, glaring hatefully past me. I jerked my head around to stare at the recovering Fearow. Rasca flapped her wings to right herself, spreading her wings and cawing loudly to the sky again. Volt's eyes narrowed and the Fearow was shoved backwards into the tree. She grunted, but recovered much quicker this time.

"Stupid bird," Volt sneered, advancing slowly upon the Fearow. Rasca opened an eye and glared defiantly at the Umbreon. I was starting to recover my energy and began promptly using it to build a charge within the horn on my head. Volt grinned at Rasca, her body becoming engulfed in the electric blue aura of his psychic technique. "The bird that does not fly will soon perish and then die," he whispered. A shockwave of psychic energy emitted from the Umbreon and Rasca cawed as her body was again thrust into the trunk of the tree. Once again, I noted she protected her regal wings by allowing her body to take the full impact.

Volt chuckled at the pained caw of the Fearow, but there was a strange note to the sound. His chuckle seemed...distant. It didn't express wild glee or sadistic pleasure. It was difficult to describe why it sounded off. It was a humorless laugh, as empty of pleasure as a depressed person's smile in the dark. His red eyes seemed to dull as he stared at the injured Fearow, the aura of the psychic technique disappearing. I narrowed my eyes, flicking my tail towards the bag around my coils. I released the charge of electricity toward my tail. The magnetized zipper zipped open and I slapped the bottom of the bag with my tail, knocking both Pokeballs into the air from within the bag. They hit the ground and bounced gently, their defensive shells protecting the spheres from either bursting open or breaking.

Volt's ear twitched and he whirled around, just in time to see me tap the button of one of the Pokeballs. His eyes narrowed at me with cold fury, the fire returning to his eyes. "Venom, I choose you!" I said, grinning as the Gyarados' silhouette expanded from the Pokeball. The light soon faded and Volt took a step back.

"Do you plan to keep doing that?" Venom asked me.

"Yup. Now Venom, use Dragon Dance! Because the extra speed and power is well worth leaving yourself wide open to this Umbreon's Toxic!" I ordered. Venom stared at me.

"Did you hit your head or something?" he asked me.

"Actually, yeah I did. It hurt like hell," I replied. Okay, so maybe not my HEAD, but being psychically thrown to the ground from fifty feet up didn't feel good, either.

"Whatever," Venom grumbled, his tail flicking as he swayed his body from side to side. Volt just stared at him, oblivious to the small blue aura that was building around the Gyarados.

"Another friend, Dragonair? Another fool you'll shield yourself with, drawing him into the abyss of death before yourself?" Volt sneered, his tone steadily becoming darker and more hateful, "A traitor to Haou, as it is...but I don't care. Damn him. Damn him. Damn him!" he snarled, shaking his head furiously.

"He's cracked," Venom noted, gnashing his teeth. "You killed Machamp," he growled at Volt. The Umbreon glared at him.

"He deserved it."

"He did nothing, you bastard," Venom hissed. "So what, he called the Eevee a bitch so you kill him?"

"Venom, you tried to kill me because you thought Amethyst broke up with you for me," I pointed out.

"That's completely different!" Venom insisted, focused on the agitated Umbreon. "I see you survived Dragonair blasting the hell out of you."

"The sadistic ones always do," I agreed. "Venom, use Flamethrower! Kill it with fire!"

Venom stared at me, then rolled his eyes and obediently spat a stream of fire at Volt. A pulse of black energy erupted from the Umbreon's fur, the elemental attacks fusing into some sort of black flame shockwave. Volt's eyes gleamed and he leapt through the dark fire. I blinked, staring as the quadruped emerged from the ring of flames, his black fur igniting with the eerie fire, which burned like a Cyndaquil's back. Despite the fur burning, Volt seemed unfazed by the fire itself and charged Venom, the air around him making the fire larger until he seemed to be a charging ball of black flames. Venom stared at the blazing Umbreon, too shocked to even try to dodge.

"Venom, dodge it! Because it's strategically advantageous to assume you should let yourself be hit unless told otherwise!" I commanded. Despite my warning, Venom's serpentine body in the absence of water made maneuvering difficult and Volt slammed into the Gyarados. Venom roared in pain as the black fire from the dark type scorched his scales, spreading along his body. Hm, maybe not giving Venom time to swim much before was actually coming back to bite me now. But shouldn't the Pokeballs have simulations for water Pokémon to stay moist?

Volt landed a few feet away from Venom, his fur no longer aflame and in fact, he seemed only mildly scorched, rather than the second-degree burns or worse he logically should have been afflicted with. Venom thrashed a bit, the ebony flames somehow lingering to his scales, yet somehow he still hadn't conjured up enough sense to douse the flames with a blast of water. Maybe Pokémon really DO need their trainers to tell them common sense things like 'dodge' and 'put out the fire on you' and 'don't drink poison'.

"Venom, use SDR!"

"SDR?" Venom repeated, slapping at the fire desperately with his tail.

"Stop, Drop, and Roll! We're talking basic fire safety here!"

"How do you expect me to roll?!" Venom snapped back. Volt let out a psychotic cackle, his eyes fixed gleefully upon the Gyarados. Venom blinked and thrashed his tail, striking Volt in the face and knocking him to the ground, silencing the eerie cackle. Volt didn't even try to get up, only burst into another round of mad laughter.

"Venom, use Common Sense attack! In this case, use Hydro Pump on the fire!" I ordered, pointing my tail dramatically. Venom flushed angrily, but obeyed, dousing the flames. "Who would have thought a water type would be able to put out fire with water?" I asked in mock wonder.

"Venom growled, "It was black fire."

"As in, regular fire fused with Dark Pulse," I countered. Venom scowled. "Now, Venom!" I continued in my 'trainer voice', pointing my tail at the cackling Volt. "Finish it off with Dragon Rage!"

"With pleasure," Venom sneered, an orb of orange energy forming in his maw.

"With rage," I corrected. "The attack isn't called 'Dragon Pleasure'. I think that's something else, like giving your opponent a massage." Venom chuckled and spat the crackling orb of light. Volt's eyes focused on the projectile for a moment before it hit the ground near him, detonating in a fierce explosion. Venom grinned, but it faded when he heard Volt's dark chuckle from behind the column of smoke.

"Simply pathetic," the Umbreon taunted, limping through the veil of smoke.

"Then why are you limping?" Venom demanded. Volt's eye twitched, but didn't reply. Venom growled, swaying his body to the sides again. The faint outline of energy around him gradually intensified. Volt's eyes glowed, surrounding Venom with the psychic aura again. He overuses that technique so badly. How does he fight other dark types? The psychic hold interrupted Venom's dance and the aura faded back to its original intensity.

"Venom, use Thunderbolt!" I ordered. Venom grunted, but a crackle of electricity confirmed that the Psychic didn't prevent him from attacking, just moving. A bolt struck down towards Volt, hitting the ground an inch from his foot. The Umbreon yelped and jerked back, clutching the foot as if he had been burned. Being a quadruped, the sudden shift in gravity resulted in him falling over. Venom smirked, the psychic link broken.

"Let me finish this bastard! For Machamp," Venom spat, staring at the Umbreon.

"Is it amoral to allow a sadist to die at the fangs of another sadist?" I wondered aloud.

"Morals are stupid," Venom growled, sliding towards Volt.

"In other news, Venom is killed by Toxic. How utterly ironic," I said. Venom looked blank, then realized what I meant and jerked his head back to avoid the fumes that were subtly rising from the ground underneath him.

"Why the hell didn't you warn me sooner?" the Gyarados shouted at me.

"Hey, behave or you're going back into the ball!" I warned. Venom glared at me. "Giving your trainer death glares is misbehaving."

"Shut up," Venom grumbled.

"Swearing at your trainer is misbehaving," I noted, trailing my tail over Venom's Pokeball. The Gyarados' eye twitched. "Ooh, eye twitching. Strike Three. Venom, Return!" I said, tapping the Pokeball. Venom's jaw dropped...a half inch, but then the Pokeball's red light returned him to the confines of the ball. I smirked and flicked the ball up, catching it in the leather bag. I did the same thing with the second Pokeball, closing the magnetized zipper with a small charge of electricity.

Volt eyed me, his expression cold and serious. I stared back at him, readying another Hyper Beam. Commanding Venom had given me enough energy to fire a second one, but this time I'd have to be more careful. Volt was about to say something, but a loud caw from Rasca cut him off.

"Shut up, you damn bird!" Volt snarled. The ground beneath Rasca glowed purple and toxic wisps of smoke floated up towards her. Rasca wrapped her wings hastily around her face, protecting herself from inhaling the poison. Volt's eyes glowed and Rasca cawed in alarm and pain as her wings were psychically pulled from around her face.

"Hey!" I protested, launching my half-charged Hyper Beam at the Umbreon. Volt vanished in a blur of motion, but the loss of his concentration enabled Rasca to shield herself from the fumes again, the ground slowly returning to its previous state. Something sharp poked painfully at my tail and I turned my head to see the psychotic Umbreon gnawing the end of my tail. I jerked my tail, pulling it free from his jaws. Volt grinned, so I slapping his cheek with my bitten tail, wiping the smile from his face.

"Simply pathetic," he whispered. I only had time to blink before an invisible force shoved down roughly on my neck, forcing my body to hunch over uncomfortably, leaving my throat in range of the Umbreon's fangs. "For what you've done to us," Volt whispered and struck. His fangs bit my throat, sending excruciating pain through my body, even though the fangs failed to pierce through my scales enough to do any relevant damage. I struggled, but found my entire body unable to squirm away without doing more damage. The angle of the Umbreon's strike also prevented me from aiming one of my elemental attacks at him.

The pressure from the fangs slowly intensified, sending throbs of pain through me and slowly cutting off my breathing. I winced, my thrashing becoming more desperate. Celebi damn it...how did I get into this? If I didn't escape his jaws' vice grip, he'd either break through my scales and pierce my throat, or I'd suffocate. Both possibilities sounded fatal. To add further frustration to this, I was psychically trapped in a position where my tail was out of range of the Umbreon, unable to reach him, even if I did manage to move it. Volt hissed with glee. My vision blurred a bit as the pressure increased. My scales couldn't take this abuse for much longer.

A loud caw sounded, but Volt ignored it, the pressure of his bite increasing. Then it was gone. Air burst from my lungs and I gasped, staring around in alarm. What the hell just happened? Volt was snarling, his fur bristling with anger and his yellow rings glowing brightly. That's when I saw Rasca. She had taken to the air and was dive-bombing the Umbreon. I saw one nasty looking scrape along his side where she had undoubtedly hit him before.

The Fearow cawed and dove down upon Volt. The Umbreon dodged in a flash of movement, but his retaliation bite was far too slow to catch the Fearow as she flew back up to get the momentum for a second strike. Volt growled and spat a Shadow Ball at her, but his aim must have been off because it didn't even graze her. Rasca cawed and dove down, her beak glowing with a bright orange aura. Volt leapt to the side, just in time to receive a fierce blow to the head by Rasca's wing. He fell over with a startled grunt and snarled, shoving himself to his feet.

Rasca returned to the sky and turned, immediately descending like a missile upon the Umbreon. Volt's eyes flashed and Rasca crashed into some sort of invisible barrier, her body somersaulting into the air, and then landing with a thud. She tumbled over the ground several times before coming to a halt on her back, looking more stunned than injured. Volt cackled with insane glee, his whole body shaking with the force of his laugh.

"You are insane," I said dully. Volt flinched, his laugh breaking off.

"Insane?" he repeated, then smirked. "No, I'm not insane...I'm not insane...I'm not! I'm not insane!"

"Keep telling yourself that until your insane mind believes you," I snorted. Volt growled.

"For that, Dragonair, the mate-less Charmander will feel hell like she never has before...and then I'll start HURTING her."

"No, you won't," a sharp voice spoke and the now-familiar Sableye appeared, giving Volt the angriest glare I've ever seen the ghost give. Volt blinked. "You will not hurt her, Volt," Tarot growled.

"No?" Volt sneered.

"No. You will not," Tarot said firmly. Volt snarled.

"Watch me." This taunt was followed by Tarot physically grabbing Volt by the ear and pulling him close to him, the Sableye rasping in Volt's ear.

"No, you listen to ME. If you lay a paw, claw, fang, drop of poison, or otherwise harm her physically, emotionally, or mentally..."

"Then what? What can you do to me?" Volt sneered, wincing from the roughness his ear was being tugged. Tarot paused and Volt cackled. "You can't do a thing. You aren't the type to get revenge!"

"I am above petty revenge, Volt," Tarot said, shoving the Umbreon back a pace and drawing a card from his tarot deck. "But I assure you; justice would come calling and strike you down."

"Would it?" Volt sneered. Tarot did not answer, his expression serious. Volt's expression darkened. "You know what he did, Tarot...how can you defend him?"

"I am not defending him, Volt. I am defending her," Tarot said calmly. Volt's eye twitched. "Volt, I am becoming concerned for you."

"Don't be. I'm fine," Volt growled. Tarot was unconvinced.

"It may have been a mistake to let you go out before the troubling circumstances are resolved," Tarot said. Volt growled again.

"I'm fine, damn it!"

"I disagree. But that can be rectified," Tarot said. His eyes flashed and both he and the Umbreon disappeared.

I blinked and floated over to the recovering Rasca. "Okay then...that was weird."


	269. Frustrating Web of Conversation

**Dragonair POV **

Fortunately, Rasca wasn't seriously hurt by her head-on collision with a psychic barrier, or by the tumble across the grass after the fact. That still left me waiting for a dazed Fearow to snap out of her disorientation. Luckily, this disorientation did not involve her making non-sequitur remarks, a sharp contrast to whenever Blaze got confused or disoriented. Or when he was perfectly normal. Hm...I wonder how Ember is doing. It's been so long since I've last seen her, back at the Cave Army caves. The Charmander would be a sight for sore eyes in a time where almost everyone I know or partially care about is somewhere else. March was coming to a close in about a week, if my sense of time hasn't been screwed to hell. I should find a current newspaper or something to figure out the date. In combo with the hectic events going on and the time spent unconscious or underground, I was really behind on such things.

Still...it would be nice if Ember found a nice male. I tease her a lot about it, but sometimes I'm actually worried. She's eight and still hasn't found anyone, at least to my knowledge. She resists the effects of her courting season, and she's not very forward when attempting to flirt. I have to respect her powers of self-control, but it wouldn't surprise me if it one day comes back to bite her. I've gotten the impression Ember wants to find someone she can truly trust not to abandon her, but this begs the question of how affectionate she'll be to the one she trusts. Will her years of forced self-control leave a negative impact? Would she become more affectionate or not enough?

Funny, the thoughts that drift to my mind when I let it wander. I miss Ember more than I'd ever admit. She was the one that made my Rocket years worthwhile, once I was aware of how grossly incompetent a portion of the organization was. Sure, she lapped up any form of affection like a dehydrating Growlithe, and could be rather clingy, but compared to the majority of the sadistic or jerkass Rocket Pokémon, she was a sweet girl. If only she wasn't so self-conscious and depressive at times. Venom had told me recently that Ember secretly had harbored a crush on me when I was a Dratini. That revelation was...cute...to say the least. In retrospect, it really wasn't that surprising. I was essentially the only one who gave a damn about her, even if I taunted her a lot. She was considered rebellious then, which I blame idiot Rockets thinking they were cute saying her name in the same sentence as the attack of the same name. It's only funny when I say it.

She was temperamental and stubborn, which didn't help matters. At least twice the executives planned to transfer her to the facility where Pokémon are retrained in obedience. I learned first-tail that those facilities are essentially torture chambers that beat Pokémon until they submit. I've never been happier that I had the weight with the higher ups to keep Ember under my care, rather than sent there. I can't even imagine what could have become of her if I hadn't around to help her.

"Ow," Rasca muttered, shaking her head, the movement and sound of her voice drew my attention to her. Good, she was done carrying that glazed look in her eyes. She winced and touched her wing to her forehead.

"Headache?" I asked rhetorically. The Fearow nodded. "That's what you get for dive-bombing your beak into a psychic barrier."

Rasca chuckled, "I guess that's true...I'm just glad I didn't break my beak."

"I'm pretty sure most birds think that," I pointed out. Rasca chuckled again.

"Most do, most do," she agreed, stretching her wings. "So...uh...where are we going, again?"

"That Rocket base," I said, pointing my tail in the general direction of the base. Rasca nodded her head, wincing again. "I don't think moving your head much is the best idea until you take an aspirin or something."

"Where would I get an aspirin?"

"Steal it from the city?" I suggested. Rasca stared at me. "That's what I'd do," I said dismissively.

"Why would a Fearow steal an aspirin?" she asked.

"She has a headache, why else?"

"I think I'll tough this one out, thanks," Rasca said pleasantly.

"Nothing screams toughness like enduring a headache," I remarked. I hope someday Venom complains about a headache so I can call him on losing his tough demeanor even worse than he already has. "Now then, shall we proceed with our present objective?"

"I have no idea why you're going there, truthfully," Rasca admitted, flapping her wings experimentally. No doubt due to her efforts to preserve her wings during the attack, they were seemingly undamaged. Her feathers were ruffled in some areas, but other than that, she seemed fine, considering the violence she received from the Umbreon.

"I have my reasons," I responded smoothly. "No need to get into them at this time."

"Of course not," came the reply, but it wasn't Rasca speaking. I jerked my head around, searching for the owner of the voice, but I saw no one. I narrowed my eyes. I had far too much recent experience with ghosts and phantoms and other crap to be put at ease by the absence of someone around.

"You heard that, right?" I shot to Rasca; she nodded, but didn't seem concerned. I noted for a moment that the bird's attention was somewhere above me, but when I looked up, I didn't see anything. "Well? Do you know where it came from?"

"Kind of, yeah," the Fearow said cheerfully. I scowled, my body tensing up when something dropped onto the back of my neck. Whatever it was delivered small pinpricks of pain when it touched me.

"What...just landed on me?" I demanded in a deadpan tone. Rasca blinked, but didn't say anything. "You're very informative," I sighed, turning my head hesitantly to look at whatever was latching to me. My gaze fell upon a large red arachnid roughly the width of my neck. It had two fangs near its mouth and a stinger on its forehead. Despite clearly being an arachnid of some sort, I spotted only six legs, two of which were perched on its back. Each leg ended in a sharp claw, explaining the pinprick feeling I had received when it landed on me. The legs were yellow with purple bands along them, and stripes of black formed a collar around the spider's neck and another black band around its middle.

"Hello," the spider hissed, clicking its fangs. Okay, that's not eerie. Who didn't like having some random poisonous arachnid cling to him? Polite greeting be damned, the hiss and fang clicking made the simple word ominous.

"Hi...get the hell off me."

The spider made no movement, merely made some sort of hissing sound, which carried an amused sound to it. Let's add another notch to the ominous scale. Creepy spider on my neck, making eerie hissing sounds and refusing to get off. And so soon after the creepy Umbreon. I am forever doomed to encounter eerie Pokémon, aren't I?

"Did you not hear me?"

Again the spider was silent. I think I can rule out mute, and deaf is rather unlikely, so is it just slow or purposefully unresponsive? I looked over at Rasca questioningly, but she shrugged her wings. She opened her beak to say something, but paused, her eyes watching the Ariados.

"Excuse me," Rasca began, her tone light and pleasant. The spider looked towards the Fearow. Oh, so it pays attention to her, but not to me. "May I ask who you are?"

The Ariados chuckled, "You are free to ask anything you like."

"Who are you?" Rasca asked. I smirked. She learned her lesson from her conversation with me after all. The spider remained silent. Rasca looked towards me with a blank expression. "Did I ask the question right?"

"I think so. Hey, invasive Ariados! Who are you and why are you on me?" I demanded. The Ariados made another amused hiss sound.

"You may call me Uru," she said. Or at least I'm pretty sure she's female. I raised an eye scale.

"How do you spell that?" I asked.

"How do you think?" she asked.

"With my brain."

Uru and Rasca both chuckled at almost the same time, the Fearow falling silent first with a vaguely embarrassed look. "How do you think you spell my name, Dragonair?" the Ariados clarified, clicking her fangs. I paused at the tone she had used when saying my name. Ordinarily, it'd be nothing to raise an eye scale at, but her tone carried a distinct note of familiarity, as if she knew it was my name, and was not just labeling me by my specie. Her tone was non-threatening, so I didn't linger on that for long.

"Hmm...how do you pronounce it?" I asked. The Ariados chuckled. For a second, I thought she wasn't going to respond, but I was pleasantly surprised.

"I pronounce it 'Ur-oo', but I have heard minor variations," the Ariados said, clicking her fangs. "Now then, how do you think you'd spell it?"

"Hmm," I mused. It was rare that I came across such a genuinely interesting name. The pronunciation the spider had offered ended with an "ooh" sound, and if that was the ending sound, it probably ended with a 'U', rather than a pair of 'O'. It was two syllables, but the spelling of the first syllable was rather tricky to place because of the way the Ariados had said it. She had drawled out the 'R' sound in the first syllable, making it almost sound like there was also an 'R' at the start of the second syllable, but the emphasis was lacking. Because there wasn't much emphasis in the second half, there probably wasn't two 'R's in the spelling.

"Uru...Uru..." Rasca repeated, looking thoughtful. The Ariados clicked her fangs, her eyes watching me with amusement.

"Okay...I think you'd spell it 'U-R-U'," I said finally, after reflecting on the possible spellings that had gone through my mind. If it started with a different vowel, the pronunciation would be vastly different, and while I wasn't positive on whether there was a double 'R', the lack of a second one would better fit the pronunciation she had given me.

Uru chuckled, "You think so?"

"Uh...yeah," I said, frowning. Uru was silent. "Am I right?" I pressed.

"You tell me."

"What?"

"You tell me," Uru repeated, making an amused hiss.

"How...can I tell you if you're the one who knows?"

Uru chuckled and clicked her fangs, "Are you confident you're right?"

"Fairly confident, yeah."

"Then that's all that matters."

"Why don't you just tell me so I know?"

"Answers don't come just because you want them, Dragonair," Uru whispered.

"How do you know my name?" I demanded.

"My point exactly," Uru chuckled. I rolled my eyes. Actually, she's rather amusing, probably more so if I'm not on the receiving end.

"Am I to assume you have nothing better to do than cling to my neck?" I asked dryly. Uru made an amused hissing sound again.

"You may assume whatever you wish."

"Can't argue with that logic," I muttered. "Do you have a reason for clinging to my neck like a bur in one's fur?"

Uru chuckled. "Do I need one?"

I frowned, "Technically, no..."

"Then I won't provide one."

I stared at her, deciding I should probably just change the subject, rather than pursue the issue. "Do you live around here?"

"There's a possibility that I do, and an equal possibility that I do not," Uru answered. Is she incapable of giving a definite answer the first time she's asked? Eh, whatever. I don't really need an answer to half these casual questions, but her vague responses do detract from her small talk value.

I turned my attention back to Rasca. "You still coming with me?" The Fearow nodded, stretching her wings again. I looked back towards the Ariados. "Am I correct in saying you're going to continue being my bur?"

"You may say so."

"Okay then," I said, resigning myself to lugging a moderately eerie Ariados around with me. She didn't seem like she was going to be a threat, and in the absence of Ember, Sapphire, or any of the other tag-alongs that used to follow me, I could use the additional allies. Some random Fearow and Ariados didn't seem like the perfect options, but beggars can't be choosers, can they? Well, they can, but it's counterproductive.

"I'm Rasca, by the way," the Fearow told Uru.

"Pleasure," Uru responded. She clicked her fangs. "For future reference, Rasca, I prefer alarm clocks to loud caws."

"Eh?" Rasca faltered. I blinked, glancing between them curiously.

"Your caws. The piercing calls can be heard from quite a distance," Uru explained. Rasca flushed.

"I was...calling for a friend...we got attacked."

"Is that why you were cawing so loudly?" I asked, looking over at the avian. At the time, I thought she was trying to pain or disorient the Umbreon, but if she actually had potential reinforcements...that would have been a lot better.

Rasca nodded sheepishly. "I said having friends could come in handy. I guess he wasn't around..." she trailed off awkwardly and I raised an eye scale at the masculine pronoun. A male Fearow perhaps? Some other avian specie? It would fit the apparent trend of Pokémon I seemed to come across that had some sort of friend in the form of a member of the opposite gender, nine times out of ten being the same specie as said Pokémon. There was Venomoth and her male Venomoth friend. Wonder what happened to them, come to think about it. Then there was that Seviper and her female Seviper friend. I suppose the strangest example to date was that strange Oddish and her Poli...something friend. Which one was he again? Eh, doesn't matter right now.

There were plenty of other examples, such as Blaze and his stalkerish obsession with Aura, a member of his evolutionary line. Truthfully, I always thought he got along better with her than with Crystal, not to mention it was pretty blatant that Aura was jealous of Crystal. That and Crystal's mean to him. Seriously, the next time I see them, I'm going to call Crystal out on how aggressive she is to him. Their relationship seemed to be crumbling anyway, so I wouldn't feel guilty if something happened as a result. It might finally convince Blaze that I'm not always looking for ways to make fun of him.

"So, where are we going?" Uru inquired, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Somewhere," I said vaguely.

"Rocket base," Rasca said. I glared at her. Way to break me giving the Ariados a taste of her own medicine.

"Only I administer the medicine," Uru said with a chuckle. I whipped my head around to stare at her. The Ariados blinked at my reaction. "Something wrong, Dragonair?" she asked.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" I demanded.

Uru hissed in amusement. "An odd accusation."

"Answer me," I insisted.

Uru rolled her eyes, "Whatever makes you think I did?"

"You are one creepy spider," I said, frowning.

Uru chuckled. "It was common sense, Dragonair. Vaguely answering a question I ask, and getting annoyed when another answers it...the clues are not very subtle."

"I guess," I conceded. It was difficult to argue that I had been vague for a reason other than mimicking her, especially since the answer was not remotely secretive. Uru smirked, but said nothing else.

"Why are we going there, anyway?" Rasca asked, kicking up from the ground and landing on a tree with just a few flaps of her majestic wings.

"I have my reasons for going there; you two are more tagging along than serving a purpose."

"What's your reason?" Rasca pressed, but her tone was still polite and friendly, so she wasn't really pressuring me too hard.

"Ember's not there anymore," Uru said quietly. I nearly had a seizure at these words. I turned my head back so quickly I winced. Uru made the amused hiss again. I rubbed my sore neck with my tail, my eyes never leaving the crimson arachnid.

"What did you just say?"

"Ember's not there anymore," Uru repeated, clicking her fangs in amusement.

"How...where...how...?" I stammered, unable to decide on which question I wanted to ask first. How did she know where Ember was or wasn't? Where was Ember? What did she know? Just how did she know all these things about me? How could she have known I was wondering about Ember's whereabouts? Something wasn't adding up. "Just who the hell are you?" I demanded.

Uru was silent. Rasca looked between us (a very short distance) with a blank expression. "Wait, how do you know whether someone is there or not if you haven't been there?"

"You are allowed to make such assumptions," Uru said idly.

"You have been there?" I asked, my confused suspicion slowly subsiding. If the Ariados had been at the base recently, she would be in a position to know whether Ember had been there. It didn't explain how she knew who was Ember, or how she knew I knew Ember, but this is only confusing because the extent of her knowledge is still a mystery. It wasn't too much of a stretch to assume that if someone knew who I was, he or she may also know who my best friend was during my Rocket career. The problem was that, until today, I had never seen or heard of this spider before.

Uru didn't reply to my question, but I chose to assume that meant the affirmative. It was the only thing that made sense. That was enough of a lead for me to work off of. If Ember had been near the base, for whatever reason, it was a possibility that other Rockets knew where she had gone and why. That was one more incentive to head there while avoiding further delays. Depending on where Ember went and how long ago she had left, it was possible that I could catch up to her while leaving Venom to deal with whatever issue he wanted to resolve with his precious Milotic soul mate.

"Okay, whatever. Let's go," I said. Uru clicked her fangs in seeming agreement. Rasca nodded and flew up into the skies, cawing once and scanning the ground. Probably after the encounter with Volt, she wanted to make sure the coast was clear. I stretched my coils, adjusting my weight to accommodate the Ariados' perch on my neck. I'm not sure why I'm allowing the poisonous arachnid to perch on me, but even if she was a threat, dragon Pokémon are highly resistant to even strong poisons and a Dragonair's natural ability to shed ailments added further protection from the threat of a pissed off Ariados. But even though I didn't fully trust the spider (and could anyone blame me after all I've been through?), I didn't really detect any malice or ill will from her. Then again, Venomoth had been an enemy-turned-friend without much evidence of her trustworthiness beyond her word. Ember and I had given the poisonous moth a chance to prove her sincerity, and that had paid off just fine. Rasca did have a point, really. It was better to have a potential ally than a stranger.

I just hope it doesn't come back to bite me.


	270. Web of Planning

**Dragonair POV**

Finding the base was the easy part. It's a fairly large building, after all, and there were at least three humans dressed in military uniforms patrolling the perimeter of the structure. I almost immediately identified the humans as members of Team Rocket, simply by taking into account a few minor details about their behavior. I spent five-sixths of my life as a high ranking Rocket, so I was well-experienced in identifying Rockets and making a guess at his or her ranking, even when the Rocket was disguised. Not all of them gave away the subtle cues, but the majority of them did to the point where all it took was a few seconds of observation to make a reasonable assumption.

"So now what?" Rasca asked, perching on a tree branch overhead.

"We find a way inside," I said, rolling my eyes. What else would we try to do? The problem was that I don't think we could exactly just go over and be admitted inside, unless by some fluke of chance the occupants of this base were unaware of my status as a traitor to the organization.

"On a hunch, just going through the main entrance isn't going to work?" the Fearow asked.

"Ironically, that usually does work, but I'm not convinced this base will be so susceptible to poor security planning," I said, tapping my chin with my tail. Last I heard, Amethyst was the Pokémon executive here and she was much cleverer than most of the Rocket Pokémon, so the humans at least had the chance to have decent security without going overboard. The patrolling humans supported this belief, but even so, I was sure there was a flaw. There always was a flaw that could be exploited, if one just knew where to look. If there wasn't a flaw, then someone very intelligent had been assigned to deal with security matters.

"Rasca, do a fly-by, see if you can spot any weak points in their security," Uru suggested from her perch on my neck. I raised an eye scale at her.

"Who said you could give orders?" I asked. Rasca had spread her wings in preparation of following the command, but that wasn't the point. I wanted to know why the Ariados thought she could tell the Fearow what to do without running it by us first.

"Do you have a better idea? It is difficult to proceed if you don't know what you're up against," Uru countered calmly. "If you want to know the strength of the Rocket's security, you must see it from a broader perspective. You stand out. Rasca would not," she hissed, clicking her fangs.

I scowled to myself, but nodded to the Fearow, "Go for it."

Rasca kicked off her perch and flapped her wings to gain altitude, flying over the building in a lazy circle. Neither Uru nor I spoke while the Fearow was away. Uru had a point. We couldn't make a reliable plan of action if we didn't know anything about our opposition. Assuming the Rockets had a security flaw was not enough to exploit the flaw that may or may not even exist, and a Fearow not far from Violet City was not nearly as suspicious as a Dragonair. The Ariados could probably do a closer inspection as well, but it wouldn't help us much if she found a grate or something that she could enter, but otherwise was unable to accommodate Rasca or myself. No, she was right: Rasca was the best bet for getting the broader perspective.

It wasn't long until the avian flew back to our semi-concealed location, landing on the same branch from before. "What did you see?" I asked. Rasca preened her feathers for a few seconds before answering.

"There are several different entrances," she said.

"Most large buildings come with those if they're even remotely fire-safety conscious," I pointed out. Venom certainly showed me that he wasn't very savvy in that area, but he hadn't designed the building in question, so there probably wasn't much to worry about.

"There are several humans and Pokémon walking around the perimeter of the building and by most of the entrances," Rasca continued.

"Of course," Uru chuckled.

"Only most?" I asked. "Which ones aren't?"

"There's a door near the northeast side that appears to be unguarded and I saw Pokémon go in without any problem. No idea if the humans use that door at all," the Fearow said.

"That seems a little too convenient," I noted. Why would the Rockets have one entrance available to Pokémon, but not guard it? More likely there were Pokémon guards, if not in the open, then definitely within. There was no guarantee that the entrance Rasca had seen was actually a safe way in. "What other options do we have, if not there?"

"We could still go through there," Uru hissed, clicking her fangs.

"Just because we can doesn't mean we SHOULD," I reminded them.

"Of course not," Uru agreed. "That would be unwise, to say the least. We need a better, more specific course of action."

"It would help the planning if we knew why you're trying to get inside," Rasca said, stretching her wings and looking down at me.

"Oh, that's easy enough to answer. I want to see Amethyst," I said, smirking as the Fearow gaped at me. Uru chuckled.

"Wait, wait...you want to get into a Rocket base for the sole purpose of seeing one of the Pokémon executives?" Rasca said in disbelief.

"That's one way to impress a female," Uru chuckled. Rasca smirked, but I scowled.

"I'm not trying to impress her."

"Of course you're not," Uru replied with an amused hiss. "But it's something to work with. We have a goal in mind: locate and reach Amethyst."

"Inside a building we know next to nothing about, with potential adversaries at every turn," Rasca added, tilting her head skeptically.

"Well, we could aim for the peaceful way, where I talk my way through," I said. A violent approach was the least likely method to work. Even if I did manage to fight my way through the opposition, it would be very difficult to convince Amethyst or anyone else to give me the time of day without trying to subdue me, much less be willing to talk and answer questions. So right off the bat, I know I can't get involved with too much fighting, regardless of my former status. I was labeled as a foe to Rocket operations, an accurate enough statement in itself.

"Do you think that'll work? I thought Team Rocket weren't really the types that you can bluff your way past," Rasca asked skeptically. I chuckled.

"For the average Pokémon, maybe. I used to carry a high-ranking affiliation, so I have a marginally better chance of succeeding."

"It is one of his better options," Uru agreed. Rasca stared at the Ariados.

"How so?"

Uru hissed in amusement, "If his goal is to see Amethyst, it would not be a wise plan to take a violent approach. He can in self-defense or with a valid excuse, but if it can be avoided, it should be. It keeps things civil."

"That's true," the Fearow mused. "But what if it doesn't work?"

"A good question," Uru said, clicking her fangs. "A Dragonair is incapable of being stealthy. Stealth is much easier when the security is incapacitated. There are several options available to us."

"Such as?" I prompted. Uru hissed again.

"You tell me."

"Celebi damn you..." I sighed.

"You should not rely on others to make your plans. They become harder to modify," Uru said sagely. "Create your plans from the ground up. Determine why you would take each course of action, evaluate the potential complications and recalibrate them."

"So the first objective is just to get inside?" Rasca asked. I nodded. "Well, the simplest way is just to go to the unlocked door and go inside. So...the complications could be that the door is guarded by Pokémon and humans alike. Now what?"

"Uh...knock them unconscious comes to mind, but that should be shunted to a last resort, shouldn't it?" I muttered.

"You tell us," Uru said.

I glared at her. "You're extremely unhelpful, you know that?" Uru clicked her fangs, but said nothing. "Okay, so if I'm avoiding a non-violent encounter, I suppose I'd ask to see Amethyst."

"What complications could come from that?" Rasca asked.

"They immediately take note of me as a traitor and attack," I said dismissively.

"How to you prepare for that possibility?" Rasca asked. She's really getting into this planning stuff, isn't she?

"I guess then I go to option two and knock them unconscious."

"What if you get overwhelmed and defeated?" Uru asked.

"That won't happen."

"Can't it?" Uru challenged softly.

"No, it won't happen," I repeated.

Uru shook her head and hissed in amusement. "A solid plan loses all credibility when the response to a criticism is that something won't happen, can't happen, or won't be allowed to happen. Do not underestimate the probability of an unfavorable result."

"It's incredibly unlikely."

"But it's not inconceivable," Rasca said.

"I'll concede that point, but how do I account for failure in a plan whose goal is to succeed?"

Rasca rolled her eyes and Uru chuckled. Neither response answered my question. "You tell us," Uru said finally. And that was even less helpful. I frowned. In the unlikely event of being overwhelmed by the Rockets and captured, were there any plans I could set into motion? And has anyone actually ever made incredibly in-depth planning in real life, with a backup specifically created in case of capture, where the capture itself was not planned as the means to the end? I can't say capture was a desirable outcome, even if I did plan for it, because the aftermath of the scenario was too difficult to predict with the little information I had regarding the punishments of intruders and traitors.

"I suppose I could use my phone call for a talk with Amethyst," I said thickly. Rasca looked blank and Uru was silent. That one apparently went over their heads, but oh well. If I was in trouble, releasing Venom from his Pokeball could buy me some time and if these two were with me, that would even out the odds enough to possible avoid such a danger altogether.

"I've got no ideas," Rasca said finally, returning to her preening. The Ariados remained silent. If it wasn't for the subtle weight on my neck or her occasional hiss and fangs clicking, I'd easily have forgotten she was there. A lot of good she was when I did remember she was there, but that's beyond the point.

"Let's try this again, shall we? In the event of them attacking, I'd probably be forced to retreat to prevent all hell coming down on me."

"Okay, then what would be a better case scenario to them attacking?" Rasca asked, getting back on task.

"A better case scenario if I asked to see her is for them to take me to her with no resistance."

"What complications could come from that outcome?" Rasca wondered. I stared at the Fearow.

"I...don't know?"

Uru chuckled. "What if they don't lead you to her and decide to turn you in for a reward?"

"That would suck."

"How would you plan for that?" Rasca asked.

I sighed. "By not letting my guard down and keeping my eye on the ones assisting me to catch on to their plan before they set it into motion. Proceed to plan B and knock them unconscious."

"You really don't like talking plans out, do you?" Rasca noted. I shook my head. During my Rocket career, I didn't really have to make the plans myself. I instead was the one who ordered the executions of the plans and adjusting the plan to account for new factors or inconveniences. I seemed to operate better with a rough outline and adding to it as I saw fit. During the Post-Rocket career, most plans were pretty simple and straightforward and were perfect for having a simple objective with minimal internal information. Granted, those missions were along the lines of an invasion, whereas my current objective was to find someone as peacefully as possible.

"I think a basic skeleton of a plan would serve better than an enormous flowchart of planning that takes several hours to create and the majority of the paths won't even get followed," I said.

"You are allowed to make such a decision, no matter how inefficient," Uru said.

"Inefficient?" I said incredulously. "Inefficient refers to being unable to produce the desired result or having little effect. Desired means wanted, otherwise known of something we wish would occur or happen."

"Indeed it does," Uru agreed.

"How is making a hundred branching plans remotely efficient? It's an ineffective measure to be prepared for anything. I can understand a backup or two if something goes wrong, but attempting to prepare for every possibility is way too much work if most of the factors are beyond control in the first place."

Uru said nothing in response. Rasca shifted her weight. "I'm going to have to side with Dragonair on this one. Too many uncertainties and not enough information."

"So, are we in agreement to have a main plan with a backup in case of problems and an emergency plan in case something really blows up?" I asked flatly. "Because right now, I think I can cover the vast majority of the plan on my own, with you two just serving as backup and general assistance. Okay?"

"Fine," Rasca said, nodding. Uru clicked her fangs, which I chose to interpret as agreement. Good, now we can get to work on actually initializing my plan. "What's the plan?" the Fearow inquired.

"Rather than explain the plan in painstaking detail, where things are sure to go wrong if followed to the letter, perhaps it would be better to designate general roles to us. That way we can improvise our roles while you adapt your plan to serve your needs," Uru suggested. That's quite a shift from 'plan for everything' and 'talk everything out', but she had a point.

"True...our information is too shaky to make detailed plans," Rasca agreed.

"Very well...Rasca is probably best suited to a scout or lookout..." I reasoned.

"I can fight if needed," the Fearow muttered.

"Of course you can," Uru chuckled.

"I didn't say you couldn't. But it would be better to stay together because otherwise there's no method of contacting one another. And you two probably have a better chance of moving quickly around the base to help locate the destination. A Dragonair stands out, we've been over this," I reminded her.

"Oh, I know," Rasca said pleasantly, stretching her wings again.

"And you...I don't have a clue what you can do for me," I told the Ariados. Uru hissed in amusement. "Yes?" I asked, raising an eye scale.

"I'm sure something will present itself," the spider told me.

"Anything you care to share so I know what to plan for?" I asked dryly. Uru was silent. This would be funny if it wasn't at my expense. "Okay then, let's go," I sighed. I could always sic Venom on someone if the Ariados turned out to be useless. Maybe she was so secretive because she was pathetic and no one wanted to be with her so she clung to random Pokémon until they finally figured out her secret. Despite her evasiveness, she didn't seem like an idiot. On the contrary, she appeared intelligent and knowledgeable, but the lack of explanation was frustrating.

Rasca performed another fly-by on Uru's request, returning with the information that the northeastern entrance remained unguarded, but that two of the perimeter guards were in the vicinity. While she was filling us in, we were circling around to the side of the building, sticking to the cover of the bushes and trees that cloaked the building from the view of casual passerby. I have to compliment the idea of using military uniforms for the guards. It makes passerby more wary about suspecting something illegal going on in the guarded building. A barbed wire fence or variation would be a better repellent, but whatever sinks their battleship is fine with me.

"Sneaking past would be too difficult and humans are more likely to sound an alarm, especially if they see me," I said, peering from the cover towards the guards. They had stopped their patrolling, but were in plain sight of the desired entrance, making it nigh impossible for a Pokémon of my size to slip past. "So we can either wait for them to move on, but they look like they're going to have a coffee break right where they are..."

"And by the time they're past, other perimeter guards might have come to this side," Rasca reminded me. She blinked. "Where did Uru go?"

"What?" I looked behind me and saw that the Ariados had disappeared. "Uh..." I looked out towards the building, searching the ground for signs of the poisonous spider.

"Over there, behind the guards," Rasca said suddenly, jerking her beak in that direction. Sure enough, I saw the crimson spider creeping behind the two humans. How she got behind them was anyone's guess. I didn't see what she did, but one of the humans abruptly collapsed to the ground. The other let out a shocked yell and dropped to his knee to check the status of his partner. Uru slipped past the two humans and darted towards the entranceway. "That'll work," the Fearow muttered, kicking off her tree and flying towards the entrance after the Ariados.

"What the hell did she do?" I demanded to no one, hurrying after them. I managed to slip into the doorway without the distressed human noticing. I glanced back and saw the other human stirring weakly. Well, at least he's not dead, because that would be pretty counterproductive to our goal of not creating an alarm. My distraction lasted for only a moment, but it was enough time for the Ariados to drop from a web on the ceiling onto me. I winced at the prickle of her claws on my neck. "What the hell did you do to him?" I demanded in a whisper. Uru clicked her fangs.

"Nothing fatal."

"I asked what you did, not what you didn't do!"

Uru hissed, but remained silent. I sighed and turned my attention back to the matter at tail. The three of us were inside a white tiled corridor. I looked around quickly to make sure there weren't any guards, human or Pokémon alike, concealed in a corner. When I didn't see anything, I moved forward, the Fearow soaring above, closer to the ceiling.

"Hey!" a voice barked and I stopped, waiting a Manectric stepped forward, her yellow fur crackling slightly. She froze at the sight of me, her face paling slightly. I grinned and floated over to her, ignoring the slightly threatening growl she emitted.

"Electra, so good to see you again," I said casually, draping my tail around her shoulders. "Perhaps you can lend me a paw with something."

"Eep," the Manectric squeaked. I raised an eye scale.

"You need tuning."


	271. A Tangle in the Web

"What are you doing here?" the Manectric managed to blurt out, her voice still carrying the hint of a squeak as opposed to the growl she probably was trying to express. Can't blame her, it's a stretch to say that she was comfortable having a rogue Dragonair break into the base during her shift and constrict her a little. Of course, it was me, so she wasn't that shocked. As an additional bonus that's packaged with my specie, her electricity really didn't hurt more than a slight tingle of discomfort.

I smirked and pulled Electra into a tighter embrace, draping my tail around her in a gentle constrict, preventing her from moving away. She fidgeted, but seemed intelligent enough not to try to escape from me. The end of my tail took advantage of her hesitance by stroking her spine, to which Electra responded by bristling indignantly, but otherwise she was forced to tolerate the slight tickle.

"What am I doing?" I said finally. "Would you believe that I was in the neighborhood and decided to drop by on an old friend that isn't you?"

"Thanks," Electra said sarcastically. I chuckled and patted her back with my tail.

"There, established the purpose of visit, now if you don't mind, is Amethyst here?" I prompted, getting right to the point. Electra stared at me.

"Why would I answer that?" she growled.

"Why would you refuse?" I retorted promptly.

"Because you're a traitor that might be trying to kill the executive!" she snapped, regaining her courage. I snorted.

"So Amethyst IS here?"

"I didn't say that," Electra said hastily.

"Of course you didn't," Uru hissed. Electra glared at the arachnid.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Electra, let's focus, please," I suggested pleasantly. "I'm looking for Amethyst, so if you could lend a paw to the pawless, it would be greatly appreciated. Appreciated in the sense I don't Hyper Beam your face; wouldn't you agree that's a valid method of expressing gratitude? Not launching a powerful, concentrated beam of energy into your facial features?"

Electra paled. I smirked. As cheesy as that threat tended to be, most people, Ember included, were fully aware I wasn't bluffing. Venom definitely knew from experience that I was a bit trigger happy when it came to Hyper Beams. Actually, pretty much anyone I ever battled knew that. I really should ask Sapphire to teach me more techniques. Dragons prided themselves on diversity and I...didn't use a diverse move pool at all. Venom had a better move pool than me and we used almost the exact same techniques on a regular basis.

"You know, your face going pale is a touch lacking when it comes to helping me find Amethyst. Perhaps a verbal response would be better suited to the task," I suggested when Electra showed no further signal of response. Uru hissed in amusement.

"Eep," the Manectric squeaked.

"Although verbal, that response is still not up to scratch, I'm afraid. I'll give you another seven seconds," I sighed. I really would prefer not to have to go through with the threat if it could be avoided, but I couldn't let her call a bluff, either.

"Is this a trick where me answering would get me fired?" the Manectric asked abruptly. I chuckled, but it was Uru that answered.

"Perhaps."

"What?"

"Perhaps," the Ariados repeated. Electra's gaze flicked between me, Rasca, and the Ariados with a worried, somewhat conflicted expression. Obviously, she couldn't tell if our demand was a security test to see if the guard would cough up info to violent intruders, or whether we were pulling her leg, or even if we really DID intend on hurting her if she didn't answer.

"I spot a security flaw already: there's only one guard and she's easy to overwhelm," I remarked. Electra growled.

"Is that a challenge?" she snapped.

"No," Uru said bluntly and Electra yelped suddenly, a small barb visibly stuck into her flesh. The Manectric stared at the barb in absolute shock. I turned my head to stare at the Ariados, which hissed in amusement.

"What did you just do?" I demanded.

"Did I do something?" Uru asked innocently, slipping off her perch on my back and scuttling over to the stunned electric canine. Electra twitched and bit the barb, no doubt preparing to remove it. "I wouldn't take that out if I were you," Uru warned softly. "The venom intensifies when exposed to oxygen."

"Venom?" the Manectric squeaked, her eyes widening in terror. I glared at the Ariados. Why would she use a poison without at least checking with me first? Couldn't she tell from how I interacted with Electra that we had enough of a history that she wasn't just some mook to knock off? Uru either didn't notice my glare or didn't care. "I'm poisoned?"

"Indeed," Uru agreed, clicking her fangs. "Perhaps you'd be inclined to answer in an honest and straightforward manner in exchange for the antidote?"

"More tricks?" Electra sneered, but the panic in her eyes was undeniable. I frowned. What kind of interrogation tactic was this?

"Believe what you wish," Uru chuckled. "It's your witness, Dragonair."

"Uh...thanks, I think," I said, giving the spider a suspicious glare. Uru hissed, but didn't say anything. "Is Amethyst here?"

"No, she went out," Electra answered without hesitation.

"Eh?" I blinked. Since when did Amethyst ever leave the bases without being transferred? Even though she was able to move around in a similar manner to how I could as a Dragonair, she normal chose to remain in select locations. "When did she go out?"

"Half an hour ago."

"When will she be back?"

"How the hell should I know?!" Electra snapped, wincing in pain and shooting a worried glance at the barb in her side.

"Where did she go?" I prompted. "Is anyone with her?"

Electra glared at me, "She goes down to a small lake a quarter mile away. Of course she had someone with her. I don't know who, so don't ask."

"I think it's a bit late for that. I already asked," I said snidely. The Manectric scowled, but didn't say anything. "Now, before you direct me to this lake, I also want to know about a Charmander named Ember. Know anything?"

Electra flinched, "Yeah, I do. She was transferred here recently, according to her."

"What?" I stared at the electric quadruped blankly. No seriously, what? Since when was Ember transferred to a Rocket base? Come to think of it, why was she here in the first place and why would she have said she was transferred? If it was some sort of cover story, it still didn't explain why she had come here in the first place. Peculiarly enough, this thought had not even occurred to me when Uru first mentioned Ember not being here anymore. After being separated from her for so long, I had no idea what the Charmander had been up to.

"She said she was transferred here," Electra repeated, fidgeting nervously, her eyes flicking to the poison barb still sticking into her.

"Is she still here?"

"I don't know. I'd assume so," Electra responded. I frowned. That contradicted what Uru said. I glanced at the arachnid, but she was silent. Did Uru actually know whether Ember was here or not? She had to have known SOMETHING because Electra had confirmed Ember had been here previously, but she wasn't positive where Ember was NOW.

"Was she alone?" I asked. Electra shook her head. "Who was with her?"

"I don't know who he was," Electra muttered. "Some Leafeon."

I nodded. That fit what I had gathered. Leaf and Ember were, at last check, still together after encountering Diablos' group. "Is he still here?"

"I don't know! I keep people from coming in, I don't have to keep track of who leaves and doesn't!" Electra snapped. "I'm a bit poisoned here, can you help me out before I die?!"

"Oh, right. Just give her the antidote," I commanded the spider. She gave me a puzzled look.

"Antidote?" she repeated, hissing in amusement.

"You said she could get the antidote in exchange for answering the questions. She's being cooperative, so pay up," I said firmly. Uru chuckled.

"She'll be fine."

"Why's that?" Rasca asked, somehow managing to hover over us without drawing any attention to herself. I noticed she was keeping an eye on the hallway, which remained barren.

Uru clicked her fangs. "It wasn't poisoned."

"It wasn't?" I repeated skeptically.

"Indeed," Uru said. Electra's fur bristled with electricity and she launched a bolt towards the Ariados. Uru smirked and a thick strand of sticky webbing fired from her mouth, meeting the bolt head-on and absorbing it. The same strand then hit Electra in the face, covering the canine's face with the sticky goo. Electra yowled loudly and clutched at her eyes, struggling to peel the webbing from herself. Sparks flew from the gooey strands, added to by Electra's attempts to shock the webbing off herself.

"Better run!" Electra snarled, barking loudly. I winced from the volume of the barks, looking worriedly down the hallway. Sure enough, it didn't take long for an answering bark. Celebi damn it, I had hoped to be able to avoid it coming to this.

"Time to go, I think," I said, gesturing with my tail and hurrying towards the exit. Fortunately for my luck, Electra had told me that Amethyst wasn't even in the building, so we wouldn't have to fight our way through the reinforcements in order to accomplish our goal. That is, unless the law of drama kicked in and Amethyst returned before we managed to make contact with her. Then we'd have one hell of a time getting inside once the word was spread that we were trying to get to her.

The moment I was outside, my hopes fell flat. No less than a dozen Rockets were standing, each of them commanding a group of Pokémon of various types. How they assembled that quickly was anyone's guess, but my confusion was lessened by the presence of a pair of familiar humans at the front of the group. One was dressed in a typical scientist's garb and the other wore a painfully familiar green business suit. Rasca was right behind me and she shrieked and flapped upwards, attempting to reach the roof. No command was shouted, but a wave of electricity immediately struck the Fearow in the back and her wings went limp. I hastily wrapped my tail around the avian before she hit the ground, glaring at the offending Magneton, but it showed no reaction to my glare.

"Well, well...Dragonair returns," Dr. Gravel mused, rubbing his hands together.

"Sure do, how about that?" I deadpanned. No one showed any reaction to my words and I remembered, with a jolt of disappointment, that my translation collar had been broken.

"Really sloppy of you," chuckled the Graveler beside the scientist. "We picked you up over by Violet on radar."

"Don't gloat, rocks-for-brains," I snapped, depositing the stunned and paralyzed Fearow on the ground, taking the time to look over my opposition. Compared to most encounters with Rocket Pokémon, this time they had assembled quite the attack team. In addition to Dr. Gravel's Graveler and one of the grunt's Magneton, I took note of a Ninjask, a red fox-like Pokémon with six tails, a trio of Beedrill, and a large blue turtle with fluffy ears and an equally fluffy tail. Hovering above these Pokémon was a purple bat with four wings.

"We will give you only one chance, Dragonair," the green suited man said smugly. I glared at him. "Surrender or else we will take you out by force."

"If I surrender, do I get a plea bargain?" I asked snidely. If they planned on shipping me back to that damn facility in Kanto, or a facility with a similar purpose, then I sure hell wouldn't surrender. I rather fight and probably sustain some injuries, but likely escape, than surrender and get sent to be tortured or 'broken' again. That hadn't gone very well the first time.

"I doubt it," the Graveler scoffed.

"No plea bargain? Clearly you don't understand how the judicial system is supposed to work. See, when a criminal admits their guilt, they save the system the needless stress of a trial, and for some reason we're supposed to be more lenient towards them when it comes down to sentencing. Like murderers can avoid the death penalty and just rot in jail cells for forty years or so until they die anyway. I'm sure there's some moral argument on how that's beneficial, but the fact of the matter is that surrender or admitting guilt deserves to be rewarded by being kinder or more lenient. Or even better, I should be given the option to turn in my cohorts in exchange for being set free or a significantly reduced sentence."

"What the hell are you talking about?" the Graveler demanded, scratching his head with one of his arms, sending gravel particles flying into the air.

"I was just explaining the judicial system," I answered, smirking. "At least the system that humans involve for Rockets. If Mr. Green there got arrested, he would probably be able to dodge the bullet of a long term sentence if he turned on his cohorts and cooperated with the police to take out more of the Rocket operations. On one tail, this makes sense because of the reduction of the crime group, but there should still be a moral outrage about letting a criminal off easy because they're looking out for themselves. So the question really is whether plea bargains work at all to deal with crime effectively, or whether it promotes double-crossing. Since Rockets are criminals, the double-crossing makes perfect sense."

"Dragonair...shut the hell up!" the Graveler snapped, wincing as if he had a headache.

"Oh, I forgot I'm supposed to use small words so those with rocks in their head can understand."

"You have ten seconds to surrender," Green warned me, taking a familiar golden Pokeball from the inside of his suit. I narrowed my eyes at the Hunter Ball. Celebi, I hate that thing.

"Isn't it sort of pathetic you carry that with you, like some sort of sentimental object?" I asked. "It's a Pokeball you used to capture me, not an old teddy bear."

The Rocket Pokémon all tensed, ready to attack upon command. Green smirked and raised a hand. "Time's up, Dragonair," he said. His hand seemed to go in slow motion to make the command gesture. Before he could even go halfway, the Ninjask abruptly made a loud, alarmed buzzing sound. "What the-?" Green demanded when one of the Rockets screamed and hid her face. I turned quickly and saw the Ninjask bound with Uru's webbing, said Ariados on top of the Ninjask's back, her claws gripping the bug tightly.

"Prey," Uru hissed and sank her fangs into the insect's neck. At least two other Rockets made cries of shock or terror. Dr. Gravel watched intently as Uru fed upon the paralyzed and rapidly dying Ninjask. It didn't take long until the Ninjask was reduced to a lifeless husk and Uru made a smacking sound, followed by a satisfied hiss. The crimson spider released the remains of the Ninjask and eyed the other Pokémon. The Beedrill were understandably anxious and several of the other Pokémon looked a bit queasy. The most notable exception was the Crobat, which had watched the feeding with a curious expression and was presently studying the Ariados appraisingly.

Green stared at Uru with an expression of disbelief and mild horror. "Gravel...didn't Adrian's report...?"

"Ariados," the scientist agreed solemnly.

"And with Dragonair? I should have guessed," Green snarled, taking a Pokeball from inside his suit. "All of you, focus on the Ariados. Capture or kill. I'll deal with Dragonair."

"Yes, sir!" the grunts said in unison. I blinked. How did I LOSE priority? I probably shouldn't be getting offended over something like that, but what the hell?

Green smirked at me. "Someone's been dying for a rematch," he said, tossing his Pokeball forward. The ball burst open, releasing a burst of light from within. The light expanded into the shape of a winged creature, the white silhouette soon fading to reveal the orange scales and the burning fire on its tail. Two powerful wings stretched from their place on the draconic creature's back. It roared at me, its eyes blazing with a determined fire.

"Charizard, my minimally educated friend. So good to see you again," I smirked. The Charizard growled. "Third time's the charm, they say, but that assumes you can count that high."

"Shut up!" the Charizard growled. Ooh, someone's got a temper.

"Sore spot, Charry?" I taunted. I twisted out of the way of a large, boulder-sized fireball. "Missed me!"

"Charizard, take down this traitor once and for all, use Dragon Claw!" Green ordered. The Charizard grinned and its impressively wicked claws took on a spine-chilling blue fire aura. I hate that technique even when it's Ember using it. I never really noticed before how large and deadly a Charizard's claws looked in comparison to Ember's, and that was saying something: Ember's claws were very impressive for her specie.

The Charizard launched itself forward, pulling back its glowing paw and thrusting it towards me. I twisted my body to the side, narrowly avoiding the fire lizard's body. The Charizard's wings flapped, kicking up dust as it changed direction, swooping around and sideswiping me with his tail. I grunted from the impact, ducking in time to avoid a second swipe of the Charizard's claws. I hastily released a bolt of electricity at the fire lizard, but it surprisingly rolled over in mid-air, swooping around for another run while simultaneously dodging my attack.

"Ah, Celebi damn it," I grumbled. The Charizard had definitely learned from its last two battles with me, but then again, this time it could use its flight and maneuverability because we were in the open, not confined to a building. I would have to match this tactic and I had just the idea in mind. The Charizard drew closer, its paw drawn back to deliver the blow. I stayed where I was, watching the Charizard's movements. I subtly adjusted my weight to the right and saw my opponent's eyes narrowed. Good, he was taking the bait already. I waited a little longer, then jerked partway to the right, but immediately reversed direction. The Charizard fell for my feint, turning towards my right and swiping his claws through the empty air. As maneuverable as the fire lizard was, I had enough space between us to safely ascend higher.

"After him!" Green ordered the Charizard, which shot up after me. I rose higher into the air, watching the pursuing Charizard carefully. Once at a sufficient height to avoid interference from the Pokémon below, I stopped my ascent and jerked to the side, avoiding the Charizard's attempt to bite my neck.

"Up for an aerial battle?" I smirked at the fire type. It roared in response. "I'm really quite curious how well you can fight without the coaching of a half-wit human."

"I'll turn you into a crater!" the Charizard snarled.

"Surely you can come up with something cleverer than that," I snorted. "A crater is an impression in the ground. You can't turn ME into a crater, but you can use me to MAKE one."

"Whatever," the fire type grumbled. I smirked. Losing his temper so soon and the fight had just started. "I'll take you down."

"Bring it on, Charry."


	272. Sweet Frosting

"Here we are, Master Frost," Toady murmured respectively, lowering his head to a level below mine. I licked his forehead gratefully, prompting a brief blush from the Espeon. "Is there anything else you require, Master Frost?" Toady prompted, regaining his composure.

"No, that should suffice," I replied, looking over the building standing before me. According to Toady, this was where Darkness had asked to be dropped off, which meant Shadow had chosen this site as our temporary base of operations. It was disappointing really, but it was probably the best we could get after our first was demolished by Diablos' attack. "Hang on, stick around for a while, in case we need transportation later."

"Of course, Master Frost," Toady responded promptly. Knowing Shadow as I did, I sincerely doubted he would willingly hang around the obnoxious Flareon or a moody Darkness. He was undoubtedly absent and if anyone wanted to go somewhere long distance, I'd have to page Toady again. He never complained about the frequent calls, but it would be pointless to persistently call upon him for every little thing.

"You're not required to return the clan for any immediate need?" I verified, walking around the side of the building towards a door marking an entrance.

"I am not, Master Frost," Toady confirmed. That was the response I expected from him, but it was wiser to have verified. Of course, even if he was needed for something, his rapport with Aqua would ensure he would suffer no penalty for tardiness, especially if I sided with him. Many organizations and groups learned quickly that I held a significant amount of weight with others, and could be either a superb ally or dreaded adversary.

I pushed the small door open and stepped inside, my ears twitching and my eyes glancing around quickly. The interior of the warehouse was filled with old boxes, most of which were either empty of their contents of diminished value. Likely it had belonged to a business that had gone under some months or years prior. The subtle sound of a footstep alerted me immediately and my fur bristled, detecting the change in the air that forewarned a sudden movement. I pivoted my body, sidestepping quickly to the side. Darkness hit the ground where I had stood a moment earlier, presenting me with the opportunity to retaliate. I pounced on her side before she could recover from being outmaneuvered, knocking her to the ground.

Darkness giggled, shoving me away and getting back to her feet with as much dignity as she could muster. I smirked at her. "You're going to have to do better than that to catch me off-guard, Dark."

"I know," she giggled again. "I almost had you."

I nodded, lifting her chin gently with a paw and looking her in the face. "One of your better attempts, I must say. Now then, how are you doing this morning?"

"Fine," Darkness answered, reluctantly moving her head and looking away from me.

"No improvement?" I asked casually. The Umbreon sighed, her midnight blue rings lighting up for a moment. I nodded solemnly. "Nibble for your thoughts?" I asked, sitting down beside her. She shrugged, prompting me to lean over to softly nibble on her ear. A ghost of a smile crossed the Umbreon's face.

"It's nothing, really."

"Kira, then?" I guessed. Darkness winced. "I know you too well, Dark," I reminded her, delivering a firm nip to her neck. The rougher the nibble, the more it cheered her up. Most Umbreon and dark types responded positively to aggression, depending on the context. Aggression with intent to harm prompted aggression in return, whereas more 'affectionate' aggression received positive responses, but it all depended on the mood of the receiver. Trial and error taught me how best to handle such instances. For example, if Darkness was angry, having her blow off steam in a battle was far wiser than the standard approach of dealing with her in a calm or soothing manner. On a similar vein, nipping her firmly when she was angry would result in a swift fight for dominance, which she inevitably won. The wise male would let her win to avoid excessive injury.

Darkness didn't reply for almost a minute, but I waited patiently. Rushing Darkness to speak was...unwise. Not quite on the level of stealing or damaging her soap, but still a notably stupid thing to do. Finally she sighed, rubbing against me in a quiet plea for comfort. I obliged by rubbing her neck with a paw, waiting for her to speak. She took a deep breath, purring softly for a few seconds.

"Shouldn't I be more upset about her dying?" Darkness asked. I said nothing, merely watched her thoughtfully. "Kira was my closest friend, my childhood friend," Darkness continued, as if my silence had been a cue prodding her to continue. "I feel horrible. It feels like I'm moving on so quickly when I owe her more. I owe her for always being there for me," she finished, her shoulders shaking.

"Now, now, take it easy, Dark," I murmured, curling myself around her comfortingly.

"You don't understand, Frost," Darkness insisted. I raised an eyebrow, the unasked question obvious. She took a deep breath, her expression thoughtful. "The problem isn't that I'm upset. The problem is I'm not upset enough."

"You believe you should be an emotional wreck?" I asked.

"Over the death of my best friend that I've known almost my entire life? Yes! I do!" Darkness snapped. "She died in front of me and I couldn't do anything! Diablos did it to spite me!"

"Diablos does everything to spite people," I replied dryly. This turned out to be a stupid remark, judging by the disgusted look Darkness gave me. "Why would you wish to be an emotional wreck? Why would you want to suffer? Is your sense of honor and dignity misguided so you believe that if you care about someone in life, you owe it to her that her death should crush your spirit and heart and send you into a downward spiral of emotional backlash of which there should be no recovery?"

"Well, when you say it like that, it sounds stupid," Darkness muttered.

I rolled my eyes, "Go figure, Dark."

"I'm not stupid!" she spat.

"I don't recall saying you were," I replied silkily. "Even so, a desire to be in pain for the sake of your friend's memory is somewhat pathetic. Your moods are far too unstable even without such a persistent strain upon them."

"I don't say I want that!" Darkness growled. "I just want to know why I'm not feeling that way!"

"Because that's how you cope, Dark," I answered. The Umbreon blinked. "When you undergo stress, you respond by withdrawing into moodiness and sulking, rather than the emotional breakdowns that would undoubtedly ensue otherwise. You then begin to accept the emotions little by little. A far wiser coping method than our dear Shadow employs, without the side effect of yawn-inducing speech patterns."

"How would you know that about me?" Darkness asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Experience, as well as deductions based on your general emotional state in times of increased stress," I explained, rubbing her ears. A flicker of a smile lit up her features, followed by a purr. She has a truly adorable purr.

"What do you suggest?"

I considered her question seriously. I had no suggestions on how best to cope with something like a death of a close friend. I had no doubt that if Darkness died...it would impact me in a way that no other death would, yet I didn't feel I owed it to her to be upset. Indeed, remaining upset would only detract from my life.

"Who are you trying to please, Dark, by thinking you should be more upset?" I asked. Darkness gave me a death glare. "Bear with me for a moment. Kira is dead, we've established that. But whose satisfaction or approval are you seeking by feeling upset? I highly doubt Kira was pleased whenever you were sad or angry. On the contrary, she usually tried to calm you down or cheer you up."

Darkness growled, her blue rings flashing. "What's your point?"

"Wouldn't it be an insult to her memory to sulk indefinitely or throw a fit about not being as upset as you think you should be?" I reasoned. "This is more than just Shadow being a jerk to you or other issues that have sprouted over the past two, three years." I gave her a meaningful look and she bristled, but said nothing. "I sympathize with the death of your best friend. Not just a death, but a murder. But do you believe your best friend, who stood by you in rough times and worked tirelessly to keep you happy, would want you to be upset forever?"

"Not forever," Darkness grumbled.

"Isn't it better to get over it sooner rather than later?"

"But...Kira..." Darkness choked out, her eyes becoming damp.

"Don't misunderstand, Dark. Grieving is acceptable and expected. Sulking is not. Sulking is clinging to what has already happened, refusing to let go. Most baffling is you're unsatisfied with your grief?"

"But...how can I feel better knowing that...she's gone?" Darkness whimpered.

"The problem here doesn't seem to be that you're not upset, but rather that you're not expressing your emotions properly. Understandable, taking recent events into account. When it happened was not the proper time, nor was the immediate aftermath. You were forced to hold in whatever sorrow you may have felt. The emotions were never expressed, therefore they were never relieved," I explained.

"How do you do it?" Darkness mumbled.

I blinked at her. "Do what?"

"Handle stress...or loss?"

I chuckled. Despite popular opinion, precious few seemed to realize the difficulties and expectations that were thrust upon me, whether by my own paw or by the paws of others. My ascent to my level of skill was far from simple, and naturally I experienced my share of hardship and challenges along the way. Some secrets of my past were withheld from even Darkness, one of the only Pokémon I genuinely considered myself close to. She was relatively safe from those intent on harming me emotionally, for she was already a target for being associated with the group. I had an active role in both her recruitment and battle training, so I was confident she was able to defend herself adequately. Although she was 'ranked' as being the third strongest of our group, Shadow hardly was qualified to enjoy his present spot at two. If I were to re-evaluate the group's strength level, I'd place the order as myself, Darkness, Leaf, Shadow, and Jolt. Leaf's potential far outweighed Shadow's present strength, in part because Shadow's strategies were painfully predictable, but not nearly as bad or as easily countered as Jolt's.

"Frost?" Darkness' impatient tone returned my focus to her question at paw. How did I handle stress or loss? A very interesting question, and unfortunately one I couldn't provide an adequate answer to. Stress just seemed to fade away when it hit me. No doubt this was assisted by the fact the majority of all stress was mild and easily handled, causing it to last for only a day or two or most. Indeed, the poor performance I exhibited when dueling the obnoxious Flareon had caused the most stress I had felt in a long time, but even now it no longer bothered me. I knew I was a better battler than he was, so it was only a matter of time before I challenged him to a rematch and triumphed.

"To be honest, I'm not sure how to respond, Dark. It's been quite some time since I've really lost anything. Dignity and reputation can be earned back, and no one close to me has died. The majority of my relationships end either mutually or on decent terms."

"That insane Jolteon seemed to disagree," Darkness pointed out.

"Zapda doesn't count."

"But...I have lost someone close to me, and my last relationship didn't end well. How am I supposed to cope with that?" the blue-ringed Umbreon whined. I licked her neck affectionately.

"Calm down," I told her softly, stroking a paw gently down her back. Darkness sniffled, her eyes gathering tears. "Don't fight the emotions," I said, taking note of the tears struggling to fall.

"Which should I do?" Darkness wailed. "Calm down or cry?"

"Calm down so you can cry if you need to."

"That doesn't make sense!"

"Sure it does," I insisted. "Don't get hysterical, don't get angry. Calm. If you need a shoulder, go ahead."

The Umbreon didn't need telling twice and I soon found myself patting the back of a sobbing dark type. Fortunately, I planned on washing my fur anyway. The things I do for Dark's sake. Maybe she'll cheer up soon, if it only took a nudge for her to vent her pent up sorrow and stress. More likely she would need multiple such sessions in coming weeks until she would be truly back to normal.

I gazed around the warehouse as something to do until Darkness' crying tapered off. Unfortunately, our location really had little to offer in the form of a distraction. Mostly just boxes and shelves all around, with precious few differences in size, order, or color. This made Darkness herself the best object of focus, so I amused myself by watching her glowing rings, wagging tail, or taking note of which spots she missed during her most recent grooming job. She had definitely not bathed yet today, since she didn't smell strongly of her soap. On the contrary, she still carried the scent of battle sweat, so she hadn't bathed after our fight with Zapda and her Furret shape shifter pet. Fortunately, she did not smell as if the full moon was approaching, either. I would almost be concerned about my intimate knowledge of her various scents if it weren't for the fact we've shared sleeping space for roughly a year, in addition to the close proximity we normally spent our waking time in. I even knew her moods based on her rings' glowing better than an Umbreon would.

Darkness finally withdrew from me, sniffling quietly but looking a bit more cheerful. "Doing all right?" I asked. She nodded, smiling awkwardly. I looked my fur over, chuckling. "I'll take this opportunity to wash my fur, then. Coming?"

"Lake's occupied," Darkness muttered.

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. Either that was a poor choice of words or Darkness considered it wiser to avoid the source of water nearest to our warehouse, assuming I wasn't thinking into the word choice too much. "Meaning what?"

"Those other two are down there," she answered.

"And?" I pressed, giving her a perplexed look.

"I'm not bathing with an audience!" she growled. Ah yes, can't forget about her self-consciousness whilst bathing. That was one of the reasons we started sharing sleeping space in the first place. My room at our old HQ was the only one with an attached bath.

"How long have they been there?"

"Since this morning, why?"

"What are they doing?" I asked.

"Talking."

"What about, you know?"

"Before you came, she was telling him something about being his assigned breeding partner."

"What?"

Darkness giggled, her rings glowing pleasantly, "Rockets trying to breed them."

I nodded. It was not unheard of for Rockets or even the other crime gangs to collect Eevee or Eons either for breeding purposes or for selling. Eevee in the wild were exceptionally difficult to come across unless someone stumbled upon a clan, and so the specie had assembled the reputation of rarity. Oddly, the opposite was true. Eevee and Eons had very active breeding habits and almost invariably paired with another of their evolutionary line. There were exceptions, but these exceptions were almost unheard of in the wild. For this reason, most Eevee and Eons were either clan-born or bred by humans. Those in the wild usually grouped together to form miniature groups or clans and expanded from there.

"Yes...I remember hearing about that," I mused, remembering the memories viewed during the Heart Swap incident. "How much of the conversation are you aware of?"

"Quite a bit, especially when he got pissed," Darkness said, giggling.

I blinked. "About what?"

"She told him she liked him."

I snorted. "So he threw a hissy fit?" What a stupid Flareon. I'd be ecstatic if a Vaporeon confessed attraction to me.

"No," Darkness grinned. "He threw a fit because she said she always liked him."

"Oh no," I replied sarcastically. "A Vaporeon female has had a crush on him. He should throw that away and start yelling at her."

"He shouted something about her being inconsistent and that if he hadn't been persistent in approaching her, he'd have thought she was a total bitch like all the other females. I didn't catch everything, but the shouting was pretty obvious."

"He called her a bitch to her face?" I asked, incredulous.

"I'm paraphrasing."

"I hope so," I smirked. "How far away were you when this was happening?"

"Twenty yards, collecting food," she shrugged.

"How did I miss all this?" I asked sourly. "I wasn't gone that long, was I? Anyway, what happened next?"

"She tried to calm him down so she could explain something. I lost interest around then and came back in here with the food. Then you showed up."

"So they're still talking, you think?"

"Probably."

"Well, I'm going down to wash my fur. I can tell them to beat it if you want to come," I suggested. Darkness nodded and got to her feet. I smiled.

"I can notify them if you wish, Master Frost," Toady suggested. Darkness flinched and I received a flicker of surprise. The Espeon had been so patient and quiet during my talk with Darkness that it had been easy to forget he was there.

"Go for it," I agreed. Toady bowed his head, teleporting from the room. Darkness blinked at the now unoccupied space.

She turned to me, "Why does he act like that?"

"Like what?"

Darkness paused, no doubt phrasing the question in her mind. "So...submissive? Is he like a servant, or does he owe a debt to someone in the clan? Why does he have to serve everyone, or call them master?"

I chuckled, shaking my head, "No, nothing really like that. It would surprise you to learn that Toady wasn't born into the clan. While he asks that details of his past remain withheld from non-alphas, it is established that he was allowed into the clan as an outsider. Most of the other clan members are either oblivious, have forgotten, or don't care."

"That didn't answer my question," Darkness complained, leading me out of the warehouse and walking down towards the water source I had spotted shortly after arrival. "Is him being an outsider the reason he's so submissive?"

"Not that I know of, and Aqua would hardly allow such discrimination," I mused. Darkness looked at me blankly. "That is his personality. Ganger confirmed it for me. I can't tell you more about him without explicit permission. Ask him yourself if you want to know more, but don't expect him to answer."

"What about the master/mistress thing?" the Umbreon pressed.

"One thing to know, Dark. Toady works on a mutual respect policy. Treat him respectfully and he will do the same to you. He is not a slave and serves people out of respect. As for the master and mistress claim, he will present such a title to anyone he answers to. If you insult or mistreat him in any way, the title is revoked, he will refuse to do you any favor, and he is in VERY good graces with Aqua and myself. He can get away with anything short of murder."

"Really?"

"He may have to justify his actions, but I'm sure he'd get off with a scolding," I corrected.

"Why?"

I chuckled. "Toady is very loyal to those he respects."

"True, he got pretty pissed when that Flareon started boasting about beating you."

I winced. "What happened?"

"He and his mate-"

"They're not mates," I cut in.

"Really? Huh...well, they attacked him and defeated him," Darkness finished. I scowled, prompting a puzzled look from my companion. "What's wrong?"

"They shouldn't have done that," I sighed. Darkness still looked confused, but remained silent since we were coming into earshot of the lovely Vaporeon, Toady, and the Flareon. "What's going on?" I asked, noticing the glares the three Eons were exchanging.

"Why do we have to leave?" Blaze growled. "We were here first!"

"Master Frost and Mistress Darkness wish to use the premises for cleansing purposes," Toady explained patiently.

"Should we bow to them?" Blaze spat.

"That won't be necessary, Master Blaze," Toady said peacefully. Aura frowned.

"Why would we have to leave?" she asked, looking in my direction. My tail flicked.

"Dark doesn't like having others around when she bathes, regardless of the gender of those nearby," I answered. "We shouldn't take very long."

"Oh, okay," Aura said reasonably.

"I'm not leaving," Blaze announced.

"Yes, you are," Darkness growled. I sighed and shook my head.

Toady frowned at the stubborn fire type. "I am going to have to insist you vacate the location."

"I'm going to insist you shut up and go away!" Blaze snapped. Aura flinched.

"It's not a big deal, Blaze. Come on, let's get something to eat...please?"

"Hmph," Blaze grumbled. Aura smiled weakly and licked behind his ear. The Flareon flinched and glared at her. "I didn't say yes!"

"I know," the Vaporeon muttered.

"Say yes to what?" I interjected. Blaze glared at me.

"Mind your own business!"

"Ah, she wants to be your mate?" I sneered. Both Eons flinched, Aura looking embarrassed, Blaze looking irritated. "Oh, please, it's not hard to guess, Flareon."

"It's none of your business!" Blaze insisted.

"You don't think so?" I replied, smirking at him. "Error: Adjust your attitude, Flareon. Let me guess, you were peeved when you discovered that after all this time, Aura here has been harboring a crush on you, and you're all hot and bothered because you made a stupid decision weeks back by taking on some stranger Flareon fem who was raised with breeding on the brain, rather than persisting with the one you liked, but who wasn't actively head over paws for your tail. Am I close?"

Blaze didn't answer, yet Aura's blush intensified. Without a word, the Flareon walked away. Aura turned to follow, but I drew her attention by waving a paw. She gave me a perplexed look, which only intensified when I removed a string from around my neck and tossed a small leather bag at her feet.

"I believe this is yours," I told her. She gave me another look, which both Toady and Darkness mirrored. Slowly, the Vaporeon undid the drawstring and peered inside the bag, recoiling in disbelief. I smirked at her reaction.

"Where? H-how? Why?" she managed, staring at me in shock.

I returned her gaze impassively. "It didn't belong to the ones who had it. Return it to the one that it does. Take the credit for finding it."

"Why?" Aura asked.

"Does it matter?"

The Vaporeon paused uncertainly. I gave her a long look and turned away. Even without looking, I could tell the water Eon had picked up the bag in her mouth and was walking after the Flareon. Darkness gave me a blank look.

"What was in there?" she asked. I smirked, but paused when I felt a faint vibration. I shot a glance at Toady before withdrawing my cell phone from the pouch around my neck and examining the display. No, that wasn't Gem's number. Who the hell was calling me?

"Hello?"

"Is this Frost?" the voice on the other end asked, sounding nervous and somehow familiar.

"Yes. And this is?"

"Cool, I made the phone work!"

"And you are…?" I prompted. The voice sounded so familiar, but I couldn't seem to place it. With the recent weird calls I've received, I wasn't sure who to expect. "How did you get my number?"

"Huh? Don't you dial five-five-five and then the name of the caller?"

"Uh…no. Hang on a second," I said, withdrawing the phone from my ear and studying the letters written on the phone's numbers. Who the hell would randomly dial those last numbers and think you dialed a phone that way? What about names longer than four letters? "Who is this?"

"Leaf!" the voice replied brightly.

"Leaf?" I repeated incredulously.

"Leaf?" Darkness blinked. I glanced at the phone number letters again.

"That…is the most disturbing coincidence I've ever seen," I muttered. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Wait, you mean that's really not how you call people?" Leaf asked naively.


	273. Untangling the Web

**Dragonair POV**

Charry tilted his body and torpedoed towards me. I responded with a wave of electricity, smirking when the Charizard aborted his attack and swerved out of the way of the Thunder Wave. "It's a long way down, Charry," I reminded him.

"And you'll be the one taking the fall," the Charizard growled. I chuckled, earning a death glare.

"Unlike you, I don't need my wings to stay afloat. Now please find a less cheesy thing to say in reply to my comments. Otherwise it'll be like me saying 'it ends here' and you saying 'this is only the beginning'."

"You're going down!"

"That's...even worse," I sighed. "How about you don't talk while we fight?"

Charizard's reply was to launch a stream of fire in my direction. I jerked to the left, releasing a Thunderbolt in retaliation. Charizard dove downwards, dodging my attack and coming up behind me. I pivoted, moving my tail out of the way of another Flamethrower, returning fire with an Ice Beam. Charizard flew higher and spat Flamethrower after Flamethrower towards me. That's more like it. If one ranged attack didn't do anything, the smart (or cheap) opponent would start spamming the attacks instead.

Nevertheless, the fire was laughably easy to dodge. That's what happens when a Charizard is evidently unused to aerial fights and therefore unused to aiming in multiple planes. A Dragonair's natural ability to float meant that I was always battling in these planes. Even so, I've only been a Dragonair for roughly a year of my life, so it was still pretty pathetic. I released another wave of electricity from my body, the Thunder Wave expanding in large rings. Charizard shot upwards, the waves barely missing his burning tail. I scowled. I need to try something new. Aerial battles require a different type of strategy. Now that's an idea...

I hovered in the air, watching the Charizard carefully. Very slowly, I swished the end of my tail back and forth, slowly increasing the speed of the swishing. I can't let him notice my motions too early and get suspicious. "Look out! Fearow behind you!" I yelled, staring past the Charizard.

"What? Where?!" the Charizard demanded, turning his head. I rolled my eyes, using his distraction to fire an Ice Beam.

"You are so stupid and gullible."

Charry scowled, darting forward and pulling back his paw. I flicked my tail upwards, slapping him across the face. The fire lizard touched his cheek with a puzzled look, giving me time to swivel around to his other side and release a freezing beam of energy into his neck. The fire type roared, his eyes burning with rage. All thoughts of his cheek aside, Charry threw himself towards me, his large paw closing around my neck. I jerked my head backwards, but felt a strong paw shove the back of my head forward, right into the grip of the pissed off Charizard.

"Who's stupid now, snake?" Charizard growled, cutting off my air supply by tightening his grip.

"Still you," I gasped. Charizard roared and yanked my face close to his snout, his eyes glaring into mine. This would have been incredibly intimidating if it weren't for the fact we were flying a hundred some yards above the ground, prompting me to entertain visions of him forgetting to flap his wings to remain airborne, and plummeting to the ground like an anvil dropped from the roof of a three story Rocket building. That hadn't been me, I'm not an idiot.

Charry's eye twitched, his mouth slowly spitting the words, "Who's stupid now?"

"Did you abruptly receive a spike in intellect? No? Then still you."

Charizard responded to this taunt by somersaulting in the air in a wide arc, his paws holding me as tightly as possible. Seismic Toss, how pitifully predictable during an aerial fight. Someone clearly forgot to teach him to incapacitate his opponent before attempting, or else a quick thinking Pokémon will attack or otherwise disrupt the intended throw at point blank range. Fortunately for the Charizard, the awkward grip he was using made it immensely difficult to use any of my ranged attacks with any prayer of something resembling accuracy, and the howling wind and moderate nausea from the aerial somersaulting made Outrage and Dragon Pulse a bit difficult to collect the focus required to use them. That left only one thing to do.

"Is that the best you can do?" Charizard grunted, ignoring the raindrops now pouring down from the clouds directly above us. In spite of the rain, the fire lizard's flips doubled in speed. Shit, he was going to release me soon and that would hurt, especially if he hurled me at the ground. My flight orientation had been completed screwed to hell during the time that I was focusing on not vomiting and I wouldn't be able to pull myself out before impact.

I didn't answer, whether from lacking a sufficient reply or because the prospect of opening my mouth terrified me. The wind's howling had picked up dramatically, yet I maintained a strong focus. Almost ready...almost...my horn crackled with electricity. Heh, this was going to hurt him a lot more than it would hurt me.

"Bombs away!" the Charizard sneered. I felt his grip loosen and then release. The ground sped towards me as a blur of green and brown. My body jerked as a massive bolt of electricity erupted from my horn. I have no idea where the blast went. I heard what sounded like screaming, but it was nearly inaudible over the roar of the wind. I shut my eyes, gasping as pain wracked my body, an enormous crash sounding as the wind died down. I lay where was I was, gasping in pants of air and gritting my teeth against the waves of pain expanding through every inch of my coils.

"Celebi...that hurt," I grunted. Even with the defensive scales and recovery system of a dragon, the impact should have paralyzed almost my entire body. The fact I was conscious was a shock in itself. I heard the triumphant roar of my opponent above me, the sound spurring me to lift my head, shaking it to clear the daze settling in. "Ow, ow, ow!" I grunted. Every movement of my head sent another shock of pain through me.

A sudden weight on my back shoved my face back into the ground, the pressure trapping my middle against the ground. I turned my head back and glared at the Charizard's leg. Charry growled in triumph. I gasped as sharp, searing pain shot through my side. I looked back again to see a small gash in my scales, and the Charizard bringing back his paw for another blow.

"So, snake," Charry sneered. "...any last words?"

"Last words?" I repeated. "Hmm...that's a tough one. I always imagined my last words to be a long winded speech, most likely with the intention of distracting the one about to kill me long enough to figure out a plan to get free and turn the tides of battle into my favor, thus sparing my life and enabling me to re-use the tactic against a different idiot dumb enough to ask me that question. But who knows? Maybe the exact same idiot will...okay seriously, doesn't ANY of this sound familiar at all?!"

"Uh...I am getting a vague sense of déjà vu," the Charizard admitted, scratching his head. "Not sure why..."

"You're a freaking idiot," I sighed.

"Huh?"

"Exactly," I said, launching a Hyper Beam directly at the Charizard's face. If I ever get access to Rocket salaries, I'm docking Robin Green's pay for raising the thickest Charizard I've ever had the misfortune of speaking to. He's even stupider when he's on his own. The battle had been rather anti-climactic, especially for an aerial battle. Maybe next time I should try that on someone actually capable of fighting in the sky.

"Damn you," Robin Green spat, withdrawing the fire lizard into a Pokeball. His eyes met mine and a ghost of a smirk flashed across his face, his hand slipping into the inside of his suit and taking out the golden Pokeball again. "Even so...your capture is assured in your weakened state!" He pulled back his arm and pitched the golden Pokeball forward. Oh, Celebi damn it, not again. He was right, the fight with Charizard had tired me and using Hyper Beam had inconvenienced me, just like last time I got captured.

The ball seemed to slow down in mid-air, but I found myself incapable of moving out of the way. Closer and closer the sphere came, finally striking me in the neck. I winced, the pain in my body flaring up. The Hunter Ball did not open and suck me inside. Instead, the ball broke open and fell to the grass in two pieces, like the shell of a cracked nut. Green and I stared at the Pokeball halves. It was as if the entire world had gone silent for two minutes.

"Imported products," I tsked, shaking my head.

"What the hell happened?" the green suited man growled. He reached into his suit and pulled out a second Pokeball. "Oh well, this will do!" he said, enlarging the ball in his hand. I froze. I knew what was in that Pokeball...

"Ooh, a Pokémon battle?" I asked, charging a small amount of electricity to unzip the bag that had somehow survived being thrown off me during the Seismic Toss routine. Mr. Green frowned a little, watching me with a puzzled expression. Note to self: Get a new translation collar. I flicked my tail towards the bag, knocking one of the Pokeballs into the air, the ball bursting open without any prodding. "Venom, I choose you!"

The light expanded into the silhouette of the Gyarados, the brightness fading to reveal the blue and white scales of the large water serpent. Green dropped his Pokeball in what I assume was horror. Venom seemed rather pleased by the reaction.

"He's going to need to change that suit," Venom chuckled.

"Some thoughts are better off unvocalized, you know."

"And yet you're incapable of shutting up," Venom pointed out.

I smirked, "Debatable."

"Crobat, use Supersonic!" Green ordered suddenly, pointing a finger towards Venom. I looked around for the aforementioned Crobat and was surprised to see that the battle between Uru and the grunts was almost over. The four winged purple bat was one of the few Rocket Pokémon that was uninjured. The grunts were shouting to their respective Pokémon, their voices creating a confusing din of commands that seemed to be confusing the remaining battlers. Rasca had recovered from the Magneton's earlier attack and was assisting the Ariados in cleaning up her opponents.

Venom chuckled and turned to me. "Am I the only one who thinks that Crobat is watching the fight more than joining in?"

"Looks like it," I agreed, admiring the frustrated look on Robin Green's face. "I don't think Supersonic would bother you too much."

"Well, it wouldn't be any more obnoxious than you are," Venom grumbled. I grinned.

"Venom, use Aqua Tail on the human!" I ordered, pointing my tail dramatically. Venom blinked.

"Why?"

"Don't question trainer commands!" I said, with mock snappishness.

Venom frowned. "Since when have you been my trainer?"

"Ever since I picked up the Pokeball you took refuge in. All I need is to wave your Pokeball threateningly and you'll be inclined to obey any command I give you, no matter how irrational."

Venom stared at me. "I'm going to assume you're being sarcastic."

"Use Aqua Tail!" I repeated, waving his Pokeball threateningly.

Venom gave me a strange look, his tail glowing with a faint blue aura as he swung it towards Green, the suited man's eyes widening the moment before being knocked clean off his feet and landing on his back.

"Told you so," I snickered. "Half of Pokémon training is psychological. If the Pokémon thinks you have power, you do."

"Whatever," Venom rolled his eyes. "How the hell did you get into this, anyway?" he demanded, waving his tail around at the remaining battlers.

"That's a touch of a long story. I blame Electra being uncooperative, but Uru pretending to poison her certainly didn't help her attitude," I sighed. Venom blinked.

"Who?"

"That Ariados that half the Rockets want to kill for some reason," I said, gesturing my tail impatiently towards the spider Pokémon. Venom frowned. "You ever hear of someone with more priority to defeat than me?"

"Not an Ariados," Venom scoffed. "I've never heard of an Ariados being hunted."

"Very strange," I mused. "She's sort of an odd case, anyway. Doesn't give straight answers for anything."

"Because you're much clearer when you talk," Venom sneered. I chuckled.

"Clearer than she is. Now Venom, finish off the Rockets with your-"

"Oh shut up," Venom snapped, launching a powerful blast of water towards the nearest Rockets, knocking two of the grunts over, where they slid several feet forward on the ground. This was the distraction Rasca needed to thrust her beak into the center of the Magneton. She recoiled with a wince, but the Magneton crackled with electricity, dropping to the ground motionlessly. My eyes widened as I saw a large crack in the steel body of the tri-Magnemite.

"How did she do that?" I demanded. For a bird's beak to break steel...no wonder Rasca had recovered so quickly from colliding with that psychic barrier...her beak was that strong? Several beams of red light enveloped the injured Pokémon and the grunts seemed to have realized how screwed they were upon seeing their boss on the ground with two draconic Pokémon near him.

Only Dr. Gravel, his Graveler, and the Crobat remained now.

"What should we do, sir?" one of the grunts whispered anxiously to the scientist.

"Graveler, return," Dr. Gravel said softly, withdrawing the four armed boulder into its Pokeball. "Withdraw your Crobat."

"Uh...okay, Crobat return," the grunt said, looking puzzled.

"Here you go," Gravel said, handing his Pokeball to the grunt. The grunt hesitated and exchanged the Pokeball he held. "Crobat," the scientist said, releasing the four winged bat, which now looked rather peeved.

"Graveler?" the grunt said, opening his new Pokeball. The boulder wasn't looking thrilled either. Both humans stared at the rock type expectantly, but nothing happened.

"Was that supposed to accomplish something?" I asked loudly.

"Uh...evolution doesn't work that way, you idiots!" Venom snorted. "Master Ed's Machoke didn't evolve because he handed it off to the nearest loser!"

"He handed it to himself?" I guessed. "No wonder it didn't work."

"Shut the hell up!" Venom snapped.

"He wanted me to evolve?" the Graveler asked, scowling.

"Golem really isn't more effective than a Graveler. Much slower," I commented.

"But defensive as hell," Venom agreed. "I can bite them pretty good, though."

"Withdraw them again," Dr. Gravel sighed, looking disappointed.

"Graveler, return," the grunt said, drawing said Pokémon back into the ball.

"Crobat-" Dr. Gravel never finished his sentence, as a glob of white goo slapped him in the mouth, startling him into dropping the Pokeball. I looked over and saw the same thing had happened to the grunt, the Pokeball falling from his grip and rolling a few feet out of reach.

Uru hissed, firing a web line from her mouth, the strand tying the scientist's legs together and pulling them out from under him. Rasca swooped down on the grunt and struck the side of his head with her wing. "Sorry!" she said, even as the man collapsed like a sack of potatoes. The other grunts panicked and backed away as quickly as possible.

"Leave them," Uru hissed when Rasca and I moved to block their paths. The Fearow backed down immediately, but I didn't.

"They could alert someone else," I reminded the spider.

"Perhaps," Uru agreed. "But we are leaving and that would waste effort."

"But what about..." Venom began, but hastily went silent.

"Oh, that Milotic?" an unfamiliar female voice asked with a sneer. I looked around for the speaker, but didn't find one. "She's at the lake you were at over an hour ago."

"Who's there?" I demanded.

"Wira!" Rasca called brightly, swooping over and landing on a tree branch, which on closer inspection was occupied by another bird with dark blue feathers. The breast feathers were red and the lower body was white. I noticed the sharp shape of the bird's wings and peculiar tail feathers. Despite the red and white colors, she was almost impossible to notice if I hadn't been tipped off that she was there.

"Who are you?" I asked, staring as the Fearow placed a wing around the other bird in an affectionate embrace, Rasca ignoring the slightly cool look she received from the Swellow.

"Wira," the Swellow replied coolly. "A thank you is in order, don't you think?"

"For what?" I scoffed, earning an even cooler stare than the Fearow had. Damn, she's a bitch.

"Of course, the mighty Dragonair thinks being saved from imminent capture isn't worth gratitude. I'm sure Volt wouldn't mind being told where you are," the Swellow sneered.

I flinched, narrowing my eyes. What kind of Tauros shit thing to say was that? "You're claiming credit for what, now?"

Wira rolled her eyes, gesturing a wing lazily towards the broken Hunter Ball. I frowned. I couldn't say either way whether this bitchy Swellow had anything to do with the timely breaking of the Ball, and I really didn't think I could avoid thanking the one claiming credit if I couldn't prove she hadn't had anything to do with it. Yet, it was painful to thank someone so unpleasant.

"Almost got captured again?" Venom snickered. I slapped his tail with mine, earning a confused glare from the Gyarados.

Uru hissed loudly to get our attention. "Now is not the time to hold private discussions!"

"For you, maybe," Wira scoffed. "I'm not being hunted."

"How are you doing, Wira?" Rasca asked, her wing still around the Swellow, to the smaller bird's obvious irritation.

"Well enough, Rasca," the Swellow replied. "By the way, you missed one," she said, gesturing her free wing to the Crobat, which had still not done anything since being released. Uru's attention flicked to the bat, which flinched.

"Why do you hesitate?" Uru inquired. The Crobat didn't answer. Uru clicked her fangs. "Are there more Rockets approaching?" she asked. The bat immediately let out a high pitched, almost inaudible screech. Everyone in the vicinity winced for a fraction of a second.

"Yes. From the south," the Crobat responded. Uru chuckled.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," the bat replied. I raised an eye scale. Venom did the same. What the hell was with this bat?

"You are welcome to escort us from this location," Uru told the quad-winged Pokémon. It promptly flapped off in one direction. Uru clicked her fangs and followed.

"What the hell?" Wira voiced aloud. Rasca shrugged her wings and took off after the Ariados. I hesitated, but floated after them. Venom scowled.

"What about Amethyst?" he demanded.

"I told you where she is!" Wira snapped impatiently, flying silently behind the Gyarados.

"Oh wait, don't forget to finish the Rockets!" I said, doing an about face and charging a Hyper Beam in plain view of the humans. They screamed and bolted inside the building. I laughed. "All too easy," I mused.

"I'm not sure how that worked," Venom growled, sliding after me.

"Because I'm infamous for Hyper Beaming with little provocation," I answered, grinning. "Just like Gyarados are infamous for blowing up cities. You'll understand when you finally evolve."


	274. Prolonged Web of Conversation

**Dragonair POV**

"Where are we even going?" Venom demanded abruptly, glaring around at our surroundings.

"I have no idea; for once I'm not the one leading," I answered.

"Why are we letting some Crobat lead us?" Venom growled. I glanced back, smirking when I saw the Swellow had chosen to land on the Gyarados' head and was presently preening her feathers with an air of indifference. "And where is it even going?"

"I think I mentioned not having an idea on that, Venom. You should try listening to responses if you're going to force me to endure your griping. Your passenger mentioned Amethyst being by the lake we had left before. Seeing as we aren't going OFF track from this new destination, it would be prudent to just go with the flow for a while, rather than mindlessly complain, don't you think?"

"Hm," Venom growled, but he shut up, so I was happy. Truthfully, I didn't think following the Crobat had any merit. For all we knew, it was leading us towards more Rockets, rather than the implication that it was leading us away from them.

Fortunately for my endurance of Venom's subtle complaints, our path soon reached its end. At a glance, we still weren't back by the desired lake, but we caught up to Rasca and Uru, which had to count for something. Not really, since they didn't really have much contribution to Venom or my objectives and the Ariados had complicated things when she threatened Electra. Even so, I suppose they have some value somewhere.

"Where are we?" Venom asked in a deadpan.

"Well if there was a billboard map, we'd be able to look at it and spot the red 'You are here' sticker and then know, 'oh, we are here'. As it is, we don't have this map and yet I can still say 'oh, we are here'."

"Your helpfulness never diminishes, does it, Dragonair?" Venom asked sarcastically.

"It could if I gave you misleading information," I pointed out. Venom rolled his eyes, his gaze pausing on the quad-winged bat, which was hanging upside down from a tree branch not far from where the Ariados was standing. Rasca was perched on a different tree, whereas the Swellow remained where she was on Venom's head.

"What are we doing here, Crobat?" Venom demanded. The bat stretched its four wings lazily.

"Resting. Note my inverted perch," the Crobat replied promptly. Uru chuckled, clicking her fangs a moment. Venom frowned.

"Why HERE?" he demanded, glaring at the bat. He received no response.

"Ooh, here's an idea. How about we introduce ourselves to one another since for some reason those two are tagging along? I'm Dragonair, talk shit about my human-given name and I'll Hyper Beam your face, your names are fair game. Next."

"You overuse that threat," Venom noted.

"Excellent name, Magikarp."

"Shut up! I'm a Gyarados!"

"Hello 'a Gyarados'."

"You're not even funny," Venom growled.

"No, I'm Dragonair. 'Not even funny' was probably a close second choice, though."

"Ahem," Uru cleared her throat. "The Gyarados' name is Venom. Your turn, Wira."

The Swellow shot the Ariados a slight glare. "I'm Wira."

"I'm Rasca," the Fearow supplied. Everyone's gaze turned to the Crobat, which blinked at us.

"Uh...what's your name?" he asked the Ariados. Uru chuckled.

"You may call me Uru."

"Uru," the Crobat repeated softly. I cleared my throat loudly.

"We're still lacking yours."

"What?" the Crobat blinked.

"Lacking, referring to something we lack, lack being the absence of some sort of need or want. Yours, referring to something belonging to you, in this case what we lack is your name. A name is a word indicating an identity of some sort."

"Thank you for clarifying," the bat muttered. I smirked.

"Pleased to be of service."

"What is your name?" Rasca pressed politely.

"Erm...I don't actually have one," the bat sighed. "I'm called Crobat whenever someone wants to refer to me."

"Crobat aren't exactly common among Rocket ranks. It sounds practical."

"I don't like being called Crobat," the bat complained.

"Sucks to be a Crobat then, doesn't it, Crobat?"

"You're not funny, Dragonair," Venom said dryly.

"I'm amused and that's what counts," I argued. Venom rolled his eyes, a gesture mirrored by the Swellow. "Let's simplify and call him Golbat."

"We can come up with better than that," Uru interrupted, regarding the Crobat thoughtfully. I may have been imagining it, but I could have sworn the quad-winged bat's face flushed. A self-conscious Crobat? Now all I need is an ambidextrous Miltank and I'll finally win a round of 'Obscure Sights Bingo'.

"And you're an expert at picking names?" I challenged. Uru didn't answer.

"Hey Dragonair, if you had to name a Dratini kit, what would pick?" Venom challenged. I raised an eye scale.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you dish out mockery for naming, but I haven't seen proof you'd do better," Venom retorted, getting a smug look on his face.

"A Dratini kit?" I repeated. "Male or female?"

"Uh..." Venom paused thoughtfully, most likely considering which gender would give me the most trouble to think up a name for.

"Male," Rasca suggested.

"Kiryu," I replied promptly. Everyone exchanged looks of surprise. "Ooh, I think we have a winner."

"How the hell did you do that?" Venom demanded. I smirked, turning my attention back to the Ariados, which seemed to be talking with the Crobat too quietly for me to hear what was being said.

"So, what name do you think would suit Crobat better, if Golbat and Crobat are both a no-go?" I asked, regaining Uru's attention. She clicked her fangs, otherwise remaining silent. I waited patiently for a minute. "See, I knew you don't have anything."

"You are, of course, free to make such assumptions," Uru said softly. I frowned. Not the response I expected, yet somehow I feel I shouldn't be surprised.

"We're wasting time," Venom complained.

"No one said you have to stay here," Wira sneered. Venom shot a glare upwards, but the Swellow's position prevented her from seeing his facial expression, so it was a pointless glare. From the corner of my eye, I saw that Uru and the Crobat had continued their quiet conversation.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" I demanded of the Swellow.

"I gave you my name already," she said flatly. Rasca chuckled, stretching her regal wings.

Unfazed, I changed the line of questioning. "How do you know Volt?"

"Who doesn't?" Wira scoffed. She is so unpleasant, but thankfully not as arrogant as that one Glaceon in Frost's mind. "What's it to you?"

"Only the fact you threatened to sic him on me."

Wira rolled her eyes and continued preening without a word. Wow, I just keep running into the unresponsive Pokémon today, don't I? "Doing well, Rasca?" the Swellow asked, turning to look over at the Fearow.

Rasca brightened. "Pretty good, thank you. Met Dragonair here over by Violet, but ended up running into Volt. I tried to call Cusil, but he didn't come."

"Cusil?" Wira repeated, pausing her preening. That must be the name of the male friend Rasca had mentioned before, when Uru asked about her loud cawing. Apparently Wira already knew who he was, because neither of them elaborated.

"I guess my caws woke Uru there and she tagged along to the base. How did you find your way here?" Rasca continued. Wira shrugged her wings.

"Does it matter?"

"I suppose not," Rasca admitted. "You have any idea why Cusil didn't respond?"

Wira scoffed in reply, "I had to sit through a boring meeting earlier. Cusil's whereabouts and prior engagements aren't my problem, Rasca."

"What meeting was that?" Venom asked.

"Tail out of things that aren't your business!" Wira snapped. Venom jerked his head to the side, throwing the Swellow off, but she gracefully flapped into the air long before she was in danger of hitting the ground. She landed on the branch beside Rasca and they continued talking in a lower voice. Venom growled impatiently.

"You need to control your temper, Venom. Take it easy," I suggested. "You could always go to the lake yourself if you're worried about missing her. Unless you need an evolved Pokémon holding your tail as you cross the street or something."

"I don't," Venom grumbled.

"Too scared to talk to her without me? Can't make small talk without me interrupting with degrading comments about mutual subjects of distaste?" I guessed. Venom didn't answer. I love how responsive everyone is lately. Uru, that Crobat, Wira, and Venom all seem to have issues with consistent replies. At least Uru was consistent in not answering the questions.

Eh, whatever. I was starting to agree with Venom in thinking that we shouldn't waste more time before looking for Amethyst. If she left and returned to the Rocket base, all our time and effort would be wasted now that entering the base ourselves was more than out of the question. If we had any chance of contacting Amethyst, it would be before she returned to the base itself. As far as I could tell, the other four Pokémon were nothing more than dead weight in this scenario, so Venom and I could just go find her on our own, whether they wanted to come or not.

"Hey, we're going to go down to the lake and try to find Amethyst," I announced. The two avian nodded, Rasca in a friendly way, Wira's more of a curt jerk of acknowledgement. Neither the Crobat nor Uru replied beyond a glance in our direction, so forget them.

Only a minute into our miniature journey did it occur to me that Venom wasn't fast enough on land to keep up with my far faster floating speed, so I withdrew him into his Pokeball to save time. Without the burden of accounting for Venom's inability to levitate, I ascended higher into the air to scope out my surroundings. I can't go too high or the Rockets, if pursuing in any form, would have too easy of a time finding me. No thanks, I'd like not to be bothered by idiotic humans with a death wish.

The lake itself stood out quite a bit. It was the nearest body of water of note and I had already been there once today. From my position, I couldn't tell if the Milotic was present, but that hardly concerned me. If she was, she'd most likely be underwater and the reflection of the sun off the water made it too difficult to verify whether she was underwater. I'd have to either find a better angle or go closer. I opted for the latter, going over the treetops directly towards my destination. Closer usually yields a better angle and as an added bonus, I end up at the desired location. Even if unfortunate enough to miss the Milotic, there was the chance of figuring out where she was and catching up before she returned to base.

It took only a few minutes to reach the lakeshore and descend to my usual height off the ground. I gazed around quickly, alert for signs of attack. Instead, I heard a slight choking sound, prompting to whirl my head around to see a familiar face. A familiar face that looked like it was melted and ugly. I think I wish I had forgotten his face. The rest of his body wasn't much better: a vague outline of a slug made of semi-liquid fire.

"You should really look into the fire extinguisher option, Flare. Burning like that can't be healthy."

The Slugma scowled, but didn't reply. Oh look, I can make a diagonal line across my tallies now. Five unresponsive Pokémon in less than two hours. If I ever break this record, I should hit the sixth unresponsive Pokémon.

"So tell me, Flare...how fares the continued Rocket lifestyle?" I prompted, flicking my tail in a gesture for him to speak. The Slugma adopted a smug look, which I promptly wiped off his face by slapping his fiery cheek. I didn't even register his body heat in the blow. "Until you are in a position that permits smugness, it's an invalid expression," I told him.

"Does being Amethyst's favored count?" Flare sneered.

"No, not really," I said, tapping my chin. "She picked you as her lackey? Why?"

"Because unlike you, she appreciates talent," Flare retorted. I snickered.

"I appreciate talent. You just didn't have any. Your battle strategy is analyzed as 'skill-less combo'. Meaning, every technique at your disposal is for the sole purpose of cheap strategies like distraction and confusion to the point of eventual incapacitation. And we have better Pokémon for such styles, like Zubat and Koffing. Unlike you, Zubat can move fast."

"I never thought you were one to analyze styles," Flare sneered, but his yellow eyes were narrowed in distaste. Like I care what he thinks about my statements.

"I'm not," I agreed. "But I hear things. Now, we could argue for a while longer and I'd win, or you could let me know if Amethyst is around."

"What makes you think she is?" Flare asked suspiciously.

"You mentioned her, remember?"

"Mentioning doesn't mean she's nearby," Flare snorted. At that moment, the surface of the water was broken by the head of a gorgeous serpentine Pokémon. It had primarily tan scales glistening with drops of water from the swim. Long red fins draped from her head where eyebrows would be. Her gaze lingered on me and she froze in place, her expression curious. Flare frowned. "Well, maybe she is..."

"I thought so," I smirked. "Hey Amethyst. You're looking beautiful, as usual."

"Dragonair," Amethyst replied with a gentle nod of her head. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Roughly a year, if memory serves," I agreed. The Milotic nodded.

"I've heard things, nevertheless," Amethyst said, her voice calm, but there was no mistaking the knowledge in her eyes. "Your career change."

"Resignation," I corrected sharply. The Milotic nodded again.

"It is one thing to resign, but another to betray your old team, Dragonair," she reminded me. I frowned.

"I have reasons for my decision, Amethyst."

Amethyst smiled for a moment, "You have a justification for everything. I've come to expect that from you." The smile faltered. "But we will inevitably fight if you keep up your activities."

"I'm not worried."

"You never are."

"Amethyst," Flare interjected, sounding smug again. "Shouldn't we getting back? Best not to associate with Pokémon like him."

Amethyst scowled and fixed the Slugma with a death glare, promptly shutting him up. She turned her gaze back to me, "What brings you here, Dragonair?"

"Multiple reasons, actually," I said, feeling a surge of vindictive pleasure at seeing Flare squirm. Looks like he's not entirely in the Milotic's good books. He was such a suck-up and probably bitter that I didn't like him. If he wasn't such a jerk to Ember I might have felt differently, but come on, how thick does someone have to be to realize that being a dick to your superior's friend will probably turn out poorly when it comes down to promotions and privileges?

"I'm listening," Amethyst prompted, indeed giving me an attentive look.

"Firstly, the chance of catching up with you. After a year, I'm quite curious about your career. You're an executive now, right?"

"Yes," the Milotic said with a smile.

"Not as easy as you thought?" I guessed. Management positions were stressful as hell, but the ignorant seemed to think being an executive meant you got to laze around and order people around. I only did that because I was lazy. I don't have to fill out paperwork, lacking the proper anatomy to do so, and being a dragon-type just made it easier to throw my weight around, so to speak.

"It's not bad," Amethyst said.

"And you picked the slug as your protégé? Bad choice, Amethyst."

"Why's that?"

"Because he's an unlikable mass of fire and slime. Your protégé should be someone you like or would be a stand-in for you if you have to give bad news. I mean, it's a lot easier to beat him to a pulp if you announced a pay-cut than beating you, especially with my anti-chauvinistic approach to life, but aside from that he's not that useful."

"Shut up, you stupid snake!" Flare snapped. I ignored him. Ha, take that, unresponsive slug!

"Hm. Noted," Amethyst didn't seem too convinced, but I wasn't going to let that bother me. "Is it true you have a mate?"

"Yup, lucky me. Yourself?"

"No."

"Ah, such a pity. In other news, I heard a friend of mine was at your location. Remember Ember?"

"The Charmander," Amethyst said promptly. So her memory hasn't failed her yet. Then again, if Ember really had been at the base, it made sense that the Milotic had seen her, maybe even spoken to her.

"What can you tell me about her situation? Is she still there?" I asked. Amethyst frowned.

"She was assigned to one of our best trainers almost immediately after reinstatement..."

I choked, staring at the Milotic. "Reinstatement?" Why in Celebi's name would Ember have gotten reinstated? Did she want to go back to the Rockets? I couldn't understand why she had gone there originally and if she had gotten reinstated...that meant she went back. And now she was assigned to a trainer? "What trainer?"

"Oh, that would be Adrian Miles. Very skilled trainer and battler. He was the first one to identify our poison threat."

"Poison threat?" I repeated.

"Several incidents have occurred where one or more of the grunt Pokémon have been hospitalized, the conditions varying from a simple poison to a fatal venom that drives the victim insane before death. Adrian and another grunt went out and made a report on the suspected attacker. He identified it as an Ariados," Amethyst said. I gaped at her. An Ariados?

"Tell me a bit more about this Adrian guy," I said, regaining my composure. Amethyst didn't comment on my change of topic.

"He was recruited a few months back and was determined by the scouts to be of exceptional skill with raising Pokémon. Since then he's been proven to be very competent in the field and undercover work. What's your interest in him?"

"Wondering if I ever heard of him before. I guess not. That and he's got Ember. What else is he training?"

"At last check, he's training a Ralts, your Charmander friend, and her mate."

I choked again, this time fighting laughter. "What mate?!"

"A Leafeon male," Amethyst said, giving me a weird look. "Was it recent? They seemed quite close. She had him on a leash."

I couldn't hold back my hysterical laughter at this point. This was too much. There was no way Ember and Leaf were actually mates...well, maybe a slim chance. They didn't have much interaction until recently, and the little interaction I had seen suggested Leaf wasn't going to be interested, mainly due to blatant pyrophobia. Ember just wasn't the type to start a relationship abruptly, anyway. During discussions, she always said she wanted someone who would care about her and that she could trust. While Leaf was definitely a catch, personality wise, I didn't think it was likely Ember, an eight year Charmander, would want to be mated to a two-year old Leafeon. Then again, she had read that Breeder's book about Eevee and their evolutions, so I couldn't be sure. Her distaste for Charmeleon always gave me the impression she had no interest in a member of her own specie.

And a leash? A LEASH? She put a two year old self-conscious male Leafeon on a leash and walked into a Rocket base claiming him as her mate? I didn't think she was into that sort of thing. I'm dying to talk to her now, just to figure out what the hell was up with that.

"I have no clue...but I really want to find out," I said, once I was finally calm enough to speak. Amethyst chuckled.

"No one else wanted to ask."

"And what's up with that Ralts?"

"It knows Aura Sphere," Flare answered.

"Thank you Amethyst. I thought you were beautiful and not an ugly blob of magma," I sneered at the Slugma. I turned to the serpentine Pokémon once more. "Excuse that. Now...how does a Ralts know Aura Sphere?"

"We don't know. Its mother was a Gardevoir. We don't know anything about the father. On a hunch, it may have been a Togetic or a Lucario or perhaps a descendant of one. Aura Sphere is a very, very rare technique, and the mother being a Ralts line Pokémon means the technique likely came from the father's side. We don't know."

"Pity," I mused. "So tell me, where is this Adrian?"

"He was put on a new assignment," Amethyst said. I stared at her. "He shipped his Pokémon ahead. I don't know where, but it's not in Johto."

"You ship grunts cross-region for assignments?"

"No, it's very unusual," Amethyst admitted. "It's because of his skills that he can be used for other, maybe more low key operations in Kanto, Hoenn, or Sinnoh."

"Celebi damn it," I sighed. "Do you know how I can find out where they went?"

"No. The information is classified. I'm sorry."

"Whatever. Last thing on the agenda is this," I said, taking out Venom's Pokeball and releasing the Gyarados from the sphere. Amethyst's eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the angry-looking water serpent.

"Venom?"

"Amethyst," Venom replied with a smirk. There was a nice long awkward silence.

"Excuse me, Amethyst," a quiet voice spoke. The three of us and Flare turned towards the sudden speaker and I raised an eye scale at the Crobat from before, which was now hanging upside down from a branch overhanging the water.

"Yes, Crobat?" Amethyst inquired, smiling more than she had earlier. Amazing, someone who cheers up when he or she sees Venom.

"Uh...I go by Aseal now."

"You go by what, now?" I demanded.

"Aseal," the Crobat repeated slowly. "A-S-E-A-L".

"Aseal," we all repeated simultaneously with the same thoughtful tone to our words. Venom and Amethyst grinned and chuckled to themselves.

"Well...Aseal," Amethyst said, looking briefly puzzled. "Wait, why did you change your name?"

"Crobat proved to be too cliché, so he wisely selected a name that instead sounds like he should be speaking with an accent," I snorted.

"Uru suggested it," Aseal said defensively, giving me a look that plainly warned me not to criticize. "I like it."

"Well...what did you need, uh...Aseal?" Amethyst asked, looking like she wanted to ask more questions, but had decided against it.

"I'm resigning."

"Aren't you supposed to give two weeks notice?" I asked.

"You didn't," Flare noted. He's right. Instead I blew up a Rocket lab. That got the desired result.

"Resigning?" Amethyst repeated. She received a nod in reply. "Oh. Well...I appreciate you informing me. I...wish you well, I guess. Any particular reason for the decision?"

"Perhaps."

"Could you elaborate, please?"

"I rather not."

"Was there a problem?"

"No."

Amethyst sighed, evidently giving up on the game of twenty questions. "All right. I won't stop you."

"Thank you," the Crobat said.

"Do you stop other people from resigning?" I asked seriously.

"Depends on who captured them," Amethyst replied.

"Hey Venom, what's the deal here?" I asked the Gyarados impatiently. "You were whining about seeing Amethyst for the last week and now you finally see her. Cue passionate kiss?"

"I'm so gone," Flare said, edging away from us. Amethyst and Venom both rolled their eyes.

"You can head back, Flare. I'll be there in about a half hour," the Milotic suggested. The Slugma frowned, looking towards me suspiciously. "Go ahead, Flare. Really, I can manage."

"And if she can't, you're not much help here, anyway," I taunted. "This is why I favored Ember over you. She had a purpose as pseudo-body guard."

"Fine. Don't be late," the Slugma muttered, ignoring me and oozing his way out of sight. Amethyst rolled her eyes again, turning her focus to Venom.

"Hang on, before you issue some romantic sentiment or cringe-inducing rejection statement to my Magikarp pal...temper, Venom, make a good impression. Anyway, did any of you notice that we're all serpentine Pokémon, with at least one draconic ancestor, and we're all Rocket Pokémon executives?" I asked.

"I noticed the snake thing," Venom muttered.

"And yes, I noticed the executive thing."

"But not the draconic ancestor?" I asked, disappointed.

"Venom had a dragon ancestor?" Amethyst asked.

"Amethyst had one?"

"Wow, you never talked about your family trees? What is wrong with you two? Potential mates ALWAYS jabber about their family tree!" I said, exasperated. And sarcastic, too. "Well, that's just pathetic. You two probably don't even know basic things about one another, such as what each other's favorite flavor of Jell-O is."

"Raspberry-lime," Venom said promptly. I stared at him.

"I...wasn't actually expecting an answer to that."


	275. Conclusion

**Dragonair POV**

"So," I stated, my attention switching between the other two aquatic serpentine Pokémon. Ever since Venom's answer, neither of them had spoken a word and Amethyst's face shone an attractive rosy shade. "Either of you can speak if the mood strikes you. Awkward silences tend to disappear when it's not silent anymore. That's the whole problem with vocal pauses, you know. You make a sound to keep the awkward silence away, with the downside being that you sound unprepared."

"What are you talking about?" Venom scowled.

"Why, I was speaking about vocal pauses, such as 'uh', 'um', and so on. During speeches and-"

"Dragonair, please shut up."

"Sure thing, Amey."

"...excuse me?"

"You want me to talk again? Make up your mind, please," I said, trying not to laugh at the Milotic's expression. "No matter, you two seem ready to start talking. Might I recommend the conversation topic becoming your alleged relationship and the path it might take?"

"Why would we talk about that?" Amethyst asked, raising an eye scale.

"Because I want to eavesdrop."

"Can't fault his logic," Amethyst muttered. Venom rolled his eyes. I grinned.

"Good. So tell me, my lovely Amethyst, how do you feel about this Magikarp?" I gestured my tail at Venom, who gave me a death glare in response. Amethyst rolled her eyes.

"Can you ever ask a question that isn't that blunt?" Venom growled.

"A blunt question gets a blunt answer. That's why I always showed you the Lead Pipe or Wrench cards, and sometimes the Candlestick if the mood was right."

"What?"

"He's punning with you, Venom," the Milotic told him.

"Yeah, get a Clue, Venom," I said. I deserve to be hit for these puns, but Venom's reaction was worth it. "So Amethyst...do you have any romantic inclination towards this helpless fish that splashes in puddles?" I turned to Venom. "Better?"

"I hate you so much," Venom grumbled.

"You never know, maybe someone has a thing for those fish. Makes bondage scenarios-"

"Please don't finish that sentence," Amethyst sighed.

"Oh right, Feebas have that problem too, don't they?"

"DON'T CALL HER A FEEBAS!" Venom raged. Amethyst and I flinched simultaneously.

"I...didn't. She's very clearly a Milotic, Venom," I replied calmly. "Control that temper or she's going to think you're going to be a mindless psychopath. Not the impression you want to send someone you're head over tail for..."

"Shut the hell up!" snarled Venom, his eye twitching. I observed his reaction with satisfaction. If that was his reaction to misinterpreting a comment about Feebas, I wasn't surprised he and I stopped getting along ages ago. Even with our misunderstanding moderately cleared up, it was obvious to me that we'd never really return to the way it was so long before, during my Dratini days. Life goes on.

"Now really, cool off a bit. I'm asking Amey a simple-"

"What did you call me?"

"Amey. It's easier to say than your full name."

"Don't...don't call me that, please."

"If you insist."

"I do," she nodded.

"And how do you feel about Venom? Do you still experience a lingering trace of romantic interest in him, despite his angry outburst in your defense?"

"Uh..."

"Putting you on the spot? Good. Serves you right for letting an awkward silence fall."

"Dragonair..."

"No, no, please don't let my presence prevent either of you from discussing your relationship issues. If nothing else, it'll be something for me to snicker at as you struggle to word your sentences properly. Spelling counts."

"When does spelling apply when communicating verbally?" asked Amethyst. Huh, she's used to my sense of humor. Then again, we spent a lot of time in close contact prior to her transfer. Even so, it's refreshing to talk to someone with swift responses that counteract my comments. Great, now I miss Sapphire. She didn't have the same sense of humor as Amethyst, and she wasn't as tolerant of depreciating remarks, but I enjoy the feeling I get when I'm around her. Amethyst offered a similar feeling, but it just wasn't the same. I need to get back to her soon. I had been de-evolved and Sapphire told me where she planned to settle down, so very few things were preventing me from returning to her. There were just a few things on my agenda I wanted to finish up first.

"Go on, Venom," I prompted, prodding the Gyarados with my tail. "Pretend I'm not here."

"It's a lot easier to do when you're not here," muttered Venom. I chuckled.

"You can't pretend I'm absent if I'm actually absent. 'Pretend' being the key word there. And how can I eavesdrop if I leave the scene? How about I start you two off with your discussion?"

"I'd rather you didn't," sighed the Gyarados. I obviously ignored him.

"Do you still like each other?"

"Didn't you do this pseudo mate-counselor thing once before and it only served to demonstrate how unsympathetic you are when couples have arguments?" Amethyst asked. I grinned.

"Oh, you remember that, don't you?"

Venom snorted, "After the injuries you sustained in the process, I'd be surprised if anyone forgot."

"They only required a week in recovery. It wasn't that notable," I argued. Venom and Amethyst rolled their eyes. "You seem to be comfortable talking about me, so let's try to dedicate that level of comfort to talking about your love lives. You set a time limit, Amethyst."

"What are you hoping we talk about?" the Milotic asked curiously.

"I kind of wonder whether you two are couple-material," I admitted.

"We are."

"Says who?"

"She did, you stupid snake!" Venom snapped. I raised my tail and wagged it disapprovingly in front of his face.

"All three of us are serpentine. Don't insult us all when you try to insult me."

"Then shut up!"

"No, I don't think I will," I replied, grinning. Venom seethed, quieting down with Amethyst touched him with her tail. So that's how she handles him. I sighed, knowing what was coming next. Well, no reason not to have one more instance of fun with them. "So...about that passionate kiss?"

"Not when you're here," Amethyst said. I blinked.

"I'd kiss Sapphire in front of you."

"No, you wouldn't," Venom snorted, smirking. "If memory serves, you wouldn't know flirting if it stroked your tail and involved nuzzling."

"Uh...how the hell did you know about that?"

"Wait, that actually happened?" Venom gaped at me. Amethyst giggled and they exchanged looks. "Congratulations. You will never live this down."

"Sure, I will. Oh, by the way, Amethyst..." I paused as the Milotic made a 'hm' sound and looked at me. I extended my tail and dropped Venom's Pokeball on the ground before her. "Here's his ball, make sure he gets plenty of exercise and make sure you feed him at least twice a day."

"What?" Both of them stared at me with a comically blank look on their faces.

"Well, Amethyst is a Rocket executive and you're a Rocket executive that was all but forced into retirement. If Amethyst got Ember reinstated, then it should be no problem to do similarly with you."

Venom continued to give me a blank stare. I chuckled, nevertheless feeling a small pang that I couldn't perfectly identify the source behind.

"Venom, I know you. I know you're a Rocket at heart and will always be a Rocket. I promised to help you get back to Amethyst and that's what I did. You probably wouldn't like the traveling that I'd do, since you are neither a Dragonair nor a descendant of a Kingdra, so you can't travel as quickly. There's not really a benefit to keeping you in a Pokeball all the time to travel and again you wouldn't really like the traveling anyway."

"That's true," Venom mused.

"Just because you had your career and trainer torn away from you by that damned phantom, doesn't mean it has to stay that way, correct? Go back to the Rockets if you want to. There's only one catch to this."

"Oh? What's that?" the Gyarados asked, sneering. I know that's just to hide how he truly feels about the situation.

"Stop trying to kill me. It really puts a damper on mocking the hell out of you," I answered. Both of them laughed, Amethyst smiling and shaking her head, Venom retaining his angry glare, but it seemed too forced to be genuine. "Now then, don't let me hold you up any longer. Get back to your base. Oh, which reminds me...Venom might get some dirty looks for helping me cause havoc."

"...you did what, now?" Amethyst asked, looking horrified.

"I was looking for you and Electra acted like a bitch, which forced me to fight my way out," I explained. Amethyst groaned.

"Thanks for the extra work."

"Not," Venom added. I think it was pretty obvious she was being sarcastic, so thanks for being superfluous, Venom.

"Any time, Amey. Enjoy your overtime. Oh wait, you don't get paid."

"Good bye, Dragonair," the Milotic sighed, leaving the water.

"How about we do this again sometime?"

"Mhm...I was thinking not," Amethyst confessed.

"I'll drop by anyway. Fighting security is fun." Neither of them replied. I nodded, "It's a date. See you later." With that, I floated away from the lake. I don't have a destination in mind; I just wanted to be the one doing the exit following one of those types of conversations. I couldn't shake the subtle feeling of loss the further I moved from the lake.

Despite my claims to the contrary, I probably wasn't going to see either of them again. If Sapphire planned to settle down in Hoenn, then I'd probably never return to Johto. There was just too much distance between the two regions, especially Hoenn and Violet City. It played upon the assumption that they wouldn't leave that base by getting transferred somewhere else, or even that they'd remain with the Rockets. I had never before given any serious thought to settling down, what with my Rocket career in front of me whenever the topic normally came up. Since leaving, my life had been rather hectic, what with varying objectives that always seemed to revolve around 'find ally, discover they turned crazy, and try to fix it'. All this crap cascaded down on me because of that evil phantom.

Well, that was over. He was dead. He was gone. I had seen him die in the last moments of the shrine's existence...

_Flames licked at the machinery in the corner of the shrine as the web of draconic beams of energy lanced throughout the shrine. The Pichu's face was wrinkled in pain, yet I refused to let up my assault. If Spark had to die...then he would die. I was done hesitating, done playing the merciful fool. If the kit had to die to destroy Diablos, then it was I alone who had the right to bring that death to him._

_Spark's eyes closed and he pitched forward, his yellow fur singed. From the Pichu's body, emerged the terrifying form of the phantom. The yellow eyes stared into mine, a cruel gleam within those yellow orbs. I directed as much of my Dragon Pulse towards this shape, my rage intensifying at the smug look present within that monster. The eyes flashed with a triumphant gleam and the shadow began to disintegrate, not fading out like a ghost would, but rather crumbling apart like a dry cookie. The wisps of shadow disappeared as if they never existed. The phantom gave no sign of pain as it disappeared, and only those eyes gave any indication it felt anything at all. The golden spheres, staring hungrily into my soul, seeing through me in a moment and piercing my mind...only to blink out suddenly like broken bulbs._

I shook myself of that memory, noting how cold I felt all of a sudden. Diablos I felt no pity for. After all he had done to me, to Ember, to Blaze, and to Spark...I'd never forgive him. He was gone now. Maybe now I'd finally have peace of mind again.

"Hey!" I looked up at the shout and saw the Crobat hanging upside down from a tree overhead. I stared up at him. "Where are you going?"

"Not sure," I admitted. The Crobat, Aseal or whatever, chuckled.

"Mind if I tag along for a while?" he asked.

"I guess not. Why?"

Aseal shrugged his wings. Sadly, that's a good enough reason for me. He had officially retired from the Rockets and it was rather unlikely it was an elaborate ruse to stab me in the back. And now with Venom out of the picture, I was short a traveling companion. And if the bat wanted to follow me around for a while, I didn't really care. Experience taught me that a potential ally was far from a bad thing to have. Ember, Sapphire, even Blaze and Aura, they all helped out in tight spots. Rasca had proven her usefulness and Uru...she's just weird.

"So...Aseal, right?" The bat nodded in reply. "How on earth did you get that name?"

"Uru came up with it," Aseal said, once again getting defensive.

"How?"

"I dunno," Aseal answered, shrugging his wings again. "I like it. Does it matter?"

"Well, it's...unique," I admitted. Unique to the point of absurd. I can't really fault it beyond insulting the way it's spelled and how a Spheal with that name would be a horrible pun. The problem was the taunt doesn't work when the name belongs to a Crobat. "Why did you retire, anyway?" I asked, catching the bat by surprise.

"I...wanted to pursue other things," he said after a short pause.

"Like what? Tennis? Water polo?"

"No, I just didn't care much for the Rockets anymore," Aseal said, stretching his wings. He moves his wings a lot. I suppose a four-winged bat Pokémon with very small feet might hold its wings in higher regard, but I still found it strange.

"Why did you announce your retirement when you could have just flown off?" I asked, going in the direction the others had been when Venom and I went to find Amethyst.

"Well, Rasca said it was more polite," Aseal answered, now flying silently overhead. I only knew he was there due to the movement from the corner of my eye and the fact his voice didn't change volume as if he was remaining behind.

I rolled my eyes. "Not by much."

"It was something to do," Aseal argued.

"Here's another question," I said, looking up at him. "Why didn't you join in the fighting before, and why did you help us without hesitation?"

Aseal frowned, "I told you, I didn't care for the Rockets anymore."

"Enough to randomly avoid a skirmish and then assist the anti-Rocket group without knowing anything about them?" I challenged. "Sounds farfetched, truth be told."

Aseal's frown deepened, "I watched Uru battle."

"You also watched her eat, but I still fail to see the logic behind your actions."

The Crobat didn't respond for several seconds. "I like her."

"Clarify the definition of 'like' for me, please."

"I admire her," Aseal said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh good, because if you had a crush or something, that'd be sort of creepy," I noted. Aseal didn't say anything. I frowned. "Wait, where the hell are they?" I demanded, looking around for signs of the Ariados, Fearow, or even the Swellow.

"Oh, you were meeting up with them?" Aseal asked. "Uru wanted me to tell you that she has something to take care of, but she hopes to meet up with you again."

"Does she?" I said, my voice dripping with skepticism. Amethyst had mentioned an Ariados having attacked Rocket Pokémon recently and for some reason, I couldn't shake my suspicion of Uru. Sure, she could be another Ariados and just inconveniently happened to be near Rockets on the lookout for Ariados, but then I remembered that Uru had threatened to poison Electra. If an Ariados was going around poisoning Rockets, and Uru happens to be a poison-happy arachnid...it was suspicious. It didn't help I knew next to nothing about her and she evaded most questions. And now she had scuttled off somewhere and vaguely mentioned the possibility of meeting up with me again. How...ominous. "What about Rasca?"

"Hm? Oh, she and Wira are still talking," Aseal said, gesturing one wing ahead of us. Sure enough, I could make out the outline of two avian Pokémon perched in a tree, the Swellow somehow blending in almost flawlessly with the colors around her. How a black and white bird with red feathers can be that well concealed in a tree during springtime was a mystery.

"Oh, hey Dragonair," Rasca said brightly, noticing our approach.

"Uru left?" I verified. The Fearow nodded, whereas Wira shrugged her wings indifferently. "What'cha talking about?"

"Cusil."

"Very informative. Who the hell is that?" I demanded.

"The friend I mentioned before," Rasca explained.

"The one you tried calling for help when Volt attacked us?"

"That's the one," Rasca said, stretching her wings. That seems to be a very popular gesture these days. Wira snorted, but no one paid her much attention, even when Aseal perched upside down on the branch under her talons.

"And who is he?"

"A friend of hers, weren't you listening?" Wira sneered.

"How much of a friend? Acquaintance? Ally? Casual friend? Close friend? Mate?" I stopped when Rasca and Wira both doubled over in laughter, the Swellow's sounding more like a cackle than a normal laugh. "What?"

"A mate?" Wira repeated, snorting with mocking amusement.

"Cusil's a Weavile," Rasca clarified, still laughing softly.

"Oh." Well, there goes my theory about him being a male avian that she had a crush on.

"Rasca's not looking for a mate, anyway," Wira scoffed. "And I doubt he's interested in bird Pokémon."

"Didn't he flirt with you once, Wira?" teased Rasca.

"Calling me a pretty bird with a sour note is not a flirting remark, Rasca," replied the Swellow.

"Hey Rasca," I interrupted, ensnaring the Fearow's attention. "I plan to be taking off in a bit. What's your plan?"

"I dunno. What's yours?" Rasca asked, tilting her head at me.

"I'll probably be heading to Hoenn next," I answered, taking a moment to weigh my options. I had nothing really else to do. "Your choice whether to stick around or not. Oh wait...maybe I'll head over to Blackthorn for a bit..."

"Blackthorn?" Wira repeated. "What the hell for?"

"None of your business, shut the hell up," I replied impatiently. To my surprise, that actually worked, but it earned me a death glare. Pretty soon I'm going to have to up my quota. Interaction with Venom alone earned me half of the week's quota.

"I'll probably travel with you a while longer, in that case," Rasca answered, stretching her wings. "Assuming you have no objections."

"I said it was your choice," I reminded her. The Fearow chuckled.

"That you did."

"Wira can't come," I said promptly.

"Like I'd want to," the Swellow sneered. "Later, Rasca," she said, taking to the sky and flying off. Rasca smiled fondly after the other bird Pokémon.

"She a friend of yours?"

"Close friend," Rasca affirmed.

"How?" I blurted.

"She's not that bad once you get to know her," Rasca said, in a tone that clearly conveyed that she was used to that sort of reaction.

"We'll take your word on that," I said, unconvinced. Aseal chuckled, whereas Rasca shrugged her wings.

"It's really not that bad once you get used to it," she said finally.

"Don't people tell you the same thing before getting your leg amputated?"


	276. Parental Favor

**Dragonair POV**

The sun was just setting by the time we arrived at the outskirts of Blackthorn City. On my request, Rasca flew over the city, reporting upon her return that there were lingering traces of damage, but for the most part the small city had returned to its previous state. Well, at least the fight with the Porygon2 hadn't wiped the city out. Of course, Blackthorn wasn't a metropolis like Goldenrod or Saffron...not sure what cities were the Hoenn or Sinnoh equivalents, but I'm sure every region has one city with more popularity and business than the others. The fact Blackthorn had built up so many vendor locations since my last visit a year or two back was surprising in itself. In the past, the city was home mostly to dragon trainers and elite trainers wishing to challenge the gym leader. Maybe it had received more tourism?

Aseal perched under a branch just over my head, his wings wrapped loosely around his body. Rasca remained in the air, her regal wings flapping occasionally to maintain her height. Both were watching me expectantly, but I chose to maintain my silence a while longer. Even during the trip here, I hadn't managed to come to a final decision. What I had in mind was not as risky as trying to reunite Venom with Amethyst, but that didn't guarantee it being easier.

"What are you going to do here?" asked Rasca. Aseal nodded in agreement.

"Truth be told, my quest doesn't involve Blackthorn at all."

"What?"

"Quest, a journey or effort in pursuit of a goal, or a mission. Goal, a result one desires to achieve. Blackthorn, the city in Johto we are presently on the outskirts of. Outskirts..."

"I think we got that," Aseal interrupted. "I meant why come to Blackthorn if you don't need to be at Blackthorn."

"Oh, we need to be at Blackthorn," I corrected. Both of them stared at me. I raised an eye scale. "What?"

"You don't need to be at Blackthorn, but you do?" Aseal asked.

"If we didn't need to be at Blackthorn, I wouldn't have come here, obviously," I pointed out, rolling my eyes. Of course, I knew precisely where their communication logic was off, but I wanted to see how long it'd take them to catch on. My hunch was on Rasca, since our first conversation revealed that she caught on to word games surprisingly quick for someone who didn't know how prone I was to playing them.

Rasca squinted at me. "Let me guess-"

"Please do."

The Fearow chuckled. "You need to be near Blackthorn, not IN Blackthorn?"

"Ten points to the long beaked bird."

"Even so, why do you have to be near Blackthorn?" Aseal prompted.

"Hey Aseal?"

"Yes, Dragonair?"

"There's a concept known as patience, the gist of it being that you don't require answers immediately and are content to let events play out without nagging for every little detail. For example, you could be pleased that I revealed that the city itself is not important, but instead you insist on knowing WHY it's not important."

Aseal frowned, an amusing expression to see when said bat was upside down. "I see nothing wrong with that."

"And I see nothing wrong with moving on without bothering to explain every tiny detail of my thought process," I answered smoothly. "Shall we?" I gestured in one direction with my tail and proceeded in that direction without waiting for a response. As much as I'd love to stop and explain my plan step-by-step, it was frivolous to do so when the answer would be clear without a few minutes, assuming nothing went wrong. Even with the relatively simple task ahead, simple in theory, anyway, there was absolutely no guarantee that some unforeseen complication wouldn't emerge from the gloom.

It took me several minutes to find the path I was looking for. I should have paid a little more attention when Sapphire showed me where to go, but whatever. The surroundings had enough familiarity for me to work out where I was supposed to go. Now where did she start veering off the path? Ah, here was the spot where we cut through a narrow group of trees. To verify, I paused to listen carefully. If indeed I was at the correct location, I'd be able to hear water rushing. Rasca and Aseal paused on the branches of the trees on either side of me, neither speaking, yet wearing identical expressions of uncertainty.

"Hear water?" I asked them, still listening. They exchanged looks but listened as well, Aseal's ears twitching.

"Yes," he said.

"Good, we're in the right spot," I replied cheerily, continuing on my way. All I needed to do now was follow the sound of water and I'd emerge by the small waterfall Sapphire had shown me earlier this month. It wasn't long before the sound of water rushing became clearer and the trees broke aside to reveal a large pool before me, a waterfall pouring out from the side of a rock wall. Rasca flew ahead of me and perched atop this wall, looking around cautiously. I moved over to the edge of the pool and squinted at the depths of the water, hoping to see the Dratini pair that Sapphire had introduced me to. Being Dratini, I doubted they left the area often. It had taken me quite some time to master slithering, but seeing as they were Sapphire parents, and she was almost a month older than me, they undoubtedly had far more experience slithering and swimming than I could, especially since those skills hadn't been dulled by evolution, as mine were.

"Nice area," admitted Aseal, landing on the ledge overlooking the pool, for once being right side up when not flying.

"What were you looking for here?" Rasca asked.

"A pair of Dratini," I answered, dipping the tip of my tail into the water, creating a disturbance marked by the expanding ripples in the water. Less than a minute later, a Dratini's head broke the surface of the water, the smaller water dragon raising its head cautiously. Moments later, a second Dratini joined the first. "Hello!" I said, waving my tail at them.

"Hello," the female Dratini said, smiling. "Dragonair, right?"

"Aww, you remembered me," I said, grinning.

"Not difficult to remember the mate of our daughter," the male pointed out. His smile faltered. "Assuming, of course, that you're still her mate."

"I am," I said quickly, again feeling the sense of awkwardness I had experienced the last time I had been around Sapphire's parents. What was it about them that caused the discomfort? Was it because I hadn't had much experience with parental figures or because I wanted to make a good impression? I probably wouldn't ever know for certain. For all I knew, I was nervous around them because they were some of the few dragon Pokémon I had ever encountered and they were logically older, wiser, and stronger than I was, even at my evolved state. On that train of thought, they parented the dragoness I was mated to, who was MUCH stronger than I was. Not that this bothered me. Dragonesses being the superior half of a couple were far from rare...I think.

"Good. May I ask where she is?" the male pressed, watching me with an odd expression.

"Hoenn. There's a long story attached to it, but I don't want to get into it," I told them, silently thanking Celebi that Rasca and Aseal had chosen thus far to remain silent and not disturb the conversation. Aseal was in plain view, but neither of the smaller dragons had chosen to acknowledge him beyond a glance.

"We have time," the male reminded me. I winced.

"The story is irrelevant."

"How so?" the female asked quickly. I sighed.

"It can be summed up as 'a complicated series of events occurring over several days, none of them involving Sapphire, as she had gone to our ultimate destination whereas I needed to backtrack to Kanto'. Satisfied?"

"Yes, that'll do, thank you," the female said, nuzzling her mate. Both of them had relaxed, which was a fairly good sign. "Why are you here?" she asked after a short pause.

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd ask that. You see...my next plan of action is to return to where Sapphire is. Quite frankly, our relationship is rather underdeveloped for the amount of time we've known each other. She might disagree, but that's the way I see it. We've known each other for roughly a year, but we've spent an inconsistent amount of time together."

"So you want to develop the romance more? A good plan and it makes sense, but that didn't explain why you came here, especially if Sapphire is in Hoenn," the male Dratini noted.

"Now that the intention explanation is out of the way, I can proceed with the purpose of my visit. In the course of the complicated events, the Pichu kit Sapphire and I were caring for...well, it's complicated, but he got hurt."

"I see...that's awful," the female stated softly.

"On the plus side, he's alive and will likely recover with time," I said. Now for the hard part of the conversation. "I'm hoping you'll do me the favor of taking him off my tail for a while."

"What?"

I winced at their response. "I'm hoping you'll take him off my tail for a while. Since meeting me, he has gotten the short end of the stick as far as danger goes. He has been bitten by a snake, scared, constantly under threat, kidnapped, had his parents kidnapped and later killed, kidnapped again, possessed by an evil spirit, and nearly killed a half-dozen times since that, most of the time due to some bizarre obsession someone has with me. He needs time to recover and also I think he'll be safer away from me for some time, for the reasons I just finished listing."

A long silence followed my summary. Holy mother of Celebi, it only just occurred to me how much hell Spark has been through in the last month and a half since meeting me, and he had to only be about three months old. How did this kit endure so much? Most people would have parted with their sanity long before this point, especially accounting for the non-Spark related havoc we'd been through. Granted, Blaze and Ember both cracked at least once under the stress and even I had my rough moments.

Finally, the male Dratini spoke. "Are you shirking the responsibility? Is he too much for you to handle so you're passing it off on us?"

"You know, when Sapphire's not here, you're really unpleasant to talk to," I noted, rolling my eyes. "If I was shirking the responsibility, I'd drop him off at a Pokémon Center and leave, rather than try to drop him off with my mate's parents and potentially leave a negative impression."

"Then why are you doing it?" the male asked, ignoring my first comment.

I sighed heavily. "I think I just finished an explanation of how his proximity to me in the last month and a half has put him in danger countless times. That sounds like a reason to keep him from me until matters settle down. Some things will need to be worked out with effort and I don't think a kit tagging along during that time would be a good idea. Now, I could leave him with Sapphire while I attend to some of the more pressing matters, but that's not fair to her."

"And it's fair to us?" the female Dratini asked, her tone less aggressive than her mate's.

"There's two of you, you're older than me unless Sapphire's parents are miraculously younger than Sapphire herself, you have more experience with kits and last I checked, you're not being targeted by psychopaths. During this time, I am also hoping to establish a stronger connection with Sapphire, a feat vastly more difficult if we're tending to an injured kit."

"That will be a future responsibility if you ever have a kit of your own, you know," the female pointed out gently.

"By that point, Sapphire and I should ALREADY have a stronger connection and therefore it wouldn't be a problem then. And you two DO want a grandkit, don't you?"

"Are you blackmailing us?" the male asked, amused.

"No, I considered it a logical series of events," I said. Rasca chuckled quietly from her perch and Aseal smirked. "If I don't establish a stronger connection with my mate, the relationship could fall flat and that would be disastrous to your life's ambition."

"Our life ambition is to have a grandkit? If so, you'd think we'd slip Sapphire an aphrodisiac or something," the female giggled. I stared at her.

"Please don't."

"So, if we take the kit off your tail, you'll-"

"Ah-ah-ah," I interrupted, wiggling my tail in a gesture similar to a waggled finger. "I'm not making a deal in any form. I'm trying to give Spark a safe place of care for a while until he's recovered. Regardless of your answer, my plan involving Sapphire remains the same. I just considered you two the best option for caring for him in the meantime."

"How do you propose we watch over a Pichu? We're Dratini and we live in this pool," the female asked, gesturing her tail around them. Hm, hadn't thought of that.

"And how long do you expect us to do it, assuming we agree?"

"I don't expect it to be longer than about a month," I said tentatively.

"Ah, but if you and Sapphire get really close...you may need to stay at her side for a while," the female warned teasingly, her meaning evident in the tone. My face flushed, the reaction surprising me. Since when do I normally blush?

"Uh...in which case, I doubt you two mind watching Spark a while longer."

The male smirked. "Touché."

"No guarantees on that."

"Of course not," the female giggled. They'll probably expect it anyway.

"So...your decision?"

"Shouldn't we see him first? You and Sapphire mentioned him the last time you were here, but we never actually met him." The female smiled expectantly. I silently removed the bag worn around my body and unzipped it with a quick charge of electricity. I reached my tail into the bag and pulled out the Pokeball still remaining inside. I flicked my tail and tapped the center, the ball bursting open and releasing the light silhouette, the brightness dimming down to reveal the electric type's yellow fur with black outlining. Spark was lying on his stomach, his small black tail twitching in his sleep.

Spark's ear twitched and he opened his eyes sleepily. I touched his back with my tail, drawing his attention to me. "Hi Dragon," Spark mumbled, yawning. Prior to the shrine's collapse, I had drawn the kit into one of the reinforced Pokeballs, shielding him from the worst of the damage. Diablos was already gone by that point, so I knew Spark was free from the possession. Before going to Violet City, I had checked his condition, relieved to see that he was exhausted, but not gravely injured.

"Hey Spark," I said gently, stroking his back with the tip of my tail. "How are you feeling, little guy?"

"Me tired," Spark yawned. He yelped abruptly, his eyes sparkling with tears. "That hurt! No do that!"

"Do what?" I asked, freezing in place.

"That!" Spark whined. That's going to be as specific as he's going to get, I can tell.

"Sorry," I muttered, awkwardly aware that both Dratini, Rasca, and Aseal were all watching me. For all I knew, the pain was caused by his yawning rather than by my contact. Either was possible, considering he was sore and bruised when I first checked his condition. I was surprised he wasn't worse off. I suppose it was related to the possession he had undergone. Although it wasn't logical, it seemed a remote possibility that Diablos took the worst of the blows upon himself to preserve his current host. Otherwise, there was no way the phantom had been so powerful and so pain-resistant if he was using only his victim's strength.

"Where we at?" Spark asked, his ears catching the sound of the waterfall. He sat up slowly and spotted Aseal perching just beside him. Rather than the expected display of surprise or fear, he poked the Crobat curiously. "Hi purple thing!"

"Purple thing?" Aseal repeated, looking himself over as I fought the urge to laugh.

"You cool, purple thing!" Spark chirped, poking Aseal again. Aseal flinched at the second prod, his mouth curving into a faint frown. Spark was cheerfully oblivious to his toy's discomfort and prodded him again. Aseal fluttered his wings irritably; something that only increased Spark's interest. "Ooh, one, two, me no know, me no know! You have me no know wings!"

"I sure do," Aseal said flatly. The two Dratini hid smiles. Rasca chuckled.

"Hey Spark? Try to save your energy, okay?" I suggested, patting him on the head with my tail. He nodded.

"Ow!" he whined again, this time holding his head. I winced. Maybe it was my contact hurting him.

"You're going to be an excellent parent at this rate," Aseal noted. "You're already learning what not to do."

"Hey Spark? I want you to meet these two Dratini. They're Sapphire's parents," I said, pointing my tail at the Dratini pair. Spark looked at them blankly, waved shyly, then looked at me uncertainly.

"Who they?"

"Uh...Sapphire's parents."

"Me no get."

"Let's see." I searched for the words to describe the message I wanted to get across to him. "Uh, pretty dragon's mommy and daddy?"

"Oh! Hi pretty dragon mommy! Hi pretty dragon daddy!" Spark chirped, but then winced and held his head. "Ow...me hurt."

"Listen, Spark...I want you to stay with them for a while."

"What?" Spark whined, looking at me with a terrified expression. "But me like Dragon! And where pretty dragon? And Ember?"

"Spark...you're hurt and you need to rest for a while, and I'm going to be busy for a while, so I can't watch you."

"But me no want lose Dragon!" Spark whimpered. "Me lose Mommy and Daddy and me no know where pretty dragon and Ember be. Me stay away strangers! They no know special word!"

"Yeah, they do," I said promptly. Spark turned towards the Dratini, crossing his arms over his chest. They blinked uncertainly. Fortunately, they realized I was mouthing something behind the Pichu's back and focused on reading my mouth's movements.

"Power?" the male guessed. Spark growled.

"See! You no know special word!"

"Sour," the female said, watching me from the corner of her eye. Spark brightened.

"Special word!" he then tried to hug her, but only managed to fall over, thankfully not into the water.

"Sour?" the male repeated, staring at me. I nodded. "Why sour?"

"His parents came up with it. Better security phrase than I expected. Oh, take this, will you?" I flicked my tail, knocking the empty Pokeball to the male. He blinked as the red and white sphere landed in the water, floating despite its weight. "Just in case he needs it for some reason."

"Pretty dragon mommy nice!" Spark announced, nuzzling the female Dratini, sparks flying haphazardly from his cheeks. He winced. "Ow...me head hurt!"

"Take it easy, Spark," I reminded him. He nodded and walked over to me, wincing again. "Okay, so they're going to take care of you for a while. Focus on resting for a while, okay? For me?"

"Me no want rest, me want run," Spark sighed. "Me run fast!" he told the Dratini proudly. Both of them looked at me worriedly. I chuckled.

"Well...he can," I said.

"We're going to need to have the Honchkrow in the area watch him, aren't we?" the male said, sighing quietly. The female shook her head and nuzzled him affectionately.

"It'll be fine," she assured him, then looked at me. "We'll watch him, but do pass on our bests to Sapphire and remind her that we hope she visits soon." She adopted a teasing grin. "And that we hope a grandkit is in the foreseeable future."

"Oh Celebi," I groaned, facetailing.

"Best keep an eye on her if she's having a bad day, remember," the male warned. From the corner of my eye, I saw Spark curling up on the grass, his sleepy demeanor back in place.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind, thanks," I said. "And thanks for taking Spark."

"Our pleasure," the female replied.

"Well...thanks all the same," I said, unsure how best to announce my intended departure.

"Well, we'll be off," Rasca said, stretching her wings. Aseal nodded in agreement, flying into the air silently. I smirked. Already those two were proving useful.

"Oh yes, you have to return to Hoenn, don't you? Long trip," the female Dratini said, smiling. "I hope everything goes well with Sapphire."

"Same," I said. "See you two, hopefully in about a month."

The male Dratini nodded. "We'll count on it, as well as an update how things are going."

"Celebi forbid I forget to give that," I muttered, following Rasca and Aseal's lead in turning away. Okay, so that went a little better than I feared it would. I expected that Spark was in good tails and with him away from me, he shouldn't be in danger in case that psychotic Umbreon went after him. My largest concern was finding Ember, and without any leads, my next destination was to return to Hoenn, find that clearing Sapphire had told me about, and see what I could do from there. I don't know what I'm so worried about. Ember can take care of herself for a while, even if in danger. I just wish I knew what was going on with her and where she was.

Lost in my thoughts, I nearly collided with Rasca, who had abruptly stopped moving forward. I blinked at her oddly. "Something wrong?" I asked.

"Hm? No...just thinking," the Fearow answered.

"Good place for it," I said snidely, making a show of looking around our surroundings. "About anything in particular?"

"Yes, actually."

"Is it worth stopping in mid-flight to contemplate?"

"It determines my next destination," Rasca explained patiently. Aseal looked between the two of us curiously.

"You planning on leaving already?" he asked.

"Aww, and we were just getting to know each other," I said, shaking my head with mock disappointment. Aseal smirked. Rasca shrugged her wings, somehow not losing vertical distance in doing so.

"I'd probably see you again, just not traveling to Hoenn after all."

"If you don't travel to Hoenn, you probably wouldn't see me again. I don't know how much cross-regional travel I will be doing in the immediate future," I reminded her. Again, Rasca shrugged. "Well, if you did leave, at least I'd still have still Asealio to keep me company."

"That could become the proudest moment in my life," Aseal said, wiping an imaginary tear away with his wing. Okay, this guy is awesome.


	277. Out With Old Year, In With New Arc

**Hope you all had a good Christmas. I know some of you probably expected an update around then. And to the one or two of you who probably expected a different narrator (due to my mentioning my tentative expectations of who the narrator was), that chap's still in the works a bit, the complication being a bit of information I presently lack as well as a bit of a plot-flow block****. I fully expect to update once or twice within 2 weeks, what with TDW's two-year mark coming up...in exactly two weeks. Nice how that works. And how nice, this chap pushes me past the 600K mark. A nice strong milestone, just in time for the New Year.**

**So...Happy New Year to all my readers and fans, both loyal and treacherous, and yes, even the ones who never give any form of feedback.**

**On the note of feedback, what the hell is with the new fad of some of you keeping Caps Lock on when you review anonymously? (The only response I want to this question is by NOT doing it if you review). Oh, and please review.**

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**Jolt POV**

I grunted as something prodded my side, quickly alerting me to the world around me. I was lying upon what felt like dewy grass, and it took me several sleepy moments to figure out what was going on. Another sharp prod struck my ribs and I groaned. What the hell was poking me? A giggling sound caught my ear and my eyes shot open, staring into the face of a small ball of brown fluff that giggled happily when it saw that I was awake. I sat up quickly, watching the small Eevee warily. Where on earth did it come from?

The Eevee squeaked up at me, grinning like a child being introduced to Christmas. I smiled briefly at it, looking around my surroundings. I remember now; I had come from around Violet City, in search of some sort of hint of where Leaf may have gone since coming here. I didn't trust Bane as much as Psycho did, but I was willing to believe that the ghost knew what he was talking about. If Leaf had been dropped off in the vicinity of Violet City, then there must be some way to find where he went. I must have gone to sleep here. But where did this baby Eevee come from?

I sighed and extended a paw to the smaller quadruped. It cringed at first, but then moved close enough to sniff my paw. "Where did you come from, little guy?" I murmured. The Eevee squeaked and rubbed against my extended paw, purring happily. I winced. The last time a young Eevee acted that way to me was...

I steadied my breathing. Now wasn't the time to dwell on the past, but now that the thought had crossed my mind, the similarities were much stronger. My memory wasn't perfect, but the Eevee in front of me strongly reminded me of him. I shook myself quickly. Just where did this kit come from? I wasn't aware of any Eon clans around Violet City. Well, truth be told, I wasn't aware of any Eon clans anywhere. But if the kit was from a clan, how had it gotten here? Wasn't there anyone taking care of it or watching out for it?

"Don't you have parents or something?" I wondered aloud. The Eevee squeaked, cheerfully oblivious to my question. "Come on, let's get you back to where you belong," I said, stretching and gesturing for the Eevee to follow me as I took a few steps, watching to see if this got a reaction from it. The little furball promptly bounded after me. Can't say I expected that. Either it had imprinted upon me quickly or it was smarter than I thought. Then again, I was pretty smart at a young age, at least according to my parents...

I winced, a pang touching my heart. Palkia, what is wrong with me? Couldn't I go on a solo mission without my mind becoming occupied with upsetting thoughts and my heart filled with unsettling feelings of sorrow and loss? What I needed was something to push my thoughts and feelings towards something else, something unrelated to the unpleasant feelings and thoughts.

As if aware of how I was feeling, the young Eevee bounded around me, brushing against my sides. A faint smile tugged at my mouth. He's such a sweet little guy. I don't know why he's around me, but I can't say I really mind. Company, even in the form of a kit, was more than welcome. The problem was that it couldn't be company for too long. For all I knew, the little guy's parents were frantically searching for him. I patted his head gently and then rubbed his ears. Immediately, the Eevee began purring his head off, his tail swishing wildly.

I chuckled. "Cute little guy," I said to myself and resumed walking. The kit whined, but followed me, this time walking alongside me, looking up at me with a hopeful expression. I can't refuse that look. I sat down and rubbed the little furball's ears again. This time his back arched in enjoyment and a contented purr rose from his throat, sounding high-pitched due to his age. Well, his estimated age. He didn't look more than a few months old, but I couldn't really tell. I haven't had any experience with kits since I was young myself. Leaf doesn't count because he had already evolved by the time I met him. He counts; just the similarity wasn't as strong.

Okay, time to figure out where this little guy had come from. He didn't look like a trainer Pokémon and there wasn't a breeding center near Violet that he may have slipped out of. That left being a wild as the likeliest answer, but the next question is whether he came from a clan or independent parents. If it was the former...that could be easier to find. I didn't know of any clans, but that didn't mean there weren't any. In that case, I was likely to find another Eevee or Eon in the area, especially if someone was looking for him.

Unfortunately, roughly twenty minutes of exploration passed without any leads. The Eevee had lost interest in following me and instead began diverting his attention to the natural objects we passed, such as the trees and sticks in the pathway. After my fifth attempt to reacquire his attention, I gave up and sat down to rest, keeping an eye on the curious furball. I knew, only too well, the kind of mischief a kit could get into if left unattended for too long.

I blinked back a subtle tear of reminiscence. Memories were a double-edged sword, after all. Enjoyable to delight in, to indulge in happy thoughts of times past, yet the knowledge that they are times past is a blade, cutting into the happiness of the moment. That's what all my memories were, after all. Flickers of joy, playfulness, contentment, and laughter...all pale and lifeless when put under the lens of reality. Those days were over. I no longer lived in a carefree life where my largest concern was what to play next. Those times ended years ago. Even in recent times, every happy memory was stained by the curse of retrospect. Where moments stand out vividly as mistakes, of opportunities lost, opportunities that will never again present themselves.

I growled and wiped a tear from my eye. Why was I cursed with so much misfortune? Did the universe conspire to keep me down? I was the weakest of the group, and my life was plagued with hate. Couldn't I dream for a life of happiness, of peace and joy and...anything else? Anything beyond this cycle of hate, death, pain, and loss. I would not give up, either my goals or my life, but I longed, yearned, even dreamed for some shot at a normal life again. I could hate those who caused this cycle, but it would do no good. I could sulk, mourn and weep for times and loves past, but it would help nothing. All I could do was endure it. Endure the hardships and pain and struggle ahead. Things could look up again, I knew they could. I just had to work until they did.

The Eevee wandered over to where I sat, smiling cheerfully at me. I studied him in silence. It wasn't hard to see his happiness, his unconditional joy at being alive and around someone else. It was better than being alone, wasn't it? I winced at the thought. I was all but alone. To say I was alone would be a lie, for Leaf, Darkness, maybe even Frost and Psycho...they'd support me. They had for all the time I'd known them, even with our squabbles. I still had them, my adoptive family.

How strange. I'm around such a cute and innocent kit and my mind keeps returning to how my life isn't as good as his. That's an absurd thing to be dwelling on. My kithood was awesome, so I shouldn't be jealous. Anyone's life can take the turn for the worse once they're older. Sulking wasn't helping. Leaf said I needed to look to the future, so that's what I was going to do. The future was looking bright if Bane was telling the truth and Diablos was out of the picture. Maybe Volt will see how the phantom negatively affected his life...but I'm not going to get my hopes up for that outcome. It was expecting too much from my brother, the Umbreon who was once a sweet Eevee before becoming consumed by his twisted journey for revenge. Nothing I ever said or did tore him away from his pursuits and we crossed paths often enough, usually whenever Psycho seemed to have a mission directly involving the twisted phantom.

I stood up again, attracting the furball's attention. He squeaked up at me and rubbed against my fur. I noticed he didn't experience any repercussions for nuzzling my fur, suggesting he might be used to Jolteon fur. Kira took a while to get used to rubbing against my fur, both in the sense of getting poked by the quills or creating too much static. I still remember that I occasionally had such problems with my mom's fur if she wasn't expecting a hug or nuzzle, and when Volt was a kit, he had several humorous incidents with her fur before he got the hang of the correct time and way to ask for cuddling. I doubt he even remembers that far back, but I do. This kit had no such problems. If one of his parents was a Jolteon, that could also explain the young Eevee's comfort around me, even though I was a stranger. Funnily enough, Jolteon seem to be pretty common parents, despite the problems that could crop up with their fur. Frost's profiles on our group revealed that Leaf and Psycho had a Jolteon mother, the same way Volt and I did. Come to think of it, Kira and Darkness were the only ones without fully confirmed parents, but Frost had conveniently left their background information out of the profiles we had 'hacked' access to. They also were the only ones from Johto, whereas the rest of the group was born in Sinnoh.

Kira wasn't very secretive to me about her own past, but she absolutely refused to discuss anything that involved Darkness and, by extension, anything about herself that directly involved Darkness. The most I got out of her was that they were very close friends, and Darkness was older. Indeed, Darkness was the second oldest in the group, only a week and a day younger than Frost, who was the eldest. I was third eldest, having turned five years old about a month ago; Psycho was next, at four approaching five. Leaf was naturally the youngest, being roughly half Psycho's age. Then again, he was little more than a kit when we met. As he grew older, he became wise beyond his years sometimes, while simultaneously as naive as a kit. He reminded me a little of Volt at his age, except not nearly as clueless about the concept of a mate. I'm curious on how awkward that conversation was, considering the recent revelation that I had had a nephew for far longer than I would have expected from someone as naive about romance as my brother had been. I always found it amusingly cute when I was younger.

The Eevee's whine startled me from my reminiscing. I looked up, my eyes flicking rapidly around our surroundings. That was a fearful whine; something had attracted his notice and it was something discomforting somehow. Where was it? I followed the kit's gaze, but didn't see anything.

"What is it?" I asked, taking a protective stance. The kit giggled and swatted at the air randomly. I raised an eyebrow, spotting a small purple ember glowing in the air above his nose. My eyes narrowed. That wasn't normal fire.

"Precious little baby," a voice whispered in my ear. I turned my head, wincing in pain at the whiplash-like sensation. A spine-tingling cackle burst forth from out of nowhere, sending shivers down my body. Very slowly, like a shape emerging from water, a purple humanoid faded into view. Gemstone eyes glittered in the sunlight, shining with fearful intensity. The ruby gem on the ghost's chest glowed softly until the Sableye had fully emerged into the present plane. Disturbingly sharp teeth grinned at me as I stood, rooted to the spot. My attempts to move went unanswered by my body. The Sableye's gaze flicked over me and its tongue slid over the upper teeth. Its paws rubbed together eagerly.

Finally, it broke eye contact with me and I gasped, feeling as if someone had sent a shock through my nerves and muscles, restoring feeling to them. I shivered violently for several seconds, watching the ghost warily. "Who are you?" I panted.

"Your executioner," the ghost answered, raising a paw and grabbing me by the ear, stopping me from getting away. The other paw drew back, showing razor claws sticking from the end of the paw. My cry of horror had scarcely left my lips before the Sableye's gleaming claws swiped my throat. I closed my eyes, expecting sudden pain and praying for instant death. Instead, my throat grew icy cold, the sensation startling me into grasping my throat. There was no wound, no blood seeping from my neck, and no pain. The Sableye let out another terrifying cackle.

"That wasn't funny," I panted. That had to be it. This thing was playing a sick joke on me. The ghost grinned widely.

"Lighten up," it chided me sharply, shoving me back a pace. I growled and rubbed my ear, the ghost's touch having numbed it. "Now then," it hissed menacingly. "What are you doing with this Eevee?"

"Huh? Nothing," I said, watching the ghost nervously.

"I don't believe you," the Sableye hissed, flexing those terrifying claws threateningly. Its tone was leading me to think it was female, but there was no way for me to confirm. "You kidnapped him, didn't you?"

"What? No!" I protested. The Sableye hissed and grabbed me by the throat, lifting me above the ground effortlessly. The deadly claws touched my jugular and I froze, icy panic gripping every fiber of my body. Palkia help me...

"Liar!" the ghost whispered.

"I'm...not..." I gasped, the claws starting to dig into my extremely vulnerable neck with every word I spoke. The ghost cackled abruptly and released me, dropping me to the ground with a dull thud. I shuddered, my heart racing faster than it had in a long time.

"Then you won't mind me taking you to the clan he came from...would you, kidnapper?" she whispered.

"N-no...not at all," I panted.

Her grin widened. "If they don't believe you, the netherworld awaits you, kidnapper." With that, she cackled again and placed a paw on my shoulder, the icy touch freezing me in place. Her other paw touched the Eevee and slowly a purple shroud of color descended over us, blocking everything from my sight in all directions, except the three of us and a veil of purple-black color that seemed to form a tight sphere around us.

As quickly as it came, the sphere vanished. I gulped in air, noticing that the surroundings had changed. Everywhere around us, Eevee and various Eons lay or walked about. Upon a quick glance, I saw the majority of the evolutions were Jolteon or Flareon, with plentiful Espeon and Umbreon and a rare couple of Leafeon. There were absolutely no Glaceon anywhere in sight and, even from a distance, I could see only one Vaporeon. It was this Vaporeon we were standing in front of.

"Found him," the Sableye cackled, gently pushing the Eevee towards the Vaporeon. I quickly established the water type to be female. Her gaze flicked to the Eevee with a small smile, then to me with a puzzled look in her eyes. "And this...is the kidnapper," the ghost said with a wide grin, pushing me forward. I stumbled, surprised by the shove.

"I didn't kidnap him!" I insisted desperately.

"But he lies, of course!" the ghost insisted, her eyes glittering menacingly. "Rip his throat out!"

The Vaporeon rolled her eyes, looking nevertheless amused by my panic. I didn't see anything funny about this situation. "Thank you for your help, Pearl. Please don't linger."

The Sableye clicked her tongue. "You could have humored me, Aqua."

"I get the feeling you already scared him plenty," the water type answered. The ghost cackled and faded out from view, leaving me standing there. I shifted self-consciously, which worsened when the Eevee nuzzled me again. The water Eon chuckled good-naturedly. "He likes you."

"Apparently," I said weakly. I have no clue what's going on.

"I'm sorry if our Sableye...friend...gave you a hard time. Check that, I know she did," the Vaporeon said, smiling with embarrassment.

"Just a heart attack or two," I mumbled.

She laughed, her tail flicking calmly. "I hope being brought here for her over elaborate prank didn't inconvenience you."

"I'm not sure where I am, so I'm not sure if it did."

She laughed again. "Near Violet City, in the territory of a reclusive Eevee clan."

I blinked. "I didn't know there was a clan around Violet."

"That's the point," the Vaporeon noted. "Since he seems to have taken a liking to you, I'm guessing you were at least near the lost kit when Pearl found you. Either that or she's more elaborate than normal. In either case, when Toady returns, he can take you to a destination of your choosing, as my apology."

"I don't know where I'm going," I admitted. The water type raised an eyebrow. "I'm looking for a friend of mine, and I don't know where he is."

"A friend?" she repeated, somewhat curiously.

"A Leafeon, named Leaf," I supplied.

The Vaporeon's eyes widened. "You don't say," she murmured.

"Hm?" I looked up, surprised. The Vaporeon smiled.

"Come with me, please," she said, rising to her feet and walking past me. I blinked, but obeyed. The Eevee kit giggled and followed after me, but was quickly intercepted by a male Flareon, which embraced the kit happily. "Mind if I ask your name?" she asked.

"Jolt."

"I'm Aqua, the female alpha," she said, pausing to look back at me while she spoke.

"Female alpha?" I repeated. "I thought clans are run by a group of leaders." That's what Kira had told me about her clan, anyway.

"Not this one," Aqua replied simply. "Here, the system is very simple: One alpha in charge."

"Then why'd you specify being a female alpha?" I asked curiously.

"Because shut up," muttered an Eevee, which was curled up, half asleep. Aqua giggled at the Eevee, and never answered my question. I didn't feel like asking again.

"Excuse me, have you seen Moonlight?" Aqua asked a passing female Eevee.

"No, sorry," the Eevee said. "Toady probably has."

"Toady's away," Aqua said promptly. She received a shrug in response and pressed on, with me following silently. "Moonlight should know where your friend went," she explained to me, noticing my bewildered look. "Hey, have you seen Moonlight?" she asked to another passing Eevee, this one being male.

"Sorry, I haven't," the Eevee replied. Aqua smiled and again continued walking.

"Something wrong, Aqua?" asked an Espeon. Aqua stopped.

"I'm just looking for Moonlight. Have you seen her?"

The Espeon glanced in my direction before answering, "Yeah, she went out for a while. Should be back by tonight, why?"

"Damn," Aqua muttered under her breath. In a normal volume, she added, "She just knows something that Jolt here wanted to know. Thank you."

"No problem."

"And Toady could be gone for a few hours, depending on what's asked of him," Aqua murmured to herself. She looked towards me apologetically. "I'm sorry; there may be a delay on any information. If you like, you can stay a while, rest and eat if you're interested. But if you're in a hurry, you may feel free to leave, as well."

I considered it for a few seconds. "No, I'll wait. Better a lead later than nothing at all," I told her. Aqua nodded.

"Make yourself at home, then. It shouldn't be more than a few hours."

"It's fine, thanks," I said. Aqua nodded again.

"Ask anyone if you need anything, and you may mention that you're my guest if someone gives you a hard time," she said, smiling. "Not that that's likely, but it's a nice perk. Or you can find me, whatever's easier."

I chuckled. "Okay, thanks."

Aqua nodded. "I'll let you know if either Moonlight or Toady returns. Enjoy your stay." With that, she turned and walked away.

I stretched. This could set me back a bit, but I'd find Leaf easier if I had a clue where he went than if I wandered around by myself.

* * *

**I'd appreciate reviews regarding this chap or the fic in general. The more thorough, the better. Actually, the more relevent, the better.**


	278. Anyone Remember Him?

**Making this chapter took longer than I expected, in part due to circumstances I had little control over. And hurray, it's been two years since TDW was started.**

**Darkness POV**

As curious as I was regarding Frost's phone conversation, experience had taught me that unless I knew what the other person was saying, Frost's responses were far too vague to be worth the frustration of trying to decipher the fragments I could catch. I was better off waiting until he was done and then asking about the call.

I stretched, subtly keeping an eye on the timid Espeon in case his gaze decided to linger on me at this time. I'm a little surprised that he showed absolutely no inclination towards watching my movements, when I know full well he was aware of them. I still wasn't going to bathe until he left. I don't want someone else nearby while I'm bathing, whether they seemed interested in gawking or not. But I don't know how long Frost's conversation was going to take, so I may as well take the time to wash up as planned.

I frowned, a sudden realization coming to me. "Damn it."

"One second," Frost said into the phone, and then gave me an inquisitive look, the expression easily asking the question he wasn't voicing.

"Soap," I growled, my midnight blue rings flashing to further convey my irritation. Frost smirked and reached into the carrying pouch around his neck, taking out a miniature bar of soap and tossing it to me. I caught it and stared at him. What the hell does he carry in that thing? It's like the contents change on a regular basis. Did he really carry a cell phone, a small bar of my soap, and several berries in that small thing? I know he normally only carried the phone when he was going to be away from the old base, but even so, why the hell did he carry...wait, was this the same type of soap as I normally use?

I sniffed the bar curiously, purring in satisfaction. Ah, I never grow tired of that fragrant scent. I'm not complaining, but why the hell was Frost carrying this around? I gave him a look, but his attention had returned to the phone conversation, his expression mildly annoyed. I shrugged and turned towards the water, but the continued presence of the Espeon grated my nerves.

"Hey, you! Beat it!" I snapped in his direction, uninterested in maintaining a degree of politeness. Toady's gaze flicked over to me, a frown darkening his otherwise politely timid face.

"I beg your pardon, Mistress Darkness?" His tone was calm, but his eyes flashed as he applied the respectful title. I quickly recalled Frost's warning about being respectful to Toady.

"Uh...can you go away?" I asked. Toady's expression softened marginally.

"May I ask why I must vacate the premises? I am not sure whether Master Frost will be in need of my services following the end of his conversation," he said reasonably. I scowled.

"I'm bathing. You should know I don't want others around!" I growled. He was there when this was brought up and was the one who told the other Eons to beat it.

"I understand, Mistress Darkness, but if I am needed by Master Frost, it is more inconvenient and irritating to recall me than if I remained," Toady explained calmly. I glared at him. I swear he's got to be messing with me because I yelled at him. It can't possibly be that difficult to teleport back here.

"It's inconvenient to me for you to stay here when I'm trying to wash up!" I hissed, struggling to keep my temper in check. Toady hid a smile.

"Master Frost's requirements take priority over yours, Mistress Darkness."

"Frost's priorities presently revolve around mine!" I retorted. Not strictly true, but Frost knows my situation and would side with me.

"My apologies, Mistress Darkness, but I do not play a new tune because someone tells me the dancers would not mind." That is an absurd analogy, and he knows it.

"I don't want you watching me!" I hissed. Toady rolled his eyes.

"As you wish, Mistress Darkness," he said, shifting his attention to look pointedly in a different direction than the water, yet it would be easy to subtly adjust his gaze if he wanted to. I glared at him.

"Not good enough."

Toady turned back towards me. "That is as far as I shall adjust my stance in this matter, Mistress Darkness."

I growled, angrily turning back to the water. "If you stare at me, I'll-"

"I have absolutely no interest in such behavior, Mistress Darkness," Toady interrupted. "Do not jump to conclusions about everyone you meet. It will only serve to create stressful scenarios. Much like this one, don't you agree?"

I glared back at him. "Is that why you're doing this?"

"There is no harm in my presence, yet inconvenience in my parting. If you refuse to compromise, then I will not bother to," the Espeon replied.

"You're a jerk," I grumbled, dampening the soap bar and beginning to wash. I kept one fragment of my attention on Toady, taking note that although he did not completely avoid looking in my direction, his attention never lingered nor did he make any subtle glances towards me. Even so, I wasn't comfortable with his presence and I wondered why Frost hadn't taken some step to ask him to leave for a while. I know he saw my discomfort.

By the time I finished, Frost had evidently finished his call and had washed briefly, judging by the subtle dampness of his fur. I hadn't even noticed, so he must have done it in a hurry. The amazing fragrance of the soap clung to my fur, yet was short of overpowering, leaving me smelling fresh and my fur glossy and silky to the touch. I purred, looking myself over quickly to ensure I hadn't missed anything.

"Toady?" Frost asked, looking towards the Espeon. The psychic type lowered his head submissively and stepped nearer, circling the Glaceon briefly.

"Impeccably thorough, Master Frost," Toady said. His attention flicked to me and without a word, he circled me as well. I scowled at how his gaze trailed over me, regardless of how politely appropriate his attention was. "You missed a spot on your left hind leg," he informed me. His eyebrows rose inquiringly as he licked a paw. "If I may?"

"No," I answered, narrowing my eyes.

He bowed his head submissively. "I apologize if I caused you discomfort, Mistress Darkness."

"Don't trouble yourself over it, Toady," Frost said, waving a paw unconcernedly. "She's stressed, as I'm sure you know." I bristled indignantly at this comment. Why is Frost dismissing the Espeon's apology and blaming my agitation as being caused by stress? The stress was being caused by a stubborn psychic type, not just some mood swing! Frost's eyes flashed in my direction, cutting off my objection before I had done more than open my mouth.

"I am untroubled, Master Frost. Mistress Moonlight is similar," Toady said.

Frost casually blew a gust of cold air over his back, the damp fur quickly freezing. The flecks of snow accompanying the breath settled over his neatly groomed fur, creating an attractive, frosty look to the fur. He chuckled. "Could be an Umbreon thing."

"I'm right here," I grumbled. Frost smirked, but stopped speaking. "What was that call about? Was it really Leaf?" I asked, taking the opportunity to start questioning him. Whatever he had been discussing had distracted him from stopping the Espeon from antagonizing me.

"It was either Leaf or someone admirably skilled in impersonating him," Frost affirmed with a nod. He smirked. "I highly doubt it was the latter."

"Well?" I asked. "What did he want?" Although my tone was irritated, I'm genuinely curious in what Leaf needed or wanted. I hadn't seen him since he resigned, although I know others in the group have managed to come into contact with him.

"It appears as if our young friend wants to withdraw his resignation," Frost answered, smirking. I blinked at him.

"He called you to say that? And the conversation took that long?"

"Hm? No, of course not," Frost said, dismissively waving a paw. "He also wants someone to pick him up, yet I was the only one he knew that he could contact. I only wonder who the hell taught him how to use a phone, because he evidently has no clue."

"What do you mean?"

"Apparently he's under the impression that you dial a phone, not by entering a pre-set order of seven numbers, but by dialing five, five, five, and then numbers corresponding to the letters that make up the name of the caller."

"Of the caller?" Toady repeated. "Not the person you're trying to call?"

"That's what he said, yes," Frost answered, rolling his eyes. "I don't understand his logic and chose not to ask."

I shook my head. Leaf could be insightful, but when it came to some things, he was clueless. This wasn't a terrible thing; everyone had traces of that at one time or another. It wouldn't be fair to expect him to know everything about technology or relationships or the other things he knew nothing about, but the extent of his misplaced logic was baffling at times. How did he think he contacted a specific person if he thought he used his own name to dial? I'm not insulting him, since I know almost nothing about phones, either. In fact, all my knowledge regarding human technology was from Frost, who was really the only one savvy in anything human-related. He said it was because his parents were human enthusiasts, but he gotten clench-jawed when I asked for more information. I know they're dead, due to the profile he has on himself and something he said in passing, but...

"So where is he?" I asked. I know the reason he needs someone to pick him up is that he doesn't know where we were, but it's been a while so he could be anywhere, making catching up to us more difficult. "Someone IS going to get him, right?"

"Of course, Dark," Frost said, shaking his head. "No doubt Shadow would be preferred, but he's always away so that leaves it down to me. Looks like I was right in having you linger, Toady."

"I am available, Master Frost," Toady responded promptly, bowing his head submissively. I frowned. I can't fully place what I dislike about this Espeon, not counting how he was antagonizing me earlier. He was relatively quiet and didn't draw attention to himself most of the time. Was it his attitude, the way he selflessly aimed to please everyone around him? Or the way he kept bowing and acting submissive? Whatever, it doesn't matter. I just don't like him.

"Where is he?" I asked again, scowling when I saw that the other two Eons were talking to one another and completely ignoring me. I walked over to where Frost stood, circling around him and delivering a sharp nip to his tail. He yelped and gave me a bewildered look. "Don't ignore me," I growled.

"I wasn't," Frost responded calmly. His gaze flicked towards the Espeon. "Are you able to transport me there?" he asked.

"I am, Master Frost," Toady assured him. I sighed. My question had been overlooked again. "Would you like to go now?"

"That would be ideal," Frost said. He paused and glanced at me. "Want to get out for a while? No good to keep you cooped up at this poor excuse for a base."

I shrugged. It's not like I have anything else to do, and I did want to see Leaf again. Besides, who knew how long it would take, and being stuck here with only the Flareon and Vaporeon for company would be boring. "Sure, whatever."

Frost chuckled. "Dark's coming as well, Toady," he said, licking my cheek. Toady merely nodded in reply. The Espeon's gemstone glinted and I shut my eyes. Being rapidly teleported to a new location without shutting my eyes always made me feel ill and disoriented.

A flutter in my stomach told me the shift had occurred, but before I even opened my eyes, I sensed the change in the air. A quiet whine left my throat before I could stop it. It was so hot and humid now that I could barely stand it. I felt like my fur was underneath a heat lamp and already I could feel the start of sweat forming. Damn it; I had just finished washing, too...

I opened my eyes, looking around in agitation. "Where are we? Why is it so hot?" I complained. Frost chuckled and blew an icy mist over my fur, sending a pleasantly cool sensation down my back. I purred and rubbed against him gratefully. He smirked, but gently pushed me away after a few seconds. Neither he, nor the male Espeon, seemed nearly as troubled by the climate change as I was. Then again, they don't have dark-colored fur.

Frost looked around, his eyes scanning the surroundings. I may be imagining it, but there seemed to be a trace of uncertainty in his eyes, the impression diminished by the otherwise confident and calm demeanor the ice type almost always displayed. "As for our present location, we are..." Frost trailed off, looking in a circle around us. I followed his gaze, but saw nothing of any particular interest. "I have no idea. Toady, where are we?"

The Espeon blinked. "I believe this is near the human town of Rustboro, as you requested, Master Frost."

"Toady, do you SEE any human towns?" Frost demanded, gesturing a paw around us.

The Espeon's ears drooped slightly and he answered with a timid, "No, Master Frost."

"Where are we?" Frost demanded, his tone sharp and left an echoing sound to the words, like the crack of a whip. Toady flinched, lowering his head submissively.

"We...should not be far from the destination, Master Frost. Forgive me; my knowledge of the area is limited at best."

"Then give me a bearing, or direction, or something!" Frost growled, his tail lashing. I stared at him. Since when did he get annoyed over something like this? Noticing my stare, the ice type settled down, and his expression becoming impassive.

"I...cannot be certain at our present location, Master Frost," Toady said meekly. "Perhaps if we went to higher ground, we can pinpoint our location."

"You don't know where we are?" I asked, incredulous.

"My experience in this region is miniscule, Darkness," Frost admitted. This only increased the sense of disbelief. Frost knew almost everything in every region and seemed to have contacts in high places (or low, if they were members of an underworld organization), but it really shouldn't surprise me as much as it does. Even Frost can't know everything.

I frowned. "So what do we do?" I could excuse them not answering my question because they evidently didn't know the answer themselves. I still found the climate uncomfortably warm, but I could manage it for the time being.

"We could ask for directions," Frost said dryly.

I nodded. "Okay." Frost blinked, opening his mouth to say something, but abruptly reconsidered and remained silent. He turned towards Toady and whispered something to him, to which the Espeon shrugged. I cleared my throat. "Do we split up for this?"

Frost hesitated, yet nodded. "I suppose we should. Toady should remain with one of us, though. Probably you, Dark."

"I am not traveling with him," I growled, glaring at him. Toady looked unbothered by my distaste.

Frost frowned at me. "I think he should, if only because he can teleport if you get lost or get into trouble..."

"You know this place about as well as I do!" I shot back, my fur bristling.

"But I will have no trouble defending myself," Frost retorted smugly. My eyes narrowed.

"Are you suggesting that I would?" I asked, keeping my voice steady, yet my midnight blue rings glowed for a moment.

Frost hesitated, no doubt thinking carefully before responding. I was willing to wait. Whatever his answer was, it had better be good. "Very well, I'll take Toady with me. Now how should we meet up in the event either group finds someone disposed to give us directions?"

I hesitated. That was a good question. If Frost got directions, he and the Espeon would still need to find me, and who knows where I'd be in that time? Or if I got directions and they didn't, then I would need to find them before proceeding to our destination. Well, that's quite true...

"How about if I get directions, I go there and call you if you haven't arrived?" I suggested.

"And if you don't?" Frost asked.

"Call or get directions?" I teased. The Glaceon gave me a serious look. "Oh, lighten up."

"You're certainly one to say that, Mistress Darkness," Toady muttered. I ignored him.

"I can take care of myself, Frost," I reminded him.

He heaved a sigh, "I know you can, Dark. But where would we meet up in the case you don't get directions. We are presuming you went ahead to Rustboro unless we come across you. And what if Rustboro is nowhere around here because of a miscalculation?"

"Then we find each other. I have a good sense of smell," I growled. "What, do you think I'll end up on Cinnabar Island if you're not holding my paw?"

"If you end up on Cinnabar Island from here, something's very, very wrong," Frost said, shaking his head, but he was smiling.

"Okay, so see you later," I said, turning and walking in one direction. I glanced back to make sure they weren't just following me stealthily or something, because that would just be stupid. Just because Volt kept beating me didn't mean I couldn't handle myself. Frost had overseen my training. He once said I was almost on-par with him (untrue, but flattering), yet he sometimes had stupid moments where he cared too much about my safety or whatever his reasoning was. I was a big girl, I could take care of myself.

The first half hour or so was boring as hell. Most Pokémon fled into the shelter of the forest long before I could approach them and the ones that didn't were usually asleep. The sun continued to shine brightly overhead, dampening my mood when the heat started to get to me again. I was adjusting, little by little, but it was still discomforting. Why the hell couldn't I get directions to a freaking human town when I wanted them? It's not local Pokémon should be oblivious to that sort of information. Maybe it was because I was an Umbreon. We are so stereotyped against as psychopathic killers that'll kill you as soon as look at you. Then again, maybe some were like that. Volt at least was, from what I've seen and heard. My mood swings probably didn't help anyone assemble an alternate impression of me.

My ears perked up as I caught sight of a Pokémon up ahead, hanging around a fair-sized pool of water bridged with wooden planks. Unlike most of the Pokémon I had encountered thus far, this one seemed large enough not to be easily spooked by me. As I got nearer, I identified the other as a mammalian quadruped, its most notable feature being that its head and hindquarters were ablaze. A natural feature, no doubt, since it was obviously not in pain of any kind. Unfortunately, approaching it would probably dramatically increase my body temperature and that was just something I didn't want right now. A quick glance over enabled me to swiftly declare it a Quilava, of which I knew...maybe one.

The fire type was facing away from me, either lost in thought or...just not focusing on anything in my direction. I reluctantly came closer to the burning creature and cleared my throat, the sound swiftly drawing its attention. "Hello. Do you know if we're near Rustboro?" I asked quickly, but as politely as possible, then paused for a moment. There was the slim possibility the Quilava didn't know the human name for the city. "Or where the nearest human city is?"

The fire type's eyes lit up, followed by a very brief hesitation, ending with a smirk. "Of course I do, miss. In fact, I was just heading there myself, if you don't mind keeping me company for a little while, I can bring you right there."

"Um...okay," I said and giggled in spite of myself. Being called 'miss' was practically a new experience and not something I had expected to hear at all. As for his offer, it didn't seem like a problem and I had arranged with Frost that if I got directions, I'd proceed to the city itself.

"Excellent," the fire type responded with a smile. He made a small gesture towards the other side of the wooden bridge. "This way, if you please, miss. Name's Narcissus, call me Narc," he continued, leading me down the remainder of the wooden bridge and starting to walk at a leisurely pace until I joined him at his side. He looked over at me. "Mind if I ask for your name?"

I felt my face grow warm. Unlike the earlier heat of the sun, it was far from an uncomfortable experience. "I'm Darkness. Hi."

Again he smirked. "A beautiful name, fitting for its subject."

I giggled again, my rings lighting up for a moment. Only Frost usually gives such compliments, so it was a bit of a treat to hear it from someone else. "Thanks," I said, feeling a little shyer than normal.

"My pleasure," Narc said. A short silence settled between us and I took the time to admire the surroundings. Aside from the heat and touch of humidity, it was a very nice area. My companion wasn't an eyesore, either, which helped the traveling. "Might I ask what your plans are in Rustboro?" Narc asked. His voice had a rather charming quality to it, perhaps a bit more than even Frost uses.

"Picking up a friend," I answered. That really was the most specific way to answer, especially with my current knowledge of Leaf's situation.

"Planning on staying long?" Narc asked casually.

"Probably not, but I'm not sure," I said honestly. Once we picked up Leaf, I don't know if we're staying around the city for some reason or getting out of there quickly. Frost hadn't acted like there was much urgency in the pick-up, but I didn't see a reason why we'd linger, either. How had Leaf gotten here in the first place?

"Mhm, that's a pity," Narc commented. "Sure you couldn't be persuaded to stay a little longer?"

I smiled, my tail wagging a little bit. I think I've established that he had some interest, so time to play back a little. "Well, depends on whether I have plans," I said.

Narc chuckled. "And what kind of plans would those be?"

I paused a moment as if thinking, but grinned. "I don't have any."

He smirked. "A pretty thing like you? I can hardly believe it." At this point, my tail was wagging non-stop. I like being called pretty. It had a different ring to it than 'beautiful' or 'cute', without losing the sincerity.

I gave a small sigh, as if lamenting something. "I almost never have plans."

Narc made a tsking sound. "Never knew my fellow males could be blind enough not to approach you. But then again, maybe they were simply intimidated by your radiance. Tell you what, how about after you finish your business with your friend, you let me show you around town?"

I blushed, my blue rings lighting up again, a bit brighter than earlier. "That sounds good," I admitted. He was rather easy on the eyes and definitely charming without coming off as fake.

"Great," Narc said brightly. "And by the way, your rings are quite beautiful when they light up like that. Especially while you're smiling."

I smiled and glanced back at the glowing bands. "Aww, thanks."

"Once again, it's my pleasure," the Quilava said.

"Move along, Quilava," Frost's sharp tone interrupted. I turned towards the Glaceon, blinking in surprise. How the hell did he catch up so fast?

Narc seemed mildly amused by Frost's tone. "'Ello, who are you, then?"

"Does it matter?" Frost retorted. "Be on your way."

"I am. My way happens to coincide with that of this lovely Umbreon," Narc responded, nodding towards me. Frost's eyes narrowed for a moment.

"I'm sure it does. Your escort 'service' is neither required nor appreciated, Quilava," he said dismissively. I groaned and hid my face with my paw.

"Then you don't have to follow me," Narc said. From the corner of my eye, I saw him shrug. "Go ahead, I won't stop you."

"How wise," Frost sneered, gesturing for me to follow him. I stood my ground, glaring a bit at him.

"What's your problem?" I demanded.

"He is," Frost said dismissively.

"You're not exactly a pile of roses either, Prickly. I dunno where you're from, but around here, it's generally considered rude to disregard the opinions of other people, especially that of pretty females." I blinked, stifling a giggle. Did he just call Frost "Prickly"? Of course, the fact he called me pretty again had nothing to do with my amusement.

Frost ignored the remark. "Please, the last thing she needs is the likes of you."

"You are such a purist," I grumbled irritably. I swear, if Narc was a Flareon or another Eon, Frost wouldn't give a damn.

"Except it's not your job to decide what she needs, I'm fairly sure she's entitled to use her own judgment about the type of company she keeps," Narc said. He chuckled and added, "And purism? I'm going to assume that was a joke and you don't actually hold with that outdated and moronic philosophy." I brightened behind his back. Good, someone else who thinks the way I do.

"I know she doesn't need your kind, Quilava," Frost sneered. He scowled. "I'm not a purist. That doesn't mean I don't know you're unworthy of her."

"'My kind'?" Narc repeated. "Awfully presumptuous of you to think you can pigeonhole me within seconds of meeting me." He was taking Frost's hostility quite well, surprisingly.

The Glaceon merely smirked. "Not difficult in the slightest."

"'Not difficult' does not mean 'correct'," the fire type noted. "Just means you're a bigot."

"Oh please, it has nothing to do with your specie, Quilava. I know your type. Charming, but false."

I scowled. "Just drop it Frost. I can take care of myself," I reminded me. Besides, I could tell he wasn't being false, so Frost may just be grasping at straws about what to criticize on. He doesn't even know him.

"I'm inclined to agree with her," Narc said. "And no, you don't. You think you do and refuse to accept the possibility of exceptions or facts that contradict your view; that's the definition of 'bigot', but the way." Add well-spoken to the list of things that are awesome about him.

Frost growled quietly. "Don't try to patronize me, Quilava," he warned, the air chilling subtly. The flames on the Quilava's back increased ever so slightly, counteracting the chill. Even so, it felt warmer than was comfortable, but I wasn't going to give Frost the satisfaction of me taking a step away from the fire type for any reason.

"Just returning the favor," Narc countered.

"And what favor is that?" sneered Frost. "You think you're even in a position to talk down to me?"

I growled a little bit, my rings glowing, signaling my aggravation. "I don't need you holding my paws, Frost." He's such a hypocrite. He encouraged me to find a new mate after I broke up with Shadow, but now that I found another male that seemed interested, he's all over-protective and hostile. What a hassle. We were friends, not siblings.

Frost's eye twitched subtly, but he remained silent. I glared at him and then deliberately rubbed slightly against the fire type, wary of the fire burning on his head and back. To my surprise, the contact didn't increase my body temperature as much as I would have expected from a creature with their back in flames. It was warm, but the comfortable sort of warm.

"You really think you're hot, don't you?" Frost asked, a hint of amusement in his tone. Narc smirked.

"Actually, I think she's hot," he replied, gesturing towards me. I giggled, my rings glowing in order to further express my amusement. Frost blinked, seeming a bit caught off guard by the remark.

"Hm, you have a valid point, Quilava. But why don't you prove you deserve her?" he challenged.

Narc raised an eyebrow, looking mildly intrigued. "How so? I've got nothing to prove, but anything that will shut you up is worthy of a shot." Wow, I couldn't agree more. Frost needs to know when to just drop things. And I think I know what he's planning.

"I'll take you on, a one-on-one match," Frost said, smirking. "To be generous, you aren't even required to win. If you can prove you're worth more than I think you are, I'll concede my objections and be on my way."

"Is that all?" asked Narc, looking rather amused. "If I couldn't take an annoying ice type on, I doubt I'd even have self-respect." He paused and glanced in my direction. "Would you mind if I took a few moments to shut him up?"

I shrugged. Confidence was a good thing, but I wasn't convinced the battle would be as easy as he seemed to think it would be. Frost was deceptively good if you didn't know him. "Good luck with that." At the very least, it would get Frost off my back about it. No matter what the outcome was or if Frost chose to acknowledge my decision or not, it wasn't going to change anything and he knew it. No, this was purely a fight because Narc had hit Frost's ego.

"Type advantage only goes so far, Quilava," Frost said with a chuckle. That was true, but fire's advantage over ice would cripple Frost's main offense if it was strong enough. But I know Frost's still a strong battler even with a type disadvantage.

As if sharing my thoughts, Narc shrugged. "Duh, but it goes far enough for this fight. Challenge accepted."

**Place your bets. And review in the meantime.**

**Obligatory Disclaimer: Narc is still the brainchild of Blaze (Author, not Flareon) Ocean Dragon. If you miraculously forgot that, you must not be a fan of his. Your loss.**


	279. Duel of Skill and Ego

**Frost POV**

I smirked at the Quilava's words. So, he thinks that type advantage would be sufficient for him to defeat me? Well, then he was in for a surprise. Even the most powerful fire type opponents I had ever faced were worn down by my superior battle skill. It was inconvenient for my ice type techniques to be nearly crippled by such opponents, but that was why I trained with so many different styles, techniques, and strategies. My tail flicked, a momentary thrill shooting through my body. I'd show him the penalty of underestimating me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Darkness moving out of the way and sitting down off to the side. Good, she was staying clear of possible stray projectiles. I quickly ran over a mental list of likely strategies my foe might utilize. I haven't had the good fortune of watching this fire weasel battle previously, stripping me of any insight of his strategy. Not like it mattered, I'd figure him out quickly no matter what style he employs.

"En guarde, Quilava," I warned, my smirk slipping into more of a sneer. I inhaled, drawing the moisture in front of my mouth towards my icy maw, the vapor swiftly freezing and condensing into a near-solid sphere of pale-white energy. My following exhalation shot tendrils of the same energy from the orb, the tendrils entwining themselves together into the solitary Ice Beam, which continued towards the fire weasel. The crackling flames upon the Quilava's back rose higher, the heat fluctuation dissolving my attack into a harmless mist. I'm not surprised. That technique had only been a test. So, he was fearless in the face of an ice attack. He won't get far assuming my ice attacks have no bite to them, and I'd get nowhere using low powered ice attacks. It usually wasn't worth the effort required to conjure up an ice attack with the capabilities of damaging a fire type. I'd have to do something else for now.

Quilava smirked for a fraction of a second. I narrowed my eyes, instantly suspicious and alert for anything. To my disappointment, he launched a fireball in my direction. I expected something far more impressive and unpredictable. It took barely an iota of focus to call up my Mirror Coat technique. This carefully refined technique was superior to almost all other versions, able to deflect virtually any projectile attack like an upgraded Light Screen. The only cost was a minor one: frequent use was tiring and stronger attacks would require more focus and cause more strain to me. This was almost never an issue. I did not show exhaustion easily and the second-rate battlers rarely ever tried to spam their projectiles when they thought Mirror Coat had no downsides.

I delivered a smirk towards the weasel, the expression freezing when I saw he had disappeared. My fur bristled, taking in the subtle changes in air current and temperature. In the proper conditions, it was easy work for me to detect move-

I picked up the changes far too late to avoid the fast strike coming from the right side, the blow knocking me off-balance. I grunted, and formed a second Ice Beam, spitting it at point-blank range. The fire type vanished again, prompting a scowl from me. How was he that fast? I kicked off the ground, hurling my body backwards, knowing the inevitable strike was sheer moments away and-

I grunted again, this time the impact coming from behind me with enough force to knock me to the ground. I cursed under my breath, lashing my tail at the offending fire type, the flexible appendage taking on a blue aura the moment before impacting with his face. Quilava slid backwards, shaking his head as if barely fazed. I leapt to my feet and exhaled a small gale of snow over his body. The fire burning on his back counteracted any chill he may have experienced, but that hadn't been the point of my attack. In that single moment of distraction, I darted forward at high speed. Let's see how he liked having speed turned against him. I slammed my head into his left side, the blow shoving Quilava off-balance. I utilized my Quick Attack again, striking him from his other side. I repeated the strategy a third time, but Quilava moved out of the way with speed not only rivaling mine, but possibly exceeding it.

So be it, a battle of speed would likely result in a stalemate unless we channeled more energy into our blows. It was time for me to kick the duel up a notch. I focused, feeling energy building inside my body. To fully utilize my ice techniques, I needed to be rid of that meddlesome sunlight. The clouds in the sky slowly darkened, drawing into themselves more of the moisture in the upper atmosphere. As if guided by an invisible paw, some of the clouds began moving until they paused in front of the sun, casting a dark shadow over our makeshift battle grounds. I smirked, the surrounding air already experiencing a chill from the loss of direct sunlight. Quilava blinked once at the sky, jumping out of the way of the Ice Beam I fired at him during his upward glance. Hm, so the distraction wasn't enough to capitalize on, but no matter. He was swift, but soon his fires would die down. Especially once my Rain Dance kicked in and cemented my strategy. If he was so confident that type advantage meant so much, then Rain Dance and Water Pulse would sweep the board with him.

I leaped over the fiery weasel when he tried to slam into me again, subtly drawing in moisture into my mouth and forming a water orb. The cloud overhead had already started to drizzle, but the sprinkle was too light to dampen Quilava's flames or provide any significant boost to my water technique. It made no difference; the additional moisture in the air would be sufficient to enable rapid use of my water and ice techniques and soon this weakling would be beaten, overrun by my anti-fire strategy. And even if by some stroke of luck he proved more resilient, I had plenty of other tricks up my metaphorical sleeves. With a Sitrus berry in my berry pouch, I could swiftly take him out if the need arose, speed be damned.

The rain began to intensify, but the Quilava's flames continued to blaze, their heat counteracting the dampening attributes of rainwater. A hissing sound occasionally sounded as the rain evaporated before the flames, but I was undaunted. Forcing him to maintain his flames would sap a bit more energy from him and make my task easier. And he thought he was worthy of having Dark? Ha. I clamped my jaws around my expanding Water Pulse sphere, unleashing a large, circular tidal wave of water. Quilava jumped, touching onto the bark of a nearby tree and kicking off of it, gaining enough height to go over the wave entirely. Hm, that was almost impressive, utilizing a tactic that I myself would have used. The most interesting aspect was his reflexes. He had not only seen the threat in time to react, but had just as quickly formed a strategy to bypass it.

I grunted as the fire type slammed into me, the heat of his flames singing my blue-white fur. "Error: Lost focus," I chided myself quietly. Quilava struck me again, the flames on his head intensifying a moment before contact. I yelped, the force of the blow sending me tumbling across the ground, my flesh stinging from the burning flames. I leapt to my feet, darting out of the way of a fireball. I spat a Shadow Ball in his direction, but he dodged it easily and sent another fireball at me. I deflected it with a Mirror Coat, just in time to have the burning weasel slam into my chest.

I gasped and skidded backwards, my chest stinging from the collision. I narrowly sidestepped out of the way of another strike, and Quilava lashed out a paw, striking the side of my head with a surprisingly strong blow. I saw stars explode in front of my eyes. Damn this second-rate weasel! He had become a tiresome foe and I had nothing left to gain from humoring him. These small humiliations and pains were worth it. Since the battle had begun, I had gotten enough of a feel for his style. Speed and burning things, such uncreative tactics for a fire type. He was a bit faster than most of my adversaries, perhaps, but still beneath my skill level. I need to press an offensive, and overwhelm him before my Rain Dance wore off.

"You're an interesting opponent, I'll give you that much, Quilava," I said, reaching into the berry pouch around my neck and withdrawing my Sitrus berry. "But you're out of your league."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing," Quilava said. I rolled my eyes. How predictable and lame, just what I expected of someone like him. The fire type paused for a moment before adding, "Glaceon."

My eye twitched at the last word, my mild amusement fading. "Excuse me?"

"I said you're an arrogant prick, listen closer, Sparkles," Quilava replied. I stared at him, my fur bristling.

"Sparkles?" I repeated blankly. I could just barely make out the sound of Darkness stifling a chuckle. Traitor.

Quilava shrugged, his flames still burning strongly. "Saying 'prickly' in the same sentence as 'prick' sounds awkward," he explained. The worst part of that is I can't refute his logic. Stupid son of a bitch, talking to me like he's superior. Humoring him so long had come back to bite me. So he actually thought he was on-par or superior to me, did he?

"You've yet to impress me, Quilava, yet you speak with such bold crassness," I remarked, sneering at him. He was starting to get on my nerves.

Quilava blinked, looking momentarily confused. "And...I've cared what you've thought about me, since...when?" I resisted the urge to scowl and Quilava continued, "I mean, you're annoyingly arrogant for a merely competent fighter. You're not really anything special."

My eyes widened, and then narrowed. The air around me dropped a good ten degrees. "Merely competent? You think because you held your own during the preliminaries, you can belittle me?" No question about it, he was not a pathetic amateur, but he was nowhere near my level, so how could he muster up the gall to insult my skills?

Quilava's back flames flared up, counteracting the temperature drop. "Belittle you? I was giving you my honest opinion, Prickly." He shook his head, looking amused. "Held my own? We were fighting? I thought we were sparring before the match. You were trying?" he asked, a hint of smirk on his face. The expression made my insides boil.

I was about to retort but thought better of it. Losing my temper would cost me in the end. Let him think I was actually putting effort into the fight. It would make his defeat all the more satisfying once he learned the true extent of my skill. It was my error for feeling him out for so long and so inefficiently.

"If you're so confident, Quilava, then let's see you handle this," I said. I casually tossed the Sitrus berry I was holding into my mouth, chewing quickly, but leisurely, making sure to squeeze as much as the juice from the fruit as possible. Upon swallowing the juice, I focused, drawing upon the energy that would ignite my new fuel source. Almost immediately, I felt a surge of energy flow through my body, spreading to the ends of my paws, tail, and even my ears. A faint pink glow surrounded my body and my mind tingled, my senses heightened with the addition of psychic energy. This fire type was about to see what happened when someone dared condescend to me.

Unfortunately, Quilava took one look at my glow and started laughing loudly, clutching his stomach. "So y-you turn pink when drunk?" he snorted. I frowned. Not...remotely close to the reaction I wanted. To make matters worse, he seemed to have abandoned any thought of our battle in favor of laughing hysterically. "T-th-that's the f-funniest-" he broke off laughing, gasping for breath. "Th-that's the most RIDICULOUS thing I-I've ever seen!" he said, lying on his back in a fit of laughter.

"Shut up," I grumbled, my tail lashing in annoyance.

Quilava pushed himself into a sitting position with his front legs, still laughing. "Ooh, I better be careful for the big bad attack. What'll you do, trip on me drunkenly and try to seduce me?"

"Don't flatter yourself. You're not-"

"DRUNKEN EFFEMINATE PINK EON ATTACK!" Quilava shouted, bursting into another fit of laughter. I glared at him. Sooner or later he's going to run out of things to say. I noticed Darkness was giggling quietly, her blue rings glowing.

"Are you quite done yet?"

"Mespirit, even if I LOSE, this was worth it just for that..." Quilava said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

"On the subject of you losing..." I smirked, focusing upon the tingling sensation. I was no stranger to the use of Natural Gift to gain psychic energy, so it took only a half second to employ a psychic grasp upon the Quilava, immobilizing him. Without hesitation, I tossed the fire type across the ground like a rag doll. He tumbled just once before kicking off the ground, launching himself forward towards me, his earlier momentum somehow diverting into forward momentum. My eyes widened. How the hell? The Quilava's body was abruptly completely engulfed in fire, the temperature of the surroundings rapidly rising and my raincloud dissolving. Before I could even process what had happened, Quilava was upon me.

I concentrated quickly, forming two Double Team clones, but it made no difference. With a burst of speed I wouldn't have thought possible, the one Quilava became three, all perfectly aligned with the three of me and all of them engulfed by that personal sphere of fire. My two clones vaporized upon impact, and the third blazing Quilava slammed into my chest. The fire didn't just burn; it cut through my flesh like a burning knife, the fire sealing the wounds before blood could be spilled. It was agony beyond the pain of the Fire Blast I had taken in my last battle with a fire type. The ice and moisture in my fur sizzled and evaporated, the fur itself blackening. I felt unconsciousness closing in, but fought it with every ounce of strength I had. My nerves screamed as I rolled across the ground, the rocks scraping against my body felt like nothing compared to the burning flames.

And then it was gone. I knew I was on the ground, on my side, struggling to remain awake. My body had gone numb, the pain a stinging memory and little more. I growled, but a distant part of my mind was telling me the fight was finished. No, I couldn't give up! I wasn't going to lose! I was backed into a corner, that's all, and was going to keep fighting, to prove just how exceptional I was. I pushed myself up, ignoring the aches that flared over every inch of my body. My legs shook violently as I lifted my head to glare at Quilava.

"En...dure," I whispered.

Quilava gave me a deadpan look. "I've never seen someone so addicted to pain." He paused thoughtfully. "Well, this kind of pain, at any rate."

"You haven't...won yet..." I growled, panting heavily. My chest felt like it was on fire, but I could still feel the psychic tingle coursing through me. I could still beat this fool.

"Yes, I have," the Quilava argued. "If I walked away right now, you'd faint in a few minutes if a predator didn't get to you first."

"No, you haven't!" I snapped, a psychic ripple expanding outwards, but it disappeared before reaching the fire weasel. My legs shook violently and to my horror, the pink glow around my body faded. I staggered, but remained standing, glaring defiantly at the fire type, but I knew my bravado was meaningless.

Quilava shook his head. "Denial," he noted, returning to an offensive stance.

"No, stop. Stop," Darkness interrupted firmly, quickly stepping between us. I froze. What was she doing? I had to take him down otherwise...but my legs shaking told me I was only fooling myself.

"All right, all right," my opponent said with a sigh, relaxing his stance. I was too stunned to reply. How had this happened to me? Did I overestimate myself? Did I underestimate him? Did I make any errors in battle? I know I felt him out at first, but I do that for everyone.

Darkness rubbed against the Quilava briefly, her rings glowing as she did so. "That was amazing, Narc," she praised. My heart sank. Losing to that damn fire type had only impressed Darkness more. The quickest way to steal an Umbreon's interest is to impress her, and in trying to cut him down, I had only made him look better and more appealing.

"Thank you," said the Quilava, Narc, his fire crackling with an odd purr-like sound. I wish I hadn't used Endure. When that damned Flareon beat me, I had been knocked unconscious and was alone when I woke up. It was a less bitter pill to swallow than this, staying conscious but being unable to fight.

I turned to go. Loss or not, I had come here to pick up Leaf from Rustboro. A surge of anger towards the Leafeon rose up inside me. If it weren't for that damn call, I'd never have fought that weasel! I had been patching up my reputation from losing to that nothing Flareon and now this! How could this scenario get any worse?

"Excuse me, Master Frost, but I need to report back to the clan," Toady said. My eyes widened. Shit, I had completely forgotten he was here, which means he saw that fight! Damn it!

"What? No, I need you to transport me and Leaf!" I said, hoping I didn't sound desperate.

"Mistress Darkness is evidently not accompanying you at that time, Master Frost. I do not wish to make two trips," Toady explained evasively.

"Toady..."

"I personally do not think less of you, Master Frost," Toady said sincerely. His sentiment changed nothing, something he evidently realized because he leaned over and licked my cheek in a comforting gesture, then teleported. I blinked, and then remembered my objective. Darkness and the Quilava were talking, both completely disregarding my presence. Well, screw them, too. Darkness could do what she wanted and didn't care how I felt about the matter.

I shook my head and staggered in the direction of the human city. I had been warned that pride led to a fall. For years, my pride had been justified. But my second defeat in such a short time? And a stalemate with Tarot? Was I losing my touch? Was I past my prime? What was happening to me?


	280. Clan Education

**Jolt POV**

I awoke from a short nap maybe an hour after arriving, judging by the sun's position. Several Eevee and Eons had moved to the area I was residing in, enabling me to appreciate the size of the clan grounds and membership. I'm amazed this many Eevee and their evolutionary line could live in the vicinity of a human city and still never be found out. I made a mental note to ask about that. All the Pokémon here seemed at ease, rather than the wariness I had come to expect from wild Eevee. Even the Eons that seemed to be in charge of security looked calm, chipper even. There was no question that the Pokémon living here were very happy and led comfortable lives.

I stood up and stretched, drawing the attention of a few of the Eevee, but rather than retreat from an unknown Pokémon, two of them approached without a trace of fear, one of them sniffing me curiously. I smiled at them and patted the head of the curious one. It squeaked, again showing no fear at being touched. Why was it that I was so paranoid and these Eevee were so fearless? The adult Eons looked at me once, but none of them became defensive or suspicious. One of them even smiled at me. Didn't they know I wasn't a member of the clan, or did they simply not care? I heard most Eon clans were absurdly exclusive and Kira had mentioned that her clan had shunned all non-Eevee, and other Eevee that weren't part of the clan had to go through a huge process just to get anyone to give them the time of day, much less accept them.

Yet this clan was different from what Kira said and what I've heard from others. An eerie Sableye seemed to be tolerated and I was welcomed without any coldness. The atmosphere here was calm and welcoming, even though Aqua had labeled the clan as reclusive. For the first time in several weeks, I felt relaxed and even happy. It was easy to guess why I hadn't felt that way recently, but I wasn't sure why I felt that way now, but who am I to complain? Anything that wasn't a day of misery or stress was fine by me.

"Enjoy your nap?"

I jumped at the sudden voice, turning around quickly and finding myself face to face with Aqua. She smiled, looking amused by my reaction. I took a step back, finding us too close for a comfortable conversation. I don't usually like talking in someone's face. "Uh...yeah, it was all right, I guess," I said, now starting to feel stupid about the uncertainty in my tone. I had a great nap. Aqua either didn't notice or chose to overlook it.

"Has your stay been comfortable so far?" she asked, her tail swishing as she sat down. I've always envisioned a clan alpha as lording over their underlings, making themselves intimidating or distant. But she was polite and friendly, and her sitting position was casual, as if she wanted nothing more than to talk to someone on their level. Even before, when we were looking for Moonlight, she spoke to each clan member respectfully, treating them as equals rather than inferiors. This behavior fascinated me.

"So far it's been excellent," I told her seriously. Aqua smiled. "It's great here...everything seems so...welcoming, you know?"

Aqua nodded. "I do." She gazed over at the nearby Eevee and their parents, a small smile lingering on her face. The way she looked at them all was like a parent, watching over their playing kit. I know that look only too well from how my mom looked over Volt when he was young.

"I thought clans usually had problems with outsiders," I said. Aqua's smile faltered for a moment, and she gave me an inquisitive look, silently asking for elaboration. "I always heard clans rejected those who aren't in their clan."

"An outdated way to approach others," Aqua said softly. "Some elements of that do unfortunately still exist in some of our members' minds. It is discouraged as often as possible."

"But I haven't seen this clan guilty of that at all."

"Like I said, it is outdated. And most outdated practices have ceased to be a part of our clan's culture," Aqua said. "We still prefer to avoid cross-specie couplings, but we tolerate them. We are still adapting to that one, I must confess."

"What is considered an outdated practice?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. Aqua gestured for me to come with her and stood up, walking ahead. I blinked, but followed. Aqua slowed down until we were walking side-by-side.

"An outdated clan practice is one where the ideas behind the practice's conception should no longer apply to any respectable society. A clan fits here. Of one, mate selection," Aqua said, turning towards me with a serious expression. "It is strictly forbidden to be harassing to or to forcible coerce a mate."

"Okay," I said, nodding to show I understood.

"Depending on the severity of the case, the penalty ranges from a warning to permanent exile," Aqua said matter-of-factly. "We have not needed to exile anyone in years."

"Good to know."

"Most of our members are very well-behaved," Aqua agreed. "Temporary exile is the harshest penalty usually dished out, and those are usually give to those who cause trouble, but aren't malicious."

"Do you decide the punishments or do others?"

"I do," Aqua replied. "I try to be fair and weigh the matter carefully before settling on something. Very rarely do serious penalties occur. In any case, most policing is done by the patrollers, not the alpha."

"Patrollers?"

"The Eons that keep watch over the clan. Several serve as guardians of the grounds, others maintain order. Toady is one of the latter, being very skilled both at settling disputes and breaking them up," Aqua explained, her voice rich with patience. "Only when the problem is more pressing do I usually get involved."

"Are there any other outdated practices the clan doesn't follow?"

"Alpha rules are a big one," Aqua answered after some consideration. "Many clans and packs of many species give alphas supreme status over everyone. While this mostly holds true, there are several changes to the usual rule."

"Oh?" I asked, curiosity piqued. "And what would those be?"

"Keeping in mind this applies not just to this clan, but many other clans of varying species?"

"Yeah." I nodded, listening attentively. I didn't know much of anything regarding alphas and clans and that sort of thing, so this was going to be a fresh learning experience.

Aqua chuckled at my facial expression. "For one, the alpha is not permitted multiple mates."

"So how does that work?" I prompted.

"Ordinarily, the alpha has a pool of mates," Aqua explained, a note of distaste in her voice. "He, or she, I suppose, could select any of them and take them as a mate, and then proceed to dismiss said mate when he or she loses interest. An alpha's mate is off-limits to the rest of the clan, regardless of how said mate feels about the matter. Remember, most mates are not chosen with specific consent, but on the policy that whatever the alpha wants, the alpha gets."

"Ah, I see."

"Abuse is not tolerated. Ever, even from the alpha," Aqua continued with a growl. I flinched at the sudden change in tone. The Vaporeon's eyes hardened. "All kinds of abuse. Physical, emotional, sexual, it doesn't matter. It's not tolerated, and woe befall the one found to have engaged in it. I'll leave that to the imagination." Her tone was so dangerous that I felt a shiver down my spine.

Intent on changing the subject, I asked, "How does one become an alpha? Just beat the former?"

Aqua considered the question for several moments, noticeably calming during that time. "Well, not exactly. For the position to be officially switched, the battle would have to be held in the presence of reputable clan members. However, while I'm sure other clans follow your line of thinking, a clan member challenging the alpha without pre-existing grievances is almost considered traitorous. This clan used to follow the system you mentioned, but really, desiring the alpha position is selfish and can lead to an internal crisis if the usurper is unable to lead efficiently. It goes to show that strength is not everything."

"How did you become the alpha?" I asked.

"I beat the former," Aqua said bluntly. "I followed the system of my predecessor. Most of the rules have been changed or altered since then."

"No offense, but wouldn't that label you as slightly hypocritical?"

Aqua gave me a long look. "I beg your pardon?" she asked, but she didn't sound angry, just perplexed.

"Well, you said you think challenging the alpha is traitorous or selfish so..."

"Without having grievances," Aqua corrected gently. "Let us drop the matter by simply saying I did."

"Sorry," I muttered. Although the Vaporeon hadn't shown any sign of being upset with me, I couldn't help but think I had hit about a sore subject or crossed a line with the question. Aqua dismissed the apology with a paw. Unlike Frost and Psycho, whose gestures were indifferent, Aqua gave off more of a vibe of telling me not to worry about it, rather than not accepting it.

A short silence fell between us. I was unwilling to ask more questions about the alpha rules and Aqua evidently didn't have much else to say. The Vaporeon eventually led me to a large open spot with several species of Eevee all gathered together. "Here we are," Aqua told me, gesturing a blue paw around.

"Where are we?" I looked around the open area, which was a sprawling meadow with brightly colored flowers growing in sporadic patches. The meadow was dotted with trees and cut across with a bubbling stream. The younger Eevee were playing enthusiastically with one another, observed by their parents, many of who were chatting with one another in between eating fruit, berries, and even what looked like fresh meat. I chose it would be better for me not to think too much about that last one.

Aqua smiled. "This is an excellent communal eating location, in case you're hungry. There's fruit in the trees and on a few bushes. If you're into meat, there is a steady supply of small-"

"That won't be necessary," I interrupted hastily. The Vaporeon took note of my tone and nodded. It's bad enough that my brother is a psychotic Umbreon without adding the thought that other Eon species regularly consume meat. I don't, and Leaf rarely did, although he was oddly more inclined to do so than I was, despite being a grass type. Psycho...I don't have a clue what he eats, and I think Frost eats fish at most. But here, I could plainly see a Jolteon chewing on some carcass. Not the most pleasant image.

"Help yourself to anything if you're hungry," Aqua said, her tail swishing once.

"Maybe later. I'm not hungry."

The Vaporeon shrugged. "Very well. Is there anything else you need or any further questions?"

"Just a random question. Are you the only Vaporeon?" I asked, squinting towards the crowd of Eevee and evolutions. "I see plenty of Jolteon and Flareon, tons of Eevee, a handful of Umbreon and Espeon apiece, and a few Leafeon. I don't see any other Vaporeon."

Aqua was silent for a long time, finally chuckling quietly before responding, "That's very perceptive of you, Jolt. Yes, I'm the only Vaporeon in the clan. Before you ask, no, it has nothing to do with my status."

"Is there an actual explanation for the lack of Vaporeon? I can understand no Glaceon, because the only place they can evolve is Sinnoh-"

"Ice Path, too," Aqua corrected gently. I blinked, but recalled Frost or someone saying something similar once before. I had never been there, myself, so I couldn't clarify. "But you're right; lack of accessibility plays a large role in the lack of Glaceon. As for Vaporeon...it's somewhat complicated."

"What do you mean?"

Aqua considered the question carefully. "We have access to Water Stones, but-"

"Excuse me, Aqua?" A sudden voice said from behind the water Eon. Aqua blinked and turned towards the speaker, the Flareon I had seen looking after the lost kit shortly after arriving here.

"Yes? What is it, Star?" Aqua asked, smiling at the Flareon. I cocked my head to the side, but remained silent. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, our kit's fine," the Flareon answered, smiling back. My ears perked up at hearing that the kit was doing okay. The fire type's eyes flicked over to me. "I owe you thanks for that. My mate would have killed me if something happened to him."

I looked over at Aqua. "Really?"

Noticing my look, Aqua chuckled. "I'm not his mate, Jolt, if that's what you were thinking."

"Oh...yeah, I guess I kind of was," I muttered, feeling my face grow hot. Probably the Flareon using the term 'our kit' threw me off. Aqua didn't seem like the murderous type anyway, but people had bizarre reactions when it came to their kit's safety. Neither Eon seemed annoyed by my mistake, but the corners of Aqua's mouth twitched as she turned her focus back to the Flareon.

"So what is it you wished to see me about?"

"Oh, I wanted to know if someone could be arranged to watch our little guy tomorrow afternoon," the fire type said after a moment's hesitation. I got the feeling that he didn't really like the idea of asking for someone to watch his kit so soon after it got lost.

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "May I ask the occasion?"

"It's her birthday tomorrow and I wanted to take her out for a while," Star said sheepishly. Aqua chuckled and nodded, the gesture prompting a look of relief from the Flareon. "So you can find someone?"

"I think I can," Aqua replied pleasantly. "Pearl will probably accept if someone asked her."

"Pearl?" I repeated. "That Sableye?"

"The same."

I shivered. "Ugh, I'd never let her near my kits."

Aqua actually laughed, her shoulders shaking with amusement. "Pearl is surprisingly trustworthy, Jolt. If she wasn't, I'd never allow her near the younger Eevee. Or the older ones, for that matter."

I still wasn't convinced. That Sableye had creeped the hell out of me and threatened to kill me no less than three times within five minutes of us meeting. I didn't dare think of what she did around younger Eevee. Of course, if she scared them horribly, then Aqua had a point. Such behavior wouldn't go unnoticed and a repeat would never happen. That's still not the best reason to trust a creepy ghost like her.

I shook myself from those thoughts, noticing that the Flareon had walked off, once again leaving me more or less alone with the Vaporeon alpha. Her attention had gone back to the gathered Eevee and Eons in the clearing, and I could see the glowing look in her eyes and the sincere compassion behind her smile. As if aware of my attention, she turned towards me. "I'm sorry, did you need something?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine," I answered, a little too quickly. The Vaporeon stretched her legs and yawned. "Tired?" I asked rhetorically. Aqua chuckled and shook her head.

"Not really tired, no. I often nap in the afternoon to unwind," she explained.

"Is being an alpha stressful?"

"Sometimes, but usually no. It's a lot on your shoulders at one time, but we manage well here. But if I don't indulge in the luxury of a nap, I may someday find a time when I can't find the time. It's worked into my schedule this way," Aqua stated. She started walking again and I, uncertain of whether she wanted me to follow or not, stood still for several seconds. The Vaporeon glanced over her shoulder at me. "Staying back?"

"Not sure. Where are you going?"

Aqua chuckled. "To this excellent sunbathing location on the other side of the clan grounds," she said, pointing a paw towards the south. "That's where I normally nap and where members wishing to bring something to my attention go to find me." She continued to walk again, but looked back at me. "You're free to join me if you're inter-"

She dropped the last part of her sentence, a frown suddenly flashing across her face. I stared at her, alarmed by the sudden shift in demeanor. "What's wrong?" I asked, stepped forward.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, her tail twitching with clear concern. Before I could answer, she dashed off in the opposite direction, proving to be surprisingly agile for a Pokémon with such a heavy tail. I know it's heavy because it slapped me in the face when she passed me, yet she probably didn't notice. I shook my head and rubbed my jaw. Sheesh, that hurt. I jogged after her, intent on finding out what the hell had gotten her so worked up. What had she heard or thought she heard? I hadn't heard anything, but I suppose that didn't count for much.

It was several minutes before I caught up to the Vaporeon and the source of her concern was immediately clear. The two of us stood at the edge of a downward sloping hill overlooking an expanse of thick grass dotted with thorny bushes and rocks. At the bottom of the hill, some fifty feet below, was a pair of Pokémon, engaged in a fierce scuffle. Even from this distance, I could see that the one on the right, a mid-aged Leafeon, was badly injured by its opponent, a vicious-looking Houndoom, yet neither showed any sign of stopping their fight and neither even tried to back down.

Aqua growled a curse of some sort and barreled down the hill. I let out a startled cry as she tripped halfway down and tumbled down the hill haphazardly, coming to a rest at the base of the hill. Without missing a beat, she stood up and shouted, "ENOUGH!"

I didn't hear the replies, but it was clear neither planned to back off. Aqua launched a jet of water from her mouth, bowling the Leafeon over. Feeling a stab of anxiety, I hastened down the hill to provide a little more assistance. Halfway down the hill, the incline steepened abruptly. At my speed, I couldn't adjust my weight properly and tumbled down, grunting with each landing.

THUD.

"Oh...my head," I groaned, clutching my skull. I had the wonderful luck of colliding with a rock, instantly giving me a headache and bleary vision. I crawled up onto the rock, silently pleading for the headache to go away, to no avail. Once I was aware of my surroundings again, I saw that Aqua and the two fighting Pokémon were in a heated argument.

"If you're going to cause a fight, you can't be on our clan grounds!" she snarled to the Houndoom. "And you!" she snapped at the Leafeon. "Back off before you get badly hurt!"

"How about you back off, you stupid little bitch, before YOU get badly hurt?" the Houndoom growled, breathing a plume of smoke from his mouth threateningly, followed by a wicked grin that exposed his sharp teeth. "Wait wait...you're an upgrade."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Aqua growled, her short fur bristling and her body tensing. The Houndoom merely smirked in reply.

"What's going on?" I demanded, my tone trying but failing to hide my disorientation. My head throbbed painfully and I groaned. It felt like my head was being pounded with a blunt axe and even blinking was painful.

"You're such a big bad alpha now, aren't you, you stupid little bitch?" the Houndoom taunted. His eyes gleamed with menace. Aqua flinched, yet her gaze was firm. The Houndoom's expression twisted into a cruel sneer and he kicked the weakened Leafeon in the gut, pushing it roughly to the side, away from him. "Prove it to me," he challenged Aqua, showing his fangs. "Prove it, bitch."


	281. Illusions of Grandeur

**Believe it or not, I really am updating this fic again in such a short time.**

**I'd REALLY like feedback for this chapter.**

**Jolt POV**

Pain seared through my skull, intense enough to blur my vision. I shook my head, instantly regretting it as another wave of pain wracked my nerves, my legs buckling beneath me. Through my blurry vision, I could see the blue shape of Aqua facing the black blur of the Houndoom. Did they know each other at all? There had been a note of familiarity in the hell hound's tone, but no such indication existed in the Vaporeon's words. I blinked as a thick fog formed around us, like a dome, keeping a crystal clear of the three of us, but obscuring our view of everything else around us, including the sky. Aqua looked around warily, but refocused on the Houndoom.

"What's wrong, bitch?" the Houndoom sneered, walking nearer to Aqua, his muscles tensed as if ready to strike at any moment. "Backing off like a wuss?" Aqua said nothing, nor did she rise to the bait. Ignoring the pounding in my head, I focused the best I could on the two Pokémon. The Leafeon had seemingly disappeared, but I didn't focus long on that. Most likely it was outside the thick fog. The fight before me seemed inevitable. "Fine then, if you won't come to me, Alpha, then I'll come to you!"

The Houndoom lunged forward, barreling into Aqua's chest, jabbing his sharp horns into her neck. He let out a startled yell when the Vaporeon shattered into fragments, revealing the Substitute for what it was. In a flash, Aqua slammed into the Houndoom's side, knocking him off-balance and swiftly knocking his legs out from under him with her tail. The Houndoom hit the ground, but rolled to his feet, biting at her neck. She ducked under his jaw and bit his leg, keeping a tight grip on his leg as he howled, trying to dislodge her.

At last he succeeded in wrenching his paw from her mouth and she rolled gracefully across the ground, already on her feet and releasing a jet of water towards him. The hound countered with a wave of fire, the two attacks hissing and creating a massive cloud of steam on contact. The Houndoom barreled through the steam mist and head butted Aqua with his horns, sending the Vaporeon tumbling backwards, but she gracefully recovered and slammed her forelegs on the ground, creating a tidal wave of water. Water Pulse, the same technique Frost uses against fire type Pokémon. This wave seemed stronger than Frost's, which was only natural when coming from a water Eon. The Houndoom braced himself, absorbing the brunt of the way, but gasping for air once it passed.

Aqua didn't hesitate to press her advantage, leaping forward and slamming her tail into the Houndoom's muzzle. He yelped, her momentum knocking him down onto his back. Although he was down, she slapped him with her tail again, forcing his head down into the ground, the horns becoming stuck in the earth, softened by her wave of water. She pinned him quickly and growled at him.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded. The Houndoom grinned, as if enjoying the situation. She slapped his muzzle with a paw. "I asked you a question," she growled.

"Dak's my name," the Houndoom answered, unbothered by the slap.

"Never heard of you," Aqua frowned. "What are you doing here, causing trouble in my clan?"

The Houndoom grinned. "That sums it up pretty accurately," he said, running a paw along her side up to the waist. This earned him a punch to the muzzle and Aqua released her pin, backing away a few paces while looking disgusted. Dak snickered and tried to stand, grunting when he remembered his horns were still stuck in the ground. With several loud grunts, he tugged them free and rolled to his feet. "Posei said you were a tease," he sneered.

Aqua's eyes narrowed. "Get out of our territory," she ordered firmly. Dak snickered again, his grin resurfacing.

"You suck as an alpha, bitch," he taunted. "An alpha is supposed to be powerful and intimidating and have the force in his words to keep the others in line. You lack all of those traits. It doesn't help that you're a bitch instead of a male. Real alphas are males."

"Those traits do not make a strong leader," Aqua argued calmly.

"A strong leader," Dak repeated mockingly. "I'm not afraid of you. I bet your inferiors walk all over you."

"Mutual respect is more effective than intimidation and control," Aqua replied, without changing her calm demeanor. The Houndoom snorted skeptically. "Now leave," she ordered.

"Ooh, the big bad alpha is telling me to leave," Dak snickered. "Maybe if you were intimidating, I would, but that authority is just an...illusion." At that moment, Aqua grunted as something unseen collided with her back, knocking her forward. She staggered, but managed to keep her balance, looking over her shoulder in alarm. Dak lunged forward and slashed his paw upwards, connecting with her jaw and knocking the distracted Vaporeon to the ground. I growled. That was a cheap trick!

With a smirk, Dak kicked Aqua roughly, placing a paw on her back to pin her down and kicked her again. She cringed from the blow, unable to retaliate due to the Houndoom's position and pin. Without thinking, I ran forward and clamped my teeth over the trapping paw. Dak yelped in pain and recoiled, then slammed his head forward into my skull. Stars exploded in front of my eyes and I collapsed, my head feeling like it was on fire. Even as I dropped, I sensed Aqua getting to her feet and repelling the Houndoom from us with a burst of water.

"Thanks," Aqua told me. I groaned and climbed up, my head throbbing.

_"Interesting,"_ a sweet, almost heavenly voice whispered. I looked around, but saw nothing in sight but Dak and Aqua, neither of which having voices like that. The fog seemed to close in on me, blocking everyone else from my view. Even my headache seemed to disappear as I looked around, trying to see through the haze of white. It was useless, I could only see myself and nothing more, not even the grass beneath my feet, although I could feel it.

"What's going on?!" I demanded to the air.

_"Jolt, is it?"_ the ethereal voice whispered, this time directly in my ear. I whirled around to face the sound, but saw nothing. A quiet laugh echoed in my ear. _"See how it once was, Jolt. Remember what your mind has brushed aside and tried to forget. Walk forward into the past."_

"What do you mean?" I growled. There was no answer, except for the laugh again, this time coming from directly in front of me. I scowled and stepped forward. I hadn't gone more than a few paces when the fog cleared away, but instead of the outdoors where the fight had happened, I found myself in a familiar location...a location I only saw in my dreams.

My home.

"What?" I gasped aloud, staring around the clearing, the welcoming clearing where I had been born and raised for almost three years. It was untouched, pristine, the way it was so long ago. The bushes held ripe berries, and the stream bubbled, touching my heart with the beautiful sound. I closed my eyes, taking in the old scents, the scents that remained as fresh to me as they were years ago. It had been too long since I savored such smells, so now I drank them in like a dehydrating child.

_"Remember."_ the voice whispered again. _"And relive."_

"Re...live?" I repeated. Then everything changed. The sky grew dark, and night arrived in a moment. Then my vision went black.

_My eyes opened. My body was tired and my mind was racing. Beside me walked a Jolteon, taller than me and female. She spoke to a male Leafeon in a worried tone, the grass type also taller than me. Of course they were taller. What was I thinking? They were my parents, evolved Eons whereas I was a maturing Eevee._

_"Where could he be?" the Jolteon asked desperately. "You don't think..."_

_"No, I don't," the Leafeon growled. I fidgeted, wondering when the grass Eon would scold me, but nothing came. "Damn it. If he's not all right, I'll-"_

_"Shh," the Jolteon shushed quickly, gesturing in my direction. "He'll be fine."_

_"He doesn't even know how to fight!" Dad said, kicking the ground in frustration. Ahead of us was our home. "I pray to Shaymin that he's there, waiting for us and worried sick."_

_"What if those humans got him?" I piped up. Dad whirled on me, his eyes narrowed in anger._

_"Don't say things like that, Jolt!" He calmed down after a look from Mom. My stomach churned with anxiety. Please let him be all right. I'd never forgive myself if he wasn't okay._

_"Volt? Are you here?" Mom called the moment we were near the entrance to our clearing. Dad joined in the calling, pleading for Volt to come out and that everything was okay. I was silent, sniffling to myself. It was my fault Volt was in trouble. I had encouraged his curiosity, had selfishly tried to take the best vantage point for myself and now..._

_"What have we here?" a sudden voice sneered. Mom let out a sudden cry as something hit her in the back, and she disappeared in a flash of red. Dad whirled around, already sending bladed leaves towards the human that had come out of nowhere. As I watched, a second of those strange orbs struck him in the side, stunning him and then he too disappeared in a red flash. Laughter sounded from behind me and I turned, my eyes widening in shock at the towering shape of a human. Then something struck me and everything went black._

* * *

_I awoke in a box, a small box with strong sticks blocking the hole out. I don't know where I am. I don't know what's going on. Fear wormed its way into my stomach and left a sick, hollow feeling inside me. I was hungry, I was scared, and I was lonely. What was going to happen?_

_"Jolt?" a tentative voice called. The voice of my dad. I've never heard him so afraid and worried._

_"What?" I asked. There was an audible sigh of relief._

_"Thank Dialga. I was worried you weren't here." He sighed, although I couldn't see him. "But now I wish you weren't."_

_"What do you mean?" I asked, terrified by the sad note in his voice._

_"Don't be afraid, Jolt. You'll...you'll be okay," my dad assured me, but his voice shook. Palkia, no. What was wrong with him? My dad was supposed to be brave and in-charge. Why was he afraid? I blinked away tears. What was happening with him? Where was Mom?_

_"Come here, you little runt," a booming voice growled and a human paw pulled the sticks away from my box with ease. All my shoving had done nothing to it, yet this thing did it so easily. I glared at him. That was the one that kicked my brother! "Still so defiant?" the human mocked, grabbing me by the ear. "Well guess what, runt? You're going to grow up!"_

_With a taunting laugh that seemed to echo throughout the world, the human picked up a blue-green rock with a bolt of lightning sealed inside it. He held it in front of my face tauntingly and slowly pushed the stone nearer to me. I tried to jerk away, but his grip was too strong. The stone touched my muzzle and immediately I felt dizzy as a brilliant flash of light shown in front of my eyes._

_"That's for biting me, you damn runt!" the human snarled as the light faded. Before I could even get a grasp of my surroundings, I found myself shoved into another box where both Mom and Dad were. They looked at me sorrowfully, both of their bodies covered in minor injuries and bleeding cuts. I breathed a sigh of relief that they were both okay, but then realized we were almost the same height. I knew what had happened, but as I looked down at my yellow furred body, it was still a shock to see, no pun intended._

_"They evolved you," my dad said, his voice defeated. "No Eevee should be forced to evolve," he said and broke down, nuzzling my mom as tears streamed down his cheeks. I didn't realize how much my evolution options meant to him. I didn't realize how deeply it hurt to see his son imprisoned the way we were._

* * *

_Days passed like seconds, marked only by the short times my parents were dragged from our box and returned, their bodies bearing more and more markings. They took these injuries nonchalantly, but I could see the hurt in their eyes, and I overheard their whispers when they thought I was asleep. They said nothing to me about what they did or had done to them when they were away from me, but Dad would comfort Mom, telling her he loved her, no matter what "those fiends" made him to do to her body, and he feared what they'd have me do if he refused. I never let them know I heard them whispering. The weakness and helplessness in their words carved into my heart. It wasn't right that my parents were damaged by these humans._

_Then the day came when my parents weren't dragged from the box and I heard the humans talking about a "test". Dad had grown weaker over the days. He and Mom had given me their food for the past three days, knowing how hungry I was, even if I didn't complain about my aching stomach. Dad's legs had grown weaker and the food we had been given was bland in flavor and after so long even I had difficulty standing at some times. Mom and Dad had taken the lack of food hard, and even when I protested taking their food, they refused to touch it, telling me how I needed it more than they did._

_"Jolt..." my dad said quietly. I looked up at him and flinched at seeing the telltale sign of moisture clinging to his eyes. "If you ever see Volt...tell him we love him. And always have."_

_"Dad, please...don't talk like that," I pleaded. The Leafeon smiled weakly._

_"I shouldn't have been so hard on you two. I just wanted...what was best," he said, wiping his eyes with a paw. He smiled again, his eyes glowing with pride. "I love you, Jolt."_

_"Dad..."_

_"Look after your brother if you can. You'll be okay, Jolt. I promise. The legends will look after you," Dad said softly, his legs giving out at last and he lay down beside my Mom. He smiled sheepishly at her and kissed her cheek. "I love you, too."_

_"I know," Mom muttered, licking his muzzle. My words caught in my throat and I couldn't say a thing. Tears sprang to my eyes as both of them rested their heads on one another and closed their eyes. They looked so happy together, even in this living hell. It wasn't long before I realized my dad's chest had stopped moving. Less than ten minutes later, my mom's followed suit. I couldn't fight the tears anymore and dissolved into silent sobbing. I didn't fight the humans as they removed my parents from the box. I never saw what they did. I don't want to know. I never want to know._

* * *

_More time passed. I was moved from that box to a different one, in a different place. I was treated much poorer now. I was forced to fight other Pokémon, often losing and being shoved back into the box. Even so, I forced myself to remain strong. My parents had endured so much for me. I couldn't let them down and fall into despair. My thoughts dwelled on Volt these days. My poor brother. I prayed to Palkia the humans hadn't sunk their claws into him the way they did to me and our parents._

_I did a double take when a familiar looking Eevee walked by my cage. "Volt?"_

_The Eevee froze and turned towards me, looking in my eyes blankly. I grinned. It was him! Not a hallucination or wishful thinking. Finally, the Eevee grinned. "Hello, bro."_

_"It is you," I said, grinning. "Notice anything different about me?" I asked jokingly. It was kind of hard to miss an evolution. Volt rolled his eyes, his answer derogatory. It wasn't the reaction I was looking for, but I stayed optimistic, exchanging a few quips, just like I always used to. Volt replied to them with indifference and irritation, so unlike how he normally acted; shy and curious. I was dying to catch up with him, to tell him how happy I was that he was all right. I asked him to release me and he did so, only to punch me the moment I was free. And then the accusations came. He snarled about how I had supposedly abandoned him and how he was hurt that day...I tried to convince him that things could look up, wanted to tell him about how we could work things out once we were together again, that good things would come of what had happened._

_"No, there's a better thing that happened," Volt mused at my remark. "I'm finally free from you and the parents...useless as they are..."_

_That was the last straw. My brother was NOT about to decry the parents after everything that they did for me, and knowing how they cared about him! They had died. Died in front of me; died giving me support until their very end! "They both died about two days ago, damn it!" I shouted at him._

_"Oh no," Volt sneered, his tone heavily sarcastic. My temper broke and I lashed out at him. A brief struggle followed, with the Eevee catching me by surprise and forcing me back into the box, his eyes cold and his grin mocking. With a final sneer, he resealed the box and turned away._

_"Volt, wait!" I shouted after him. I needed to explain, needed to look after him...I needed him to be my brother again, he was all I had left! But Volt dismissed my pleas and disappeared, assuring me that the humans that had hurt him would get what was coming to them. He didn't care what they had done to me or the parents. Didn't care about our family anymore. He had changed. That was the last I ever saw of the Eevee that I had once loved as my brother. He never returned from the other room, but one of the humans had returned, bearing unmistakable signs of damage, most likely inflicted by the Eevee. No mention of the Eevee's fate was given, and the treatment I received from then on was twice as horrible as ever before._

_But I endured until an ebony-furred Espeon came across me. Barely conscious, I failed to acknowledge any of his questions. With a Glaceon's help, they extracted me from that hellish world into a fresh start. It was like being born again, and within a week I was healthy enough to move. A young Leafeon had bonded with me almost instantly, his cheerfulness reminding me what it was like to keep living..._

"ARGH!" I let out a pained yell and felt my body slam into the ground. The past disappeared in a flash and I realized what had happened. Something had hit me! My head exploded with pain, like a drill through my skull as my headache returned in full force. I glared at my attacker, blinking in confusion at the Vaporeon.

"Sorry," Aqua said, dimly aware of how much her tackle had hurt me. "You were spacing out, drawn in by that fog. Tapping you didn't do anything."

"I'll thank you later," I whined, clutching my head. Aqua nodded and turned her focus back to the Houndoom and now I could clearly see a second being, in the form of a ghostly creature, purple-blue in color with a necklace of red beads. It pouted at Aqua.

_"Spoiler sport,"_ it said and I realized it was the source of the ethereal voice.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded, wincing from the pain of my headache.

The ghost giggled. _"I am Illusion."_


	282. Alpha Grudge

**Jolt POV**

"Illusion?" I repeated and narrowed my eyes at the Misdreavus. The tension in my face caused by the expression sent another throb of pain through my splitting skull. I gritted my teeth to keep from crying out, focusing quickly on the energy burrowed within my body until my quills gave off a faint golden glow. How had the cure to this pain evaded me for this long?

Illusion giggled. _"That's my name,"_ she said. Or, I think she's a female. I can't really tell what the gender of a ghost is and I definitely wasn't about to ask. What did she want from me? She had somehow forced me to relive those memories; those unhappy images of my past and the reminder of everything I had endured when my life changed forever. I know I had made mistakes in my past. I could see some of them so easily now.

My stomach squirmed with guilt. What happened to Volt had been partly my fault, and my attempt to help him then had taken too long. Afterwards, I had just been so happy to see him again that I hadn't taken into account that he might have been traumatized by what happened. I should have told him about the parents and what they asked me to say or do, but I hadn't done it. Even to this day, I had never passed on how deeply the parents had cared for him. I was a rotten brother then. From that day, Volt never listened to my words, never cared for my pleas. I kept repaying his hatred with anger and hate of my own. No, I never hated Volt, but I hated what he soon became. Maybe I should have tried to understand him better, or tried to sympathize in some way. But no, I had to play the big brother role and openly condemn his actions and threaten to disown him as a brother. I was such an idiot!

I growled, shaking off those thoughts. Volt had taken the dark path then. He had fallen into step with the murderous monster, Diablos. That phantom had taken my brother from me and turned his once innocent mind towards vengeance and murder. Even if Diablos was gone, his damage had been done. I had promised myself to help Volt, but the Umbreon hated me so much. Even if he claimed to have gotten over our past feud, I knew his hate of me was ingrained in his mind. But yet he said he told Diablos to leave Kira alone...I don't know if I can believe him.

"Jolt!" Aqua hissed at me and I jerked my head up, abruptly aware that I had been staring at the ground for several moments. The Vaporeon gave me a concerned look. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

"Uh...fine, I think," I said, shaking myself. A wave of pain shot through my head and I grasped my skull, whining quietly. Aqua hurried over, her concerned expression intensifying. "I'll be fine," I gasped out. At that moment, the golden sphere of light appeared overhead, descending upon my body. I let out a sigh of relief as the headache faded away, all the tension and discomfort evaporating as my body was bathed in warm, golden light.

"What did you do to him?" Aqua growled at the Misdreavus.

_"Didn't do nothing," _Illusion protested with a note of hurt in her voice. Dak snickered.

"I bashed his head pretty good earlier," he reminded the Vaporeon, but she ignored him. I shook my head and body, ensuring that all the pain had indeed faded.

"Who in Palkia's name are you two?" I demanded.

"I'm Dak, she's Illusion," the Houndoom reminded me, rolling his eyes.

"And why are you here? And where's the Leafeon?" Aqua demanded, looking around frantically. I mimicked her, taking immediate note that the Leafeon Dak had been beating up had completely disappeared, as if it had never existed.

_"Oh, her?"_ Illusion giggled. She jerked her head to the side towards an empty stretch of grass. Before our eyes, the image of an injured Leafeon appeared, as solid and realistic as a real one, but then it dissolved into mist.

"That was an illusion..." Aqua murmured, frowning. "You weren't fighting anyone."

"All the better to lure the alpha bitch," Dak sneered. "I was afraid your clan was full of noble idiots who'd try to take me on themselves, rather than summon you."

"And why'd you want to lure me?" Aqua growled. Her short blue fur had bristled subtly and although she had bared her teeth, she hadn't let her emotions spur her into attacking. The Houndoom smirked, flashing his own fangs in her direction. I never before realized how unintimidating that look is when it's not Volt opposing me. My brother had a sadistic smirk that could send a shiver down my spine without fail, aided by his laugh or tone.

"You might say we have our reasons," Dak said. He grinned. "How we doing on time, Illusion?"

_"Thirty seconds."_

"Thirty seconds until what?" I asked, my fur instinctively stiffening into needles, ready to fire at the slightest provocation. Aqua's body tensed, which seemed to amuse Dak.

"Relax, Alpha," he taunted.

"Get out of our territory."

"You're not intimidating," Dak snickered. Illusion giggled and her necklace glowed faintly. A stretch of fog formed in the empty space between her and the hell hound, thick enough to completely obscure our sight of anything behind it. Aqua's eyes narrowed at the veil of fog. That's the only way I can think to describe it: a thin wall of mist dense enough to hide what was behind it.

_"Time's up,"_ Illusion cooed. Dak looked towards the fog, smirking as a shape emerged through it, becoming clearer with every step it took. A blue face was the first thing to completely leave the fog, followed by a quadruped body, also blue in color. A collar of webbing fluttered in the gentle breeze as a muscular torso emerged after the head of the Pokémon. Finally, the distinguishable mermaid tail of a Vaporeon followed, flicking with snobbish superiority. Aqua's eyes narrowed to cold slits and her fur bristled more noticeably. From a glance, I could see the opposing Vaporeon was a male, as if the muscular frame wasn't enough to make that assessment.

"Poseidon," Aqua said, her tone icy.

"Took you long enough, Posei," Dak smirked. The Vaporeon ignored Dak and smiled in a predatory fashion at Aqua. She gave him a disgusted look. I looked between the two Vaporeon, my mind blank. What the hell was going on?

"You don't look happy to see me," Poseidon noted, his smile widening. "Is it because you know why I'm here?"

"You've been exiled from our territory indefinitely. Returning here is-"

"Shut up, bitch," Poseidon snorted. "You think I give a damn about my little 'exile'. Indefinitely doesn't mean forever. I'm here to take back what was mine. That would be three things. My position, and my bitch."

Aqua's eyes narrowed and her tail lashed in anger, but still she remained where she was. "And the third thing?" Poseidon merely smirked in reply. "You'll get nothing back, Poseidon. The rules have changed," Aqua growled quietly. My eyes flicked between the two water Eons with each exchange, my mind racing to figure out what was going on.

"I can still defeat you and take back my position," Poseidon smirked. His eyes trailed over her. "And as the renewed alpha, I can change whatever rules you set to ensure I can have the second prize."

"Don't forget, to make it official, I'd have to be defeated in the presence of a respectable clan member," Aqua growled.

"And how convenient, you have one," Poseidon said, gesturing a paw towards me.

"He's not in the clan."

"Excuses. You're such a big bad alpha now, aren't you, you stupid little bitch?" Poseidon sneered. Aqua flinched and my eyes widened. That's what Dak had said to her before they fought. It even had earned the identical reaction from her. "Well, you don't have a choice."

"No one will accept you if no one confirms it," Aqua said quietly. Illusion giggled and Poseidon laughed. It was not a kind laugh.

"If I win, I'm sure my Misdreavus friend will ensure a confirmation if this Jolteon son of a bitch doesn't cooperate," Poseidon said. "If you refuse my challenge, we can rough him up a little."

"Why do you return now?" Aqua asked, her tail swishing dejectedly. Her eyes burned with a determined fire, but her body language said otherwise.

"Ever hear that trainer Pokémon are stronger than wilds?" Poseidon asked. Aqua nodded tentatively. "I'm living proof. This duel is just a formality. You can surrender your position."

"Why would I do that?" Aqua demanded.

"I'm sure you'd feel AWFUL if this clan was invaded by humans and laid siege to," Poseidon explained smugly. Aqua and I both narrowed our eyes at the male Vaporeon. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

"Our trainer isn't far away and this place is an Eevee gold mine," Dak sneered.

"I'm sure it'll be spared if I'm the alpha. But otherwise, what's stopping humans from being informed of the whereabouts of maybe one hundred and fifty wild Eevee and Eons?" Poseidon finished.

"How can you be sure of that?" Aqua growled.

_"The power of illusions can cloud and protect this clan,"_ Illusion answered. _"Our trainer won't see this clan, just a thick forest. He won't come in, leaving this place as reclusive as before and better protected than ever."_

"But otherwise...fire so high to signal every human in and around Violet City. Deaths if there's struggles, and imminent capture of all the little baby Eevee," Dak said, blowing a puff of smoke from his mouth with an obvious message. I growled loudly, but Aqua stepped forward, her eyes ablaze with anger.

"You haven't changed a bit," Aqua spat. "You still think that to get your way you have to bully and intimidate others into following you, and you can just hurt anyone in your way."

"That's the role of an alpha, dear bitch," Poseidon said.

"You're wrong."

"So what'll it be? Surrender your position or watch this place burn?" asked Poseidon, shrugging off her statement. "I suppose you could fight me, but the outcome changes nothing. If I lose, this place burns. If I win, the clan's mine." Aqua had several uncomplimentary words to furiously mutter under her breath. Poseidon laughed. "Tick tock, time is short."

"You bastard," I spat. Poseidon whirled on me, his eyes narrowed.

"I don't recall asking your opinion, so shut the hell up and butt out."

"No, I won't butt out, you son of a bitch," I snarled. "You're threatening innocent lives, and for what? If they knew what you're threatening, you'd have a riot to deal with, even if you could seize power!"

"Shut your mouth!" Poseidon snapped, slapping me fiercely across the muzzle. I took the blow without a peep, but glared back at him.

"This clan doesn't need a bastard like you in charge," I growled. Poseidon readied his paw to strike me again. "Go ahead, hit me. Doesn't change the fact you're unfit to live."

"Jolt..." Aqua warned. Poseidon slapped me again, hard enough to crick my neck, but I ignored the stinging on my cheek. "Poseidon, stop!" she growled.

"Is the clan mine?" the male Vaporeon demanded, clenching his paw and punching me in the muzzle.

"No, it's not," I growled before Aqua could answer. I felt a trickle of blood in the corner of my mouth, but it didn't bother me at all. Volt put through much worse on a regular basis. This Vaporeon didn't scare me. My growl earned a second punch to the muzzle, with enough force to knock me over. "Is that it?" I demanded, pushing myself up and facing the water Eon. His face contorted with anger and he spun, slapping me with his powerful tail. I hit the ground hard and he pounced upon me, shoving my face into the ground.

"Stop it!" Aqua's voice commanded. I tried to move my head, but the grip was too strong. I struggled to fire a bolt of electricity, but the energy wasn't there. It was like I had been sucked dry of all my volts. "Let him up!"

"You're defying the wrong Vaporeon, Lightning Bug," Poseidon hissed in my ear. I grunted as a paw struck me in the back, but the pain was nearly non-existent. I never before realized how much abuse my body could take after facing off against my sadistic brother so often. It was incredibly amusing. Again I tried to launch a wave of electricity, but the electricity just didn't seem to exist. "I'll make this very simple for you, bitch. Surrender the clan to me right now or I'll snap this son of a bitch's neck."

I felt a strong grip on my neck in the Vaporeon's preparation to go through with the threat. The tension caused one of my fur quills to spring out like a sharp needle, giving me an idea. I couldn't use electricity for some reason, but I could still use the quills themselves. I tensed my back, my fur stiffening, their points facing upwards, towards the Vaporeon's stomach. The grip on my neck tightened, causing my eyes to water, but I didn't lose my focus. I tensed the muscles in my back and felt the first needle release from my back. This was almost immediately followed by another dozen or so, springing from my fur and stabbing into the Vaporeon's stomach.

The weight from me vanished and I heard a startled cry from the Vaporeon. I rolled to my feet in a flash, watching as the water Eon seized the needles from his stomach and tore them out. I winced. Palkia, that had to hurt like hell, but either he didn't register the pain or he just didn't care. "Okay, you stupid bastard, be that way," Poseidon seethed. "Dak, Fire Blast."

"No, stop!" Aqua shouted, her voice panicky. The Houndoom smirked and inhaled, a ball of fire rapidly forming in his maw. Illusion's smile had faded, but she didn't object. I growled, wiping the blood from my chin and readying an electrical attack. It was then that I noticed what appeared to be a silver chain of light tied tightly around my body, the Misdreavus' body wrapped in the same type of chain, but unlike mine, hers seemed more for decoration than to constrict.

"Proceed," Poseidon ordered. The Houndoom didn't respond, the ever-expanding ball of fire in his mouth preventing him from even trying to speak. The expression of horror on Aqua's face was too terrible to look upon. I couldn't let this clan suffer because I decided to be defiant. In a flash, I lunged at Dak, intent on interrupting his attack. Poseidon flicked his tail into my path, sending me sprawling across the ground when I tripped. Damn it! He had known what I was going to do.

Aqua took my lead and launched a pressurized stream of water towards the Houndoom, but Poseidon intercepted the attack, smirking as the water became harmlessly absorbed into his body. The pinprick wounds on his body disappeared, the flesh reforming easily. I pushed myself up, but Poseidon struck me with his tail, the force knocking the wind out of me. I coughed, my eyes wide with horror as Dak spat the ball of flame over my head up the hillside Aqua and I had come from. The ball expanded into a mighty flame, drawn as some sort of human-shape symbol.

Aqua sprayed water at the flames, but the water stream fell short of the Fire Blast. She cursed as the fire struck a tree, instantly igniting the branches and leaves, turning that one tree into a raging inferno. Large sparks floated precariously close to another tree's leaves. It was only a matter of time before the fire would spread. Audible cries of alarm and screams sounded from the direction of the clan. Aqua snarled and whirled on Poseidon, her eyes dark with rage. Poseidon gave a mock innocent shrug.

"I didn't do it," he said. Aqua stepped towards him aggressively, but I hastily bit her tail fin. She yelped in alarm and gave me a death glare. Okay, that really had been a stupid thing to do, but biting the tail was better than possibly hindering her ability to walk by aiming for the legs.

"You need to take care of the fire!" I hissed at her. I hadn't seen any other Vaporeon in the clan, which made her the sole firefighting Pokémon. "Go! Before it gets worse! I'll handle this!" I shouted, shoving her towards the hill. Her eyes widened and she raced up the hill, leaving me alone with the other three Pokémon. I glared at them, taking deep breaths to control my temper the best I could. Seething anger and adrenaline surged through my body, yet my mind was clear and in control. My anger would not conquer me, just like I would not fall into despair.

Poseidon chuckled. "Even if she manages to put the fire out, the smoke and flames will draw human attention." That may be true, but I wasn't going to let them do any more damage. This clan was peaceful, a paradise that I was determined to protect. What I failed to do for Volt, I would do for this clan, no matter what the cost.

_"You won't get far in a fight, Jolt,"_ Illusion warned. She tapped the silver chain coiled around her. The ghostly chain around me made a musical sound at the contact. _"Imprison is sealing your electricity."_

"I don't care," I growled.

"Such a cute growl," Dak snorted, clearly unintimidated. Poseidon smirked and Illusion just stared at me. "Well, may as well, eh?"

"Get the hell out of here," I ordered. Illusion's necklace shimmered and a dense fog formed around the four of us, obscuring the sky and our surroundings, so that as far as the eye could see there was a pale gray mist. Even the ground was obscured; hiding all visible evidence of the ground I stood upon, mist billowing around my paws.

"Oh, we don't feel like leaving yet," Poseidon chuckled. "There's no better way to punish defiance than to stomp you into the ground."


	283. Defiant Battle

**Jolt POV**

I ducked under a fireball from Dak, but in that moment, Poseidon had closed the distance between us and slammed his forelegs down on my back, slamming me face first into the misty ground. I growled and readied a volley of spines to fire into his gut like last time, but soon realized his positioning was different. Rather than standing on my back, he was standing in front of me. Damn, there went that idea, and with Imprison sealing my electricity, I needed a new trick and fast.

I focused on forming a Shadow Ball in my mouth, but like my electricity, the energy seemed to be missing. Damn, so that Misdreavus knew Shadow Ball in addition to electric attacks. All ghosts seemed obligated to carry that technique in some form, so my disappointment was short lived. Not only was the Vaporeon's paws pinning my body to the ground, but he was out of range of any physical retaliation, like my teeth or claws. I lay still, ignoring the pressure on my neck, and focused. I'd only have one chance with this, and if it didn't work, I was in trouble. Frost had made a point of urging our group into practicing this move, if nothing else.

Spheres of energy formed in the air around my downed body, taking on a subtle cyan coloration before bombarding my assailant. Poseidon flinched and shivered, the slight movement all I needed to bite ferociously at him. It worked; the Vaporeon jerked back out of range, not immediately aware that I actually wasn't in any position to strike at him. That moment was just enough time for me to shove myself to my feet and slam my weight into the Vaporeon's side. Poseidon yelped as my spines stuck into his flesh, yet I didn't pause to pat myself on the bat. I needed to take down that Misdreavus and break the Imprison she held over me.

Dak spat another fireball at me, which I ducked nimbly, increasing my speed and allowing the air currents to flatten my fur against my body, greatly improving the sleekness of my form. I turned sharply, losing as little speed as possible without wiping out, and delivered a strong head butt to the Houndoom's back leg. He yelped and snapped his jaws at me. By that time, I had dashed towards Poseidon, leaping over his jet of water and landing on his back. He spun around, nearly throwing me off him, but I bit his webbed collar to maintain my grip.

"Get off me, bastard!" Poseidon snapped, throwing himself onto the ground. I tumbled off, rolling to my feet as Dak attempted to pounce on me before I could recover. I could easily out speed the two quadrupeds, but I doubt I can say the same for the ghost. In fact, she had seemed to disappear from the moment I broke Poseidon's pin. No doubt she was just invisible, either planning to ambush me or just ensuring I couldn't do what I planned to do and break the seal she had over my move pool. I knew I couldn't hold these two off forever without my main offensive techniques, but I didn't have much choice, not counting the 'let them beat the crap out of me' option.

With the thick fog blocking my view, I had no idea how Aqua was faring with the fire, but I hope I can buy her enough time to keep it from spreading somehow, and maybe take down Dak before he could start another fire in the event the first one was put out. It's very careless to have a number of Flareon living in a populated forest and meadow territory without any emergency firefighting Pokémon. Aqua never did explain why she was the only Vaporeon in the clan when Water Stones were available.

Poseidon lunged at me, swinging his heavy tail at my head. I darted to the side, barely avoiding a bludgeoning from the finned appendage. All those speed training exercises I did for the Rockets after evolution were starting to pay off, where failing to dodge an obstacle resulted in getting hit with the thrown heavy object. I had honed the skill over the years, minus the heavy objects flying at my face, of course. Dak intercepted my path and swiped a paw at my legs. I stumbled, but used my imbalance to pivot to the right, by sheer luck avoiding an Ice Beam the Vaporeon had aimed at my back. Both opposing quadrupeds growled in annoyance and began to close in on me, limiting the directions I could safely run. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if the sphere of mist doubled as some sort of barrier, preventing me from running through it to either give or receive aid. Running blindly into a wall was not high on my list of things to do in a fight like this, but even so my options were growing slim.

"Running out of room, you defiant fool," Dak pointed out, smirking at me. I looked between them frantically, my heart pounding in my chest. He wasn't exaggerating, either. I had lost a lot of speed when Dak tripped me and was presently backed into a corner. With more than half my best moves still locked by this silvery chain, this looked like the end of the line.

I growled threateningly, knowing full well neither of them would back off. And why would they? One of them was a dark type, a typing well known for their tendency to engage in fierce battles. The other was a powerful Vaporeon who knew my electric attacks weren't working. Indeed, Poseidon scoffed at my growl and Dak snickered.

"Better watch it, I still have this," I warned, taking a small pink berry from the berry pouch tied around my neck, almost completely hidden from sight by my collar of white fur. The soft fruit was badly smushed and juice leaked from my paw as I brought it to my mouth, but it was still unmistakably a Pecha berry.

"I'm so frightened," Dak sneered. "You have a sweet tooth, big deal..." He froze when he realized Poseidon had stopped short, his eyes wide as I swallowed the fruit. I shivered, tasting the sweet juice on my tongue and the even sweeter energy coursing through my body. My fur crackled, finally able to pass electricity between the quills once again. "What the-?" Dak never got to finish his sentence before I released a wave of electricity, catching the Houndoom in the chest. He yelped in pain and recoiled. I seized this chance to dart through the now open space between them. Poseidon spun around swiftly, his tail swatting me in the hindquarters and sending me tumbling headfirst across the ground, my fur sparking feebly. Maybe I should have used my first shock to hit him instead.

"Natural Gift?" Poseidon growled at me. I groaned, shaking my head and sitting up, trying to clear the momentary daze. Although I wasn't at an angle to see the Vaporeon, I could hear him pattering over to me. "You picked something up from that bitch?"

"Huh?" My question was promptly answered with a blow to the side of the head, sending stars in front of my eyes. Poseidon seized me by the scruff of the neck and shoved me face first into the mist-covered dirt. I growled, rolling to the side and getting to my feet. Poseidon was ready, swatting me in the face with his tail. I grunted from the blow, staggering back a few paces.

"It all comes full-circle, doesn't it?" Poseidon whispered softly. "You bought some time, maybe boosted your ego, but in the end you can't beat me. A common wild is no match for my training."

"Oh, your training, huh? Why don't you let me use my full move pool and then we can see how tough you are?" I challenged. Poseidon ignored me. "Come on, what's wrong? You're talking big, but you suck. That's why you hid behind blackmail rather than fighting Aqua fairly, right? She beat you in the past and you know you can't beat her now. Hell, you probably can't even beat me without half my moves Imprisoned and it's not 2 on 1 or worse."

"Don't let him talk to you like that, Posei," Dak growled. "Kick his ass."

"It's too late to save the honor of the bitch or her precious clan," Poseidon snorted. "We're done here, Dak." He gestured a paw and the Houndoom walked past me to follow the Vaporeon.

"Not even going to punish my defiance properly?" I taunted. "You do a half-tailed job with everything, don't you?" This got to them. Both turned and glared at me. "That's why you stuck around to fight, wasn't it? Why not stick around until the end? I'm still defiant and you're still an incompetent leader."

"Why, you..." Dak growled, stepping towards me. I stood my ground and Poseidon cleared his throat, stopping the Houndoom in his tracks.

"It's clear you don't value your health. When the humans swarm this place, they'll have an easy capture in the form of your unconscious body," Poseidon said coolly. Amazing how any threat that isn't fatal sounds stupid after dealing with Diablos or Volt's tendency to threaten death or the death of loved ones. What could humans do to me that I hadn't already endured? If it weren't for the memory relapse that Illusion gave me, I would probably have been more worried or started doubting myself, like I had been since Kira died. Instead, those memories, awful as they were, reminded me of what I could endure and had already endured in the past. I had stayed optimistic, even in the darkest times of my life, as I watched my family get torn away from me. Well, I wasn't going to let suffering fall upon this clan. Even if I couldn't win...I wasn't going to let them go and do as they pleased!

Poseidon lunged at me, striking me in the face with his paw. I returned the favor to his chin, dazing him long enough for me to bite his neck, holding his head still with my forepaws. He growled and tried to break free, his claws lashing out at me, drawing deep scratching down my sides. I ignored the pain, clawing at his neck and shoulders with my own claws, refusing to loosen my bite even slightly. Poseidon growled loudly, knocking me against the ground in an attempt to break my grip, yowling as my teeth broke the skin of his neck. The taste of blood in my mouth nearly caused me to gag, but I ignored it, intent on doing as much damage as possible before getting the stuffing beat out me.

"Posei, get him!" Dak shouted. He may have been trying to be encouraging, but he sounded like a frustrated parent shouting at his kit. Poseidon evidently took it as such because he shouted for the Houndoom to shut the hell up. At the same time his paw lashed out and struck me in the gut, winding me and forcing me to relinquish my bite.

"You stupid bastard, you thought you could beat me?" Poseidon growled and struck me twice in the face. I yelped, feeling a trickle of blood leave my nose. But the Vaporeon wasn't done yet. He struck me again, biting my ear to hold me still. I cringed, raising a paw defensively. Instead of a blow to the face, Poseidon dealt one to my gut and then slammed his forehead into mine. I fell to the ground limply, my face stinging and my breath coming out in pants. "I barely even tried," Poseidon taunted in my ear, kicking me over onto my side.

"Half-tailing things even when you don't fail," I wheezed. Poseidon kicked me in the stomach, prompting a coughing fit. The Vaporeon seized my ear, forcing me painfully to my feet. Through watering eyes, I glared up at him. "Yes?"

"You're either bold or incredibly thick," Poseidon noted.

"I could be both," I reminded him. The Vaporeon rolled his eyes irritably and drew back his paw. I stared at him defiantly, without a trace of fear, and in the moment we made eye contact, I felt a sudden rush of energy throughout my body. The silver chain upon my body dissolved into mist and the moment it was gone, sparks began flying from my body. Before I could even get a Thunderbolt charged, Poseidon dove forward in a panic and slapped me with his tail.

"Illusion!" he shouted. The Misdreavus appeared immediately before him.

_"You called?"_

"Your Imprison wore off!" Poseidon snapped, pointing at me. She blinked and focused, the necklace on her neck glowing red, but the light rapidly faded. Her smile faded.

_"It's not working,"_ she said, refocusing with a trace of a scowl. Her necklace flashed red, yet the glow refused to linger. _"Sorry..."_

"Whatever, it doesn't matter. Let's go and leave him trapped in this prison of mist and illusion," Poseidon suggested. "It's only a matter of time before humans come."

_"And he does have an interesting memory to reflect on,"_ Illusion agreed with a giggle. I growled and raced to block their path. Mist swirled around me, separating me from the three Pokémon. _"Relax, Jolt..."_ Illusion's ethereal voice echoed in my ears. I couldn't see a thing through the mist. I could barely even see my paw in front of my face.

"What are you doing?" I demanded to the air. "Why are you doing this?"

The only answer was for the mist to dissolve away, my surroundings changing to the inside of a human building. I narrowed my eyes. I knew what was coming next. If these illusions were in sequential order, focusing on my most unpleasant memories, then the Misdreavus was going to remind me of the memory of meeting Volt for the first time after his evolution, and my first encounter with Diablos. I'm sure that'll be _real_ pleasant to relive. I abruptly grinned to myself, all thoughts of the upcoming memory fading away. For two years I had wondered what had caused Volt to evolve. Now that I knew with certainty that my brother had a mate, the realization finally sank in. Hell, he even had a son long before I would have even expected him to understand about the Pidgey and the Beedrill, as the saying goes. Hm, although maybe his lack of understanding was WHY he ended up having a kit so early in his life.

"You can make me relive the memory ANY time now," I muttered to the air. It would at least leave me less on-edge. I knew this was all fake, but at the same time I was expecting to be torn out of this illusion by Poseidon or Dak beating the hell out of me. Aqua had made it sound like my body had gone into a daze when Illusion pulled her trick the first time, so I assume a similar thing was going on now and my awareness of that fact made the anticipation worse.

"Get out," a low voice rasped. My head jerked around, looking around the illusionary corridor in alarm. "Get out!" the disembodied voice ordered again, this time coming from right by my ear. I turned, my heart pounding hard in my chest and my breath coming out in nervous gasps. The air had gotten noticeably colder and my fur was standing on end...more than usual.

"What?" I called, trying not to let my voice squeak too much. Glittering eyes appeared in front of my face, followed by a wide grin of razor sharp teeth. An ice-cold, clammy paw gripped my neck and pulled me nearer to the disembodied features. The mouth opened wide, large enough to take my entire head into its maw, which it proceeded to do so, me struggling frantically.

"Die," the voice rasped and the mouth began to close. With the absence of a visible body, the razor teeth reminded me frighteningly of a guillotine, my neck mere centimeters from decapitation. I felt a sharp pain as a tooth touched my neck...and then the jaws clamped shut. My cry of horror never left me and blackness enveloped my vision. A loud cackle was the last sound I ever heard...

Except I wasn't dead, something I realized five seconds later when my heart pounding reminded me that I should probably stop holding my breath. I opened my eyes to find myself lying face down on the grass, a still-cackling Sableye standing in front of me. "Wh-what?" I stammered, looking around in alarm. Then I recognized the Sableye and growled. "Oh Palkia damn it!"

"Doesn't it feel great to be alive?" Pearl cackled, clenching a paw and rubbing her knuckles firmly upon my skull. I growled in a mixture of anger and pain, something the Sableye ignored in favor of drumming her paws on my head.

"Get the hell off me!" I snapped, swiping at the offending paws. My paws went right through her arms, doing nothing to end the torment she was putting me through. "Get off! Ow!" I yelled, finding myself unable to even pull away from her because she wrapped an arm around my neck to hold me still.

"Feeling good yet?" she rasped in my ear.

"No!" I practically screamed. I shouldn't be surprised that she decided to rap her knuckles on my skull. "Yes, it feels great!" I shouted.

"That's more like it!" Pearl cackled joyously, releasing me. I clutched my skull in agony.

"What the hell happened?" I groaned.

Pearl paused for a moment and then grinned widely. "Those three went away."

"They got away?" I complained. The Sableye's grin widened.

"No, they went away."

"What do you mean, 'went away'?" I demanded, massaging my aching head. I have a bad feeling about where this line of thought is going.

"Do you like jigsaw puzzles?" Pearl asked. I looked at her blankly. Unbothered by my silence, Pearl continued, her grin widening with each word. "What about fifteen thousand piece, three-dimensional jigsaw puzzles with non-interlocking pieces composed of flesh and internal organs?"

I stared at her in mute horror, waiting for the obligatory 'I'm kidding' or words to that effect.

Any time now...


	284. Out of the Fire

**Jolt POV**

It didn't take long for me to conclude the Sableye had no intention of revealing whether or not she had actually turned the three intruding Pokémon into an organic jigsaw puzzle. Even if they were jerks, they didn't deserve to be torn into tiny pieces. My stomach churned at the thought and it took all my willpower not to gag. Pearl cackled, her eyes glittering menacingly. I was heartened at the absence of blood or body parts lying around, yet that didn't explain where the Pokémon had disappeared to. Was she just screwing with me again?

I was forced out of these thoughts by an acrid smell hitting my nostrils and nearly gagged again. Ugh, what the hell was burn...? Oh shit. A wave of panic rolled through my mind, my stomach clenching uncomfortably. I had almost forgotten the reason I faced the three Pokémon alone was for Aqua to have the chance to deal with the flames. I had completely forgotten about the fire those jerks set!

I whirled around and raced up the hill as fast as I could. With my opponents gone, I needed to help out up there! The burning smell grew stronger with each step I took and holding my breath only made my lungs feel like they were on fire. My mind was racing. How long was in that pseudo-illusion before Pearl showed up? How much damage had been dealt to the clan? How bad was the fire? And most importantly...was everyone okay?

At the top of the hill, I stopped in my tracks, my heart sinking horribly. Aqua and several other Eons were combining their efforts to fight the flames, but it was inadequate. Only the Vaporeon was able to create water without rushing over to the river, and the time it took to fetch water, especially when compared to the effectiveness of the strategy, was too long to be any use. Flareon were working closer to the fire than the others, some of them stamping and swatting at the smaller flames near the ground and base of the tree. Other Eons had resorted to throwing dirt or mud in a futile attempt to kill the fire. Nothing seemed to be working.

And there was nothing I could do to help.

My Hidden Power element was ice, making that useless against fire. Unlike real ice attacks, Hidden Power energy did not convert to water upon contact with heat sources. I had no water element techniques in my arsenal, nor did I have access to a berry permitting me to use Natural Gift with a water element. All I could do was stay there and watch as the tree Dak had set on fire broke apart, sending flaming timber upon the ground. The moment the branches hit the ground, several bold Eons leapt upon the flames, crushing them underfoot to keep them down. Aqua had turned her focus to the adjacent tree long ago, intent on stopping the flames from spreading, but it was a losing fight. The burning spears were too large and too strong.

"Doesn't anyone here have water techniques?" I pleaded to the nearest Eon, another Jolteon. He shook his head gravely.

"Aqua is the only Vaporeon," he said solemnly. "No other specie has access to a water technique."

"What about Hidden Power? Anyone have the water element?" I asked desperately. The Jolteon shook his head. He must feel just as helpless and useless as I did.

"Not everyone knows Hidden Power. In fact, almost none of us do. And those who do may not even know their element. We can't risk hitting a fire element," he explained, his tone sad.

"Didn't anyone consider this over the years? What to do if a Flareon got pissed and burned something and it got out of control?!" I shrieked. This clan was a paradise and a lack of way on how to stop a wide spreading fire was going to be its undoing. The Jolteon had nothing to say and I groaned, rushing over to where Aqua was combating the flames. She was breathing hard and the jets of water she was launching were gradually growing weaker.

"Good, you're okay," Aqua panted, her eyes fiercely determined as she struggled against the fire.

"Isn't there anything that can be done?" I pleaded. I know she shouldn't answer the question when fighting the flames, but I can't just watch this struggle without trying to wring every possibility out. "Isn't there anyone who can help fight the fire?"

"Of course...there is," Aqua panted. She clutched her chest, breathing harder than ever. I moved to help her, but she brushed me off, launching yet another jet of water towards the burning branches overhead.

"You're going to hurt yourself, take it easy!" I warned. She growled at me.

"A cost well worth the safety of the clan and the ones living here!" she snapped. I flinched, noting the next jet of water she fired was taking a massive toll on her strength and not producing nearly enough water to douse the flames.

"Would using Ice Beam help?" I suggested. "To reduce the energy toll?" Aqua gave me a deadpan look.

"I'm a Vaporeon. I deal with water. To produce an Ice Beam, I have to internally freeze the water before launching it and that takes MORE energy than using other water techniques. If I was a Glaceon, ice would be simpler than water." She turned back to the tree and exhaled, but nothing happened. Aqua coughed forcefully several times, her back heaving.

"Aqua!" an Umbreon shouted, rushing over, but like with me, the dark type was shoved aside.

"Get other members out of danger!" Aqua growled.

"But..."

"I'll be fine!" Aqua insisted. As the Umbreon hastened to obey the command, I distinctly heard Aqua mutter, "I hope."

"You need to rest," I urged her, my stomach tying itself into knots. Aqua shook her head.

"We can't let the fire spread further," she coughed. She inhaled and spat a pitiful stream of water that fell short of even the lowest burning branch, falling into a coughing fit. My ear twitched as the clan members nearby began to murmur worriedly.

"Aqua. Who else can put out fires?" I hissed in an undertone. "What about Rain Dance, can anyone in the clan use that? Hidden Power? Natural Gift? Ice techniques? ANYTHING?!" I'm going crazy here. How could a clan of so many Eevee and Eons be so vulnerable to a fire? If something happened to her or the precious few Pokémon capable of putting out a fire, then the clan was screwed in a time of crisis.

Aqua's only reply was to cough several times and aim another jet of water at the flames. I looked around, seeing that everyone in the vicinity was still doing their best to stop the flames from spreading. Was that why Aqua was pushing herself so hard? Was it dedication? Maybe a helping of pride? She couldn't do anything more against the fire without resting, but knowing she had no one else to rely on was preventing her from throwing in the towel.

"Aqua," I said, my voice rising in pitch. "You need to rest. Otherwise you're just hurting yourself and not getting anywhere." Aqua didn't reply. Did she not care? A sudden thought occurred to me. What if Poseidon and Dak's words had hurt her, and by challenging that she wasn't strong enough to be an alpha, she was pressured to do everything she could for the clan, even at the cost of her safety?

Aqua coughed again, much harder and longer than the times before. As if the sound wasn't enough to upset me, the sight of her hunched over, gasping for breath, was almost too much to bear. Who willingly did this to themselves? If she wasn't going to stop of her own accord, then someone needed to make her stop. Aqua managed to catch her breath and inhaled. Without even firing a water burst, she started coughing again.

Without thinking, I slammed my weight into her hind leg. She yelped, the leg collapsing under her weight. I quickly ran my paw down her spine, a thin string of electricity seeping from my paw and wrapping itself around her body. She blinked in alarm, her body going limb as the current paralyzed the muscles. I kept my focus up, creating a thin line between my paw and her body, ensuring a constant flow of electricity. Unsurprisingly, she was not pleased.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Aqua demanded, sounding appropriately indignant.

"Stopping you from hurting yourself, duh," I stated bluntly. She attempted to break my Thunder Wave's hold, but my constant flow of electricity kept her from doing more than twitch, even if she managed to briefly return function to some muscles. She growled quietly and gave me a rather pissed-off look. I am so going to pay for this later, I can tell. Way to go, Jolt. Pissing off the alpha of a welcoming clan in the middle of a crisis was not the brightest idea I've ever had, and paralyzing her in front of a large number of clan members was probably not going to earn me any points.

"What do you think you're doing?" an adult Eevee demanded, breathing down my neck threateningly. Huh, looks like I'm probably going to be paying for this sooner than I thought. I expected an Umbreon to kick my ass first, or maybe an Espeon.

"It's...for her own good?" I said hopefully. The Eevee was not impressed, judging by how his fur bristled. "Wait; hear me out on this..."

"Fat chance," the Eevee growled, exposing his fangs threateningly. Several other Eons took notice of the situation and flanked the Eevee. It's official, the world hates me. The Eevee darted forward and struck me twice in the face. I was so focused on keeping my Thunder Wave up that I couldn't defend, but at least I didn't lose the electric current. Some consolation that is. I clutched my nose in pain. "Let her go!" the Eevee ordered, lunging at me again. However, he hit some kind of invisible wall just before impact and yelped.

"What is going on?" I turned my head to see the source of the voice, a calm looking male Espeon. His eyes flicked around at the Eevee, to me, then abruptly to the burning tree overhead. He frowned and orbs of energy formed around his body before joining together above him as one massive sphere. The projectile launched towards the tree and fragmented on contact with a sound like a tidal wave striking a beach, the fragments liquefying into pure water. Bucketfuls of this water cascaded over the flames and branches, dousing the flames in some areas, otherwise just making the tree, leaves, and branches too wet to support the fire's intended expansion.

The Espeon only did this technique once, but I felt a tingle in the air, the sensation of a psychic barrier of some sort becoming erected nearby. Was it just my imagination, or were the flames gradually dying down before our eyes?

"Oh son of a..." one of the nearby Espeon cursed, just loud enough for me to hear. "We could have just suffocated the stupid fire by sealing it in a psychic field!"

"Now," the Espeon said, his eyes focused on Aqua, then the Thunder Wave coil I had upon the Vaporeon, and lastly on me. His tone became icier. "Release your Thunder Wave."

When I hesitated, an invisible force shoved into my chest, hurling me backwards. The connection I had with my Thunder Wave broke and although the effects held, I knew they wouldn't last against someone resisting it. Not that it matters. I was probably about to get beaten into a pulp in a few moments, anyway. I winced as the Jolteon bit on the nape of my neck, tugging me to my feet. He didn't release his bite once I was up, and I didn't dare struggle. Even if I wanted to get away, electricity wouldn't do a thing.

"Are you all right, Mistress Aqua?" the Espeon inquired, bowing his head submissively to the Vaporeon. Her tail twitched and she coughed several times before responding.

"Is everyone else okay, Toady?" she asked in a business-like fashion. The Espeon paused, his forehead gem glowing faintly.

"I assume so, Mistress Aqua. My apologies, but I have only just returned."

"What took you so long?" one of the Flareon complained. Other Eons grumbled their complaints. Toady's eyes flashed in their directions.

"Forgive me, I was unaware there was going to be an uncontained fire in the few hours I've been away," he said, his tone respectful yet his words were blatantly sarcastic. "Nor did I think the other clan members would be unable to contain a hostile."

"They're contained now!" Pearl cackled, materializing beside the Espeon. Aqua gave the Sableye a weird look.

"Meaning?"

"Do you like jigsaw puzzles?"

"Never mind," Aqua said quickly. Pearl frowned and faded out without a word. Slowly, the water Eon dragged herself to her feet, still breathing harder than normal and occasionally coughed.

"Are you all right, Mistress Aqua?" the Espeon repeated, moving closer with an expression of concern. She held up a paw to stop him in his tracks and turned towards me. I flinched. She didn't seem as pissed off now, but I wasn't getting my hopes up. I'm confident that restraining her with electricity and only releasing it when I was forced to wasn't earning me any merit points from her.

Aqua gestured and the Jolteon released his bite and shoved me forward a few paces. I winced and rubbed the back of my neck, looking around at the circle of Eevee and Eons, half of which seemed ready to tear me apart the moment Aqua gave the okay.

"If you prefer, I can remove him from here," Toady suggested. Aqua shook her head, studying me with a serious expression. I sighed, waiting for judgment. Unlike the first time I was in this sort of situation, I actually had done something that could be considered 'wrong'.

"Jolt here...was looking for a friend of his, Toady. The Leafeon that Moonlight was dealing with," Aqua said slowly. My ears perked up for a moment as Aqua continued. Was I really not getting punished in any form? "Do you know where they went?"

"Of course, Mistress Aqua," Toady replied with a respectful bow of his head. "Master Frost recently received a call from Leaf, asking to be picked up. I supplied his transportation to Hoenn."

"Leaf is in Hoenn?" I repeated incredulously. How in Palkia's name did he get to Hoenn? "So Frost got him?" If that was the case, then it seemed I didn't need to do anything further in that case. That didn't leave me many options of what to do aside from meet up with the others. Both of Psycho's concerns, Leaf and Diablos, were taken care of.

Toady hesitated and fidgeted before replying, "I assume he will. A matter of concern surfaced."

Aqua looked up, her expression puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Toady hesitated again, his tone reluctant. "Master Frost was bested in battle."

"That's old news," I argued. Almost everyone knew about Frost's defeat to Blaze. I had hoped that the loss would have humbled him a little, but as far as I know, he only suffered mild embarrassment from the incident. Truthfully, I was inclined to believe that Frost had lost by a fluke or maybe just a slow reaction, but considering the emphasis he put on perfection and how a single mistake could cost the battle, I was unsympathetic.

Toady slowly shook his head. "Not the duel with the Flareon, Master Jolt." I blushed at the title. I don't want him to treat me as a superior. "He was defeated a short time ago."

"What?" Aqua and I blurted simultaneously. Frost lost again? Wow, that wasn't going to be as easy to shrug off. Losing once had been an ego blow, but a second loss less than a month later? Aqua frowned, her tail swishing. "By who?"

"A Quilava, Mistress Aqua. Master Frost challenged him and was ultimately bested. I am ashamed to have witnessed it."

"Huh? Why?" I asked, looking around in puzzlement. Sure, it was a big deal that Frost had lost again, but why did the clan care? Judging by the expressions of several of them, they had just been told that the sky was falling. In fact, they were taking the news worse than the fact their clan had been in danger of being burned to a crisp and that humans could be flooding the territory any minute!

Toady sighed quietly, but didn't respond. Aqua chuckled at his reaction. "Just make sure everyone's okay, Toady. I'll explain." The Espeon nodded and teleported elsewhere.

"Aqua, what about what they said about humans coming?" I asked. Poseidon and Dak had seemed so convinced that the flames and smoke would send humans rushing to the clan and discovering where dozens of wild Eevee lived. Yet now that the fire was down, the alpha showed no concern.

"This is where Pearl comes in handy," the Vaporeon said, walking past me, but gesturing for me to follow her. I couldn't help but notice that she had a weird wobble to her walk, as if one or more of her legs were numb or not responding properly. I pray that, if it was caused by my Thunder Wave, that it was temporary.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" I asked, jogging to keep pace with her. Even with her slight wobble, she was moving far faster than I was.

Aqua merely shrugged. "Pearl's a good guard."

I nodded and didn't argue, my mind wandering to the recent events. Why wasn't she more worried about the prospect of humans coming and violating this sanctuary, and why had she let me off the hook for essentially attacking her? I can't really complain about the last part, since a clan of angry Eons was not something I felt like confronting, even after encounters with the likes of Diablos and Volt.

"What are you going to explain?" I asked, breaking the silence. Aqua didn't answer immediately, but waited until we were by a secluded part of the river cutting through the clan. She lowered her head and began drinking insatiably, her tail swishing with each swallow. I waited patiently for her to finish, but after three minutes of continuous drinking, I began to grow antsy. Finally, after what felt like twenty minutes, she lifted her head with a relieved sigh.

"What was your question again?" she asked, more or less back to her earlier calm demeanor. I repeated my question and she nodded slowly. "You're a friend of Frost's, aren't you?"

"Kind of, yeah," I replied, knowing my tone wasn't very convincing. I can barely stand that arrogant jerk. I tolerate him because we barely interact. Psycho wasn't much better, but I owed them both for getting me out of that hellish Rocket world, and they gave me a place to live after everything had been stripped from me, so I really don't have much to complain about.

"Toady...admires him," Aqua said. "Frost is held in very high regards here...as a battler. Very little of the same can be said for his other qualities."

"Such as?" I asked, unable to hide the eagerness in my tone. I never hear good gossip on Frost.

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "He has no sense of commitment, either to a mate or a clan. He will happily disregard someone who disagrees with him. He is lazy and commits nothing to a cause that does not directly benefit himself. But despite this, he is honorable."

"Frost. Honorable. Does not compute," I said dryly. "And how do you know things like this?"

"This clan has history with Frost. Let us leave it at that," Aqua said smoothly. "Some of us are admittedly more infatuated with him as an idol than others."

"Which group are you in?" I asked before I could stop myself. Aqua gave me a long look.

"I am in the group that puts the good of the clan above the desires of an individual. You will do well to remember that, Jolt." She paused for a few seconds. "And I think you believe the same."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You urged me to take care of the fire and faced a former alpha and two associates alone," Aqua explained, smiling. "And then you stepped in to ensure I did not overexert myself, even knowing that you risked endangering yourself by taking the step. Well, that or you're an idiot, but I'm fairly sure it was the former."

"Oh..." I muttered. Aqua very slightly rubbed against me. I blinked and my face flushed slightly. Although the slight nuzzle was non-intrusive and almost casual in its delivery, it still sent a pleasant shiver down my spine.

"Thank you," Aqua said, stepping back. There was the abrupt sound a snicker and the two of us looked over at the source, my eyes widening in shock as they fell upon an Umbreon, standing half-concealed in the shade of a tree, its red eyes fixed upon us.

"Bouncing back so soon, bro?" the Umbreon sneered, stepping forward into the light. Aqua tensed, but I pushed her to the side and stepped forward, frowning at the Umbreon.

"Told you he'd be here," a feminine voice sneered and my eyes flicked to an avian with black feathers and a red chest perched in the tree above the Umbreon, somehow going completely unnoticed until it had spoken.

"What do you want, Volt?" I demanded, my fur bristling.

"You always skip the pleasantries these days," Volt whined. I stared at him. Since when the hell did he start whining? As if aware of my thoughts, the Umbreon giggled, both sounding creepy and childish at the same time. Volt grinned, his yellow rings lighting up subtly. "Don't you want to catch up with your dear brother, Jolty?"

"Jolty?" I repeated. What the hell is wrong with him? His voice was slightly higher pitched and cracked when he spoke, yet his demeanor and expression retained the familiar sadistic thrill that he normally carried. His stance was unaggressive, but I knew this could change at a moment's notice, so I didn't dare relax my glare.

Volt giggled again and his eyes gleamed. "We can fight first if you want..."

Is it weird that I think he's even scarier when he's not outright acting intimidating?


	285. Rustboro Acquaintance

**A bit later than my recent trend, I'll admit. I blame Heart Gold and procrastination. It was fun to actually bother training a Zubat for the first time since Generation I and have it pay off immensely by having it be the main drive in defeating Morty, Chuck, Pryce and Clair. Ah...now I remember why everyone hates facing Golbat and Crobat. To avoid making an author note that goes on and on about things people dont actually care about (e.g. My life/overaffectionate Golbat), let's press on.**

**Leaf POV**

I paced back and forth, my stomach filling with anxious flutters. Frost said he would be here soon, but so far there hadn't been any sign of his arrival. Sure, I was a little vague on my location, but could he blame me for that? I wasn't familiar with this city yet and it was only by some stroke of luck that I had found a working phone in the first place. At least I knew what city we were in, thanks to Ember eavesdropping on our 'trainer' when I was still in the Pokeball. I am so glad to be out of there now. The name of the city had been the most useful information I could provide to Frost, but I couldn't even give him details of where I was because neither of us knew the city.

I sighed and scratched at the collar around my neck. Adrian had been 'kind' enough to let Ember and me wander around the town a little, and fitted us both with these collars so that we'd fit in more without drawing attention or suspicion. That was fine, but the collar itched. I didn't really understand it, but there were other Pokémon in the city in a similar state, walking the streets without human accompanying them and many of them wore collars, so Adrian probably had the right idea. I never noticed whether other cities in my experience had so many Pokémon wandering around, but I didn't notice that many back in Violet City. Maybe it was a Rustboro or even a Hoenn thing.

I groaned at the reminder. I had never expected, when my plan begun, to be dragged all the way across the world to Hoenn, of all places. This set me an incredible distance away from anyone who could possibly help me, as none of our contacts or group members were in Hoenn. Why had I ever bothered with such a stupid plan in the first place? I shook my head. There was no point in dwelling on it anymore. All that mattered was learning from the experience and fixing the problems. What I wanted now was to try to get back into the group and be with my brother and the others members of our little family. I miss them so much.

Several more minutes passed and my pacing became more anxious. I didn't expect Frost to take this long, but maybe I was worrying too much. He wasn't Shadow; he can't teleport the way my brother could. He'd have to contact someone else to bring him here or send someone else to pick me up. The second choice seemed unlikely because Frost said he would come for me personally, and in saying that, I wouldn't go with anyone other than him. I frowned, remembering the shape shifter that had disguised himself as Jolt in order to bring me to Diablos. I'd need to verify Frost's identity if he did show up.

In retrospect, I should have given Frost a landmark or something to meet me by, rather than just tell him I was in the city. Even meeting him OUTSIDE the city would have been a better choice than that. Oh well, Frost didn't seem concerned about it on the phone. I guess a Leafeon would kind of stick out in a city, because I hadn't seen any other Eons yet. I've seen plenty of other Pokémon, some species I've never seen before, but none of the Eevee line. That was fine; I had seen enough of those recently and had spent my entire life in close proximity with at least one.

Where the heck was Frost?! I growled quietly, startling a passing human, but she moved on when I quieted down. I shook myself and started walking aimlessly. I needed something to do, to distract me until I could find Frost or vice versa. I had spent only a short time in this city, so everything remained new and interesting, even if my focus was less on the human structures and more on my thoughts. Although I'm not accustomed to most human cities, I could see immediately that this one was different from the others. It was somehow a blend of ancient and modern, judging by the material used for the buildings. I could have paused to admire them, but in truth, I really didn't care. I couldn't explain to myself why I felt so impatient and restless, but the feelings refused to die down. I wanted something to do and I was sick of waiting around. I always waited around! I was always the patient one, who didn't care how long something took, unless Darkness was Spoinking the shower again. Come to think of it, she hasn't done that since the soap prank...and she thought Jolt had done that.

The corners of my mouth twitched. Sure, it had been a little mean of me to play the joke on her, but I hadn't thought she'd get as angry as she did. My twitch slowly spread into a grin. April was coming up soon, so I should start thinking of jokes to pull this year. Last year had been spur of the moment, but very effective and entertaining, except for Darkness' outbursts. Only problem was I didn't know what I'd do, but I'd think of something. The best part of the pranks was that I wasn't immediately suspected despite nothing happening to me, but something happening to everyone else. I guess it pays to be the nice, innocent guy. They assumed no one had the heart to prank me and that I would never do something mischievous. Only Shadow found out on his own, but he's a mind-reader, so he doesn't count.

Cheered up a little by the thoughts, I continued on my way, nodding and smiling at the Pokémon I passed. Some of them seemed pleasantly surprised by the silent greeting; others simply showed no reaction or weren't paying attention. At the same time, I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of Frost. Then again, it shouldn't be hard to find a Glaceon.

As if on cue with that thought, my eyes caught sight of a quadruped with pale white fur moving ahead of me, its back to me. I picked up my pace, hoping to catch up with the Pokémon. I frowned a moment, taking note of the quick pace of the other quadruped. It was walking briskly and somewhat purposefully, as if in a hurry. For the most part, it had separated itself from the other Pokémon, and didn't seem to look at anyone, as if afraid to meet anyone's eyes. That was okay. Frost was probably busy and my call, complete with vagueness on my location, had probably resigned him to searching the city for me as quickly as possible.

I broke into a run, zigzagging between Pokémon in danger of crossing my path, closing the distance between me and the Glaceon. I was tempted to end my sprint by tackling my adversary, but reconsidered. Shadow might tolerate that from me, but Frost was far less likely to. If anything, he'd retaliate with a blast of ice to the face.

"Frost?" I called, jogging behind the ice type just to keep pace with it.

"H-huh?" The Glaceon turned towards me and I stopped in my tracks, my face flushing in embarrassment. Not only was it very clearly not Frost, but its tone and features were blatantly effeminate. Now I'm really glad I didn't greet her with a tackle. That would have been extremely awkward and probably viewed by some as inappropriate.

"Oh...sorry," I mumbled. "I thought you were my friend."

"O-oh...all r-right, then..." she stammered. While I'm glad that I'm not the only one feeling awkward, she seemed a little more nervous than was natural for the situation.

"I'm sorry to bother you," I said, intent on diffusing as much tension as possible. "I know you're probably in a hurry." Either that or she's an extremely fast walker. I glanced down at her legs. Even from the short look, I could tell that the Glaceon had nowhere near the level of training that Frost has. Her legs were slender, whereas Frost had more muscle. That was not to say this ice Eon was lacking strength, she just probably hasn't trained much.

The Glaceon looked downwards, her cheeks flushing slightly. "M-me? Oh...n-no, not really," she mumbled, avoiding all eye contact.

"Are you all right?" I asked, my stomach squirming with what I think was concern. I'm not sure why I found her shyness worthy of concern. She was shy, not cringing from me as if someone was threatening to hit her.

The Glaceon twitched a little. "Y-yeah," she stammered, her tail flicking. The movement caught my eye due to its unusual proximity to the ground. "I'm j-just...not that g-great around crowds..."

I nodded. "I know how that feels sometimes," I assured her. There was nothing wrong with finding crowded areas distressing. I didn't like them very much, either. So many people bustling around, trapping you between them and constantly bumping against you. It was incredibly uncomfortable, even if it wasn't that bad.

"Uh...r-right," the Glaceon mumbled. She twitched again and I looked at her uncertainly. Was she sure she was going to be okay? I didn't want her to have a nervous breakdown or anything. Her tail flicked once more and a momentary shiver went down my back. "W-well...is that a-all?" she asked me.

"You going to be okay?" I asked. She seemed to want me to go away, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong or she was rushing somewhere. She nodded, still avoiding eye contact. I never before realized how annoying it was for someone to not look at you when you're talking to them. "Okay, well um...do you know anywhere that's a good place to wait for someone coming into town? I'm kind of new here..."

The Glaceon considered it for a second. "W-well...t-there is the D-devon b-building..." I gave her a blank look. Was I supposed to know where that building was, even after admitting I was new to the area? What was the Devon building, anyway? I had never even heard of it, but the way she brought it up hinted to me that I was probably expected to at least have a vague idea.

"Uh...where's that?" I asked, looking around, half-hoping that it was somewhere close and conspicuous. The ice Eon pointed a paw to a building in the skyline and my ears drooped. That looked like it was all the way on the other side of town. And because I couldn't clearly make out the building she was referring to, I could end up wandering for a while after that. I'm not even sure what would make that building a good hangout place. If Frost was looking for me, he wouldn't assume I'm waiting in front of some random building. On that note, waiting by the city entrance was a bit better idea, but now that I had asked, I didn't want to seem rude and refuse to take the suggestion.

Finally, I worked up the courage to ask, "Why's that a good place?" At that point, I realized how condescending that sounded; as if I was criticizing her opinion or belief. "I don't mean to say that it isn't, I just uh, want to know the reasoning..." Maybe I should just shut up now.

She blinked at me. "W-well...it's t-the tallest b-building around...and the b-biggest...the f-first thing anyone w-would notice coming in, r-really..."

"I guess..." I scratched my itching neck, not completely sold on that reasoning. I sure hadn't noticed it right away and I don't think Frost would seek out the biggest building first if he was hunting for my whereabouts, but it was the best idea I had. For all I knew, Frost was already in the city looking for me, so waiting by the city entrance would make it harder for him to find me. "How do I get there?"

"Um..." The ice type paused. "I c-could show you, if y-you wanted," she said slowly.

"Well, I don't want to keep you if you need to get somewhere," I said, smiling gently. I'm not convinced that she wasn't in a hurry, but it wasn't worth asking to verify. I didn't want to give her the impression that she had to lead me anywhere.

"Um...w-well...I d-don't really n-need to be there..." Ah, so she DID have somewhere she was going to, after all. "I c-could probably h-help you, if y-you wanted..." she continued, blushing a little and looking downwards. I felt my own cheeks flush. I'm not really sure why, but the way she said 'if you wanted' triggered a peculiar feeling.

"Well...if you're sure it's no trouble...then yeah, that'd be nice," I said, feeling a little shy as I waited for her to look up again. I'm not used to people being shy around me, and she seemed nice. Maybe she'd relax a little if she got to know me little better.

She nodded. "O-okay..." her ears were slightly more perked up and a ghost of a smile was playing at her mouth, more of a twitch than an expression. She started walking in one direction. I started to follow, my tail flicking once.

We didn't talk on the walk towards our destination. She continued to walk at a brisk pace, forcing me to focus on her tail in order to keep track of her. Well...I didn't have to focus on the tail, but I uh, just did because it was easier to keep track of, I guess. I kind of wish I had asked her name, but was it rude to ask for it a while after meeting people? I should have introduced myself or something.

"H-here's the p-place," the Glaceon stammered. I looked the designated building over for a few seconds. The entrance had three arched doors in front of it, and had some sort of lot where various vehicles were parked. A black metal fence of some sort was wrapped around the property. She hadn't been kidding. This building stood out a lot more than most of the other buildings in the city and wow, was it big.

"Thanks," I said, unsure of anything else I could say.

She nodded. "S-so...h-how will w-we know y-your friend if he c-comes by?" she asked. I blinked. Did she plan on waiting with me until Frost came? Not that I had any complaints...

"Um...he's a Glaceon," I said. That's how I had gotten her confused for him, after all. "Kind of has a really confident air around him," I added, thinking that may be more helpful in distinguishing Frost from every other Glaceon I've ever met. Which right now was a grand total of three.

"K-kay..." she mumbled.

"He shouldn't be long," I assured her, looking around. Or, I hope he won't be, because I had been waiting for a while already. Frost was typically prompt, so maybe something held him up.

"All r-right," she answered, taking a few steps and looking around at the passing Pokémon. Her tail flicked a little, catching my attention. She seemed to be cheering up a little bit, but her tail still was held lower than most Pokémon I've seen. Was that a nervous habit or was she maybe depressed? I didn't want to pry, but I wouldn't mind talking to her if she ever wanted to...

"So, uh...I didn't catch your name..." I said awkwardly, praying that she wouldn't take offense or snappily remind me she hadn't given it to me in the first place. Most people weren't that hostile in regards to introducing themselves, but that didn't stop me from hearing stories of people who were like that.

"H-hm? O-oh, it's M-mateo," she stammered, her voice shaking slightly.

I nodded and gave her a gentle smile. "I'm Leaf."

"N-nice name," she said, returning the slight smile. I felt my cheeks grow warm.

"Thanks. Uh...you too," I said awkwardly. I don't think I've ever heard that name before, but it was still an awkward reply. This didn't seem to bother her, because she gave me another slight smile.

"T-thanks," she said, and then looked away somewhat shyly, her tail flicking briefly. My eyes followed the movement for a few seconds before refocusing.

"Um...you live around here?" I asked. It may be a slightly personal question, but I was just curious how much experience she had with the city. She seemed to know her way around, but at the same time she was so unnerved by the mild crowd that I was having a hard time picturing her living here for a long period of time. It's pretty hard to imagine Pokémon genuinely living in a city unless they're with a human, such as the case with Adrian, except without being involved with Rockets for any stretch of time.

Mateo nodded, catching me by surprise. "Y-yeah...but I've b-been out of t-town for a while..."

Intrigued, I asked, "Anywhere in particular?" If she lived in the city, where would she go to go out of town? Sure, I was technically a wild my entire life, so traveling isn't strange, but if I lived in the city, would I explore the wild to go on a vacation or something?

"J-just a-around, really," Mateo responded. "I s-spent a l-lot of time in M-mauville..."

Pleased at the progress in making conversation, I smiled. "I've never been there. Is it nice?" I'm assuming it's another Hoenn-based city. I think it was mentioned in passing by Mike and Adrian a day or two ago, when they were reading a newspaper. I haven't been anywhere in Hoenn, but I didn't need to mention that detail.

The ice type shrugged. "I-it's p-pretty busy...a l-lot more p-people there than h-here."

"Really? I thought this city was pretty crowded," I said. I was getting used to her constant stuttering, which only seemed to lighten up a little bit the more she talked to me. It was much better than the awkward pauses from the start of our interactions. She wasn't difficult to understand, but I imagine the stutter could be a bit grating to most people. I wonder if she got picked on because of that nervous tic. I really hope not, because she seemed like she'd be really sweet if she could fully relax around someone.

Mateo shook her head. "Y-yeah, but...M-mauvile's almost w-wall to w-wall crowds...any t-time of the day..." She paused and averted her gaze. "I d-didn't r-really l-like it m-much..."

I winced and moved a little closer. "Yeah, I understand," I told her gently. I'm not sure if the gesture is comforting if the person I'm trying to comfort is claustrophobic or anxious around other people, but it was worth a shot. I had gotten her to open up a little...but the only response to my movement and statement was a tiny nod. I felt my cheeks grow warm and looked around quickly, remembering why I had started interacting with the Glaceon in the first place.

"Oh, I think see him," I said, squinting towards what looked like a familiar blue-white quadruped walking in our direction. As it came closer, my tail swished as I recognized Frost.

"There you are," Frost said, a hint of irritation evident in his words as he stopped a few feet in front of me. I blinked at him, taking note that his fur had been sloppily groomed, rather than its usual pristine state, and that he was visibly irked about something. Did my phone call interrupt his grooming or something? From the corner of my eye, I saw my companion look downwards, her cheeks flushed. Frost paid the other ice type absolutely no attention. I'm not sure whether that should be counted as odd or not. Recently, I've realized that Frost liked to flirt, but the fact he was overlooking a female Glaceon that was right in front of him seemed a bit odd.

"Hey Frost. Uh, you okay?" I asked tentatively.

"Wonderful," Frost said dismissively. "Unfortunately, we can't actually leave immediately because Dark thought it would be wise to ignore my advice and pursue another agenda and my transportation took off on me."

I blinked and chanced a glance towards Mateo. I'm not sure why I did, but I didn't like how no one was really paying attention to her now that Frost had shown up. She was shy, so maybe she didn't mind, but it was better to be sure and watching her reactions. At the moment, she was studying Frost shyly. I wonder if she's ever met another Glaceon. I turned back to Frost.

"Can't you call someone?" I asked him. No way did Frost only have one method of transportation.

"I could," Frost admitted. "But it wouldn't be worth much, as someone would still have to return to pick up Dark once her investment goes sour, so unless you're desperate to skip town, we have to linger here until the expiration date. And who the hell knows how long that'll take?" He paused and gave Mateo a brief look. I followed his gaze and saw that my companion was watching the male ice Eon with a curious expression, which somewhat faded when she realized Frost was looking at her. "Yes?" Frost asked slowly, raising an eyebrow.

Mateo's cheeks went red and she looked downwards, yet her tail flicked. "S-sorry. J-just w-wondering if you've e-ever been to this c-city b-before..."

"No, we haven't," Frost replied flatly, raising an eyebrow at her stutter. I don't think that's going to help her overcome her shyness.

"A-ah. W-well..." Mateo hesitated, keeping her gaze downwards and looking rather nervous as she spoke. "I-if you w-wanted...I c-could s-show you a-around, um, a l-little...y-you know, if y-you wanted..."

Frost looked slightly bemused by the other Glaceon's stutter, but composed himself swiftly. "Hm, and who are you?" He shot me an inquisitive look, but I decided to leave the introduction to the one he was asking.

"U-um...M-mateo..." she mumbled.

Frost gave a curt nod in reply. "Frost," he stated simply. The other Glaceon nodded, still blushing a little. Her tail flicked slightly and I felt a stab of annoyance. Why was she focusing on Frost all of a sudden? I was the one who had been nice to her! I blinked, abruptly aware that a faint growl was forming in the back of my throat. I don't think either Glaceon had noticed, thankfully. The last thing I needed was to be asked why I was growling for no reason.

Frost paused. "And what areas of interest are there in this city?" he asked, as if aware he hadn't answered the earlier question.

The other Glaceon paused thoughtfully. "Um, well...w-what k-kind of t-things would you t-two w-want to do?" she asked. Although she seemed a little less nervous than before, her stutter hadn't improved much.

I shrugged. "I'm up for anything." Frost merely grunted noncommittally. I didn't know what this city really had to offer and if I could get an idea without limiting the options, I was more likely to find something I'd find enjoyable to do.

Most likely realizing she wasn't going to get a more specific response, Mateo continued, "W-well...t-there's..." She paused, as if thinking quickly. "Um...t-there's quite a f-few stores where P-pokemon can b-buy at...s-some restaurants...um...T-there's the gym...oh, and the contest h-hall..."

Frost interrupted with a derisive snort and muttered 'contests' under his breath, too quietly for anyone other than me to hear. I'm drawing a blank. Sure, I have heard OF contests, but I didn't know anything about them. I wouldn't mind learning more about them, but since Frost obviously is dismissive of them, I didn't want to ask questions in front of him. As for the other options, I didn't realize Pokémon could buy things or go to restaurants, but even if I had, I don't have money. Frost might, but again I wasn't going to ask. I don't really need to spend money just to eat.

"Enlighten me, Mateo, what element does this city's gym specialize in?" Frost asked. He had a peculiar expression, barely noticeable, while he asked this question.

"Um..." she paused. "I b-believe it's Rock...t-the leader's the d-dean of the A-academy h-here..."

Frost frowned and he seemed to mull that information over for a few seconds. Sometimes I wish I knew what he was thinking. "Hm. Rock. Hardly worth the effort of demolishing, but I could kill some time there," he mused, allowing himself a confident smirk.

Mateo's ear twitched. "S-so...the g-gym it i-is, then?"

"That's my vote," Frost said dryly, giving me a look as if daring me to object. I really don't have an objection. I wouldn't mind training there for a little bit of time. I'd like to see Shadow as soon as possible, but if Frost wasn't ready to leave, I really wasn't in a position to insist on it. I am such a wuss sometimes, but Frost was usually very firm about making decisions.

"All r-right, then," Mateo said. She was presumably about to lead us towards the gym, but Frost made a gesture to seize her attention.

"Are you a battler?" he asked.

The female Glaceon shook her head. "N-no..." she said, the meek demeanor returning in full force.

"I thought not," Frost said, sounding subtly dismissive. I frowned. Why did he always act like battling was so important sometimes? It was really annoying. "No matter," Frost said. "Where is the gym?"

"Um...the o-other side of the c-city...I'll s-show you," Mateo said, getting to her feet and walking a few steps, glancing back at us. Following that cue, I followed. Frost followed behind me. Despite the silence that had fallen between the three of us, it didn't seem to take us too long to reach a building composed of gray brick attached to another large building. "H-here's the gym," the shy Glaceon announced.

"Good," Frost said eagerly, walking past me and slipping through the building entrance. The remaining ice Eon blinked and glanced over at me. I walked forward, pausing at the entranceway,

"Are you c-coming in?" I asked, looking back at her. If she still needed to go somewhere, I imagine that Frost and I could manage for a few hours without a constant escort. Not that I would mind her company.

"Um..." she hesitated and looked around. "Y-yeah...I guess..." she said finally and walked in with me, trailing me a bit closer than I would have expected. I didn't let it bother me and simply walked inside the building, hurrying after the retreating form of Frost.


	286. Because We Miss Her

**Ember POV**

My fist took on a white glow and I pitched it forward, striking the tall cylindrical punching bag I had been practicing against. The bag absorbed the blow without any damage to its red padding and I grinned in satisfaction. The Rustboro Gym had way better equipment than the Rockets ever did. The punching bag had undoubtedly been designed for either rock or fighting types, if not both, which made it ideal to practice my Brick Break on. It wouldn't be as useful to practice my claw techniques, but I planned to do that later, anyway. It had been ages since I had taken the time to use that technique and I sure hell wasn't going to test it on one of the resident Geodude, no matter how effective it allegedly would be.

I looked around the gym room. There weren't presently any trainers challenging the gym leader, so most of the gym trainers' Pokémon were out training against each other, or some of the training equipment that was set to the side of the battle stage. When I first came in, some of the trainers and Pokémon gave me odd looks, but no one approached me. I'm grateful for the collar Adrian had fitted me with, in part because I stood out less. I doubt a rock gym gets too many Charmander coming in to work out or kill time, and the collar probably caused everyone to assume I lived in the area or had a trainer somewhere else, both which were technically true.

I turned back to the punching bag and focused, my paw taking on a faint glow before I lashed my paw forward, striking the bag quickly. I repeated this with my other paw, frowning when the second blow was nowhere near as effective as the first. I had trained myself to be ambidextrous, so one paw being weaker than the other when using a certain technique could come back to bite me if I didn't work on improving. I had time to kill, so I'm not worried. I could devote an hour or two to training and then take a break to work on my claw techniques. Dragonair once commented on the amount of time I spent training, but I never let it bother me. Just because he was a lazy battler that liked to cruise along in battles on his specie's natural firepower and defensiveness didn't mean that I should neglect training. My fire attacks were always feeble and unless I was going to evolve, then I had to work hard to become strong enough to look out for myself. Besides, it's not like I ever had anything better to do while in the Rockets' employ.

For most of my Rocket career, training served as a great distraction. It let me forget how lonely I could be, while building my confidence and self-esteem. I didn't feel as restless or angry whenever I could work off any steam and frustration I was feeling, whether caused by Dragonair's comments, the Rockets being jerks, or the longing feelings that plagued me so often as time went on. I'm really starting to miss Dragonair, though. It had been almost a month since I had last seen him, and it was really starting to get to me. Did he worry about or miss me at all? What was going on with him? I even miss his comments at my expense.

I punched the training bag one final time and paused to catch my breath, smiling to myself. There's always something immensely satisfying about a good training session. Usually my work manifested itself in the grace and elegance I could use my claws, while not losing effectiveness. Maybe I would spar with someone later, just probably not one of the four dozen rock types hanging around. No matter how confident I was in my improved techniques, introducing my vulnerable paw to the defensive shell of a rock or steel Pokémon was far from desirable. One loss of focus and I'd have to go to a Pokémon Center to fix the injuries I'd undoubtedly sustain. I'm lucky that Flare didn't seriously break anything in our fight, the bastard Slugma.

I was fortunately distracted from continuing that angry line of thought by a sudden, vaguely familiar voice cutting through the sounds of Pokémon training. I didn't pay it much attention because it didn't ring a bell right away. The feeling of recognition was nothing more than a slight nudge in the back of mind, so the voice was treated as background noise as I returned my focus to the punching bag in front of me. It wasn't until a few minutes later, when nearly everyone started making noise, that I turned my attention away from my training, this time feeling a stab of annoyance. Was it too much to ask that people not hold a riot so close to me? Rocket Pokémon seemed fond of doing the same damn thing. That's exactly why I started training in private.

I sighed and turned around. May as well see what the hell the commotion was about. As far as I could tell, there weren't any trainers planning on challenging the leader, aided by the fact there was a notice on the door when I came in, informing potential challengers that the leader wasn't going to return here for an undisclosed amount of time. I don't mind, the less humans queuing into the gym and disturbing my training, the better.

To my slight surprise and curiosity, I saw that two of the human trainers had taken one side of the field, both of them commanding a different Pokémon. One such Pokémon was the boulder-shaped Graveler, the other a horned quadruped creature composed of stone. A Rhyhorn, if memory served. They were a specie occasionally favored by Rockets for causing havoc or destruction in a short period of time. I turned my head towards the other side of the battle field, my eyes narrowing at the sight of the quadruped with pale blue-white fur opposing the two rock types. Its body had the unmistakable shape of a member of the Eevee line and it took me only a few moments to identify it as a Glaceon, although my exposure to the specie was minimal compared to the other seven forms. Although the Glaceon was outnumbered two-to-one, its eyes shone with tremendous arrogance, the expression only vaguely disguised as confidence.

The Rhyhorn charged the ice type, which casually leapt forward, landing on the rock creature's back and springing off, firing a thin beam of ice towards the four-armed boulder Pokémon. The Graveler braced itself for the attack, but it was forced from this defensive gesture by a sudden flurry of ice chunks bombarding each of the four arms, causing the rock to recoil them from its body. The ice beam struck it squarely in the face, the energy seeping easily into the natural crevices of the rock's rough body. The Glaceon landed with exaggerated grace beside the Graveler and spun, striking the rock type with its glowing tail. The blow seemed to cleave through the boulder's body the way my claws cut through paper and I winced. Rock Pokémon or not, that had to hurt like hell.

"Grr, you got lucky!" the defeated trainer complained, pointing a Pokeball at the fallen Graveler and drawing it back inside the capsule. The remaining trainer smirked at his comrade and directed another command towards the Rhyhorn. The bulky rhino creature changed direction and charged the ice type again, each stomp causing the floor to shake slightly. The Glaceon faced down the threat fearlessly, a cocky smirk flitting across its muzzle. Mere moments before the Rhyhorn would have collided with it, the Glaceon spat a purple orb of energy from its mouth, so quickly I barely even saw it happen. The Rhyhorn winced, and in that moment of distraction, the Glaceon disappeared, reappearing to the side. Even as the trainer shouted a warning, a powerful gust of ice and snow collided with the side of the beast, knocking it over.

"Ah, damn it!" the remaining trainer whined, withdrawing the Rhyhorn into a different Pokeball.

"Just as I thought, you're no match for me," the Glaceon said dismissively. "I do hope you have Pokémon here that are actually worth the time of defeating them." I frowned, immediately feeling a sense of distaste for this Pokémon. Its voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't fit the voice with the name. The arrogant attitude was also familiar in a sense, but I couldn't fully place the clues together.

"Why is there a wild Glaceon even in the gym?" someone else asked. The ice type's tail flicked smugly and his eyes gave an unspoken challenge to the speaker. The young man stepped forward and tossed a Pokeball forward, releasing a Geodude. The armed rock type blinked once at the opposing Glaceon, who yawned dismissively.

"Is that all you've got?" it challenged. Although I don't think anyone could understand his words, his tone was so condescending I'm pretty sure they all got the message anyway, even if the only thing they heard was "Glay glay. Ceon" or some variation of that. I have no idea what a Pokémon sounds like to a human, as every example Dragonair experimented with produced the same results: we simply had no trouble translating the words of a fellow Pokémon.

"This thing's asking for it!" complained the human challenger. "And it beat a Graveler, so let's overwhelm it with a Geodude army!"

"We don't want to kill the thing," protested one of the earlier opponents. I don't really care who they are or what their reasoning was. I rather figure out who the hell this Glaceon is. He just seems so familiar, but at the same time, I don't know him.

"Do your worst," the Glaceon challenged. Although the humans didn't understand his words, they evidently chose to interpret it as permission to throw no less than a dozen Pokeballs in his direction, each ball releasing a Geodude. "Ah, a baker's dozen of Geodude," the ice type sneered, his tail flicking confidently.

The air was filled with shouts from the various trainers that had released the rock types, their voices getting mixed up and distorted through all the noise. The Glaceon merely smirked and I sighed. Trying to direct a large group of Pokémon with different commands at the same time was unfairly confusing to everyone involved. This right away placed a massive advantage in the paws of the Eon, who neither had a trainer commanding him, nor seemed to be fazed at all by the din.

Before the opposing Geodude swarm could orient themselves, the ice type had rushed forward and positioned itself right in their midst. As several of them swiveled to face him, a large wave of water erupted from the ground around him, easily throwing the living rocks to the side and leaving a large amount of space around him. Dismissing the feat as nothing, the Glaceon leapt at the nearest one and struck it with its glowing tail, leaving a deep scratch in the rock. He landed, pivoted gracefully and fired an ice beam into the face of the one of the Geodude hurling itself at him. The freezing energy engulfed the Geodude, preventing it from pulling out of its dive-bomb maneuver, yet the ice type calmly leapt out of the way, and the Geodude slammed into the ground, kicking up sand and pieces of debris.

One of the Geodude got the bright idea to pick up one of its fallen comrades and throw it at the Glaceon with great force. Moments before impact, the one Glaceon became three and the targeted Eon vanished upon impact. The remaining two sent twin ice beams towards the remaining boulders, one of the targets becoming a frozen ornamentation, while the second one dodged with impressive speed. It didn't take me long to realize that the other trainers were completely clueless how to respond. Their commands would only confuse the Geodude and it was clear they weren't expecting a wild Pokémon to be thrashing their trained ones with such little effort. Judging solely by the movements of exaggerated grace and the cocky attitude, I'm thinking that the Glaceon wasn't even trying, but was just showing off.

But showing off for whom? The trainers? According to Dragonair, humans had a theory that wild Pokémon engaged trainers because they wanted to be caught and a battle was to prove whether the trainer was skilled enough to handle said Pokémon, and at the same time appear desirable to the trainer. Dragonair was practically in stitches about this theory, pointing out that Pokémon certainly didn't attack because their territory was being invaded, and that being beaten to a pulp by a strong Pokémon was definitely a sign of a strong, respectable trainer, and that tough Pokémon couldn't possibly be owned by a harsh, abusive person, and lastly that a Pokémon desired nothing as badly as being forced into a locked sphere and ordered to do someone's bidding and fight pointlessly after being uprooted from one's home and family. Frankly, if the Glaceon was showing off specifically for the trainers to want to catch it, then it deserves to be caught.

I turned my attention back to the punching bag. I don't need to keep watching that fight. There was no doubt in my mind that the Glaceon could handle himself easily, which meant there was no thrill to watching the fight aside from the be awed by how easy the fight was. The only point of showing off was to stroke your own ego by drawing attention to how little you have to try. What the hell was the point to that? There was a subtle difference between what the Glaceon seemed to doing, and showing off to impress a mate...ugh, get off that train of thought.

"Ember?" I practically jumped out of my scales at the sound of my name, turning around and grinning at the sight of the now-familiar Leafeon. He seemed rather surprised to see me. I blinked as I caught sight of a second Eon, an effeminate Glaceon, standing with Leaf. Its attention was mostly on the Glaceon still engaged in the battle with the Geodude swarm, its eyes wide and looking extremely impressed. I resisted the urge to frown at this reaction.

"Hey Leaf," I said, tearing my gaze away from the battling Glaceon. "Doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great," Leaf said cheerfully, his tail swishing, very nearly hitting the chin of the Glaceon beside him, which went completely unnoticed. He walked nearer to me, casting a brief glance towards the Glaceon behind him, who didn't move, still in awe of the other ice type.

"What are you still doing here?" I asked. It had been a day or two since Leaf and I parted ways and I was surprised he hadn't left the city yet.

"Couldn't leave yet, I guess," Leaf answered, sitting down a little ways from me. He watched the battling Glaceon for a few seconds and I spared the battle a quick glance, unsurprised that the wave of Geodude had disappeared and was now replaced with a muscular Machoke and some fighting-type Pokémon I had never seen before. The respective trainers had moved closer to their Pokémon and were issuing commands. "And what about you?" Leaf asked, turning his gaze towards me.

I grunted noncommittally. I didn't really feel like discussing my decision right now, especially after the tantrum the Leafeon had practically thrown when I first said I didn't want to leave the Rockets. Adrian had been the first Rocket to really understand my battle style and he wasn't like the other trainers I had ever had, but Leaf hated it. He argued that he hadn't signed up for permanent recruitment when he had made this plan and he certainly hadn't intended on being shipped to Hoenn for a Rocket assignment. Well, his plan was stupid, especially after he admitted he was just trying to get on his brother's good side again so he could go back with his group. I called him out for that, telling him that if he felt some stupid need to prove himself, then he was just a child.

I hadn't expected him to take that remark well, but he accepted my comment without complaint. That was when he told me that he planned to leave Adrian at first chance and get back with his group. He tried to convince me to go with him, but I refused. For the first time in my life, I had a rather secure future. My alleged crimes against the Rockets had been wiped out and my status had been re-established, and to make things better, I had even gotten a trainer that didn't order me to use attacks I had no affinity with and seemed to genuinely care for his Pokémon, in sharp contrast to almost every Rocket I had ever met. Leaf didn't understand; I wanted some sort of foundation for my life. I needed to do something that didn't force me to fight for my life every day, and struggle just to find one ember of hope that someday things would improve. For the love of Mew, I was dangerously depressed less than a month ago for that very reason! But that wasn't anything I could really discuss with anyone.

Leaf reluctantly had accepted my decision to stay, but told me that although his brother was a jerk, at least he knew there was always someone to truly care about him. At first I didn't understand what he meant by that, but it wasn't long before it hit me that the Rockets had barely anything to offer that I truly wanted. Instead of fighting every little adversary just to live, I'd be fighting every little adversary to perform some sort of criminal activity. I was in Hoenn, an infinite distance from anyone I ever considered a friend. It had been ages since I had seen Dragonair, and if he saw me returning to the Rockets now, he'd disapprove. We had left the organization together for the same reason: the things they had done to other Pokémon was nauseating. Even if some of the human members were decent people, their actions led to the same results, and I'd be throwing myself back among the actions. In the past, because I was rarely used at all, my claws were relatively clean of the criminal actions, whereas there was no doubt Dragonair's tail was not so pristine.

That was why he hated them so much.

Knowing they had little, if anything to offer, and feeling horribly cut off from anyone who cared about me, I changed my mind and snuck away from the two Rockets, same as Leaf did. I searched the surrounding area, but found no sign of the Leafeon I had become so close to in the short time we interacted. If he found transportation out of the area, or just kept walking, I didn't know.

I shook my head to refocus on the present. Especially a couple days after parting, I never expected to find Leaf here, in the Rustboro City gym. I was about to say something to the grass type, something to change the subject, but he wasn't paying attention. His gaze was, not on the Glaceon now battling a trio of different fighting Pokémon, but on the one watching the battle with awe. I blinked a few times and followed his gaze, unsure what he found so interesting about that Glaceon.

I reached a paw over and lightly tapped Leaf's shoulder. The Leafeon made a startled sound and his face flushed crimson, his attention hastily returning to me. "I'm s-sorry, what'd you say?" he asked, looking rather flustered as he spoke. I raised an eye scale at him.

"You okay?" I asked seriously.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Leaf mumbled, shaking his head.

"What happened to you? You know, when you left?" I asked, studying him carefully.

"Well, uh, I went to the city and looked for a phone because I wanted to call Frost," Leaf said, gesturing to the battling Glaceon. That's when it clicked where I had seen that arrogant ice ball before. Back in Johto, when he evidently had turned on the rest of Leaf's group and ended up beating Leaf, Psycho, Blaze, and Aura. I then saw him again briefly in the Cave Army caverns, but only for a few moments. And I caught of glimpse of him in Blackthorn City during the Porygon incident. That didn't fully explain what the hell he was doing here, but I guess their feud is over.

"Oh...and who's this?" I asked, gesturing a paw at the other Glaceon. As if aware of my attention, the second ice Eon moved nearer to Leaf, as if using him to shield itself from me. At the same time, it seemed to be looking in any direction but at me. I just stared. What the hell? Leaf didn't seem that bothered by the disturbing display of shyness from his companion.

"Go on, tell her your name," Leaf said kindly, in a soothing tone. The Glaceon was silent for a bit, then began stammering in an effeminate squeak, stuttering so badly that I was unable to decipher what it actually said.

"Yeah, I didn't catch any of that," I said flatly.

The other Glaceon flinched, but this time managed to mumble more coherently. "M-mateo..."

"Mateo?" I repeated, obtaining a nod in response. "Do I know you?" I asked, studying the Glaceon carefully. Mateo's head shook in response. I frowned, thinking. "Yeah, I guess I don't. But you look kind of familiar," I said, shrugging. Mateo didn't say anything, but an ear twitched. I shrugged and went back to the punching bag.

"Hey Ember?" Leaf asked, moving a little nearer and his voice dropping to a slight whisper. I raised an eye scale at his secretive behavior. "Um...w-we're done with the uh...act, right?"

"Hm?"

"The act of us being mates," Leaf said, his face flushing. He briefly cast a quick glance towards the two Glaceon, as if afraid either of them were eavesdropping, but Mateo's attention had flicked to Frost again, tail swishing.

"What? Oh, yes. Mew, yes. Don't mention it, ever. It never happened," I said seriously. Leaf blinked, surprised by my firmness. At the same time, he seemed rather relieved. I should take offense he was so pleased to be rid of the pseudo-mate status, but I was having a hard time feeling upset.

"Oh...good," Leaf said, his tail swishing. I raised an eye scale, but he didn't elaborate.

"No one...asked you about that...right? And you didn't say anything about it?" I asked slowly. Leaf blinked, but shook his head, allowing me a brief sigh of relief. He looked rather confused by my reaction, yet I waved him off. "Just checking. Your question seemed too random for comfort," I explained.

"Oh, sorry," Leaf replied, still sounding perplexed.

"So how long are you staying in the area?" I asked. He said he wasn't leaving yet, but that didn't explain either why he was lingering or for how long.

Leaf shrugged. "I don't know. Why? Did you want to come with us?" His expression became hopeful as he asked this question, but I shook my head. He frowned subtly. "Why not?"

"I don't want to leave," I answered.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Are you still with them?" he asked, his tone making it clear he meant the Rockets. I shook my head, casting a glance over his shoulder to make sure the shy ice Eon wasn't listening. Leaf looked both pleased and perplexed.

"What is he doing?" I demanded, jabbing a claw towards Frost, who was now engaged in battle with a bizarre creature with some sort of large nose on the front of its body. The Pokémon looked oddly like a large face with small limbs.

Leaf glanced over and shrugged. "Training?"

"That's training? Picking fights with everything?" I asked, unable to keep a note of contempt out of my voice. Maybe Dragonair would 'train' that way, but he justified his inability to shut up with how amusing it was to see his targets struggle not to go on a murderous rampage as he insulted everything about them. He also mentioned how it improved his evasion, speed, and durability. Sometimes I'm not sure if he honestly believes some of the things he says or if he's just screwing with my head.

Leaf shrugged again. "He's not even trying."

"I KNOW!" I practically shouted.

"Shhh, you're scaring her," Leaf said, wandering over to the worried Glaceon and giving her a slight, comforting nuzzle. The level of closeness he offered was peculiar, even for what I picked up about his usual methods of comforting. Mateo blushed and shyly brushed against the Leafeon's fur, purring slightly. I blinked a few times and reluctantly turned back towards the ongoing battle.

"And wasn't that one of the gym leader's reserves?" Frost drawled, slashing his glowing tail across his opponent's face. The Pokémon staggered backward, and in that time it took to regain its balance, the Glaceon had darted forward and kicked off of its nose, springing into the air, doing a highly unnecessary front flip at the peak of ascent and bringing its tail down upon the head of his opponent. The Pokémon groaned and attempted to launch a wave of electricity, but Frost was too quick, dashing around the expanding waves and slamming his body into the opposing Pokémon's side. He repeated this technique twice against the Pokémon's back and other side before the trainer could even shout a new order. With a dull groan, the nose Pokémon fell over and was unable to right itself.

"Nosepass, return," the commanding trainer sighed, pointing a Pokeball at the defeated Pokémon and drawing it back inside.

"Damn, that thing's strong," whispered a teenage girl, her shirt marked with, not the insignia of the gym, but a different symbol I had seen on the neighboring building. Frost smirked at the comment, his fur rippling in a non-existent breeze.

"Hm, just as I thought, this gym was barely worth the effort of demolishing," Frost sighed. Despite the appearance of being annoyed, I could see a cold glint of satisfaction in the Glaceon's eyes. "So who's next?" Frost challenged, his eyes scanning the gym. Several of the Pokémon training alongside me backed up a pace. The movement was enough to draw Frost's attention and he studied me for a few moments, a flicker of a smirk crossing his face.

"Ember, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I said, folding my arms over my chest. "So what?"

"I don't believe I've ever faced you," Frost noted thoughtfully. "The brief flicker of battle at that old Rocket base notwithstanding, of course."

"Of course," I responded dully.

"Surely it's clear this is a challenge, Charmander. Do you accept?"

"No."

"Hm?" Frost raised an eyebrow. "You don't accept? Or it's not clear?"

"Both. A proper challenge is issued using the name of your opponent. Due to this not being a proper challenge, I'm denying it," I said smoothly. Leaf stifled a snort of amusement.

"Very well, _Ember_," Frost said, adding a condescending drawl to my name. I hope he realizes that doesn't hurt me at all. That was how Dragonair talked whenever he was annoyed; I was used to variations in emphasis regarding my name and the words around it. "Do you accept my challenge or not?"


	287. Frost vs Ember

**Ember POV**

I studied Frost for several long moments while weighing my response options. I don't really have a concrete reason to refuse a specific challenge; aside from to give the arrogant ice type a hard time, something Dragonair was far more talented at doing. I had already planned to work a spar into my training schedule, and I _guess_ the Glaceon was a better option than one of the rock or fighting Pokémon already in excess among the gym.

"Fine, I'll accept," I finally answered. Frost smirked and walked towards the far end of the battle field in front of us. I stretched my arms and flexed my claws, the motion prompting Mateo to flinch. Ignoring that reaction, I walked over to the closer end of the battle ground, pivoting to face Frost, who had assumed a relaxed stance on the other end of the field. I walked towards him, stopping several feet from the marked circle at the center of the field. Frost nodded and mirrored my motions, putting us a reasonable distance from one another.

I blocked out the sounds of the humans murmuring to one another and focused on the ice Eon. Frost looked me up and down almost appraisingly, his eyes finally meeting mine. I gave a curt nod to signal the battle's start and almost immediately, the Glaceon disappeared. I pivoted my body and slashed my claws at the seemingly empty air to my left. Frost ducked under my claws, a faint look of surprise flashing over his muzzle. I jabbed my left paw at the moving Glaceon, and Frost jumped to avoid it, exhaling a gust of cold air into my face. I shielded my eyes with my right paw, sidestepped quickly out of the gust's path, and focused on the opposing Glaceon.

Frost backed up a few paces and spat an Ice Beam in my direction. I sidestepped quickly, but took a step forward at the same time. Frost fired a second beam, and I repeated my advance, this time stepping in the other direction. From my current distance, I saw the beginnings of a blue orb forming inside the Glaceon's jaw, almost completely concealed from view through his mostly closed mouth. I seized this opportunity and darted forward, jabbing my paw forwards. Frost waited until I was close and then leapt into the air, doing an unnecessary aerial flip at the peak of his jump and launching a blue beam of water towards my tail flame upon his descent.

Cold flooded by body as the flame sputtered and died upon contact with the water. I growled, turning my head to reignite the flame, only to cough as the Glaceon slammed his weight into my stomach, throwing me back onto my rear. I turned my head and spat a small fireball at my tail, sighing in relief as the flame reignited and restored the heat to my body. I pushed myself up, glaring at my opponent.

Frost laughed softly, his eyes glinting with amusement. I swiped my claws at his chin, and he knocked my paw aside with his own. I jabbed my free paw, only to hit empty air as he jumped back, out of range. He inhaled and fired another Ice Beam towards him. I pivoted my body, the beam soaring past my shoulder. However, Frost closed the distance between us and rammed his head into my gut. I winced, spinning and striking his cheek with my burning tail. Frost recoiled from my flame, giving me the opportunity to lash out my claws at his other cheek. Frost blocked the blow with his forearm, forming a ball of purple energy in his mouth. Without much time to think, I spat a quick fireball at the expanding projectile, forcing Frost to fire early to avoid getting his face singed.

Frost backed up a few paces, putting more distance between us. I took advantage of his minor retreat to catch my breath and refocus. I can't help but get the feeling that Frost wasn't putting as much effort into the fight as he was against the multitude of opponents he had just finished fighting before challenging me. Not that he wasn't trying or that he was doing badly, but his attacks seemed to be less direct than when he would just knock his opponents around. Was he humoring me, to give me a false sense of his abilities before going all out and catching me by surprise? If so, that's not going to work because I already saw how easily he dispatched the other Pokémon in the gym.

"Warmed up, Charmander?" Frost sneered. I rolled my eyes, not even bothering to respond to that. Orbs of light formed and gathered around the pale-blue fur of the Glaceon before firing in my direction. I watched the projectiles carefully, quickly taking two steps back, then another to the left, and jumping back, the various orbs striking the ground harmlessly a few inches from where I had been standing a moment ago. In the time it had taken me to maneuver out of the way, Frost had formed another of those blue energy orbs and clamped his jaws over it, creating a wave of water that expanded around him. I hurried forward, shielded my tail flame with the rest of my body, and plowed through the wave, my scales wet, but my flame burning just fine.

Frost blinked at my tactic, gracefully leaping out of the way of my slash. He landed and launched an extremely fast Shadow Ball, which I took to the chest with a grunt, bracing myself against the attack the same way I had braced myself against the tidal wave just a moment ago. The scales on my chest burned painfully, but I didn't let that stop me. I darted forward and slashed at Frost's chest, sweeping my other paw in the air to catch him in the legs when he tried to jump. The motion was enough to halt Frost's momentum and foil his evasive leap, sending him swiftly to the gym floor. He grunted on impact, rolling to his feet to dodge my follow-up jab.

Frost fired another Ice Beam. I ducked and moved forward, the beam barely passing over my head, the proximity of the beam leaving an icy residue on my scales. Frost spun around and slapped me with his glowing tail. The blow to the gut knocked the wind out of me, but it wasn't enough to keep me from driving my glowing claws into his shoulder. Frost yelped and recoiled, scowling briefly. I jabbed my other paw, the claws in question taking on the same purple glow as the first. Frost moved his head to the side and bit at my paw. His attempt only inspired me to redirect my paw into his jaw instead.

Frost took a step back, rubbing his jaw with one paw, an amused glimmer in his eyes. "Not bad, Charmander," he mused, chancing a glance towards Leaf and Mateo, both of which were observing our battle, but so were almost all the humans and Pokémon in the gym, so that doesn't count for much. After seeing Frost beat so many of the trained Pokémon, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if they were hanging on the outcome, especially since already I had lasted longer than any of the other Pokémon. That's more due to the Glaceon toying around than any particular credit owed to me. I know he's toying around because he wasn't dominating the fight nearly as badly as he had been against the other Pokémon, so either he was holding back or he wasn't trying.

"Okay, that's it. Either fight for real or go the hell away," I snapped abruptly. Frost blinked at me and I crossed my arms. "If you're only challenging me to insult me, then I'm not going to battle."

"Hm?" Frost grunted, looking perplexed.

I scowled at him. "You obviously know something about me and bothered remembering who I am, so you're not just challenging me to boost your stupid winning streak at this gym, which you consider 'oh, so pathetic'. If you don't think I'm worth your time, then I'll stop wasting it and get back to my workout. If you don't try, I'm not getting anything from this damn fight except insulted. If I lose, you'll make a mockery about how you weren't trying, and if I win, you'll call it a fluke or say you weren't trying, and that's just as insulting."

I fixed the Glaceon with a dark glare before adding, "And you know what? I'm not in the mood to get insulted by some arrogant bastard when I have a life to live and better things to do with my time. So either fight for real or get the hell out of here."

"As you wish, Charmander," Frost replied, a trace of a sneer evident in his tone.

"Use my damn name, too!" I snarled. I'm so sick of being treated like some common Charmander. I don't think I should be honored, but hell if I'm going to keep letting everyone treat me like crap.

"I think I have enough information on your style at any rate," Frost said, waving a paw in dismissal of my demand. "So why don't you show me what you've got?" he challenged.

"That's what I planned on doing when I accepted your challenge, funnily enough," I remarked blandly. Frost said nothing as I reassumed my offensive stance, my arms hanging loosely at my sides, my claws flexing to keep limber. Frost smirked and spat a ball of ghostly energy towards me. Purple flames engulfed my paw and I swiped my paw at the projectile, knocking it off course harmlessly. Frost raised an eyebrow in surprise, the expression fading almost instantly. I grinned and watched him carefully, my paws poised for another strike.

Frost inhaled subtly and blew out a gust of cold wind over me. I winced, flaring up my tail flame to counteract the chill. Frost charged forward, stopping short when I slashed my claws at his face. I quickly swiped my second paw at him, taking a step forward. Frost disappeared in a blur of motion, colliding with my chest and bowling me over. I shoved him off me, jabbing my paw at him before he had the chance to regain his balance, to no avail. He leapt over my paw and spat another Shadow Ball. My left paw deflected the orb purely on reflex, my right paw coming up and slashing one of his hind legs.

Frost landed on my other side, wincing subtly when he put weight on the injured leg, but it didn't seem to hinder his speed or balance significantly. I pushed myself up, just in time to receive a point-blank Ice Beam. I stumbled back a pace, shivering violently. Frost closed the distance between us and slammed his head into my gut. I lashed a paw forward and seized his ear, taking the blow to the gut in stride and back pawing him across the muzzle with my free paw. Frost grunted, my grip on his ear preventing him from pulling away.

"Error: Getting too close to a close-range combatant," Frost grumbled under his breath. I tugged his ear, forcing his face up. The air around us abruptly decreased in temperature and the moisture in the air started to solidify into ice crystals. My eyes widened, remembering the hail vortex the Glaceon had employed against Psycho and Leaf in the battle I had witnessed between them. If he was doing that now, then...

Chunks of snow and ice swirled around us, one of the large chunks striking the paw I was holding Frost's ear with. I yelped, sacrificing my grip and pulling back. Frost smirked arrogantly, spurring me into stabbing my claws towards him in a last-ditch effort to deal damage, but the ice type leapt out of range, landing nimbly. I growled. Just when I had that jerk on the ropes, I had to mess it up by worrying too much about his little hail trick. Even as the vortex formed around the ice quadruped, I glared towards him. Now I had to go through this? What sort of stupid tactic was that? My claw techniques now would be almost completely ineffectual without risking injury. Then again, that was probably his goal.

"Looks like I've got this battle wrapped up, doesn't it?" Frost sneered. I was tempted to agree, but wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of claiming victory without actually doing anything. In order for him to beat me, he'd have to either knock me out or otherwise incapacitate me, neither of which would be simple tasks if he stayed at a distance, and trying to get closer would give me a shot at him. I doubt there's enough moisture in this gym to indefinitely support his oversized shield of ice. I had never trained against something like this, but I knew how to handle myself against distance attackers and close combat fighters alike.

I shrugged and feigned a yawn, watching him carefully, yet with an unconcerned air. Really, after my spiel about him wasting my time by not trying, this is hardly an improvement. A real fight is to test the abilities of both combatants, not have one of them hide behind a cheap shield while the other serves as target practice. Obviously, Frost here missed the memo, the arrogant snow bag. And he's supposed to be a skilled battler? How so? Because he can make himself nearly untouchable and then keeps hitting something until it loses? Wow, real skillful there.

An ice beam burst out from the cloak of ice, and I casually sidestepped out of the way. A second followed suit, but I quickly saw it was aimed too far to my right and didn't bother moving. What followed next was a barrage of rapid shadow orbs, all smaller than normal. My claws glowed with purple flames and I struck at all the ones that came too close to striking me, negating most of them. Some of them still collided with my scales, sending minor flares of pain where they hit, but that pain was easy to shrug off and they weren't strong enough to do more than force a flinch out of me. Granted, the strategy of overwhelming me with dozens of small sized Shadow Balls probably would have been more effective if I was either forced to expend a lot of energy dodging, or if the majority of them hit me consecutively, instead of one or two out of every dozen. I can only imagine how much effort he had to go through to send this crap at me.

"Are you about done?" I asked, feigning another yawn. A larger Shadow Ball fired towards me, but I batted it aside dismissively with my Shadow Claw. I hope he's gotten the hint by now that the move isn't really effective against me. Ever since I've been forced to battle ghost Pokémon all the time, I've been practicing how to counter attacks using my claws, my reflexes being superior in my paws and arms than the rest of my body, and the elemental flames from my Dragon and Shadow Claws preventing me from taking too much strain or damage to my paws.

Chunks of ice split off from the rest of the vortex and fell towards me, but I casually spat small fireballs to melt them. I had almost forgotten that little detail, but my style always taught me to be as alert as possible towards all sides of me during a fight, including above. I tapped my foot impatiently. Okay, NOW the Glaceon was wasting my time. If he wasn't going to face me directly, then I wasn't gaining much from this as a training session aside from evasion opportunities and I had more than enough practice and opportunity for that aspect to be overly pleased about a battle almost exclusively centered on evasion. If I wanted to be practicing evasion, I wouldn't have been practicing against a freaking punching bag!

"Giving up?" Frost asked, still cowering within his little hail vortex. His tone wasn't blatantly condescending, but it still hit a nerve.

"No, why would I surrender when I'm not in any danger?" I asked. "I am rather bored though, so can you hurry up? Despite how the phrase goes, a strong defense is only a good offense when you reap the benefits of the defense. Otherwise, you're a coward."

"...excuse me?" Frost demanded. Huh, listening to Dragonair's random rants about how improper or inaccurate popular phrases were in execution was actually paying off a bit.

"Well, all you've done since making that stupid hail thing was hide behind it and shoot projectiles at me. I can't fight back and you're not getting anywhere with it, so you're back to wasting my time because you don't have the guts to fight me directly," I explained flatly. "I'm not going to surrender, because you're not a threat, and you're not going to surrender because you're all but untouchable, so I guess we're at a standstill, which means I'm incredibly bored."

Another Ice Beam flew at me, but I calmly ducked, allowing the beam to soar over my shoulder. A second one immediately fired, this time aimed at my lower body. I shifted my stance, the beam hitting the ground between my legs. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm not impressed. Go waste someone else's time. I'm not going to battle someone who won't battle," I said, turning to leave the battlefield. "Least of all some arrogant coward," I added scathingly. What happened next went almost too quickly for me to register the events. First, the hail vortex stopped, followed by the Glaceon appearing directly in front of me. I blinked, just in time to see several shards of ice launch from his fur directly into my leg. The scales resisted being impaled by the shards, but it was enough to give Frost the opening to knock his tail against my leg.

I stumbled, falling forward when the Glaceon's weight slammed into the back of the same leg. I caught myself when I hit the ground, using this leverage to push myself back up. I pivoted quickly, nearly throwing myself off balance again, nevertheless saving me about two seconds in turning to face the ice type again. Frost disappeared in a blur of motion. Without bothering to turn around, I lashed my foot backwards, smirking when I felt it connect with something. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the opposing Glaceon on the ground, wincing.

"Error: Predictable strategy," Frost muttered, rubbing his muzzle. He was on his feet in a flash, darting towards me. I thrust my arm forward and caught, not his ear like planned, but one of the two flaps hanging down from his head. Frost immediately bit my paw, forcing me to relinquish my grasp and shook his head, one paw gently stroking the tugged head flap. I have no idea what purpose those flaps serve, and they really look like something that would just get in the way. If Frost's violent reaction was any indication, they also seemed very sensitive to contact.

I hid a smirk.

Frost scowled at me and formed another one of those water orbs in his mouth. I casually spat a quick fireball, aiming for one of those two flaps. Frost's fur shimmered, deflecting the fireball aside like it was nothing, and I darted forward, slashing at his cheek. He ducked and circled around me, dousing my tail flame with a beam of water. I growled and spun around, hitting the Glaceon with my flameless tail. I hastily spat a fireball at the tail, then quickly sidestepped out of the way of the Glaceon's charge.

I extended my arm as he passed and grabbed onto one of the Glaceon's head flaps with my right paw, prompting a pained yelp from the Glaceon as I tugged him towards me. Before he could retaliate, I wrapped my left arm around his neck, releasing his head flap and pressing the claws of my right paw firmly against his neck.

"I win," I panted. Frost blinked.

"What are you-?" he began, falling silent when I added pressure to his neck.

"Knocking you out isn't the only way to win, is it? If this was a life or death match, I could kill you in an instant," I told him. His expression darkened, but he couldn't get out of my headlock without risking claws digging into his neck. "I don't want to kill you, but if I did, your neck would be Swiss cheese if you so much as twitch. I win."

"Damn you..." Frost growled under his breath. Excited chattering broke out among the humans and the ice type's ears drooped subtly, his eyes losing their glint. I released him and walked back towards where Leaf and Mateo were sitting, both watching the end of the battle. Leaf stared at me with an awed expression, whereas Mateo looked over at Frost with an expression that seemed somewhat disappointed. That was nothing compared to the defeated Glaceon's stunned expression. He didn't seem angry, just lost in thought and very...conflicted.

"I can't believe it..." Leaf told me, tail swishing excitedly. "You actually beat Frost! That makes you like the second person EVER to beat him."

Frost twitched at this announcement, but didn't reply. I just shrugged. I don't care about keeping track of wins and losses nor did I like rubbing salt in the wound by mentioning that I beat him. I wasn't out to settle a score or knock his ego down a peg or anything like that. Winning and losing didn't mean anything here.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Mateo tentatively approaching Frost, the latter Glaceon not moving. Leaf glanced from me towards the two Glaceon and his fur bristled in annoyance. I raised an eye scale, but didn't comment, instead turning my head to watch the two ice Eons directly. The shyer Glaceon hesitated for a few moments before moving closer to Frost, obviously wanting to offer some form of consolation to Frost, who had evidently chosen a spot on the gym floor to stare at. Well, at least he's not throwing a hissy fit as I half expected him to do. He was pretty damn arrogant, but at the same time I almost feel sorry for him. Mhm...not really, but I could pretend I felt sorry.

Now that Frost's reign of terror over the gym had evidently ended, most of the humans had gone back to what they had been doing before. I half-wondered why no one thought to challenge Frost and try to capture him, now that he was no longer the shining pillar of invincibility he had been upon entering, but concluded that there was some sort of rule prohibiting the capture of Pokémon that were in the gym, wild or otherwise.

Leaf twitched irritably, a far cry from how I had grown accustomed to him acting: calm and patient. I gave him an odd look, but again chose to keep silent for the time being. Turning my gaze towards the two Glaceon, I saw what Leaf had focused on. Mateo had moved closer to Frost and rubbed against him in a mildly comforting gesture. Leaf muttered something that sounded like 'that is so unfair'. His fur bristled as Frost gave Mateo a grateful lick on the ear, but nothing further than that.

Feeling like I was missing something (and a bit concerned about what it was), I jerked my thumb towards Mateo. "What's up with him?" I asked the irritable Leafeon.

"Huh?" Leaf asked, squinting at me as if I had said something stupid.

"What's up with him?" I repeated. "Your friend?"

Leaf stared at me, then at the designated Glaceon, then back at me. His expression started off blank, which gradually evolved into confused, followed by alarmed.

"Wh-what do you m-mean 'him'?" he stammered.


	288. Brotherly Quarrel

**Jolt POV**

I narrowed my eyes at Volt, unsure how to react to his peculiar demeanor. Although he had presented a challenge to fight, his body didn't tense up, as if he was completely at ease. My immediate thought was that someone had slipped him one too many Oran berries, but I'm not sure how likely that was. Volt grinned at my expression and his tail started wagging. I don't think I've ever seen his tail wagging like that since his evolution. It was so unnerving.

"Volt?" I said tentatively, my stomach squirming nervously. What was I supposed to say to him? Now that I had been reminded of the message I never passed him from the parents, how was I supposed to make that right? Volt had changed so much in the short time since the...incident, and had assumed his sadistic identity for over a year. How could I bring up personal subjects, such as the parents, to him now? He never cared that they had died, so why would that have changed now?

Maybe he did care and just never made it clear to me. Just because someone didn't express their feelings publicly, or responded in a way that made them seem apathetic, didn't meant that the emotions didn't exist. To this day, I still wake up crying in the middle of the night sometimes, not that I would ever, ever admit that to someone out loud. Even Kira never knew how affected I had been regarding my parents' death, but how could I have explained those feelings to anyone else? I didn't know anyone else that had seen their parents die in front of them, except for Psycho, but he was unsympathetic to everyone and the last resort if I was desperate for someone to relate to me. Who else had been with their parents to their last breath, and had heard their last requests, their last words, and then watched their lives fade away?

"Are you crying?" Volt asked abruptly, focusing on me with genuine alarm on his face. The normally cold and gleeful expression of the Umbreon was presently masked by mild amusement mixed with concern, but that expression soon transformed itself into a sneer. "What do you have to cry about, bro?"

I wiped the tears away, glaring daggers at my brother. He could never understand how I felt. "I have plenty to cry about, you jerk!" I growled, fully aware how weak of an insult 'jerk' was when placed alongside my venomous words.

"You've got nothing to be sad about! Your life has been mostly sunshine and dandelions, you stupid pincushion!" Volt retorted, his fur bristling. "You wouldn't know pain if it punched you in the face!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" I demanded.

"Fine, play dumb. Or be dumb, it fits you," Volt sneered.

"Yeah, that's really a good comeback, coming from the guy who called me a pincushion," I said sarcastically. "You think my life is easy?"

"I know your life is easy!" Volt spat. I'm struggling to figure out whether he's serious or pulling an elaborate joke on me. I'm really hoping that he rediscovered a rational sense of humor recently, because otherwise there's something seriously wrong with him that can't be attributed to Diablos.

"My life isn't easy, what the hell are you on?" I practically shouted at him. Did he even KNOW all the crap that's plagued my life for the past two years? Or did he think that his alleged hardships were that much worse than mine? "You're just such a spoiled brat you don't get it!"

"I'm the brat? Oh, that's just rich coming from you, bro," Volt growled. "You were the older brother, so you got everything you ever wanted and I just had to put up with it, didn't I?" He adopted a mocking, high-pitched voice that I...guess was supposed to resemble me. "Volt bit my tail! I'm not eating if we're having meat! I get the stump, I'm older! Waaaaah!" At the last 'impression', the Umbreon flailed his legs on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. I was speechless for several long moments.

"Are you kidding me?!" I practically shrieked. "That was THREE years ago! Volt, I'm five years old! You're almost four! Grow the hell up!"

"I DID ALL THE GROWING!" Volt shouted, his voice increasing in pitch. He growled and narrowed his eyes at me. "I had to learn to fend for myself, and take care of a mate and kit, all without your help and guidance, pincushion. You taught me nothing about life, bro. I did it all alone. Just like before, I did it all myself."

"Good for you," I retorted waspishly.

"And what did you do, bro?" Volt sneered, ignoring me. "How did you make something of yourself? You've got nothing on me. I worked for what I have in my life and you still think life should be handed to you. You've done nothing. You've accomplished nothing. YOU ARE NOTHING!"

"You are pathetic," I sighed.

"Your NAME is pathetic!" Volt snapped. He's just rolling out with great comebacks, isn't he?

"At least I didn't turn into a homicidal psychopath."

"At least I can groom properly!" Volt shot back.

I rolled my eyes. "This is stupid."

"You're stupid!"

"No, you are."

"You are!"

"Nuh uh! You are!"

"You are!"

"The sad part is, this is still the most mature argument I've seen in a long time," Aqua commented. The Swellow above our heads snickered, but neither of us paid either observer any attention. Both of us were breathing hard as if we had just finished running a marathon.

"Could you give us some privacy, please?" I asked the Vaporeon. Aqua hesitated, her expression puzzled and worried. Finally, she nodded and walked back towards the main grounds, glancing back at us uncertainly. I focused on Volt, but neither of us said anything, merely glared at one another for several long, tense moments.

Volt finally broke the tension by giggling. Oh, did I say 'broke the tension'? I meant 'made the entire situation eerie again'. "You haven't changed a bit, bro," Volt whispered. "Still thinking that you know what's best for me, and yet you know nothing about me and my hell."

"And you're still whining about being misunderstood," I replied coolly. "Why don't you just accept you brought it upon yourself?"

"Because it was you that brought it on me!" Volt spat. "If you would have been a NICE brother and let me sit on the stump, then it never would have happened. If you had been the brother I thought you were, so willing to protect and care for me, then you wouldn't have left me alone, left me writhing in my own helplessness!"

"Volt, please..." I begged. "That was two years ago...I thought you said you weren't angry about that anymore...can't you see that was all a huge misunderstanding?"

"You don't understand, bro..." Volt seethed. "How could you understand? To be in danger and left behind by the one you would trust your life to, the one who assured you that everything would be okay...you hurt me just like the humans did. And I'll hurt you until that pain goes away. But it never will, Jolt. It never will. Because of you, I'll never be able to rest or relax."

"Who told you it was me, Volt? Did you think that or was it Diablos?!" I spat.

"Haou cared...he was the only one who kept his promises to me," Volt breathed.

"He never cared," I retorted. "How could he? He killed innocents for no reason and filled you with hate towards everyone who gave a damn about you."

"I fear nothing now," Volt replied, grinning widely, yet his eye twitched. "I'm not the same helpless Eevee I once was, but am something much more!"

"At what cost, Volt?" I asked. "What do you have left to you, now that you hate everything and everyone?"

"You idiot," Volt sneered. "I'm not completely alone."

"Your son hates your guts, Volt. Is that what you wanted to happen with your life? You are alone as you can possibly be without being isolated," I told him, my voice cracking.

"Shows what you know," Volt replied smoothly.

"Did you not understand me? Your son HATES you. He acts like you're not his father and speaks of you with contempt that's painful to hear. He's not even two years old, Volt. He's younger than you were. And even I don't believe you hated our parents. Do you love him at all?"

"He's an insolent, ungrateful brat," Volt growled. Why can't he understand what I'm driving at? Was he in denial or did he truly believe it didn't matter?

"Do you love him?" I repeated. "Does your black heart even allow you to love?"

Volt laughed tonelessly. "Black heart, Jolt?"

"You know nothing but hate, do you? Hate and anger. No room for fear, happiness, or love. All your joy comes from inflicting misery, doesn't it? Or is there still some spark of hope that you can care?" I asked quietly. "Is that how you wanted to live, when you were young? When you were a kit, happily telling me about the evolutions you were considering and why...did you ever think that you would become the monster that you are now?"

"Enough," Volt hissed, circling me menacingly. "Even now, you fail to grasp a thing about me, Jolt."

"You won't tell me anything," I said simply. "Until recently, I didn't even know you had a son or...what about your mate? Do you love her?"

Volt lashed out a paw, striking me across the face with enough force to knock me to the ground. "Shut your damn mouth, you son of a bitch," he snarled, a dark growl forming in the back of his throat. I looked into his eyes defiantly and stood up.

"You do, don't you?" I asked quietly. There was no need for an answer. I already knew. "It would destroy you if she got hurt, wouldn't it?"

"ARE YOU THREATENING HER?!" Volt exploded. He slammed his paw into my face, hurling me painfully to the ground. I sort of deserve that for how poorly I worded that comment. Blood trickled from my stinging nose, but I didn't let that bother me.

"No...I'd never threaten her, Volt. I'm not like you," I said softly, wiping the blood from my muzzle and standing again. Volt's eye twitched. I could tell he hated that I didn't stay down. I was refusing to give him absolute control in the conversation. I didn't cringe from him, wouldn't cower from his anger, and his outbursts would only give him momentary satisfaction before I'd get up and undo his power trip.

I stared into his blood-red eyes. "I'd never touch her, because I know how crushing it is to lose a mate."

"I told Haou not to hurt her," Volt growled, knowing instantly what I was getting at. It didn't matter if he told Diablos not to hurt Kira. The fact she was dead showed how effective my brother's alleged demand had been.

"He didn't keep his promise then, did he?" I asked quietly. Volt didn't answer. "Volt...I want to try to understand you. It's something I should have been doing from the start. I haven't been the brother I was supposed to be."

"Damn right you haven't, but it's too late for half-tailed...or tail-less apologies," Volt growled, looking towards my rear quills with contempt.

"What's that mean?" I demanded. "What do you have against me being a Jolteon, damn it?" It was one of the few things that, to this day, I had never fully grasped about my brother. Sure, he had never been particularly enthused about that evolution option, but ever since I evolved, he had shown genuine hatred towards the specie in general. Was it because of his grudge against me or he did just truly hate Jolteon?

"Your name, Jolt! Your Giratina damned name!" Volt snarled. "Our damn parents named us Jolt and Volt! What the hell was wrong with them?!"

"So because we have electric based names, you hate the specie for all eternity?" I asked sarcastically. Volt rolled his eyes, his expression clearly expressing that he thought I was on the slow side. Like he's one to talk about acting slow.

"How can you even feel self-respect with a name and evolution like that?" Volt jeered.

"I got over it. I had nothing against the evolution," I answered simply.

"It's pathetic."

"It wasn't by choice."

"That's even worse," Volt snickered. However, he looked pained.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Shut up, you don't care," Volt snapped, showing his fangs, his mood abruptly hostile. I didn't even flinch. He just can't scare me the way he used to. Sure, he was eerie at times, but he just lacked the intimidating punch.

"I want to know. Please, Volt."

"Shut up!" Volt snarled. "Leave me alone!"

"Volt..." I began, but changed tactics. He didn't want to talk about his anti-Jolteon feelings, but maybe I could find something else to talk about. "Is it because of Mom?"

"I don't even remember her," Volt replied indifferently. Ouch, that hurt.

"She didn't forget you."

"Like I give a damn."

"You should, Volt," I said. "Our parents loved you."

"That's nice," Volt said, cutting me off. I sighed. It was just as I feared; Volt didn't care about our parents. The Umbreon's expression had hardened, warning me that the conversation about our parents was all but pointless to continue. I wanted him to be able to talk to me...this was the most civil conversation I had held with my brother for years.

"Mind if I ask about your mate...Icicle, right?"

"Yes, I do mind," Volt growled.

"Why?"

"SHUT UP!" Volt snarled. He panted, one eye twitching. He managed a voice of forced calm. "Don't talk about her."

"But why not? I'm not going to insult her or-"

"Don't. Talk. About. Her." Volt's order sent a cold shiver down my back. Not only was he using a dead-serious 'I'm going to kill you' tone, but his eyes had started to glisten and he averted his gaze, his body shaking subtly. If I hadn't seen his eyes tearing up, I never would have noticed, nor realized what his real issue about the subject was. My mind flashed back to what Bane had said about how Volt had gotten injured. I had noticed his limp before.

"Is she okay?" I asked in my softest whisper.

"She'll live." I was surprised by Volt's answer. His words were stony and flat, devoid of all anger and hatred, but also devoid of relief. Something about his answer sent an odd feeling through the pit of my stomach. Maybe it was the disbelief that he had answered at all. Or maybe it was pity.

I don't know what in Palkia's name possessed me to do it, but I walked right up to the Umbreon and hugged him around the neck. Even more alarming than me doing that was the fact that Volt didn't resist, growl, or seem to mind at all. He didn't move, didn't flinch, and didn't say a word. His fur was soft to the touch, something I never noticed or appreciated during other encounters with him. Granted, those encounters tended to involve us fighting to the death, but that's not the point.

Volt's expression was blank when I released him and I backed away quickly, just in case he remembered that he enjoyed spilling my blood. It was several seconds before the Umbreon regained his composure, his expression becoming cold once more. I should have known it was too good to last.

"Your birthday's coming up," I noted quietly, actually eager to push the subject away from what no doubt were upsetting thoughts. Volt didn't answer. I sighed. "Volt, why can't we patch things up between us? Diablos is gone, isn't he? There's no reason for us to fight any more."

"Gullible fool," Volt scoffed, his yellow rings lighting up. "You think you can just discard the past and start anew?"

"I want to, Volt. I really do."

"It can't be done, bro," Volt sneered.

"It can, if we just accept our shares of blame and move on from it. Please Volt...you're my only family."

"Snivel to someone who cares," Volt sneered. I grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him roughly against the bark of the tree. The Umbreon blinked at my sudden aggression, but grinned insanely.

"I'm sick of this Tauros shit, Volt!" I growled. "You're an ungrateful brat who never once appreciated what the parents and I did for you. You didn't even look back when you joined up with that lunatic phantom, did you? You thought you could just give up your life and family and everything would turn out great as you learn to hurt people. Well, you were wrong, you ungrateful bastard!"

"Are you done?"

"Shut up and pay attention!" I shouted. "You never once appreciated what I went through for your sake! I wanted you to grow up without being afraid of everything that moved and you know what, maybe it backfired because the humans were pricks! That's no reason to turn that on me as if I set out to make your life hell! You escaped, and rather than be relieved that you're okay, you turned to some megalomaniac, who convinces you to desert your family!"

"Just returning the favor, Jolteon," Volt replied coldly, unfazed by my shouting.

"You think I wanted to be a Jolteon, Volt? Well, I didn't! I...I wanted to be a Vaporeon," I said, my last sentence coming out as barely a whisper. Volt raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Life doesn't always go the way you wanted! You deal with it!" I growled. "Like I dealt with it! I looked at the good that came from it all and never dwelled on the bad!"

"What's your point?" Volt sneered.

"You give up. You're weak. You want to be strong, but you're weak. You want to be brave, but you're a coward. You don't face your problems; you run and hide from them! You kill whatever pisses you off. You try to scare what scares you. You hurt what you think will hurt you. You deny what you don't want to be true."

"Now suddenly you're an expert on me?" Volt taunted.

"I know that you're a lousy son, a lousy brother, and one hell of a lousy father!"

"Shut the hell up, Jolteon," Volt warned, his fur bristling.

"See, you're doing it again. You don't want to face the facts, so you try to silence the truth."

"I'm warning you, Jolteon...SHUT UP! You don't know ANYTHING!" Volt shrieked.

"You don't love your parents, your brother, or your son. They could die and you wouldn't give a damn."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Volt seethed, his eye twitching again.

"Mom and Dad are dead and you didn't care. You couldn't care less if I died. Hell, you'd do it yourself. And your son..."

"Utter another word, Jolteon...I dare you...give me a reason, I swear, I'll take any reason to tear the flesh from your bone and rip apart every nerve in your body..." Volt hissed, shaking with indescribable rage. My courage evaporated on the spot. The thing I said about Volt not being that scary anymore...oh Palkia, I was wrong and that was nothing compared to what he said next. "Listen to me, Jolteon...you say ANYTHING...ANYTHING at all...about Vice dying and I swear to Giratina your death will be the most agonizing crime against nature that can ever, ever be done to someone with only one life. Do you understand me?"

"Uh..."

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!" Volt shrieked, his voice jumping an entire octave in pitch.

"Yeah...of c-course," I said quickly.

"Ahem," a soft cough sounded from behind the Umbreon, who turned towards the offender with a cold glare. I blinked, looking past Volt's shoulder to study the Pokémon. It was a black weasel-like creature with black fur and three sharp claws on each paw. A crown of feathers fanned out from its head and a trio of the same feathers jutted from around the Pokémon's rear. Another feather of sorts ornamented the Pokémon's ears. I recognized the specie almost immediately as a Weavile, the evolution of Sneasel. I remembered Diablos using one as a host back in Blackthorn, only for it to become impaled by the rampaging Porygon2.

"Well, look who finally showed up," the Swellow remarked with a sneer.

"Ah, the pretty bird with the sour note," the Weavile said with a polite nod of its head. Its mannerisms and voice were distinctly male, whereas the Swellow sounded feminine, but in the latter's case, I didn't know how to check to confirm. "Hello, Wira."

"Cusil," the Swellow replied automatically. Volt looked nonplussed.

"You know him?"

"Vaguely," Wira answered dismissively. The Weavile chuckled and took what was unmistakably an aggressive stance, his claws bared. Volt raised an eyebrow at the weasel, but evidently had enough of a hint to assume a battle stance of his own. I blinked between the two Pokémon, feeling like I was being left in the dark about something important.

"It's unfortunate that I missed you before, Volt. But not this time. This time, I've got you where I want you, and you will die," Cusil said solemnly. "So tell me...do you fear death?"


	289. Cusil's Challenge

**Jolt POV **

The two dark type Pokémon stared at one another, the Weavile looking solemn, and Volt coldly indifferent. The avian in the tree overhead had begun preening, completely unconcerned about the prospect of a battle in her immediate vicinity. I feel so left out of it all. Of the four of us, I bet I have the smallest understanding of the situation. This Weavile just came out of nowhere and almost immediately made it clear that he planned to kill Volt...but why? Who the hell was he? The only thing I had to work with was the name, Cusil, but I had never heard of him before. Volt's eyes showed no sign of recognition either, but he seemed more than willing to accept the death challenge.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when something brushed against my side. I spun around and saw that Aqua had returned, her expression of concern rapidly changing to confusion when she spotted the Weavile. I wonder why she came back, but I suppose Volt and me shouting at each other had called her back to our location to see what the hell was going on, or whether anyone was in danger.

"Are you all right?" she asked me quietly, studying my muzzle critically. I had almost forgotten about my nosebleed from Volt hitting me. Aqua licked her paw and tentatively wiped a smear of blood from my stinging face, using a quick spray of water to wash her paw.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her, touched by her concern. Was she like that to everyone or did she treat me better because of how much I had helped out at the clan, or another reason entirely? I was inclined to believe she treated everyone equally and I didn't have the inclination to question her behavior.

"How do all these people find this place?" Aqua asked, her tone clearly indicating that she didn't actually want an answer. On a hunch, they had come to check the situation with the fire, only to discover that they knew an adversary that was coincidentally in the area, but naturally I have no evidence for this theory. The Swellow's earlier comment to Volt had suggested that she knew I was here and Volt was looking for me for one reason or another, but I had neglected to ask what Volt had wanted, what with us getting into an argument almost immediately.

My attention was drawn to Volt as his shoulders shook. For the briefest of moments, I thought he was crying, but that was refuted when I heard the sound of insane snickering. The laughing gradually rose in volume until it became full blown cackling. Volt raised his eyes to the Weavile's face and a cruel grin flicked across his muzzle. I sighed. His better moods never lingered the way I wanted them to.

"You talk big, Weavile, but what good is all that talk with nothing to back it up?" Volt sneered, his red eyes flashing.

"Call me Cusil, if you please, Volt."

"I don't give a damn who you are!" Volt laughed. Aqua shivered at the sound of my brother's laugh. This is exactly why I never wanted to tell anyone in our training group that Volt was my brother. We had like nothing in common, and Volt gave a horrible impression. What if Aqua started to think I was potentially psychopathic?

"Even so, I prefer to be named," Cusil said, his tone eerily polite, considering the circumstances. Who acted like this right before trying to kill someone? I wonder if he's an assassin or some sort or hired killer that operates on the principle that targets should be treated with respect, even though the job required said target to be killed. But who would hire an assassin to kill Volt? Almost anyone who had a grudge against him was probably dead or otherwise not in a position to hire a contract killer. Maybe I had an overactive imagination, but considering the Dark Organization had focused on kidnapping Pokémon for payment, this wasn't too huge of a stretch.

Volt didn't say anything in response to Cusil's remark, but his eyes narrowed. A tense stare down followed, neither of them looking like they were going to break eye contact any time soon. "What's going on?" Aqua whispered from the corner of my mouth.

"Damned if I know," I whispered back.

Wira yawned loudly from her perch overhead. "You're all idiots," she scoffed. "Just start killing each other already!"

"Hey, hey!" Aqua interjected sternly. "I won't stand for violence on the clan grounds!" Now if only she was able to actually enforce that without putting herself in danger. Volt gave her a death glare that paused her approach.

"Shut up, Vaporeon, or you'll quickly find yourself strangled with your own intestines, your eyes replaced with pieces of your liver, and your tail shoved so far down your throat your stomach will burst!" Volt snarled. Aqua blinked, shuddering as Volt ended his description with a mad cackle, taking a step towards her to display his willingness to go through with his threat. The Vaporeon tensed, as did I, but Cusil intervened by throwing a sharpened shard of ice past Volt's muzzle. Volt whirled on the attacker, his yellow rings glowing, his eyes glinting.

"It would be preferred if you stayed out of this affair," Cusil said quietly to us, his eyes never leaving Volt. The Umbreon grinned and formed a Shadow Ball in his mouth, firing it towards the Weavile. Cusil backhanded the projectile effortlessly, surprising the Umbreon. It was at that moment I noticed that the Weavile had a pair of black gauntlets protecting his wrists and the back of his paws. The claws themselves remained uncovered, and the palms of his paws appeared likewise vulnerable.

Aqua growled quietly. I understood her frustration. She couldn't readily stop the conflict without endangering herself, yet she didn't want violence to occur in the otherwise peaceful and serene clan. I wish I could relieve some of the stress or tension, but I can't think of any way to do that. If Cusil and Volt were genuinely trying to kill one another, and knowing Volt, he definitely was, then interfering of my own accord would put one of the two at a disadvantage and the last thing I wanted was to receive retaliation for interference or being indirectly responsible for a stranger's death, if not my own brother's. Palkia hates me.

Volt had recovered from the mild surprise within a few seconds and didn't remain motionless for long. He crept nearer to the Weavile, his eyes searching for an opening in Cusil's guard. Cusil flexed his claws and slowly stepped to the side, angling his steps so he was walking along a circular path, a motion Volt mirrored, leaving the two dark types an equal distance from one another, neither of them giving the other an opening to attack. I narrowed my eyes, the electricity in my fur popping as my body tensed with every step the dark types took. I was honestly afraid for Volt's life. If he died now, when I had finally made some fraction of a breakthrough in patching things up between us, however minor, then the two years I had invested was all for naught.

Cusil slashed his claws towards Volt, the Umbreon jerking out of range and releasing a ring of black energy from his body. Cusil braced himself for the impact, absorbing the brunt of the attack with minimal damage. However, that instant of distraction was all Volt needed to strike. He faded into the shadows, emerging behind Cusil and biting fiercely at the Weavile's neck. With reflexes exceeding expectations, Cusil whirled around and countered the bite by thrusting his wrist into Volt's mouth, the Umbreon's teeth clenching upon the metal gauntlet with an audible sound. Volt recoiled with a yelp, growling in obvious pain. Well, no duh. Biting metal hurt like hell, especially a really strong bite like the one Volt had done. I'm sure anyone who has ever bitten an eating utensil can back me up on that.

Cusil jabbed his claws towards Volt's neck, but the Umbreon twisted out of the way, grinning widely. I narrowed my eyes. What was he so thrilled about? Cusil flicked his wrist, spawning a trio of Ice Shards into his claws in a smooth motion. He flung the shards in a graceful gesture, Volt yelping when two of the sharp ice pieces struck his muzzle, the third missing entirely. Blood trickled down the Umbreon's cheek. I winced, seeing that the shards had impaled themselves part-way into Volt's skin.

Despite the bleeding and lingering chunks of ice in his flesh, Volt recovered quickly, launching golden stars from his mouth. Cusil braced himself for the attack, grunting as the stars fragmented on contact, some of the stars leaving tiny embers upon his fur. Volt's eyes flashed red and the ground beneath Cusil's feet glowed with an ominous purple glow. My stomach clenched in horror. Toxic...one of Volt's most sinister techniques. The conjuration of deadly vapors has certainly spelled doom for uncountable lives, except for those I personally saved. Even if I could try to give the Weavile a Pecha, Volt would no doubt be prepared to deflect my efforts.

Cusil's eyes widened and he leapt away from the vapors, refusing to inhale until he was out of range of the vapors. Volt's expression soured at the narrow escape. "Lucky bastard," Volt growled, just loudly enough for me to hear him. Cusil didn't reply, but I'm certain that the Weavile's sense of hearing was more than enough to catch the Umbreon's words.

Cusil flicked both wrists behind him, somehow acquiring three Ice Shards in his paw. He raced towards Volt, leaping into the air as Volt spat a Shadow Ball, the ghostly projectile exploding harmlessly at the ground Cusil had occupied mere moments ago. While in midair, Cusil flung three of the shards, doing an acrobatic flip at the peak of his ascent, and throwing the second batch before landing, adjusting his aim to account for Volt dodging the first group. Volt yelped, this time the shards embedding themselves into his side.

"Damn you!" Volt snarled, his rings flashing dangerously. He whirled around to face the Weavile and I saw that the shards in his muzzle had mostly melted by this point, the small piece that remained falling out of the wound, which had surprisingly stopped bleeding. Then again, a Pokémon's healing factor was greater than that of humans.

Cusil showed no trace of fear at the Umbreon's anger and why should he? Volt's most formidable attack tended to be either his teeth or his Psychic, the latter of which was useless against a fellow dark type and the former of which required him to get closer, a feat made more difficult by the Weavile's speed and aggressive strikes. Volt's eyes narrowed at the fearless expression, his red eyes becoming reduced to slits as Cusil conjured a black sphere of energy between his paws, like a Shadow Ball but blacker. It may have been my eyes deceiving me, but for a moment I could have sworn there was a glow radiating from Cusil's left paw, this glow becoming absorbed by the growing sphere of energy.

Volt didn't wait for the Weavile to release its attack, instead charging forward. Cusil thrust his arms forward, firing the projectile. Volt's body fragmented, splitting into no less than a half-dozen copies. The projectile stopped its flight and exploded, expanding into a ripple of black energy that easily broke apart the Umbreon's Double Team. The real Volt was struck with enough force to send him skidding backwards. Aqua gasped in surprise, whereas I remained as passive as possible. I don't know whose side I was on. There was something about Volt losing a fight that, on one paw, was immensely satisfying, considering the ease he usually beats me with, and Darkness' consistent confessions of being defeated by him. On the other paw, I didn't want my brother to die.

Cusil took instant advantage of Volt's stunned state and flung an Ice Shard from his wrist, the shard striking Volt just below the throat. The Umbreon gasped and swatted the shard from his upper chest, his red eyes wide with shock. Aqua and I both made sharp inhalations at the same time, my heart starting to pound in my chest. Holy mother of Palkia...just a centimeter or two higher and Volt would have been dealt a fatal or near-fatal injury. Maybe he would have enough time to call upon a life-saving Wish, but I doubted it. Cusil was serious about killing Volt, and if Volt didn't step up, then I had no doubt that I would be down one brother.

Cusil drew three more Ice Shards into his paw, these particular ones seeming longer than the average, looking more like icicles than anything else. Volt didn't move, a cold smirk tugging the corners of his mouth. The Weavile narrowed his eyes, casting a quick glance towards the ground, no doubt wary of another Toxic. None came. Cusil frowned and flung the three shards towards the Umbreon, all of which were blasted from the air by a Dark Pulse. Cusil darted forward, ducking under a Shadow Ball and pivoting when Volt bit at him, the fangs closing on empty air. Cusil brought his leg up during the pivot and thrust it directly into Volt's face with a sickening crunch. Volt fell back, his muzzle practically gushing blood.

I winced, growling in frustration. What had happened to the nearly unstoppable tank Umbreon that I was so used to fighting? Why was he getting thrashed like this when his LIFE depended on his fighting? This wasn't just any fight, where he outmatched his opponents and would kill them at his leisure. This was a battle where every action could decide whether he lived or died! Was the limp I spotted earlier a reason for his weaker fighting? Because he couldn't move at his usual speed or couldn't place his full weight on the leg or something? Come on, Volt...fight back! I don't want to watch you die...

Volt let out an insane cackle, relieving my original fear and just as swiftly replacing it with a different fear. Aqua shivered, yet regained her composure. Even so, I could just make out the discomfort in her eyes. Not that I can blame her; Volt always got under people's skin when they aren't already used to his behavior. Cusil was undisturbed by the laugh, the Weavile stepping forward and pulling his paw back. Without wasting a moment, Cusil drove his claws downwards, aiming Volt's chest. Volt rolled his body backwards, the claws slamming into the ground. With next to nil grace, Volt landed on his feet, stumbling a few paces before gaining his balance. To his alarm, Cusil was directly in front of him, striking his chin with a skywards blow. Volt yelped, staggering back another few steps. Cusil darted to Volt's left, raising his paw and chopping his glowing paw upon Volt's neck. If it wasn't for Volt's flinch, the blow probably would have instantly broken his neck.

Volt's eyes widened when struck, grunting as Cusil shoved his foot against the Umbreon's side, shoving him down. This time, Volt didn't give the Weavile the chance to stab him and promptly rolled to his feet, launching several Shadow Balls at Cusil. The Weavile deflected half of them, but one exploded against his leg, throwing off his concentration and allowing half a dozen more to bombard his chest. Volt cackled and lunged forward, closing his powerful jaws around the Weavile's leg. Cusil slashed Volt across his muzzle in time to keep Volt from snapping the bone, the Umbreon growling in annoyance as he recoiled. Yeah, he would be disappointed that he didn't get to hear the sickening crunch or snap.

Cusil inspected his bitten leg quickly, flicking his wrist and throwing two Ice Shards when Volt attempted to rush forward. Volt leapt over the thrown shards. Cusil raised his arm like a shield, smirking as Volt's neck collided with the horizontal limb, removing the Umbreon's momentum, knocking the wind out of him, and dropping him to the ground like a rock. As if guessing Volt's plan to bite his leg, Cusil immediately kicked him in the face. Volt cackled again, a ring of black energy rippling from his body. Cusil took the attack with the slightest of grunts, and in that time, the Umbreon had vanished.

Everyone in the area tensed. Aqua looked around with an anxious expression and even the Swellow was looking around, her expression puzzled. Cusil was the most at ease, but his eyes had narrowed and he kept a sharp eye on the shadowy areas. There was something about the way he scanned the darkness that intrigued me. It was almost as if he knew exactly where to look. Even most dark types and nocturnal species had trouble watching to see if Volt was hiding in dark areas. I don't have a clue how he manages to do that so well. Darkness even admitted that she can't find him unless she was really looking, and while she can also conceal herself rather well, she had the unlucky issue of her rings giving her location away at the slightest change in emotion.

"Found you," Cusil said, flicking his wrist and bringing a trio of Ice Shards into his grasp. Unless he keeps shards somehow stored within his gauntlets, I haven't the foggiest idea how he does that. There was no response to his comment, not even from the other spectators. Cusil stared at the shadow formed by an enormous tree, his paw poised to throw the sharpened chunks of ice. An ominous purple glow lit the ground beneath the Weavile's feet and noxious fumes rose from the ground, creeping towards the Weavile's face. At that same moment, Cusil whirled 180 degrees and hurled the ice shards in the complete opposite direction he had been facing. Another ripple of black energy blasted the shards out of the air and Volt stepped into view, his eyes alight with sadistic glee.

"Breathe in, Weavile...taste the fumes of death!" Volt hissed. His gleeful expression faded, his eyes fixed upon Cusil's nose and mouth, both of which seemed to be veiled in some sort of strange black fog. The toxic fumes dissipated on contact with this fog. Volt just stood still for about a full minute, his gaze flicking towards the Weavile's left paw. I followed my brother's gaze, taking note of the odd glowing from the back of Cusil's gauntlet. The black smoke tendrils seemed to be forming from that spot, but I couldn't make sense of that source.

"No poison this time, Volt," Cusil announced solemnly. The black tendrils coiled around his claws, giving them an eerie black glow and extending the same courtesy to his right paw. In the time it took to blink, the Weavile was directly in front of Volt and slashed him twice across the face. Volt didn't even cry out at the slashes, just stumbled back blindly, his eyes shut. This was what Cusil evidently had been hoping for. With Volt's vision temporarily reduced, he quickly seized Volt by the ear, pulling up sharply and forcing the Umbreon's chin up.

Orbs of energy materialized in a circle around the Umbreon, revolving rapidly around the dark quadruped's body, like planets around the sun. Cusil didn't notice; his paw pulling back to deliver the killing blow. Unlike most Hidden Power techniques, the orbs didn't scatter, but instead all converged upon one point, in this case being the Weavile. As each orb collided with Cusil, there was a flash of red-orange light. The Weavile yelped in pain, his black fur becoming singed from each flash. Volt cackled, his eyes shining with glee. The sad part is, I still prefer this over him giggling and acting like he was high on Orans.

"Stop this fight at once!" Aqua burst out, stepped forward angrily. I flinched, sensing the true strength behind her words, a power I never would have guessed just by looking at her. Sure, I knew she was strong and commanding from my experiences since meeting her, but despite this knowledge, it was still a shock.

"I apologize, but I cannot allow you to interfere," Cusil said solemnly, his eyes never leaving Volt. I stepped beside Aqua, my fur crackling with electricity. If I needed to help stop this fight, I would.

"You will cease fighting on the clan grounds," Aqua ordered firmly.

"It cannot be helped, I'm afraid," Cusil said, his tone laced with sorrow. I narrowed my eyes. Just who the hell was he? I had hoped his identity would be better revealed during the fight, but so far I had learned nothing about him. The two of them had barely said a word to or about each other.

"I bet you regret fighting me now," Volt jeered. Cusil shook his head.

"My only regret is how your death will upset Icicle," he said solemnly. Volt recoiled in alarm, his expression changing rapidly from amusement to alarm, and then from alarm to confusion.

"How...?" Volt blurted, his expression twisting into an ugly look of fury. "Who are you?" he snarled, his eyes taking on an eerie red glow as he fixed the Weavile with a death glare that even my darkest nightmares can never reproduce. "How do you know Icicle?" Volt demanded. Cusil gave no answer, didn't even flinch when the Mean Look was cast upon his body. The silence only infuriated the Umbreon further. "ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!"

"I have no answer to offer you, Volt," Cusil replied. Volt's eye twitched, sending anxious flutters through my gut.

"So be it," he hissed. "I'll make your death-"

"I don't fear death or your threats, Volt," Cusil warned, readying his claws. "But I know you're afraid. You hide behind an imposing charade so no one knows how scared you are. You act strong so no one sees the weak child. You show nothing but hate and contempt to mask your self-loathing."

"Self-loathing? What nonsense," Volt growled, his rings lighting up once more.

"You hate yourself, Volt. Hate what you've become and hate what you always were. But we don't have the time to discuss this. Don't worry; I'll relieve you of the burden of living with yourself any longer," Cusil said smoothly. He strode forward, tendrils of black energy seeping from his left paw and engulfing his claws. He raised his paw and swiftly raked Volt across the throat. Well, he tried to, but the attempt was interrupted by Volt delivering a fierce headbutt right to the...

Just ouch.


	290. Victory or Stalemate?

**Jolt POV**

The sun slowly sank over the horizon, the lingering rays staining the sky with a pleasant orange and pink tinge. The wind rustled the leaves overhead, the air smelling mildly of charcoal and flowers blended together into an aromatic fragrance, and the grass was soft beneath my paw. All around me was a paradise to all the senses. Yet here I was, watching my brother and a Weavile fight to the death. What a way to kill the mood.

Aqua stood to my left, her short blue fur bristled in irritation. I can't blame her for that; I too was feeling a little frustrated about the situation. My fur passed electricity from quill to quill, readying a blast of lightning in case my intervention was needed. Aqua's eyes gazed upon the two dark types, her expression aggravated, yet I couldn't shake the belief that she was in control of her emotions. Before us, Volt was eyeing the hunched-over Weavile with cold amusement. Although his back was bent, Cusil's eyes stared right back at the Umbreon. He slowly straightened, raising his gauntleted paws, the left paw hovering defensively near his chin, the right paw flexing at chest level.

Volt's expression soured, his rings casting an eerie yellow light upon the darkening area. Cusil chuckled, but when he spoke, his voice was of a mildly higher pitch. "Pouting doesn't suit you, Volt. Don't forget, it was you who used Mean Look, not vice versa. But even if I had a choice in the matter, I can't end my pursuit."

"Your funeral. But who will weep?" Volt jeered.

"I'd ask the same, but I already know," Cusil replied solemnly. He dashed forward, his body taking on a distinct streak of white light. Stars of light erupted from Volt's maw, yet Cusil charged right through them, the white aura around his body diffusing the Swift attack on contact. The Umbreon pivoted his weight and leapt out of the way. As Cusil passed him, the white aura rippled outwards with great force, knocking Volt from the air. I growled as my brother pushed himself up, glaring daggers at his assailant. How much longer was this damn fight going to go on?!

Aqua evidently agreed with me because she was growling consistently, her tail twitching. I glanced over at her, hoping she wasn't planning on doing something stupid like rushing into combat. Volt was acting weird sometimes, but I knew he would mercilessly attack if provoked.

"Hey, what's up?" I whispered to her, hoping that my soothing tone would remove some of the stress burden off her. Leaf seemed to believe that sometimes all that was needed to get someone talking was a clear intention to listen and sympathize. Knowing someone cared could do wonders for one's mood; Leaf had demonstrated that when I had gone to talk to him about Kira.

"I don't like this at all," Aqua whispered back, her forehead creasing. "I need to break the fight up."

"That's not a good idea," I said slowly. Aqua gave me a scowl, prompting me to hastily elaborate. "I mean, I hate the fighting, too, but I don't think we can do anything to stop it without putting ourselves into danger."

"Fighting on the clan grounds puts passerby and innocents into danger and allows violence and hate to flourish. It is something I don't wish to tolerate. It's my duty to take a stand when one is called for and this is one such case," Aqua told me quietly. "The good of the clan comes before the stance of an individual. Failing to do what I am charged to do would be to disregard the safety and peace of mind of others. I thought you understood this."

"Hey, don't try to guilt me into this," I complained. Aqua cracked a smile.

"I have no intention of twisting your leg, Jolt. But even if you don't agree, I expect you to understand my position."

"I do understand, Aqua," I insisted. "I just don't want you...or anyone, to get hurt," I finished quickly. Aqua raised an eyebrow and I averted my gaze. I don't want to reflect on Kira...not now. It wasn't my fault she had died, I needed to remember that, but it wasn't right if I led others down the road to death or pain because of my decisions and dreams that in turn manipulated me into making selfish choices.

I didn't want Volt to die, but was it right to stand by and watch him attack others, just so I wouldn't feel like a traitor to him? And what about my parents? Dad told me to look after Volt...if I could. I can't turn a blind eye to the things he's done. I just can't. What he's done to humans, what he's done to me, and worst of all, what he did to Leaf...I could forgive him in my heart, but I can't let such things continue. No matter what I wanted for him, I couldn't allow myself to ignore the safety of others just to preserve his own.

"If you step in...I'll back you up," I told the Vaporeon, raising my head and making eye contact. I didn't even care my eyes had watered; all that was important was being firm and sincere in my message.

"Thank you," Aqua said quietly, turning back towards the fight. To my surprise, Volt had reclaimed the advantage against Cusil, darting around the Weavile and biting at his legs with his powerful jaws. Cusil was holding his own spectacularly, turning and blocking his bites with absurd speed, but all his retaliations were either avoided or deflected by the Umbreon's startling speed.

Volt ducked under Cusil's claws, hissing and slamming his weight at Cusil's leg, only to find himself stumbling when he hit empty air, the Weavile performing an acrobatic flip over his head and landing gracefully behind him. Volt growled and for the briefest of moments, his body took on a black aura. Cusil showed not the slightest sign of alarm, gesturing with his claws for Volt to attack. It was painfully unsurprising when Volt rose to take the bait, dashing forward in a blur of black. Cusil tapped the ground with his foot and a geyser of water, no seriously, water, erupted from the ground, catching everyone by surprise. Volt choked as the geyser bowled him over, sending him tumbling backwards some fifteen feet before the water soaked into the earth, as if it had never existed.

"Enough!" Aqua blurted out, drawing Cusil's attention. She stepped forward boldly and I hastened to join her, sparks flying from my fur with a loud pop. It made sense she chose now to intervene, when the combatants weren't so close to one another that breaking them up involved a physical operation.

"Can we help you?" Cusil asked, employing a sincere, reverent tone, as opposed to the expected sarcasm or sneer.

"I insist that this fight cease immediately," Aqua said firmly. She displayed no anger in either her expression or tone, yet she gave off a rare vibe of power and command. "I do not approve of solving a conflict through aggression and especially not on the clan grounds."

"I would like to agree with that philosophy, miss," Cusil said politely. "However, you must admit that there are circumstances that supersede personal comfort for the larger picture, and circumstances that require the paths of aggression and force to be taken, no matter how distasteful it may be to one's palate."

Aqua's expression did not waver. "In a case where an aggressive path is allegedly the proper choice, then it should be dealt with in the proper place. That place would not be these clan grounds."

"Why don't you keep your damn tail out of this, Vaporeon?" Volt snarled, pushing himself up and fixing Aqua with a death glare. She paid him no attention, yet my brother's comment still awoke a flicker of anger within me.

"Hey, shut up, Volt!" I snapped. If anything, she was trying to save his life and that was his thanks? Telling her to tail out when she had every right to insist that they didn't hold a freaking _death match_ in her clan territory? It was times like this that I hated Volt's stubbornness. Sure, he had been that like even when we were younger, but his refusal to accept courses of action aside from his immediate desires was a pain in the quills. What the hell could he get from fighting some Weavile to the death?

Volt giggled, his eyes flicking to the Weavile. "Was that all you've got?" he taunted. Cusil raised an eyebrow, yet stepped forward, raising his claws again. Volt grinned and dashed forward, launching several Shadow Balls towards Cusil, most of which soared past the target, the rest Cusil neutralized with well-timed swipes of his claws. Aqua growled in frustration.

"Hey, calm down," I whispered to her. "Getting angry won't help anything."

"Maybe not," Aqua conceded. "But I can't just let them continue, either."

"I know," I agreed. What we needed to do was figure out a way to separate or stop them without giving the other Pokémon the opportunity to strike. For that reason, I couldn't just zap them with a Thunder Wave because, assuming I managed to hit one of them, the other might be able to do serious damage to the paralyzed combatant before Aqua or I could stop him. Cusil seemed wickedly fast, so hitting him or stopping him both seemed like too much of a feat to attempt with confidence.

Cusil slashed his claws in an upward arc and Volt rolled to the side, stumbling as he got to his feet. Tendrils of black energy seeped from the Weavile's wrist, surrounding his left paw in the same black mist. Without missing a beat, Cusil jabbed the glowing paw forward, stabbing Volt's shoulder despite the Umbreon's attempt to pivot out of the way. Volt yelped and recoiled, blood trickling from the wound, which didn't appear to be too deep. Volt gave the injury a quick glance-over and licked the small amount of blood, purring as he returned his focus to Cusil. Aqua looked momentarily disgusted, not that I can blame her.

Volt cackled abruptly, the sound causing Aqua's fur to bristle. I growled, oddly soothing the Vaporeon's anxiety. Cusil was unbothered, even as Volt launched several Shadow Balls, all of which soared past his head without even forcing the Weavile to dodge. Cusil shot a glance backwards, refocusing when Volt pounced on him. The two dark types tumbled backwards, Volt swiftly seizing the upper paw and scratching Cusil as viciously as he could, his red eyes glinting with malice. Cusil winced and flicked his wrist to bring a dagger-like shard of ice into his paw. Volt slammed his paw down on Cusil's wrist, pinning the paw down and breaking the shard in two.

"Simply pathetic," Volt hissed, baring his fangs. Without warning, Aqua exhaled, launching a personal geyser from her mouth. The attack took Volt completely by surprise and he only managed a yelp before being shunted sideways off of Cusil. The Weavile gracefully rolled backwards onto his feet.

"STOP!" Aqua shouted, stepping forward angrily. Cusil hesitated, but Volt snorted contemptuously and climbed to his feet, his eyes fixed upon Cusil, who stared back, his own expression alert and thoughtful.

Volt's eyes flashed and from the corner of my eye, I saw a faint psychic aura surround a fallen tree limb, so thick as to practically be a log. Slowly the heavy branch rose into the air before pitching towards Cusil. At the last moment, Cusil's ear twitched and he spun, swiping his claws at the air. A blade of dark energy formed from the slash and flew towards the approaching limb, cutting through the small log effortlessly and dissipating Volt's Psychic. The two remaining pieces flew past on either side of the Weavile, one of them going just over my head before tumbling across the ground, kicking up dirt and bits of grass before coming to a halt.

The other piece was on a path to collide with Aqua, and I didn't have time to shout a warning before it was upon her. Displaying agility I never would have expected by simply looking at her, the Vaporeon leapt on top of the tree limb and kicked off it, landing with remarkable grace. Her kick had pushed the branch nearer to the ground and it landed similarly to the first before coming to a halt. My jaw hung open. Even Frost could barely move that gracefully, but I might just be biased.

"Most impressive," Cusil noted with a small smile. Volt rolled his eyes. Cusil drew back his right paw, but the distance between him and Volt was so great that the Umbreon didn't even flinch at the motion. I growled. Were they STILL insisting on continuing the battle? Why couldn't they just stop like Aqua wanted them to? Cusil's paw glowed with a faint blue light and he thrust it forward. At that moment, a strange, semi-transparent shape burst free from his paw, soaring towards Volt with great speed. From the glimpse of it I saw, the shape seemed to be similar to that of a large bird's beak, but so transparent it seemed to be only an illusion.

The moment the illusionary beak connected with Volt, his eyes bulged in pain and he hunched over, clutching his chest where he had been struck. "What...the hell was that?" Volt demanded, panting. There was no visible wound on him, at least that I could see, yet he was in obvious pain, although starting to shake it off.

"Drill Peck, from the looks of it," the Swellow noted. She smirked knowingly, while Volt just looked confused. Aqua and I exchanged perplexed glances.

Cusil chuckled softly, but his eyes burned intensely as he stared at Volt. For a moment, the Umbreon shivered, but his usual grin reappeared within moments. I gritted my teeth. The longer the fighting went on, the more consistent my brother's psychotic behavior became. Maybe there really was no way to fix his warped mind. After two years, his old self was all but gone, if not completely. Even with Diablos MIA, Volt had changed too much to be brought back. No, I shouldn't give up hope just yet. I had resisted the urge to lose hope for over a year. Volt's chances of changing were better now than ever before, without that phantom around to cloud his mind.

Volt's eyes flashed and the ominous purple glow reappeared beneath Cusil's feet. The Weavile ignored it, his left paw conjuring the strange black mist over his mouth and nose, negating the fumes harmlessly. Volt growled, his body briefly becoming encompassed by a black aura. Again, the purple poison fumes floated up to Cusil's nose, with no effect. Cusil's eyes narrowed and he brandished his claws, creating another blade of black energy and firing it in Volt's direction. Volt dodged and charged towards Cusil, the black aura around his body intensifying. Shit, I know that technique. Frustration, the move Volt used whenever he was pissed...it turned his already great feelings of hostility into an asset, weaponizing his anger.

Cusil grunted as Volt knocked him to the ground, growling and biting at the Weavile. Cusil deflected the Umbreon's jaw with his gauntleted wrists and shoved his foot up into Volt's gut. Unfazed, Volt tore at Cusil's neck and shoulder. This was too much. A quick glance at Aqua confirmed she felt the same, and together we released an attack. A jet of water dislodged Volt from Cusil's body, and a following Thunder Wave kept Cusil on the ground, his muscles freezing up. Volt, forgetting all about the Weavile, whirled on Aqua, his eyes narrowed in rage and the black Frustration aura growing in size.

"Damn you to hell, Vaporeon!" Volt spat, and his eyes glowed. The ground beneath her paws glowed with a sickening purple glow and delicate poison fumes rose from the earth. At the same time, a soft aura surrounded the Vaporeon, preventing her from moving a muscle. Volt cackled. "Embrace death, bitch!" he crowed, watching the fumes dance around her face. Aqua's eyes widened in horror, but she did not inhale.

Anger and horror coursed through every fiber of my being. For the briefest of instants, I contemplated attacking Volt, shoving his face into the ground and beating him until he was raw and bloody. My quills popped with electricity, adding to my fantasy the image of me hooking him up to a massive Thunder. How I longed to hear him scream, to beg for mercy for all his crimes, to plead for me to stop and...

A fresh wave of horror hit my gut and I resisted the urge to vomit. Oh Palkia...how could I entertain such visions? That made me no better than him, wanting to hurt him, to make him suffer. Instinct acted before thought and I charged forward, tackling Aqua's side and sending us both tumbling across the ground, away from the poisonous fumes. Aqua coughed and began to pant as if she had been holding her breath (she probably had been), but her eyes sparkled in an odd way as she looked up at me. I paid it no attention and stepped towards Volt, my body shaking with anger.

"That's enough, Volt! I've had enough!" I shouted, steadily advancing on the Umbreon without so much as a trace of fear. I don't care what he's done to others, or what he can do to me. I don't care if I'm weaker than him, or if he could kill me. I've had enough of everything here. I would stop him, no matter what it cost me. Volt eyed me with amusement.

"I'm terrified," he mocked.

"You should be."

"And what exactly can you do to me, bro?" Volt taunted. "You're weak, the same pathetic little Jolteon you've always been." He shivered in excitement. "Come on, take your best shot, Jolteon!" My mind was hazy, only one thought in my mind as I approached. I ignored his goading, each step taking me closer to my sadistic brother. Each step brought me nearer to those cold red eyes, filled with mad delight, and the rings that glowed with sadistic pleasure and excitement.

"I've had enough," I said again, growling as I closed the distance between us until only a gap of a few feet remained. Volt's eyes flashed and an invisible force shoved me back. He cackled gleefully and his eyes glowed red. Movement behind me! I leapt to the side, gasping as one of the broken tree limbs whooshed past me. I glared at my brother and his grin widened.

"Lucky dodge, Jolty," he sneered. He glanced back at the small log he had manipulated and guided it above Cusil. I snarled and slashed my paw at his face. He ducked, losing his concentration and the log crashed down upon the paralyzed Weavile's body. Volt laughed. "Oops, butter-mind," he sneered. He was silenced by me delivering two fierce blows to his face.

I shoved him down while he was stunned, growling and staring right into his eyes, our muzzles only a few inches apart. Volt snickered, unbothered by my proximity or the blood seeping from his nose. "Damn you, Volt," I hissed into his face. He closed his eyes against the small flecks of saliva released by my words. I didn't bother taking the time to appreciate that this was pretty much the first time in a very long time that I've ever had Volt pinned. He didn't struggle, try to retaliate, or resist my pin at all. It was actually a frightening realization, knowing he could start fighting me at any moment. Our faces were inches apart, so he could easily send a Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse right into my face, or aim to bite me...yet he didn't.

Slowly, the Umbreon opened his eyes again and a smirk tugged at his mouth. "Still here, bro?" he snickered. "What are you waiting for?"

"What's that mean?" I snapped. Volt giggled and his rings flashed.

"I know what you want to do to me, Jolt," he whispered. The fact his tone had a strange, almost seductive note to it was possibly the most disturbing aspect of our situation. Volt leaned his head back, exposing his throat. I growled and Volt snickered. "Can't do it? How pathetic..."

I slapped his cheek in reply. He blinked and gave me a strange look, yet fell silent again. "I'm not pathetic, Volt," I hissed.

"You're in denial, then," Volt responded casually. His nonchalant tone made me want to punch him more than any smug tone ever could. "But of course..." Volt jeered. "Perfect Jolty can't handle a little blood on his fangs. And yet you claim you're not pathetic."

"Worth isn't decided by willingness to kill," I growled.

"Going back to this old lecture, I see," Volt scoffed. It was all I could do to keep from smashing his face in. Every time I thought I had made a breakthrough with his attitude, he started regressing. At this point, I don't give a damn any more. I was sick of trying to pound the same things into his dumb skull, only for something to happen to completely undo it all. At the same time, I'd feel a constant stomach-churning sensation of guilt if I did nothing that even slightly followed my parents' wishes.

It's almost as if I'm in a lose-lose situation by default. I can't tell myself to forget Volt because then I'd be guilt-ridden. I can't help Volt because he refuses to stay consistent with the mild changes I manage to inspire. I can't break up the fights he gets into because then he or his opponent is thrust into a fatal disadvantage, but I can't let them continue because someone was likely to die if left to follow its natural conclusion. I can't act like the brother I should be because he resents me too much, and I can't act like I don't care what he does because he'll just keep doing what I hate!

Frustrated, I shoved Volt back and backed off, taking soothing breaths to ease my temper, with little to no effect. Palkia damn it, he tried to poison Aqua for no reason aside from she got in his way. All she was doing was trying to break up this damn death match. My fur crackled loudly, reminding me of my momentary daydream of curbing his murderous tendencies with rigorous and unrestrained electroshock therapy. Ugh.

As tempting as the idea was, I opted for a simple Thunder Wave over a massive electrical shock. Volt growled as the paralyzing waves of lightning quickly took hold of his muscles, his position compromising any hope he had of continuing his battle. As I turned to check on Cusil's condition, Volt's rings flashed eerily and my body locked up mid-turn, causing me to fall to the ground like a clumsy idiot. Damn Umbreon and their little trick to synchronize their condition with the idiot that gave it to them.

Aqua came over slowly, giving me a momentary pang of resentment that she wasn't too worried about me, but it soon occurred to me that she knew precisely why my body had frozen up the way it did. She did live in close contact with several Eons, after all. She gently gripped me at the sides and slipped her tail fin underneath me, using it as leverage to prop me back up on my feet. I winced a little, struggling to remain standing. My legs felt wobbly, as if I had been running on them for too long and now had been forced to stand without resting first.

Aqua reached over and gently tugged the berry pouch off my neck and rummaged about in it, finally drawing out a Cheri berry and feeding to it, as if she had been doing this sort of thing for years. How she even knew what was in the berry pouch was beyond me, but yet I couldn't even convince my brain to be annoyed by the mild invasiveness of my belongings. The entire time, she was standing not six inches from me, and when she removed the pouch or prodded the berry past my mouth, her touch was tender. No doubt she had picked up this sort of behavior from interactions with the clan members, further reminding me how, unlike previous misconceptions I had of alphas, she cared for others. I wasn't even in her clan, yet I received near-identical treatment to those who were. Hell, my known brother had just tried to murder her and she still took the time to personally attend to my inadvertent paralysis.

"What should we do about them?" I asked, sighing in relief as my body's tension gradually subsided. I stretched, savoring the restoration of my natural limberness. I wandered over to Cusil, only to find that the Weavile hadn't taken much damage from Volt's dropped tree limb, but his movements were stiff, an expected side effect of the paralysis I had inflicted to him.

"I'm not sure," Aqua admitted. "I'll probably just have Toady or Pearl take them somewhere far away from our territory. Separated, of course."

"Or any Espeon, I imagine," I mused. Aqua shook her head.

"Toady, specifically. He's the only one who can handle dark types with no danger. He's one of the only two males who can beat Moonlight," Aqua explained. I drew a blank on that. I didn't know the significance of beating 'Moonlight', nor did I know how an Espeon held his own so well against a dark type that he was relied upon to deal with them. At the same time, it wasn't relevant enough to question.

"Well, how would we get one of them over here without leaving these two unattended?" I asked, keeping a very close eye on the Weavile and Umbreon. Eerily, Volt was visibly not even trying to fight the paralysis and Cusil was unconscious. Either that or he was faking to catch us off-guard, which wasn't something I could safely rule out.

"One of us will have to get them, naturally," Aqua replied smoothly. We both looked at one another.

"You go."

We blinked, having both said the same thing at the same time. Aqua smiled, shaking her head.

"You go, Jolt. I can handle things here."

"But I don't know where either of them might be, and I don't know who they are, really. Besides, if they recover, I don't you caught up in the middle of it again," I countered.

"Your concern is sweet, but overprotective," Aqua said. I shook my head firmly.

"You go. You'll find one of them much faster than I will. Now go," I said, nudging her with my head. She blinked, but managed a quiet chuckle before obediently turning to walk towards the clan grounds.

"Don't count this as one-upping me," she warned teasingly. I love how she can joke around like that. It made even serious situations feel a little more whimsical. Even so, I rolled my eyes and turned back towards Volt, who glared at me.

"Stupid Jolteon," he growled.

"Yeah, I'm a terrible brother for trying to keep you from being killed, you dimwit," I snapped. "And you have a funny way of thanking me, trying to kill us for saving your life, you ungrateful twit."

"I didn't need to be saved," Volt retorted.

"Tauros shit," I spat, my anger rising again. "You were getting your tail kicked. Whatever little advantages you had at any point in time weren't enough and you just are too stubborn to see that."

"It was he who didn't have enough. Before you fools interrupted, I was seconds from ripping apart his jugular and feasting upon his organs," Volt snarled. I smacked him, wiping the snarl off his face.

"Do you ever listen to yourself? No wonder Vice hates your guts," I growled. "Hell, I can't even imagine how what's-her-name likes you."

Volt was silent, but his gaze became icy. I glared at him until he spoke. "You wouldn't understand."

"The hell I wouldn't. Try me, you bastard."

"All you give me is contempt, isn't it, bro?" Volt sneered.

"Do you give anyone a reason to love you?" I retorted. "I'm glad Mom and Dad never lived to see you become like this."

"Ooh, you hurt my feelings, the pain..." Volt mocked, but then his gaze hardened. "I'll give you real pain." His eyes flashed and my chest felt like an invisible force was crushing my rib cage. I hunched over in agony, my paw clutching my chest instinctively. The next moment it was gone and I nearly collapsed, panting. Volt let out a wild cackle. "How's that feel, bro? Good?"

"You...sick..."

"That's right, bro, hate me. Dispel this stupid charade of giving a damn about me, because I know you're just a selfish brother looking out for himself. You don't care the way you claim you do, so filled with disgusting self-righteousness!" Volt spat.

"What's that mean?" I growled, rubbing my aching chest.

"You're full of Tauros shit, as you so delicately said," Volt hissed. His red eyes burned with hatred, an expression I knew only too well. "You don't care for my life, you just know you'll be wracked with guilt if I die before you can work your little magic and bring me back to my WEAK self!" he snapped, practically shrieking the word 'weak'.

"That's not true."

"Denial, Jolt. DENIAL!" Volt shouted. It was my turn to shut my eyes from the flecks of saliva exhaled by the Umbreon. "You don't care about anyone I killed. You're just too weak to take their lives yourself. Lava was worthless to you, but you came specifically to stop me...but not for him. No, you wanted to piss me off so you could fight me again, and have an excuse to mess with my head. That's all you ever want, bro, and I'm damn sick of it."

Volt's words stung, but I kept my face as impassive as possible. What he was saying couldn't be true. No, they were words bred out of hostility, just more irrational things spoken from my insane brother. Volt snickered.

"And this Vaporeon bitch. The only reason you care is because you're bouncing back from your darling Kira, right? You want someone to fill that void in your heart, don't you? Well, guess what? NOTHING CAN! Fill it with all the empty-headed bitches you want! You'll get nothing from it! Nothing can replace what you have! What you had! Let those damn feelings cloud your mind, trying to tell you you want something you shouldn't want! And how you'll hate your desires when you know how wrong it is...yet you don't want to give it up..." Volt's eyes twitched in agitation and a dark growl left the back of his throat, followed by a particularly strong flash of his rings.

"...what the hell are you talking about?" I asked, genuinely alarmed by Volt's mini-rant.

"Nothing, shut up!" Volt growled. As if nothing had happened, the anger left his eyes and his rings stopped glowing. "How dare you question Ice's feelings for me...you know nothing about her! About us!" he growled.

"Well, duh," I grunted. "I barely knew she existed as long as she's been involved with you."

"It's none of your damn business!" Volt spat.

"Dude, you need to freaking CHILL!" I said, still unnerved by his random rant.

"How can I chill?" Volt breathed, giggling. A muscle in his cheek twitched, making him look amazingly more deranged than normal. "Every time I try, I get pushed. I took my usual vacation, Haou drags me back. I go back on vacation, you show up and Haou drags me back! I go on vacation, and damn it, I get dragged back! I insist on a personal vacation with no interruptions..." Volt paused, his cheek muscle twitching again.

"What happened?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"I get interrupted. Every step of the way. And then that bastard Dragonair..." Volt trailed off. I remembered what Bane told me about Diablos' disappearance and Volt injuries...and how almost all the Pokémon present had been caught in the blast. "I'll make him pay for what he's done, Jolt. Mark my words..."

"Volt..."

"He nearly killed her, you bastard!" Volt hissed, his rings glowing. "Even you refuse to understand...the anger, the hate flowing through your veins, the fear and helplessness as you can do nothing to improve the situation...my consolation is she's not dead. And I'll make that Dragonair bastard pay for every flicker of pain she feels. I owe it to her...after all she's felt already..."

"But Volt..."

"I'll never change my tune, bro," Volt said softly. "Drop it or I'll make sure hell is a blessing to you. If you try to stop me this time..." he paused and smirked chillingly. "Words can do your fate no justice. It'll make Rod's death look damn merciful."

"Unfortunately, your opportunity will never arrive," Cusil's voice interjected. I whirled around in alarm, having forgotten all about the Weavile. Black energy was flowing from his left gauntlet and had engulfed the fallen tree branch pinning him to the ground. As if telekinetically guided, the small log rose above the ground...and then shattered apart in hundreds of small pieces. Slowly, and with clear stiffness, Cusil rose to his feet. I growled and my fur hummed with the charge of electricity.

Cusil drew back his paw, which glowed with a pale blue aura. As he pitched his paw forward, a strange purple flame materialized directly before him, inexplicably exploding with the force of a small Explosion, sending purple flames everywhere. The Swellow in the tree took off from her perch as some of the flames scattered over the branches. Although the flames continued burning, nothing caught on fire. Cusil blinked around, a strange sphere of purple-black light surrounding both him and Volt. He touched the barrier tentatively and his features expressed surprise at the impenetrability of the sphere.

A wild cackle rose from everywhere at once, until the eerie Sableye materialized directly between the two imprisoned dark types. "C'est la vie!" Pearl cackled, snapping her claws and both Pokémon vanished without a trace. She clasped her paws in glee and turned towards me. I instinctively took a pace backwards. She grinned, exposing her pointy teeth.

"Pearl, that'll do," Aqua interrupted quickly, catching up to the scene. Pearl smirked and clapped her paws, disappearing in an overdramatic flash of purple fire. Aqua sighed in relief. "Caught her just in time," she muttered.

"In time for what?" I asked, unable to keep the panic from my voice. "What was she going to do to me?"

"Huh?" Aqua blinked, then burst out laughing. "No, I meant caught her in time to help us out..." she explained finally, wiping a tear from her eye. It was truly a testament to how stressful the situation had been in how she was so openly relieved at the lack of casualties. Can't blame her; in today alone, she evidently had to deal with a missing kit, some intruders, a large fire, and then a death match. Damn, if I were in her position I probably would have cracked already.

The Vaporeon looked upwards, taking note of the rapidly darkening sky. The first few stars were already showing themselves to the world again. "Huh, night already?" I asked rhetorically.

"Yes...I pray it'll be a peaceful one," Aqua said, sighing. I nodded in fervent agreement. Knowing my luck, it'll be the most restless night ever. "If you want..." Aqua began, but hesitated. I looked over at her with an inquisitive look.

"What?"

"I can have Toady take you to your destination, as your reason for coming is finished. Or..." Aqua paused again, but I didn't interrupt. It was easier to let her get over her uncertainty without drawing attention to it. "Well, or you could spend the night here. Your choice."

"Um...whatever's easier, I guess," I answered with a shrug. Personally, I was too beat to care where I slept. I've never really been fond of sleeping outdoors once I had joined the other Eons, but I wasn't so pampered that it was unbearable, either.

"This way," Aqua said, and continued walking. On a hunch, she was leading me to where she had planned on going before the whole Volt mishap had happened. At least we appeared to be heading in that same direction. It wasn't too long before Aqua stopped, which was a relief because my legs were killing me.

"Where are we?" I asked impulsively. From what I could make out, we were standing before some sort of natural den, formed primarily by a shelter of tall grass and bedded with some of the same. It was positioned at a strategy location right next to a small body of water, the exact size of which I couldn't determine with the amount of light available, but it was literally a few paces from the nesting location. It was clear that this small den was well-kept, but in frequent use, and its location was the pinnacle of privacy at this clan. Size wise, it was not unreasonably large, yet I had a sneaking suspicion it was specifically built to comfortably house two Pokémon of Eon size, with some extra room.

Sure enough, the first words Aqua spoke in response to my question were, "Alpha den."

"And...why did you want me to come here?" I asked.

I expected the question to be treated as an idiotic inquiry, with the Vaporeon rolling her eyes or acting like I was slow or thick. Instead, she gave me a straight answer. "I'm inviting you to share it with me."

"Why?"

"You deserve it for all you did," Aqua replied with a sincere look in her eyes.

"I...didn't do that much..." I began to protest, but Aqua wouldn't hear a word of it.

"Let's see..." Aqua said, then began counting on her claws. "Found the missing kit and took care of him until Pearl found you. Assisted me when the grounds were intruded upon. Put yourself in danger to insist the fire was a higher priority when I let my emotions get the better of me. Made sure I didn't overexert myself and, at personal risk, forced me to call it quits when I was too stubborn to see the danger. Moved me out of harm's way at least twice when dealing with a second group of intruders, and selflessly supported me in the attempt to disperse the fight. That deserves a reward in my book, don't you agree?"

"Well...I guess," I said. "But..."

"Now, now," Aqua chided, walking past me and lying down on the bedding of grass. "I'm not going to twist your leg on this. Feel free to sleep wherever you like. Normally, this is reserved for the alpha and his or her mate. Don't let that spook you."

"And you won't mind?" I verified.

"I invited you. Of course I don't mind," Aqua said, shaking her head in amusement. "I could use the company, anyway."

"Why, you get lonely?" I asked, tentatively entering the confines of the tall grass. Aqua adjusted her position so that I could lie down comfortably. She casually curled up around me in a cozy, yet platonic manner, her head positioned near my neck and her tail curving around to my opposite thigh. I feel a little guilty admitting it, but I rather liked the closeness. It was soothing.

"Sometimes," she admitted. "Toady usually is good company, though."

"Is he? How so?" I asked, admittedly a little curious.

"He's the only male I'd trust to share my den...before you, anyway," Aqua answered, yawning widely. "He's dependable, trustworthy, polite...gives the most amazing massages..."

"What?"

"You should ask him, sometime," Aqua said, her tail curling a bit tighter around me, but not uncomfortably so. "Good night, Jolt."

"Uh...good night," I replied. Aqua rested her head on my neck and relaxed. I blinked, but didn't object. She didn't even seem remotely concerned about my fur poking her. Even Kira never dared place her head on my back or neck when sleeping. Not usually, anyway. Aqua must have been really tired because her breathing soon became slow and rhythmic. I did my best to match her breathing rhythm and soon found myself spiraling into a long-awaited sleep.


	291. Rejoining at the Seams

_Yes, I deleted Dark Eons again. Profile has explanation._

**Dragonair POV**

Although Rasca had paused her flight to contemplate her next destination, she finally settled on not making a decision immediately. It wouldn't be that stupid if it weren't for the fact that the sun had set by this point, and she wasn't a nighttime flier. She attempted to justify by saying that if she did decide on traveling with me, that nightfall was the time she'd need to stop, for she considered it too dangerous to fly long distance with greatly reduced visibility.

Aseal had no such difficulty, being a Crobat, but he evidently agreed with Rasca to save the cross-regional flight until daybreak. Since I'm the only one who actually needs to make a cross-regional flight, the delay was a little annoying, but as with past companions, I had to slow my travel to accommodate their needs or travel ability. The next discussion that came up was where to stay until dawn.

"Here's fine," I said, descending into the tree line and coiling up at the first patch of ground available. Rasca and Aseal exchanged bemused glances, but neither objected. Rasca perched on the tree branch not far above my head, and Aseal selected a similar branch to hang upside down from. "Good to see that neither of you are picky nesters," I noted.

"Well, I've seen better," the Crobat said, stretching his wings. Rasca chuckled, drawing the bat's attention. He frowned, which still struck me as an amusing expression for an upside-down creature. "Well, I have."

"It's a tree, Asealio," I pointed out. "How much better can it get?"

Aseal shrugged his wings. "It could be a little more luxurious, maybe something equipped with a mini-bar or a hot tub."

"Who the hell equips a tree with a hot tub?" I asked with a smirk, as Rasca laughed, shaking her head.

"A drunken Rocket with a padded paycheck," Aseal answered, with no hesitation at all. Now it was my turn to exchange a bemused look with the Fearow. It certainly wouldn't be the first time I've heard of someone spending their money foolishly, nor was it the most outlandish example I've heard of.

"Huh...I'll give you that one, I guess," I conceded, trying to envision how a tree would look with a hot tub installed, to no avail. Maybe it was a little more outlandish than I initially gave it credit for. "Well, good night."

"I'm nocturnal," Aseal replied smoothly.

"Go to sleep anyway."

"Do you snore?" the Crobat asked me.

"I don't think so. Dragonair don't typically experience nasal concerns, Asealio."

Rasca sighed, disrupting our conversation. "Should I go somewhere else?"

"Wasn't that what you were debating in the first place?" I asked, raising my eye scale. "That's partly why we're turning in for the night, despite our party consisting of a dragon and a bat. Tsk, avians and their inability to fly at night."

Rasca evidently realized I was just giving her a hard time, because she smiled and didn't reply. I felt a brief twinge of disappointment mingled with contentment. It was considered a hobby of mine to give people a rough time whenever I could, but how well the Fearow handled my prodding and taunts was refreshing, much like her ability to tell whenever I was being overly literal on purpose. There was only so much pleasure I could get from watching people hurl themselves into fits of rage at the slightest provocation.

Aseal's ear twitched and he focused off to the side, his eyes flitting around our surroundings. Rasca and I looked over at him. He hadn't tensed, so alarm bells didn't immediately start ringing, but I nevertheless found myself looking around as well, intent on figuring out what the quad-winged bat had focused upon.

"Something wrong?" Rasca asked, breaking the silence. Aseal blinked and looked over at the long-beaked avian.

"I don't think so..." Aseal said, emitting a high-pitched, but thankfully painless screech. He listened to the echoes they produced and frowned. "Not a problem, but do either of you know where exactly we are?"

"Not really," I said, stretching my coils lazily. "Does it matter?"

"Well..." the Crobat began slowly. "It might be nice to know whether this area is deserted or inhabited before we lower our guard by going to sleep."

"You're nocturnal, you keep guard, then," I suggested dismissively. The Crobat's seeming paranoia was justified to an extent, but I wasn't that worried. "Pick up anything from your screeching? We're not near a city, I know that much."

"I think there's a building nearby, but it's just an old warehouse, about a mile or two away," Rasca noted, stretching her wings. Unlike me, she seemed to be taking the Crobat's concern more seriously than I was. Then again, if nightfall was crippling to her ability to travel, her concern was justified.

"Should someone check?" Aseal asked.

"Sure, let's go check it out and make sure that we're completely alone within a several mile radius," I deadpanned.

"Give me a minute," Rasca sighed and flapped her wings, kicking off her branch and taking to the air. I observed her ascent with an uninterested glance. Fine, if she wanted to go flying after nightfall despite being the reason we weren't flying now, that was her business. I looked over at Aseal, who had flipped up onto the branch he perched upon. A pair of his wings fluttered to balance himself before he gazed around our surroundings, every so often emitting a screech. Despite the high pitch of his sonar, it didn't cause me any pain to hear, although part of that could be attributed to how it was nearly inaudible. Dragons may not have the sharpest hearing of all Pokémon species, but I still suspected that some creatures would be bleeding from the ears if they endured enough of the Crobat's screeches.

"What are you doing?" I asked finally.

"Nothing to concern yourself with," Aseal replied, shrugging his lower wings. In the next moment, he was gone, pouncing upon a passing Yanma with an ear-piercing screech. The Crobat's upper wings slashed down upon the insect Pokémon, neatly cleaving its wings off. The Yanma barely even managed a squeal of shock and pain before Aseal clamped his teeth around its body, ending its life in a heartbeat. I stared at the attack in mild alarm. I knew Crobat were fast, but holy mother of Celebi that was quicker than I had ever expected.

"Ah, feasting upon the innocent life of a Yanma, I see," I mused. That certainly answered my question of what he had been up to.

"It's the life of a predator," Aseal answered, without a trace of embarrassment or remorse. He fluttered his wings and began eagerly devouring his prey, as I looked away pointedly. I have no problem with the bat eating, but it wasn't something I cared to watch. I sighed, looking up towards the sky in the hope of catching sight of the returning Fearow.

Fortunately, I did not have to wait long. Rasca swooped down from the sky and perched on her earlier perch, flapping her wings twice before folding them against her body. "So, find anything interesting?" I prompted.

"There definitely is a warehouse a mile and a half away. It's unguarded and the only notable living beings in the area are a pair of Eons," Rasca reported. I raised an eye scale. More Eons? Holy mother of Celebi, that evolutionary line is common these days. I can't seem to go more than a few days without coming across more of them.

"What kind of Eons?"

"A female Vaporeon and a male Flareon," Rasca answered, clearly expecting that question.

"Really?" Aseal asked, pausing his feasting. A brief glance at his progress reminded me why I hadn't wanted to watch him eat in the first place. "Describe them."

"What?"

"Describe them," Aseal repeated. "Would you consider them young or aged? Maybe around three or four years old?"

"Probably," Rasca said, blinking at the Crobat.

"Has anyone actually SEEN an aged Eon before? They seem to have short life expectancies or are bred faster than Nidoran. Almost every Eon I've met is around three or four years old," I said. Rasca laughed, but didn't reply.

Aseal shrugged his lower wings. "I only know of two Eons. One is a female Vaporeon; the other is a male Flareon." Both Rasca and I turned to stare at him.

"Are you pulling our tails?" I asked.

"Perhaps," Aseal answered vaguely. I slapped at him with my tail, only to be blocked by a wing. "Nice try."

"So, now that you inexplicably decided to go check out that warehouse and determined its occupants, are we going to sleep now and discover that the warehouse and its occupying Eons were crucial to our agenda, or do you think this is one of those entirely insignificant details that one of my companions came across that'll never pay off?"

"Well...it is better than being uncertain whether there's danger within a short distance of our camping grounds," Rasca reasoned.

"Look, people don't go out of their way to do something for no reason. Now that you have gone out of your way to determine that a pair of Eons, of identical specie and genders of the only Eons Asealio knows, is living less than a mile and a half from where we're camping, which we're only doing because you don't know if you want to travel to Hoenn, thus preventing us from proceeding further tonight, you mean to tell me that THAT warehouse and its occupants are insignificant?"

"Did you follow that at all?" the Fearow asked Aseal. The Crobat shook his head. "Neither did I," Rasca chuckled.

"It's too convenient. We stopped somewhere randomly for a justified reason of Rasca not wanting to travel at night, and we can't move on because she might want to come with us," I explained. "While camping, she decides to investigate a warehouse and discovers that the inhabitants are-"

"I think we know how this story goes," Aseal interrupted.

"Then you know that over the course of the story, the details she learned are somehow crucial to the next development of our life."

"You read a lot, don't you?" Rasca asked. I blinked, but nodded.

"Guilty as charged."

"It shows," Rasca noted.

"Would it make you happier if we all went to that warehouse then?" Aseal deadpanned.

"Which we'd only do because you made such a fuss about it," Rasca added.

"I like to feel in charge of my own destiny," I said sagely, my comment met by eye rolls.

* * *

So, less than fifteen minutes later, we had arrived upon the site of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. It was a box-shaped building, with gray walls and a large door in front, sealed with a large padlock. There was a smaller door on the west side that I imagine was for walk-in employees that didn't have to do any loading or unloading or whatever. The warehouse was positioned not too far from a small lake, which is probably what attracted living creatures to the site in the first place. A quick glance around told me that this used to be a meadow before some corporation decided to place a stock warehouse in the middle of nowhere. It's like they didn't even care about the aesthetics. Put an office building here, for Celebi's sake, so that workers can enjoy the view, not some dingy warehouse!

But I digress. "Where are these Eons?" I asked, casting looks around as I descended to the ground, coiling up on the grass.

"Did you try INSIDE the building?" Aseal deadpanned.

"No, I just arrived and haven't had time to snoop."

"Well, the side door was open when I was first here," Rasca said, peering towards the door on the west side. Aseal focused on the door, then took a few moments to examine the rest of the building.

"There's a small window near the roof I could go through. Can't say the same for her," he said, pointing a wing at the large avian.

"I don't need to go inside," she replied smoothly. I frowned. The side door was too small for me to easily fit my coils through, presuming the door was open, and warehouses, if stocked, would be far too crowded for me to maneuver. That made it nearly pointless for me to even try that door. The larger door in front was a superior choice, but I doubt it would be as accessible as the former.

"Why are we even here?"

"You complained that it was too convenient for us to take note of it unless it was important," Rasca replied promptly. I chuckled.

"I suppose that's true. I could try knocking, see if anyone answers," I mused.

"Or see if the door's unlocked," Aseal agreed. A sudden flash of purple fire exploded in front of us and a shape tumbled across the ground. The fire lingered in the air for but a moment before popping out of existence. The three of us exchanged looks before turning our attention to the shape on the ground, which stirred and blinked around, seemingly disoriented. I moved closer tentatively, trying to get a better angle to see what the shape was.

The shape was a black weasel creature, with a crown of red feathers adorning its head like a fan. Its red eyes were sharp and flitted around with the intensity of a nocturnal predator, an impression enhanced by wickedly sharp claws at the ends of each paw, paws I noted were sheathed with strange, black metal gloves of some sort, which left the palms unprotected. Gauntlets, they seemed to be, but it was a fashion statement not too many creatures took on.

"Cusil?" Rasca asked, squinting through the gloom at the Weavile. I recognized the specie as the evolution of Sneasel, a form that Diablos had favored in the past. The Weavile's ear twitched and he looked up at the Fearow before rising to his feet.

"Ah, good evening, Rasca," the weasel Pokémon spoke in an oddly polite tone. Something about his voice hit a familiar note, but I couldn't place its origin. His red eyes flicked to me and the Crobat. "And the same to you, Dragonair. And you, Crobat sir."

"...how do you know me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. The Weavile's smile faltered.

"I beg your pardon, I was using your...specie...to address you," he said unconvincingly.

"I know the difference between calling me by my specie and knowing my name," I countered. "You were doing the latter."

"Hi, I'm Aseal," the Crobat said, waving a wing at the Weavile.

"I'm Cusil, good sir," Cusil said, bowing his head politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Dodging the subject, I see," I said, giving the Weavile a suspicious glare. Cusil smiled, somehow maintaining an overly polite demeanor. It was creeping me out, to be honest.

"I apologize for the confusion, Dragonair. It's a habit to address strangers as if they're already good acquaintances. It prevents most hostility from ever forming. I didn't realize that would offend you, sir."

"Don't call me, sir."

"Of course," Cusil replied, refocusing on the Fearow. Rasca smiled.

"No luck?" she asked. Cusil shook his head.

"Failure."

"Oh..." the Fearow's smile faded.

"Where am I?"

"This random warehouse," I supplied helpfully.

"I understand you like attention, but I was asking a serious question," Cusil said coolly. I blinked.

"Run that by me again. How do you understand this? Do you know me somehow? You seem familiar."

"I don't believe so," Cusil answered, stretching his limbs. He seemed to be rather tense and stiff for whatever reason, but then again he had literally appeared from thin air.

"Excuse me, Dragonair," Rasca said. I looked over at her. "I'd appreciate if you left him alone. He's a friend of mine."

"I like him," Aseal said, grinning as I frowned at him. What a traitor. First he ditched the Rockets, now he's announcing his approval for someone who has a suspicious amount of familiarity with me and my personality.

"I'll discuss the details with you later, Rasca, assuming Wira doesn't fill you in first," Cusil told the Fearow, smiling. Rasca chuckled. I'm not convinced that they're not candidates for a romantic relationship, different specie types or not. They smile too much when looking at one another. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Long story, but we'd like to visit the occupants of this building," Rasca explained. "They're a pair of Eons. Male Flareon and female Vaporeon," she added in a conspiratorial whisper.

Cusil merely nodded. "Noted."

"We were just about to check the door," Rasca continued, gesturing one wing towards the side door. Without waiting for further information, the Weavile boldly strode towards the door. Rasca chuckled and flapped her wings, perching on the building roof. Aseal and I exchanged looks before following the weasel Pokémon. Cusil politely waited for us to catch up before rapping his gauntleted paw on the door.

"Who's there?" demanded a familiar voice. I blinked at the door.

"Blaze?"

There was a long silence. "Who's there?" the voice demanded.

"It's the pizza delivery boy. Open up or I'll eat your pizza and still charge you."

"Nuh-uh! We didn't order pizza!"

"You're peculiarly alert for this time of night and oddly hesitant to open the door. Why is that?" I demanded.

"You won't tell me who you are!" Blaze's voice growled.

"I told you, I'm the pizza delivery boy and I have Hyper Beam flavored pizza. Now open up or I'll force-feed it to you."

"Do you talk to everyone like this?" Aseal asked me.

"I heard someone else's voice! Who's with you?" Blaze demanded, his voice rising in pitch. Well, that just removed all doubt of the identity of the voice's owner.

"A psychotically polite Weavile and a Crobat, with a side-order of a Fearow with an actual sense of humor."

"Psychotically polite?" Cusil repeated incredulously.

"I just call them how I see them."

"I'm a side-order?" Rasca repeated, looking highly amused.

"Yeah, you're the appetizer that drains a solid eight dollars from the idiots who buy you."

"You're just rolling out with the compliments," Aseal chuckled.

"Hey Blaze, ten seconds to Hyper Beam," I warned, tapping the door with my tail. "Nine…eight…seven…"

"I don't think he's bluffing," a female voice spoke from within the building, just recognizable as Aura's voice. I frowned. Rasca hadn't mentioned sighting a female Flareon anywhere in the vicinity and I hadn't heard her voice, but I knew that Blaze, Crystal, and Aura had been with each other before I had gone to Kanto. Where was she now?

The door cracked open and I pushed it the rest of the way with my tail, taking a moment to judge the dimensions of the doorway before slipping through. It took me longer than I would have liked, due to my size, but I got through without hindering Aseal's entrance. Cusil calmly waited for me to get inside before following me.

The interior of the building was more or less what I expected: Shelves of boxes lining the walls and middle of the warehouse, some empty, most not. Their labels were heavily faded and not worth deciphering. Dust coated the shelves and floor, except for a blatantly cleared away spot where the familiar female Vaporeon was lying. The similarly familiar male Flareon frowned at me from just inside the entranceway, casting inquisitive looks at my random companions. Aseal had found a shelf to perch on and Cusil stood off to the side, politely not drawing attention to himself. Rasca declined to follow us inside.

"So…this was kind of crucial to our lives' developments," I noted, earning a blank look from the two Eons. "So, where's Crystal?" Both Eons had nearly identical reactions. Their faces drained of all amusement and they both gave me humorless glares. "Ouch. Finally ditched you, huh?"

"I broke up with her," Blaze responded coldly.

"Isn't it cute how he tries to act like he had been the male in the relationship?"

"You're not funny, Dragonair," Aura said quietly. Blaze glanced at her briefly, but didn't say anything. I noted the glance with a smirk.

"You two an item? I always was a Blaze x Aura shipper…"

"A what?" Blaze asked blankly. From the corner of my eye, I saw Aseal smirk and Cusil hid a smile with his paw. Aura's tail twitched, but otherwise she gave no indication of understanding what I said.

"Oh come on, Blaze. I gave you so much crap about Crystal, but how much mocking did I give you for your flirting with Aura every twenty seconds? Not counting the salad dressing."

"Excuse me? Salad dressing?" Cusil interrupted, looking intrigued.

"Think perfume, Cusil," I answered. Aseal snorted with laughter, stifling it the best he could with his wings. Cusil chuckled, and even Aura was fighting to keep a straight face. Blaze rolled his eyes. "Blaze…lighten up. For your sake."

"I can't," he said bluntly.

"Well, deflating your self-esteem isn't as much fun as deflating your ego," I lamented. "Invest your money in a sense of humor, at least." Aura suddenly blushed crimson and cleared her throat.

"Uh…Blaze?"

"What now?" Blaze sighed, looking over at her. Oh wow, he really can't lighten up, can he? Guess they weren't really an item.

"I…meant to give this to you…earlier," she said. "But…it didn't seem like a good time." She stood up and walked over to a corner of the warehouse, all eyes upon her. She soon returned with a bag, which she tossed to the Flareon. It hit the ground at his feet with an audible jingle. Blaze tilted his head and took a few moments to undo the string.

"What is it?" he asked, peering into the bag. A dead silence filled the air, and not even the sounds of breathing were audible. Finally, he withdrew from the bag, looking at the Vaporeon with a stunned expression. "H-how?"

"I…found it," she answered evasively. The Flareon looked back at the contents of the bag, then at the Vaporeon. She fidgeted, clearly not getting the reaction she probably expected. Tears formed in the Flareon's eyes, but he quickly wiped them away.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"N-no problem," Aura said, her tail flicking. What happened next would have seemed like a figment of my imagination if it weren't for the fact Cusil whistled approvingly. Blaze grabbed Aura by the shoulders and kissed her firmly on the mouth, startling her, but within a few seconds her tail twitched.

"Seven…eight…nine…ten…"

"What are you doing?" Aseal demanded, giving me a weird look.

"Eleven…counting the seconds, twelve…thirteen…"

"Why?"

"Fourteen. To see how long, fifteen, it takes until, sixteen, they come up for…aww…just under seventeen," I sighed, as the two Eons broke apart. Blaze, acting as if nothing happened, peered inside the cloth bag again. Aura was blushing deeply, but sure hell wasn't complaining.

"Precious," Cusil chuckled. I gave him a quick glance.

"Precious?" I repeated.

"The kiss. It's precious," Cusil said quickly.

"It's not the One Ring, just a sixteen and a half second kiss."

"I see he liked the gift," Aseal chuckled, watching Blaze holding the bag close to his chest, like one might hold a teddy bear during a storm.

"Perhaps," another familiar voice hissed from above us. Everyone's gaze flicked towards the ceiling, where a large crimson spider dangled from a thick strand of webbing. I stared.

"How the hell?"

"Hello Dragonair," Uru chuckled. "Good to see you all again, Aseal, Cusil, and of course, Blaze and Aura."

"Hey Uru!" Blaze said, his tail swishing.

"You know her?" I asked blankly. When the hell did he get the chance to meet this weird spider?

"We've met before," Aura confirmed. "And you have, too?"

"Yeah, like…a few hours ago."

"Hey Uru," Aseal said, his face flushing subtly. Uru clicked her fangs in reply, which oddly made the Crobat flush a deeper shade of red.

"So why are you here, Uru? I thought you had something to attend to or whatever reason you gave for disappearing before," I asked, narrowing my eyes at the Ariados. I still had a lot of questions to ask her, not least of which involved whether she had been behind the attacks on Rockets.

Uru made an amused hiss and clicked her fangs. "Does it matter?"

"If it didn't, I wouldn't have asked," I pointed out.

"Of course not," Uru hissed. I frowned, my silence allowing the spider time to descend down to Blaze's level. "My business is with you."

"With him?" Aura blinked, her tail swishing.

"With him?" I repeated, skeptically. Cusil raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Aseal showed no reaction, his gaze fixed upon the Ariados.

"With me?" Blaze asked, tilting his head. Uru chuckled.

"Indeed," she answered.


	292. The First Step of a Thousand Miles

**Dragonair POV**

"What exactly are we doing?" Aura asked, trudging along behind me. I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the Vaporeon. She was dawdling the most of the group we had formed and her tail dragged a little as she walked. Then again, the length and size of a Vaporeon's tail always intrigued me how the specie could move around on land with something that seemed only to inconvenience them when walking. Then again, I knew a Gyarados who could move on land, despite that most members of the specie were naturally incapable of it.

"Aura, are you asking because you genuinely don't know, forgot, or don't understand, or are you asking because you're compelled to have someone explain the situation again?" I asked her, keeping my tone as bland as possible. "Then there's the possibility you just want to fill the silence, so you're asking patently redundant questions."

Aura's face flushed. "I don't understand," she answered.

"And yet you were sitting next to Blaze the entire time," I reminded her. "You had multiple opportunities to seek clarification. What, were you letting your attention wander?" I asked, appending a smirk. Aura frowned, but the flush on her cheeks told me she wasn't really that upset about my comment. She is so much fun to tease, more so than Crystal had been. Maybe because she had an actual sense of humor and didn't take everything so damned seriously. I made a mental reminder to pester Blaze about how he and the Flareon broke it off, because it sounded like it had the makings of a great story.

"No, I just don't know why we're doing this," Aura said.

"See, that's a completely different question than asking what we're doing. To ask why is to inquire about the cause, reason, or purpose something is being done. To ask what is to ask for the specification of an identity or quantity, typically an event or circumstance. Therefore, telling me that you want to know what we're doing, but in fact are asking for the reason, is entirely incorrect and leads to multiple communication concerns, as you have just witnessed."

Aura was silent the entire time I spoke, her expression transforming from mildly embarrassed to annoyed and uninterested, refocusing only once my spiel had ended. "I know that, Dragonair."

"See, that's the typical response from someone who wants to cloud the fact that they misunderstood or did something improperly. Assuming you're telling the truth and in fact knew the difference, I must ask you why; note that I said 'why', you misused the term in your original question. It's almost as if you want me to restate something you know the answer to. And what's the purpose of doing something like that?"

"Never mind," Aura sighed, shaking her head.

"I find it important and worthy of concern, so you either must convince me otherwise or properly answer the question," I told her seriously.

"It's not important, really," the Vaporeon insisted.

"Humor me, regardless."

"Dragonair, how bored are you?" Aseal asked, slowing his flight speed to remain within earshot. He, Cusil, and Blaze had been traveling several feet in front of me, Aura, and Uru, the crimson spider having returned to her perch upon my neck. If it weren't for the slight poking sensation I felt whenever I shifted my position too much, she would be all but undetectable. Rasca had decided that she would remain behind at the warehouse for the night's duration, and admitted it was unlikely she would accompany us in the near future. Being in the company of two nocturnal Pokémon and a possible third in Uru, the rest of us had decided to press on to our destination.

"How bored am I? Not particularly bored, I'd say," I told the bat. "Why do you?"

"I overheard your entire conversation," he said. I studied him for a few moments, silently taking note on how he flew using only one pair of his wings, in this case the lower pair, yet it didn't seem to influence his flying height or his body balance. Earlier that day, he had used all four wings for flight, leaving me to puzzle over his shift here. However, it was not so intriguing for me to inquire at this point.

"I may have missed your point."

"Maybe it's that everything you've said is irrelevant," Aura suggested, a small smile flicking across her face.

"No, it's of vital importance to know the difference between interrogative pronouns," I said. "Without understanding of the most crucial aspects of language, however small they appear on the surface, the entire line of competence will sink down further than it already has for humans. In this day and age, we find so many people are under qualified for high positions within business and government and unless the education system for the next generation of humans is repaired, then the inevitable collapse of human society is closer than they would like to admit. Because each generation of humans permits their children to halt their education at the age of ten, and instead sends them out on perilous journeys involving potentially dangerous species of Pokémon, while typically unaccompanied, each generation gradually contributes less to the pool of wisdom in society."

"Do you ever wonder whether he just enjoys hearing himself speak?" Aseal asked. Aura giggled.

"With such a high percentage of common sense oversights, and the encouragement of learning about Pokémon via trial and error methods, instead of well-documented insight from experts, who themselves found the trial and error methods effective, it's only a matter of time before the majority of people touch Magmar with their bare hands, or poke sleeping dragons with sticks," I continued.

"I think he does," Aura admitted, staring at me.

"There's a lesson to be learned here," Aseal chuckled. "But I'll be damned if I can find it within all the tangents he went off on."

"The lesson is not to misuse pronouns and then claim to understand the difference between them, because-"

"Blaze!" Aura called suddenly, picking up her pace to a partial run. Blaze paused and waited for her to catch up to him. She whispered something in his ear and I chuckled, not at all disappointed that my summarized lecture was walked out on. I'll just make a note to continue it when she was devoid of opportunities to run.

"We're almost there," Aseal informed me quickly, as if trying to cut me off from continuing my lecture despite Aura leaving.

"I can't wait," I said sarcastically. I cast a glance behind me, where Uru was still perched. She clicked her fangs in acknowledgement, but said nothing. "So...where did you get this information, anyway?"

"You feel that is significant?" the Ariados inquired.

"Extremely significant," I said seriously. "One does not simply know information that no one logically should be aware of without inside knowledge." Uru said nothing. I frowned. "I can't hear you."

"Of course not," Uru replied, letting out a brief amused hiss. I scowled, facing forward once more.

"Does this annoy you?" I asked Aseal. He shrugged his inactive wings. Well, that answered my question in remarkable clarity. Seeing no way to win without applying an exorbital amount of effort, I let the subject drop. We soon passed into a thinning forest, the trees growing tall, but largely apart from one another, leaving a stronger feeling of exposure than one of shelter. My vision was minimal in the darkness, but the flickers of fire that Blaze gave off every few moments were enough to give me a general idea of our surroundings. Aseal emitted near inaudible chirp-like sounds, reporting back every so often that there were no opposing threats. Up ahead, Cusil was casting cautious looks around, his eyes evidently catching no sign of danger. Really, the lack of opposition was more unsettling than if we were told something was lurking in the underbrush.

"We're here," Aseal announced abruptly, pausing his flight in mid-air and hovering in place like a stubborn Yanma. Uru clicked her fangs in what sounded, to my untrained ear, to be approval.

I looked around, squinting in the darkness. "Where's here?"

"Come here and see," Cusil replied. I frowned, but obeyed the command, coming forward until I had reached where the two Eons and the Weavile stood. Unfortunately, I saw nothing of notability.

"Well, that explained a lot," I said blandly. Cusil calmly pointed towards a large tree in front of us, but again it was unremarkable, aside from its great size and apparent age. Many knots in the bark scrolled down the trunk, and it was easily the eldest tree in this thin forest.

"I don't get it either," Blaze muttered, pacing back and forth before the tree.

"Of course not," Uru hissed from her perch. I winced as her sharp leg claws climbed from my neck further up towards my head, until I could feel the Ariados standing on the very top of my head. From the corner of my eye, I saw a white strand of goo launch towards the tree and moments later, the weight of the spider vanished. I looked up to see Uru swiftly ascending a web line attached to a thick branch, the line swinging towards the tree itself. At what seemed to be a random height, the arachnid dropped from her line and collided with the trunk, her legs finding a grip instantly. Gracefully, Uru scurried up the tree at an impressive speed, soon becoming blocked from view by the branches and leaves of the large tree.

"Well, that was fascinating," I noted. "Definitely worth the trip here. Let's go get sundaes now."

"Ooh, can we?" Blaze asked abruptly. I gave him a weird look and he shut up, reassuming his less cheerful demeanor. Aura shot me a look that seemed to be chiding me for killing his cheerful mood, but that wasn't too difficult to ignore. Blaze would need to tough out his mood swings eventually, and if he was going to become a kicked puppy from a single glance, then he wasn't worth concerning myself to be particularly sensitive.

"So what's going on? Do we just admire this fascinating piece of nature, or do we continue on our way and do something that serves a purpose?" I asked, tapping my tail against the ground. At that moment, there was a subtle rumbling in the ground, ceasing in the time it took me to stop tapping my tail. I blinked, unsure if I was the cause behind that or even if anyone else had noticed. Cusil stepped nearer to the tree and inserted a claw into a hairline crack. With a soft grunt, he tugged, breaking open an enormous chunk of wood. Blaze yelped, diving to the side to avoid being flattened with what could only be described as a slab of bark.

Cusil dropped the bark with a wince, the slab making a long thud as it landed on the grass. I peered beyond the fallen bark, discovered not only was the tree hollowed out, but that the ground of the tree actually gave way to a staircase, descending into the dank, semi-eerie, and painfully familiar cavern beneath ground level.

"Oh hell no!" I moaned, pressing my tail against my forehead. "I am NOT going back into those caves! The first two times were horrible enough!"

"We need to," Blaze said, giving me a look of pure venom.

"Why?" I demanded. "Give me one reason, just one good reason, why I should condemn myself to an indefinite amount of time wandering a cross-regional labyrinth of underground caverns filled to the brim with unpleasant Pokémon who would like nothing more than to hurt us."

Blaze looked me in the eye, his gaze filled with such intensity that I nearly recoiled. When he spoke, his voice was calm, yet firm. "Maybe it's not always about you, Dragonair. Maybe the world doesn't revolve around what you want."

"It probably doesn't, Blaze, how incredibly insightful," I replied. "That still leaves us with the problem of giving me a reason why I should involve myself with a situation within a place I am quite averse to going into."

"Answers don't come just because you want them, Dragonair," Uru reminded me, descending from the tree upon a web line. I'm sure among those answers I'm not getting is why she was up there in the first place. "Come, shall we?" she invited, dropping from the line and landing on Blaze's back. He yelped and shook his body frantically, trying to dislodge the Ariados.

"I don't want you on me!" he whined loudly. Uru chuckled, but cooperatively removed herself from him, instead climbing onto Aura's back. The Vaporeon blinked, but didn't make nearly the same kind of scene the Flareon had. With a gentle click of her fangs, Uru and Aura were the first to descend the stairs. Aseal swooped into the hole after them, followed promptly by Blaze.

"What, are you going, too?" I asked Cusil. He chuckled in good-humor.

"Of course," he said. "Are you? If not, I need to close this entrance." I grumbled, reluctantly fitting myself down into the dank cavern. It smells and looks just the way I remembered it, all except for the specific area we seemed to be in. Unlike previous corridors of the caverns, this was far from nondescript. True, odd electric lanterns lined the paths, easily lighting up the passageways while somehow maintaining the dark 'cave' feel.

Aseal seemed the most at home of all of us, as he flew over our heads almost gleefully. I sighed heavily, glancing back at Cusil as the Weavile caught up to us. "So...where to?" I asked, addressing the group as a whole. Aura rolled her eyes. Cusil stepped forward, his eyes flicking around swiftly. He gestured with his claws and Aseal, evidently recognizing a command to descend, flew down to our level.

"Yes?" the bat asked.

"Fly ahead. Report on any threats or forked paths, and if possible, keep an eye out for Sketch. He's a Smeargle," Cusil said, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. Aseal nodded and flapped his wings, swiftly rounding the first bend on the path ahead. Blaze growled under his breath at the mention of the Smeargle and started walking, the rest of us falling in line with him.

My only present consolation was that I was unlikely to encounter Gamble or his inner circle here. These were Johto caverns and Gamble was a Hoenn Pokémon. But for the love of Celebi, nothing would please me more than to be out of here as soon as possible. This was a tremendous detour to my objective, and I was only coming so that Aura and Blaze wouldn't get separated from me again. It was only a small relief that Uru, Cusil, and Aseal were with us. Cusil was still an unknown, so it was possible he knew the caverns to a small degree, considering he had known how to enter this one, and also had sent Aseal to do some scouting, and it had been Uru's information that had led us here in the first place.

With that in mind...was that a good thing, or a bad thing?


	293. TwinBladed Guardian: Tryce

Tryce crossed his bladed arms across his chest, gazing stoically about the chamber. His alert eyes missed nothing, not even the slightest detail of the cavern chamber or the events occurring within. There was a distinct air of concern among the inhabitants, as Pokémon of varying species passed in and out of the chamber, passing through or pausing to ask about recent events and ongoing plans.

Sketch himself was positioned in the far corner on the other side of the chamber, speaking in low tones to a particularly Pokémon. It was this Pokémon that Tryce focused on the most, for he hadn't trusted it from the moment it had entered the chamber. As a Guardian of the Cave Army, the only rank exceeding the authority of a regional branch leader, Tryce had always known to trust his instincts and they had never failed him before. One did not become a Guardian without extensive skill, both in battle and observation.

Yet what troubled Sketch precisely about the other Pokémon was not something the Scyther could immediately place. There was nothing visibly worthy of concern about the young-looking Cubone, yet Tryce could not fully shake the feeling that there was something no quite right about it. The Cubone never raised its bone threateningly, or indeed behaved peculiarly. However, Tryce was not near enough to overhear what the discussion was about. With the Cave Army's recent cause for alarm, only a trusted few individuals should be permitted to speak to Sketch privately.

Making up his mind, Tryce moved towards Sketch with the grace of a warrior, his pride and skill displaying itself to the more common Cave Army associates without him speaking a word. He was one of the most well-known and respected of the Guardians, bypassed only by Elma, who was the official leader of the Guardians, Doppel notwithstanding. As for the others among their ranks, Nonsense the Farfetch'd was rarely treated as holding the status, and Dreadscythe, the Kabutops, was often overlooked and believed by some to be nothing more than a myth. Ceal was marginally in better standings than Nonsense, but the Seviper was easily distracted from Guardian duties, to Elma's frequent frustration. She had been a recent promotion for that matter.

Although, Tryce considered, Elma had not been acting like herself since the most recent incident with her personal life. She had a lover, and last he had heard, they had a messy breakup that deeply troubled the Beautifly. Tryce nearly failed to repress the smirk of amusement, remembering how the smaller insect had become so tipsy when drowning her sorrows that she had utterly humiliated herself in front of many of the Cave Army's higher ups. However, it was something quickly forgotten in favor of more disastrous concerns.

Tryce's approach was halted by the arrival of several other Pokémon, several of which were being escorted by his colleagues. He froze for a moment, looking over the group swiftly. He trusted the other Guardians to be alert for signs of imposters or the like, but it never hurt to be sure. Assuming that everything was fine on principle was a quick way to make mistakes and suffer security flaws. The first of the escorted Pokémon was Inferna. The female Charmeleon looked more or less as awful as usual. Her eyes forever bore the diagonal marks of two separate defeats, one of them coming from Tryce himself, although this fact was not widely known to anyone outside of Inferna's favored, which consisted of precisely no one. A third, more recently received, scar lingered on her muzzle, directly aligned with the other two, an embarrassment she was unlikely to live down.

The second Pokémon was oddly frequent company to the Charmeleon, the familiarly menacing form of Gamble. The Absol's white fur was messier than even his standards, but he looked thrilled about one thing or another. Tryce preferred not to know what that might be, the reluctance fueled by the various rumors surrounding the Absol, as well as Sketch's irritation in regards to Gamble's antics. It was a documented fact that Gamble's authority in the Hoenn branch had been a direct result of Gamble's obscene strokes of luck while gambling, and few knew precisely what had become of the former leader. Many preferred to believe that he had left the Cave Army in shame.

Behind Gamble hovered Emerald, his Vibrava underling. Unlike the other branch leaders, Gamble kept two Pokémon near him at almost all times, presumably to add an air of menace. Interestingly, he was most often seen in the company of two dragonesses, Emerald and Diamond. Fortunately for the space in the chamber, the Salamence had evidently declined to come with him.

Escorting the two branch leaders were fellow Guardians, Ceal and Elma, and a quick glance in their direction was enough for Tryce to verify their identities. Doppel and Ganger were superb impersonators, but they were far from perfect. Doppel in particular had trouble with imitating subtle behaviors of the ones he chose to impersonate, something that had been noted when the two Ditto had playfully mimicked Luthor and Lexa during the last meeting.

Behind Ceal, a second Seviper slithered, glancing around the cavern once before engaging Ceal in quiet conversation. Elma fluttered over to where Tryce was standing, her brightly colored wings scattering mild amounts of silver powder upon the ground. Tryce nodded in her direction, his eyes flitting around the chamber before at last focusing on her.

"The Leafeon coming?" he asked, in a low tone. Elma shook her head. "Odd. I wouldn't think they'd decline for something like this," the Scyther mused. More often than not, the branch leaders were willing to go out of their usual region for meetings, but the Leafeon couple was the exceptions to many things. They were the only official members from the Eon evolutionary line, and they were the only joint leaders of a regional branch. They were also incredibly popular among the lesser members, being more personable than Inferna, and less creepy than Gamble.

"Eh, you know how they get," Elma grumbled. Tryce nodded, not needing her to continue the line of thought. It was expected that, for the next several weeks at most, she would discuss romance in either a venomous or bitter tone, and to push the subject would be only setting oneself up for her to snap on them.

Sketch cleared his throat loudly, turning the attention of the lingering Pokémon towards him. He twirled his long, green-tipped tail in his paw. "Well, glad you could make it," he said, with considerable less calmness than he normally displayed. Gamble snorted, earning a death glare from Inferna.

"Is it just me, or do we hold meetings way more often than usual?" Gamble sneered. "If I recall correctly, our system USED to be that each branch is run by the respective branches, enforced by the Guardians, and overseen by you, Sketch. Why is it that these days, we gather in one place WAY too often for Pokémon in charge of a multi-regional empire?"

"I thought you liked pressing our luck," Inferna responded, her own muzzle twisted into a sneer. Gamble smirked.

"This isn't a gamble worthy of my style, Infern-bitch," he sneered right back. It was all Tryce could do to keep a straight face. Ceal chuckled, her bladed tail twitching in amusement. All the Guardians found the rivalry between Inferna and Gamble to be a prime form of entertainment.

"What, the stakes not high enough for your taste?" Inferna snapped. Sketch sighed and massaged his forehead with one paw.

"Not nearly high enough," Gamble agreed with a smirk, rolling a green die around on the palm of his paw. He tossed the die into the air. Inferna spat a fireball at the ascending cube; engulfing it before it even it hit the peak of the flight. Gamble shrugged it off and reluctantly focused on Sketch again. "So what the hell's up, Sketchy?"

"Not your dice anymore," Inferna sneered, crossing her arms across her chest. Gamble rolled his eyes and shot her a look. Sketch cleared his throat loudly, stopping the Absol from interjecting another comment to the argument.

"Can you two help keep this brief? I want your branch security to be escalated."

"That's what the Guardians are for," Inferna snorted. Tryce scowled at this.

"We have like 6 members. Elma, me, Nonsense, Dreadscythe, Ceal, and Kay. Those are hardly enough to monitor all of the caverns at once, you know."

"Oh, Kay got promoted?" Gamble asked, smirking. Tryce nodded seriously. There were some water-based areas of the caverns, particularly in the Hoenn region, and the Army had been in need of a water-based Guardian for that territory. The Huntail had fit in well with the other Guardians as well, despite the low opportunity for personal interaction between them.

"Speaking of Guardians, is it too much to ask to have one of you guarding this chamber?" Sketch asked, his gaze resting mostly on Tryce. The Scyther nodded solemnly and stepped forward, uncrossing his bladed arms. The Smeargle smiled briefly. "Thank you."

"It's fine," Tryce said, betraying a hint of weariness in his tone. He turned to exit the chamber. The area most in need of a guard was the spot known as 'the Bridge', a stone walkway leading straight into the gathering chamber and easily accessed from one of four forks, each leading to different entranceways across Johto. The time it would take someone to access this point from one of those entrances depended on the traveler's speed and point of origin, but the forking paths were what made it the lowest defended spot for miles.

Tryce smiled briefly to himself as he wandered through the corridor leading to the Bridge. Although he preferred to think that Sketch had been acknowledging his skill as a Guardian, he knew it really had more to do with his armor, or at the very least, his tendency to contribute nothing to meetings except a watchful eye, one that was relatively unneeded in trusted company. Tryce's gaze flicked downwards at the shiny steel armor that coated his normally more vulnerable carapace. He had first received it some years ago, when a Metagross had gone rampant within the caverns, causing severe damage to structures and the loss of many lives. Although ordered to retreat from the metallic beast, Tryce had insisted on distracting it in a fight, preventing it from doing further damage or harming anyone else. The battle had not lasted long before Tryce had been overwhelmed, knocked unconscious, and nearly killed, but it had evidently been impressive enough to earn the Guardian status, and later earned one of four protective armors, forged from the Metagross' remains.

The Scyther froze abruptly, listening hard to the silence. He raised his blades in a battle stance, one blade poise to strike, the other blade readied to deflect incoming attacks or projectiles. After a moment, he lowered his guard and continued on his way. It wasn't the first he had heard the echo of something entirely innocent and assumed it was an assault of some kind. Even so, he refused to push the thoughts of suspicious sounds from his mind. To do so would be to recklessly self-confident. The Cave Army, because of its size and extension, was a network that many intruders could be lurking within undetected, and it was part of his role as a Guardian to ensure that such individuals did no damage.

Tryce turned a final corner and gazed around quickly. The long, stone bridge stretched wide across to a cavernous path on the other side. On either side of the comfortably large bridge was an abyss, leading down to endless darkness. No non-flier had the slightest idea what lay beneath, if anything. Falling was a deeply ingrained fear among members, for it was believed, for good reason, that slipping into the chasm meant death. More likely it wasn't even deep, or even led to another level of the caverns, but with no way of safely traveling down there, without wings, where no lights were lined, death was the safer belief.

"I don't see why we had to split up..." a voice grumbled from up ahead. In a flash, Tryce assumed an offensive stance, his blades glinting in the lights placed on each end of the Bridge. His eyes narrowed at the hole up ahead, waiting patiently for the first glimpse of the speaker. He didn't have to wait long before a trio of figures emerged, stopping dead when they saw him.

The first Pokémon was a quadruped with orange fur, instantly recognizable as a Flareon. Tryce considered this for a moment before labeling the Flareon as a male, and went one step further to recognize him as Blaze, the Flareon that held a deep grudge against Sketch. Tryce's stance didn't relax, but neither did he make a move towards the fire Eon. The second Pokémon was a bipedal weasel with black fur and red feathers upon its head. Tryce distantly recognized the specie as a Weavile, and knew that there were no Weavile members of the Cave Army. If it was travelling with Blaze, it was safe to label it as a foe as well. The last was a red spider with yellow and purple legs. Like the other two, he felt it was safe to label it as an enemy as well.

"Tryce," the Weavile said in a quiet whisper, walking forward slowly. Tryce didn't lower his guard for an instant.

"Halt," he ordered, pointing the blade of his arm towards the Weavile, letting it glint in the light. The Weavile stopped, flexing its claws. "I cannot allow any of you past me."

"Too bad," Blaze growled, starting to take an aggressive step towards Tryce, but he was wisely stopped by the Weavile's swift paw. Blaze scowled at the weasel, who smiled calmly at Tryce.

"Please let us past."

"I think not," Tryce answered simply. "Identify yourself."

"I am Cusil," the Weavile said, with only the slightest hesitation. Tryce shook his head.

"Doesn't ring a bell," he said, narrowing his eyes as the Weavile took another step forward. With an air of absolute calmness, he slashed one arm at Cusil, who blocked the strike with his claws. Sensing a threat, Tryce thrust one blade at the Weavile's gut, frowning when Cusil deflected the jab to the side of his body.

"Just push past him," Blaze suggested.

"Push all you like," Tryce warned. "You won't be crossing this path so long as I'm here. You can be sure of that. Twin Swords!" With that cry, he darted forward, both of his blades taking on a soft blue glow. He swiftly slashed his arms, one after the other, upon the Weavile's form. Cusil shrunk back from the advance, ducking under the first swipe and blocking the second with his claws. He thrust his paw to the side, very briefly unbalancing the Scyther, but in a flash, Tryce swiped again, striking Cusil with the flat side of his blade.

The force of the blow threw Cusil to the side, his clawed foot barely gripping the bridge's edge, preventing him from careening over the side of the bridge into oblivion. With a grunt, Cusil threw himself back onto the safer ground, taking a moment to catch his breath and then rising again, his claws flexing as he assumed his own battle stance. Tryce nodded solemnly.

"If you force my blade, it will not turn out well for you," he warned. "En guarde!"


	294. Tryce's Stand

Tryce dashed forward in the form of a green blur, bringing one bladed arm down upon the opposing Weavile. Cusil leapt back, gesturing for Blaze to clear the way. The Flareon hesitated, but backed up into the more sheltered corridor, peering from around the corner at the ensuing duel. Tryce spun, forcing Cusil back another pace to avoid the whirlwind of blades.

"Swift Strike!" Tryce hissed, kicking off the ground to launch himself forward, swiping one blade towards the Weavile. Cusil braced his legs and stood his ground, interrupting the blow with his claws, grunting from the pressure the Scyther's arm applied to his much smaller claws. Tryce jabbed his second blade towards the weasel's gut. Cusil pivoted his body to the left, grunting when the blade grazed him, drawing a tiny cut, too small to even draw blood. Tryce raised his leg and kicked the Weavile in the chest, taking advantage of his reduced defense to knock him backwards.

Cusil stumbled back a few paces, ducking under Tryce's following slash. With a flick of his wrist, he drew three miniature shards of ice, flinging them towards the Scyther. Tryce's metal armor shattered the ice with no visible damage, drawing Cusil's attention to the steel covering the majority of the Scyther's body.

"Twin Swords!" Tryce shouted, both blades gleaming brightly in the low-lit section of the cave. Cusil curled up his body and rolled forward, passing between the Scyther's legs and then springing up, now placing Tryce in the middle of the bridge, and Cusil on the side leading forward. Tryce leapt into the air, performing a front flip to dodge Cusil's Ice Shards, and landed between Cusil and the passage forward, spinning around to face the Weavile upon landing.

"Very impressive," Cusil noted, readying his claws. Tryce smirked, bringing his left blade down. Cusil smacked the blade to the side with his right paw, darting beneath the Scyther's guard and slamming a closed fist into the bug-type's stomach. Tryce grunted at the blow, but the armor he wore protected him from any real damage. He blinked at the Weavile, specifically noting how Cusil showed no signs of pain, despite punching reinforced metal of the highest caliber.

"Catapulted Ambush!" Tryce shouted, kicking off the ground, doing a forward flip and diving down upon the Weavile. Cusil looked up in alarm, only just barely retreating in time to avoid being skewered, but Tryce slashed his nearest blade, striking the Weavile in the side of the head. "Follow-up Cut!"

Cusil winced, a line of blood trickling down his cheek, but his eyes still showed calm determination. Tryce smirked. It really was remarkable to see an opponent that could match him so well, preserving interest and challenge. Even so, the Scyther knew he would be a fool to allow himself to lose, and that was something he had no intention of doing.

"Swift Strike!" Tryce called, taking Cusil's moment of disorientation to spin and jab his bladed arm. To his surprise, Cusil backhanded the blade aside, sending a brief spark into the air. Tryce completed the spin, bringing down his other blade at a different angle. Cusil defended against the blow with his claws and lashed out his foot, aiming for Tryce's leading leg. Tryce leapt over him. "Salad Cutter!" he shouted, swiping his blades at a high speed at the Weavile's undefended back. Cusil ducked in time to avoid decapitation, but a few feathers of his head crown fluttered off, no longer bound to the rest of them.

"Unfortunate," Cusil mused, spinning around and blocking Tryce's last blow, which had been aimed for the center of his spine. Tryce placed more pressure upon this one blade, intent on forcing the Weavile to his knees. Cusil growled quietly, shoving back against Tryce's sword arm. Smirking, the Scyther released his pressure and Cusil stumbled forward, fueled on momentum alone.

"Final Chop!" Tryce said, bringing the bladed sides of his arms together, with the Weavile standing between them. The Scyther's eyes soon widened when strange tendrils of what seemed to be black smoke coiled around his right blade, stopping its motion inches from the Weavile's body. His other blade, having depended on the currently halted blade for the death blow, found itself lacking the momentum to deal enough damage, giving the Weavile just enough time to block the brunt of the cut with his wrist. Instead of a severed paw, sparks shot up from where the blade and wrist connected, and in the light of the spitting sparks, Tryce caught sight of a metal glove of sorts upon both of the opposing Weavile's paws.

Cusil kicked up from the ground, landing briefly upon the flat side of Tryce's right blade and used it as a platform to punch the Guardian in the unarmored face. Tryce yelped and staggered back, only to be thrown onto his back with a sweep of Cusil's leg behind his. Tryce rolled back and pushed himself into the air, soaring off the bridge, but landing on a rough ledge on the cavern wall, suspended above the dark abyss. He then kicked off the wall and released his wings, gliding back to the bridge and kicking the surprised weasel in the chest.

Cusil tumbled back from the blow, which had enough force to bring him closer to the opposite side of the bridge. "Coup de Grace!" Tryce announced, darting forward and stabbing at the Weavile. The triumphant shout was soon replaced by a yell of alarm and pain as bright red flames engulfed his body. Tryce leapt back, hastily slapping his body with the flat side of his blades, desperately trying to put out the fire. Cusil shot a glance back towards the corridor, nodding gratefully to the smug-looking Flareon, who was watching the Scyther's dance of panic.

"Ha! Take that!" Blaze said. Slowly, the fire receded from the Scyther, and they could see that Tryce's armor had turned a hot shade of red and some areas of his unarmored body had been scorched black. Cusil winced at the sight, while Blaze just smirked. Tryce looked himself over and scowled.

"You won't get past me!" he insisted, readying his blades once more. Blaze spat a fireball at him, only to have it deflected to the side by the Scyther's glowing blade. "Reflect Swipe! Chaos Jab!" Tryce torpedoed towards them, drawing back a blade and jabbing it at Blaze. To his surprise, Blaze jumped up and bit the un-bladed section of his arm, fire flashing from his fangs on contact. Tryce yelped and slapped his free blade towards the Flareon, only for Cusil to thrust his gauntlet into the path of the blade.

"Don't try to cut off my tail!" Blaze complained, slamming his forehead into Tryce's face. The Scyther grunted and recoiled, giving the Flareon time to launch a stream of fire at point-blank range. Tryce cried out in pain and recoiled, his armor growing hotter and hotter with each passing second, his natural body becoming more and more damaged as the armor was unable to relieve the heat's intensity. Cusil backed up from the flames, shielding his eyes with his arm.

The red glow erupted suddenly, casting an eerie red light upon the walls of the cavern, even lighting up sections of the abyss below. Blaze cried out and backed up, looking concerned as the Scyther was engulfed in this red shine. Slowly, the red light gave way to a pure white shine and the Scyther's bladed arms thickened, curving into sleeker, yet blunter instruments. When the white light faded, where a Scyther once stood, a different Pokémon was. Unlike its predecessor, it wore a sleek steel armor of mingling red and black, and where bladed arms once hung, instead were dangerous pinchers marked with the emblem of an eye. It was still an insect in appearance, but nearly everything else was drastically different.

Tryce gave his new form a look over, a subtle smirk crossing his face. He looked up at Cusil and Blaze, both of whom had shocked expressions on their faces. He raised one pincher, pointed it towards them and clicked it menacingly.

"Maybe fusing his armor to him with fire wasn't the best idea," Cusil sighed. Blaze shrugged, yet he stepped forward and growled at the new Scizor.

"Let me pass!"

"I can't do that," Tryce said seriously. "I am a Guardian. It is my duty to prevent you from passing by any means necessary."

"Look!" Blaze snapped, his eyes flashing with anger. "You just evolved! Everything about you changed! You're weighted down with armor, you don't have swords, you have no practice with your new body and style, and I'll set you on fire if you don't let me past!"

"That is a risk I will have to take to do my duty," Tryce replied. "With an evolution comes new strength."

"Perhaps," Uru clicked from her perch above. Tryce leapt backwards and pointed his pincher upwards, launching white spheres of energy from his pincher's hollowed maw. Uru dropped from her perch, landing upon the bridge before Tryce. The Scizor adjusted his aim, launching more of the flashy projectiles. Uru countered with a thick strand of her webbing, the sticky glob coiling tightly around the pincher, sealing it closed. A miniature explosion erupted from within the pincher and Tryce's eyes widened in shock and pain, the force of the blast sending him back two paces.

In that time, Uru spat another line of webbing, this one coiling around Tryce's other pincher, locking it closed as well. Tryce blinked several times, glaring at the Ariados. Uru chuckled quietly, as Blaze and Cusil watched the Scizor warily.

"Now let us past!" Blaze growled, stepping forward. "You don't even know how to fight with that new form!"

Tryce hissed in anger. "Even so, I can't allow you to pass!"

"Really, be reasonable," Cusil said calmly. "What will it accomplish to push this battle further?"

"I'll blaze right through you!" Blaze growled, taking another step. For a moment, his fur seemed to be ablaze, but the moment was short lived. Tryce hesitated, glancing around quickly, taking in the surroundings. He never did like to back down, even at great personal risk. It was this determination that brought him his promotion so many years back, against the most imposing of adversaries. It was this determination now that would urge him to protect the meeting chamber ahead.

Thinking quickly, Tryce took in the details of the situation. He indeed was lacking blades, an unfortunate side effect of evolving, and thus rendering his years of training useless. Both of his pinchers were currently tied shut with some sort of webbing, preventing him from either using projectiles formed from that area, or basic attacks that would involve closing the pinchers upon an opponent. He could still use them for melee assaults, but Blaze could keep his distance and send fire at him, a worrisome tactic with an abyss so near and only the bridge itself as a battle ground. Fleeing to warn the meeting would be disgraceful and Tryce knew the Ariados would be likely to intercept and bind his legs long before he reached the others.

However, he was never one to be bested. Defeats mere weeks ago, during the last invasions, had been more than humiliating to all the Guardians involved, and indeed since then, the Cave Army had begun experiencing more blatant political issues than normal. To allow these three past him would be unacceptable, and he owed it to his honor to ensure that, if victory was impossible for him, then they could not so easily claim it themselves.

Tryce darted forward, letting his wings activate to give him a sudden burst of speed. Blaze was the first to react, charging forward with impressive speed that rivaled the Scizor's. As the two Pokémon approached one another, Tryce swung a metal claw, and Blaze leapt to the side, kicking off Tryce's other claw and using it to land on his opposite shoulder. Tryce spun in an attempt to dislodge the Flareon, only to find the Flareon had already jumped off, landing on the Scizor's head. There was a moment where time seemed to stand still, and in that moment, Tryce realized he was screwed. The moment he felt the Flareon's weight leave his head, he braced himself internally, silently cursing his misfortune.

Hot knives of pain thrust their way into his armored body, accompanied by equally hot breaths of fire. The inferno surrounded his metal body, heating it to almost unbearable levels that only served to further agonize his sensitive internal flesh. Tryce didn't scream, cry out, or make any sound at all. All he could do was endure the pain, and wait for it to end. His armor was far too new to have had time to withstand stronger impacts or intense heat.

When at last it ended, Tryce fell to one knee, his mind buzzing. He could hear the steps of his adversaries leaving through the corridor he was meant to be guarding. He shut his eyes tight, waves of pain and despair working their way into his lower gut. He was supposed to be a Guardian...the Cave Army's prided elite, and he was one of the best in the entire network. And yet, here he was, fighting back the bitter sting of defeat.

Minutes passed like hours and he opened his eyes again. The metal of his armor had cooled, but the pain remained as vibrant as when it was first inflicted. His breathing came out in sharp gasps and his body shook. The webbing around his pinchers had been melted off, and Tryce opened and closed them for several seconds. Despair was settling in more firmly than expected. This form...this accursed evolution. All his years of swordplay and technique studies...all in vain now. The armor that had been the source of his pride, that he so confidently wore to this battle, had caused this radical change that so completely destroyed his known fighting style.

With a heavy sigh, Tryce stood up, gazing over the side of the stone bridge. A few simple steps and he could plummet down below, discover what mysteries lurked beyond the darkness, and likely be rid of the shame. No one would know he had been so utterly humiliated at his peak...but no, that sort of solution was never his style. Never his style.

The Scizor rose to his feet, brushing off the stings of failure the best he could. This latest development could easily spell the end of his Guardian career. Reputation was useless without results to back it up. As a Scizor, he was little more than an amateur, and it could take years to reacquire the skills he needed to deserve Guardian status. Even if Elma or another Guardian didn't revoke his status, he couldn't keep it, knowing that he didn't deserve to have it.

"Pride before the fall, huh?" Tryce mused to himself. He chuckled. "Don't I look the fool?"


	295. Confronting Sketch

**Blaze POV**

I hurried down the now unguarded passage, already feeling my heart pounding in excitement. I knew the other two grouped with me were behind me, but I wasn't in the mood to wait for them. I turned a corner or two, pausing at every intersection to look down each one and sniff the air. My sense of smell had gotten really good after spending so much time with several species of cute females. I shook myself before any memories could resurface. I needed to focus, and dwelling on the past wasn't going to help me do it.

I ran down another passageway, ignoring the stinging in my paws whenever I stepped on some uneven earth or rock, now focusing on the light at the end of the tunnel. My ears picked up the sound of voices...and my insides boiled at the sound of the voice I had etched eternally in my memory: the Smeargle that ruined my life.

I stopped before emerging into the chamber, casting a quick look around. The Smeargle wasn't alone, but I didn't think he would be. Some of the Pokémon I knew, others I didn't. I could see the Charmeleon that Ember had referred to as her mom, and I recognized the white quadruped that Dragonair had been aggressive towards, but I don't remember what Pokémon it is. The whole scene seemed to be one big meeting. I narrowed my eyes, carefully looking over the other Pokémon meeting here. Maybe it wasn't as big as I thought.

Aside from the recognizable three, there was also a butterfly, that Seviper whose name I can't remember; she had been traveling with us in Hoenn for a short time before we all got separated. Beside her was a second Seviper, and hovering above them was one of those green dragonfly Pokémon, who I seem to remember seeing with the white quadruped once before.

I yelped when something touched my shoulder, only to swiftly have a paw covering my mouth. "Shh," Cusil warned, slowly removing his paw from me. I glared at him. Stupid Weavile, sneaking up on me when I was trying to be quiet. "Not a bad turnout," he noted, peering out at the group of Pokémon.

"Indeed," the creepy spider said. I looked up, alarmed, to find the spider dangling from a line just above my head. I quickly moved out from under her. The spider made some sort of amused hiss, just quiet enough for no one else to hear.

"So now what's your goal?" Cusil asked, glancing in my direction. I hesitated and shook my head. I know what I need to do. It was the only way I could finally have inner peace, and stop the haunting guilt within myself. Cusil raised an eyebrow curiously, but I didn't say anything.

"No intention to share?" Uru chuckled. "Without a plan, you're just blundering into something that may be over your head."

"Yeah, I know that," I grumbled. Did she think I was stupid? I knew what I needed to do, and nothing was going to stop me from doing what I set out to do.

"Then perhaps you should take a few moments to..." the Ariados fell silent as I stepped into the main chamber, walking towards the Smeargle in the center. It took the nearest Pokémon maybe five seconds to notice me, but they didn't anything but stare. I could feel their eyes on me, following me as I moved nearer to Sketch. My heart pounded more fiercely and anger bubbled in the pit of my stomach, fueling the hot fire I could spit at a moment's notice.

I growled, drawing the tan Pokémon's attention at last. He turned towards with an uncaring air about him, but a look of shock came across his face when he noticed me. "You," I growled, my fluffy tail flicking.

"How did you...?" Sketch asked, but sighed and shook his head. "I won't pretend that I don't know why you're here, Blaze."

"Good," I growled. He better damn know by now. I can't ever forgive him for what he did to me, to my sister. There was only one way to settle this. I ignored the murmuring of the Pokémon around us, focusing entirely on Sketch.

The Smeargle sighed heavily. I growled. He had no right to act weak or tired at this time. I wanted him to feel sorry for what he did to me and my sister, to know he wasn't going to get off the hook, yet here he was, almost all the fight out of him already. "Blaze, this is pointless," he told me.

"No it's not!" I snapped, my anger crawling up into my stomach, making my entire body feel uncomfortably warm, even for being a Flareon.

"Don't you understand, Blaze?" Sketch asked, shaking his head. "We've all been used, manipulated...like pawns in the chess game, a game run only by that malicious phantom. You, me, your sister...all deemed expendable and not meant to outlive their role in the scheme."

"I don't care. You played your role of your own free will. You took Sis' piece, now I take yours," I growled. Sketch raised an eyebrow, a flicker of a smile crossing his face.

"You match my analogy, I see. But like me, you're being used. My time of usefulness wore out first. I was not meant to live this long, but because I do, you're the one chosen to take me out. Diablos never wanted me to linger. I only wish I saw the threats sooner," Sketch sighed.

I didn't answer. I have nothing to say to that. No matter what he says, Sis will stay dead, and if it weren't for him, she might not be.

Sketch brandished his tail at the chamber around us. "It was all part of his grand scheme, don't you see? He made an alliance with me, to grant me the ultimate technique. Shadow Force, the power only the lord of death himself possesses. I see now it was more than a token to earn my trust and support. It was a loaned technique, and the only way to repay the loan is to one day die by his hand."

There was an outbreak of confused muttering from the other Pokémon, but Sketch silenced them with a wave of his paw. It briefly occurred to me that none of them were trying to stop me from doing anything. They all just watched. I don't trust this situation. It's too easy.

"Failing that, as he did, he would still have a pawn left in play, one with a burning desire to rid the world of me. I can accept that," Sketch continued, shaking his head sadly. "Words cannot describe the remorse I feel for my part in your loss, but I'm no fool. Words will do nothing to alleive you of your fierce desire to right the wrongs I, and my organization, have inflicted upon you. You will never be satisfied until a conclusion is reached, am I right? My alliance with the phantom comes full circle, and in this game, one must take the other, or he himself will perish."

I narrowed my eyes. That's exactly how I feel. It's not just what I felt, it's what I know my sister must have felt; whatever joy of reuniting with me had been torn away as the damned Smeargle captured her, dragging her deep into the frightening maze and leaving her alone in a dark chamber, where no one could hear her cries, her sobs of fear. It makes me sick to think of how alone and helpless she must have been, waiting for me to come and be the big brother to her that I've tried to be all my life with her. When I finally arrived, she would die so soon, without ever seeing the sun again.

Tears sprang to my eyes. Hopelessness. Despair. Aching throbs of loneliness. I felt all those while sealed away in those cages. The dozens of females that graced my company could do nothing to truly cure me of my pain. I could go weeks without seeing the sunlight, the clouds in the sky, or feel the softness of grass beneath my paws. Some days, I wanted to die, so I'd no longer feel so in pain. Yet somehow, I endured. I adapted to what little I had. Beautiful females I could sidle up to, but never truly have. I didn't want the physical perks a cage full of lonely females could provide; I just wanted the company, the closeness so few of them trusted me enough to provide.

"I understand that you hate me for what has happened," Sketch said. "But do not expect me to embrace death for your sake. I must defeat you, kill you if necessary...for the sake of the Pokémon living within these caves. Without leadership, they'll be easy pickings and the only way to ensure the uneasy peace is to prevent the political wars from happening."

I growled and spat a stream of fire at the Smeargle. In a flash, he waved his tail, forming a barrier of water between the flames and himself. Steam rose up from the point of contact, forming a haze between the two of us. I darted forward, leaping to the side and kicking off the ground, slamming my shoulder into his side, knocking him off balance. With a burst of speed, I circled to his other side and pounced upon the Smeargle, biting at his shoulder with teeth engulfed in flame. Sketch recovered quickly, throwing me off his shoulder and pointing his tail towards me.

"A change of venue is in order," he said. There was a bright flash of light, temporarily blinding me when I couldn't shut my eyes in time. The first thing I noticed was the change in the air. Wind...I could feel wind, as if we were outdoors. I slowly opened my eyes, just in time to receive a geyser of water directly to my face. I tumbled back, jerking up when I felt a portion of my body slide over a ledge. Scrambling to my feet, I looked around, staring at Sketch.

"A-are...we on a MOUNTAIN?" I shouted. My wet fur suddenly didn't seem like such a big deal compared to this. Sketch nodded calmly.

"I thought you'd prefer to be outdoors. Here we can settle our differences without interference. Are you sure this is what you want?"

I didn't answer. I know exactly what I want, but I might be a little afraid of heights. Even in the darkness of the night sky, I could make out vaguely familiar sights from this height. This was the mountain that Salamence had taken me to after my fight with Luthor, back in Hoenn. This was the mountain that looked somewhat like a volcano. I looked back at Sketch, quickly glancing around to make sure there were no lava craters or anything to fall into. The area seemed somewhat treacherous, but there was more than enough room for us to maneuver.

The air around us seemed denser and had a smoky smell to it, like a fire had been burning for months and only now had died down. The plateau we were standing on oversaw many rocky ledges, including the one I had nearly slipped off of, and in the distance, I could make out a faint orange glow. Something told me I didn't want to see what was over there, particularly if this mountain was actually a volcano.

As I faced down the Smeargle, my mind went to Sis. I hadn't been able to protect her from Sketch's kidnapping. He may feel bad for where it led, but he should never have done it in the first place. I can't rest, leaving it the way it is. Even if I was having second thoughts, I couldn't back down from the task I had set myself. After Sis had died, I had taken the wrong course of action, letting only my anger and pain control my actions and letting that inner voice control me in an attempt to shield myself from the unpleasantness of everything. By now, I had time to reflect on everything, but my answer was the same. I needed to avenge Sis. I was ready to do it here.

Finally, I nodded. I'll do what I have to do. It my duty as the big brother.

"Very well," Sketch sighed, pointing his tail at me once more. "I'll hold nothing back, no matter how opposed I am to this match's inevitable outcome. Do remember… my intentions with the Cave Army were ever meant to come to something like this. None of my actions were meant to cause death to an innocent. But I'll accept the consequences of the unintended effect of my actions. I won't run from the responsibility. On guard, Blaze. Begin."


	296. The Other Group

**Aura POV**

Our half of the group traveled, for the most part, in silence. My stomach squirmed with Butterfree. The last thing I had wanted when coming here was for the group to split up and go their separate ways. Truthfully, I wasn't really fond of coming to the caves in the first place, but at the same time, I felt I owed it to Blaze to support him in his endeavor. Before Dragonair and the other Pokémon had showed up at the warehouse, I had finally coaxed the Flareon into confiding what had been on his mind recently. It had taken a lot of prodding, but once he started talking, it became easier to coax more out of him.

And here we were now, inside the labyrinth caves that continued to torment the Flareon. Miles upon miles of stone, rock, and dirt, all coiled together into an impossible maze. Aseal, as I was told the Crobat was named, had been going ahead of our group, which consisted of him, Dragonair, and myself, and would report back on any opposition or forks in the path. This was why the groups had split off in the first place. Blaze, Uru, and Cusil had gone one way, and, with great reluctance, the rest of us had gone the other way. I didn't want to become separated from Blaze, but each group needed a navigator and someone to act as a group leader or decision maker.

I was the odd Pokémon out. I have no real reason for being in these caves. They hold bad memories for all of us, but I don't dare complain. Blaze had the worst memories of all of us, there was no denying that. He told me how alone and helpless he had felt when his rescue plan went bad. I didn't ask him for the details of what happened to his sister, but I still feel so guilty for bailing on Blaze right before the instance. I had let my jealousy of Crystal push me into going with the black furred Espeon, Psycho, and his brother. Ironically, we all ended up in the caves like the rest of the group, but I hadn't been there for Blaze when he could have used my support.

I would have liked to have gotten to know his sister better, even knowing now that she might have died soon afterwards. I think that's why Dragonair was never really very sympathetic to Blaze on the subject, from what I heard. It's harder to be sympathetic when you can't feel another's pain. Blaze and I spent over a year of our short lives together in Rocket captivity. We bonded through a common ill circumstance, yet the Flareon was always closed about his life story, insisting it was uninteresting. Even a few pleasant stories would have been nice to hear.

I was broken out of my thoughts by Aseal's return. The Crobat landed upon Dragonair's forehead horn, relaxing his wings and grinning. Dragonair glanced upwards.

"What are you doing?"

"Writing a seven verse song about cave mining," Aseal answered, with absolutely no hesitation. Dragonair blinked, then chuckled and shook his head. I stopped walking and cocked my head up to look at the Crobat.

"Find anything?"

"I might have," Aseal said. He dropped off of Dragonair's horn and swooped down to my level, using two of his wings to level out and land on my back. I seem to have become Uru and Aseal's designated ride or something.

"It's a 'yes' or 'no' question, Asealio," Dragonair reminded the Crobat. Aseal seemed to consider that for a moment, and then grinned.

"Yeah, I found something. This way," he said, kicking off my back and swooping ahead of us. Dragonair and I exchanged looks before following. Aseal darted ahead of us, pausing every so often to check to make sure we were keeping up.

"Isn't it remotely strange that we never seem to come across guards whenever invading something?" Dragonair asked. Now that he mentioned it, that did seem odd, but I wasn't going to complain.

"Well, these are pretty big caves," I said. "Maybe they just don't have guards everywhere, because intruders aren't common?"

"Still, with the number of Pokémon that probably live down here-"

"It'd be nearly impossible to know who's an intruder and who's not," I interjected. Dragonair blinked at me, and then chuckled.

"Touché, Aura."

We continued to follow the Crobat, but this time I noticed a flock of Zubat perched on the ceiling of the caves, some clinging to the stalactites...or stalagmites...I'm not sure which term is which. Dragonair could probably tell me, but I was afraid of how long he'd tell me.

"You flew all this way and more before finding something?" Dragonair called ahead to the soaring purple bat Pokémon. Aseal chuckled almost inaudibly. If it weren't for the echoing in the caverns, I probably wouldn't have known he had made a sound at all. However, Aseal did not reply.

It was another couple of minutes until we fully caught up the Crobat as he hovered just outside a chamber that was noticeably more brightly lit than the passageway before it. Dragonair and I peered into the chamber, and my jaw nearly dropped. Just inside the chamber was a large, bipedal Pokémon with a flame pattern upon its flesh. The Pokémon's arms were more like large cannons and it was much bulkier than most bipeds, pretty similar to a Machamp. Standing not far from that Pokémon was a second, far more familiar specie: a bipedal lizard, much like Ember, but with dark red scales and a stronger flame burning upon its tail. The third Pokémon was the true reason behind my shock: a familiar female Flareon.

"Crystal?" I asked, before I could stop myself. The Flareon nearly jumped a foot in the air, whirling around to face in our direction. Dragonair slapped the back of my head with his tail.

"You are a mistress of subtlety and secrecy, Aura," he sighed. I winced at the blow, but walked into the bright chamber, revealing myself to the Flareon. Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and in that moment, held a flicker of sadness. The expression was quickly replaced by mild surprise, but there was no doubt that it was her.

The other two fire Pokémon had tensed at the sound of my voice, with the larger biped frowning suspiciously. Dragonair sighed and reluctantly entered behind me, earning a shocked look from the bulky biped, but only a blink from Crystal. The Charmeleon showed no real reaction to either of us, aside from a momentary flicker of curiosity.

"Not much of a party, is this?" Dragonair asked, addressing the cannon-arm Pokémon who, in turn, gave him a blank look. "I mean, the bright colors, the lighting of the room...it's just screaming 'have a party here!' But when I look at what's IN the chamber, I don't see any party materials."

"Dragonair..." the bulky Pokémon sighed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Dragonair blinked, peering at the Pokémon. "Do I know you?"

"Not personally. I'm Lava."

Dragonair got a strange grin on his face. "Lava. Wonderfully original name for a Magmar on steroids. It reminds me quite a bit of a certain flickering tail flame named Ember-" At the mention of Ember's name, the Charmeleon's head jerked up, a movement that caught Dragonair's eye. "Please tell me that's not your name, too. One poorly named fire lizard is bad enough."

"No, my name's Singe," the Charmeleon said with a frown.

"Like I said...one poorly named fire lizard is bad enough. Did somebody run out of fire puns when handing out names? There can't be that many they can bank on. Inferno...Ash...Blaze..."

"Uh..." the Charmeleon exchanged a look with the Magmar or whatever. Dragonair blinked, glancing between the two Pokémon with a curious expression.

"What? Don't tell me those are in use...oh who am I kidding? Of course they're in use. No one can ever think of a half decent name for a fire type."

"Ahem!" Crystal growled.

"You mentioned that you were going to be named Hydra," Dragonair reminded her. "I can just imagine the shipping name for you two. Blazing-"

"Actually, those names are in use," Lava said casually. "Inferna of the Johto branch is a variation of Inferno, and as a Magby, I went by the alias of Ash. Blaze, of course, you know."

"But Blaze named himself before evolving," I reminded Dragonair, frowning.

"My alias was a deliberate pun," Lava argued. "And I doubt Inferna's the most creative namer. She named her kit 'Ember', after all..." he stopped speaking when Dragonair made a choking sound, looking like he had just swallowed an entire watermelon. It took me several seconds to realize what Lava had just said, but I didn't freak out.

"You mean MY Ember?" Dragonair demanded. Lava nodded slowly, looking mildly perplexed by the dragon's reaction. "She has a mother?"

"Most people do," Aseal noted, perched upside down from the chamber entranceway.

"Hey Asealio? Don't be a copycat," Dragonair said, betraying some irritation in his words. Aseal shrugged his wings and Dragonair frowned. "She never talks about her family."

"Does anyone?" I asked. Seriously, I didn't even know my family, Blaze didn't know his parents, Crystal was raised by a breeder, separate from her parents, and almost everyone I knew back at the Rocket cages didn't want to discuss their past life, on account of it being too depressing.

"Sapphire does," Dragonair noted.

"The exception that proves the rule," Aseal supplied. Dragonair frowned at the Crobat, but didn't argue. I looked over at the female Flareon, feeling a swift surge of awkwardness.

"You uh...doing okay, Crystal?" I asked. Last time we had been together had been right after Blaze dumped her, and although I had secretly been hoping he would do that, I still found myself pitying her for it. "You uh...handling the...you know?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Crystal said, scowling. For a moment, she inched nearer to the Charmeleon. Unfortunately for her, Dragonair pounced on that opportunity.

"He your rebound?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes," Singe answered. Dragonair and I just stared.

"Are you serious?" Dragonair demanded.

"So what?" Crystal growled, rubbing against the Charmeleon's leg. He scratched behind her ears idly, which only amused Dragonair further.

"You were raised by a breeder, no doubt with the Eon purity clause ingrained into your mind, yet you rebound to a Charmeleon for no discernable reason?" Dragonair snorted.

"They both recently got dumped," Lava explained, smirking as Singe flushed. "Sounds like a discernable reason to me."

Dragonair smirked, "Ah, double rebound."

"No, it gets weirder," Lava said, now grinning a little. I got the impression he enjoyed sharing personal information. "Singe got dumped by a Charmander. She got dumped by a Flareon."

"A Charmeleon dumped by a Charmander doesn't fit a pattern."

"He got dumped BECAUSE he evolved. He was a Charmander before that."

Dragonair was silent for several moments. "Ooh, tough break."

"Weirder than THAT," Lava continued, grinning widely. He raised a cannon arm and his paw emerged from the hole, completely concealing the fact that it had been cannon-like just a moment ago. He then snapped his fingers and a humanoid ghost with a hunched back and glittering gemstone eyes materialized at the fire type's sides. "Tell them about the second pair of rebounds," he told the Sableye.

The ghost chuckled and spoke in a rasped voice. "Both of them, according my sources, nearly promptly rebounded themselves. The male Flareon to...her," it said, pointing a claw at me. "And the female Charmander to..." the ghost paused a moment, as if thinking.

"Leaf?" Dragonair guessed.

"Our data's not perfect," the Sableye admitted, gnawing on a gemstone that had somehow appeared in its paw.

"Inferna's going to be so pissed," Lava chuckled, looking rather pleased with himself. "Being hooked up with a member of the Eevee line...tsk tsk."

"But I thought that relationship was fake, and just for show," Dragonair argued. I'm just assuming that he knows what he's talking about, because I have no idea.

"Ganger knows better than we do," the Sableye grumbled. "Not that he shares information clearly."

"I told you, Gem, the data is far too crucial to the progression of the time stream to give up now. Tonight is the turning point of over a dozen lives!" a green fairy-creature said, appearing at the Sableye's shoulder. Dragonair's expression darkened at the sight of the Pokémon.

"Stop. Mimicking. Celebi!" Dragonair snapped, slapping his tail at the fairy, which calmly floated out of range.

"What could make tonight that significant?" Lava asked, ignoring the fact Dragonair had nearly swatted the other Pokémon into the nearest wall. Singe and Crystal were ignoring the conversation, but my attention was torn.

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know?" the Celebi chortled. "But so many important events approaching tonight and tomorrow morning...the threads of destiny will begin to entwine. Starting with Devine."

"Well, that was certainly concise," Dragonair deadpanned.

"There's more to know, but it'd be best to ask Snow," the Celebi continued, grinning. I winced at the painfully blatant rhyming. On a hunch, it was doing that on purpose, not caring how awkward the sentences sounded.

Dragonair got a strange look on his face. "You know what...I'll think I'd rather pass on the elaboration, thanks. Now stop mimicking my deity legend!" The Celebi just smirked and disappeared in a flurry of fresh leaves. No one said a word for what felt like several hours.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Crystal asked, breaking the long silence.

"We've broken into the caves with the intention of assassinating the leader," Aseal said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Oddly, Lava seemed to find the answer incredibly amusing. Dragonair and I exchanged looks and the dragon made a serpentine shrug.

"Really, I'd just like to go to Hoenn," he said, sighing.

"Ah, the land with one of the national mottos being 'Don't fasterikasterikk with us'," Lava said appreciatively. Everyone stared at him before giving a collective "WHAT?"

"How do you spell that?" Dragonair asked, with complete seriousness.


	297. Horrifying Notice

**This note is to alert readers that in about a week, I'll be taking TDW down.**

**Why? It's rather complicated, actually, but a large part of it has to do with plot developments and the like being handled very, very poorly and the fic being unnecessarily bulky because of it. In addition, several future developments are being hindered because of the poorly handled past elements and the story overall is losing steam. It has reached a point where I feel it can no longer be ignored.**

**However, the story itself is not finished, and in an attempt to rectify the problems that are creeping into my most recent chapters, I've decided the best course of action is to reorganize my thoughts, ideas, and vision of the story before irreparable harm is done.**

**I have been working on the story for over two years, allowing my writing skills to be sharpened as time went on, with this story often serving as a training tool, and now I've reached a certain point where it's much clearer that some of my past ideas went awry and will slowly sour the rest of the story unless they are remedied.**

**I will promptly be restoring the fic after its removal and build it back up. But this is where I need you, the readers. If you still enjoy the fic, RETURN to it. Give feedback, make sure that I know I'm going in the right direction, or if there's problems to be addressed, that I can address them. My intention is a tremendous gamble, particularly after the disastrous attempt to rework Dark Eons. It is possible that doing this will completely obliterate my fanbase, many of whom, like with Dark Eons, won't bother to return to the fic.**

**This is a notice so that as many people as possible are aware of it and will keep an eye out for its return. The revived version will likely dispense with most of the severely unneeded plot points and some of the significant events will be handled differently, hopefully for the better.**

**This is a job far too big to consider an alternative option for. Once again, I urge readers to come back to the fic as I resurrect it. This is a story I'm quite keen to continue, so it shouldn't go the way of Dark Eons. It does need a fanbase to follow it, though.**

**If anyone has questions, suggestions, thoughts, or in fact anything to say on this matter at all, feel free to PM me or...I guess review this chapter, it makes no difference how you contact me. You can tell me your favorite parts, characters, or whatever, in case I planned to scrap them in the Phoenix version. This way I can laugh at you...I mean, assure you that your favorite moments will be preserved.**

**Tarot reminds you that the "Death" card means change and transformation.**


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